Miniaturization of on-board actuation and powering engenders the proliferation of biohybrid microrobots, which integrate motile bacteria or cells with synthetic functional components to achieve micron-scale actuations. Flagellated bacteria like S. marcescens are among the leading candidates for the actuators of swimming microrobots. However, the high intrinsic stochasticity in bacteria-driven microrobots severely limits their potential applications, such as targeted drug delivery. Taxis behaviors (e.g., chemotaxis), which help free-swimming bacteria to navigate towards favorable environments and away from hazardous ones, may offer an elegant means to control the motion of bacteria-driven microrobots. Therefore, this thesis focuses on: (a) addressing the motion guiding of bacteria-driven microrobots using common bacterial taxis behaviors, specifically chemotaxis and pH-taxis, (b) explaining the physical mechanisms associated with the tactic motions in bacteria-driven microrobots, and (c) developing a biophysical model to describe the bacterial propulsion and the chemotaxis in bacteria-driven microrobots. In order to produce considerable chemotactic motion in bacteria-driven microrobots, an appropriate chemical concentration profile needs to be determined, which requires the knowledge of the chemotaxis response of the integrated bacterial species. Thus, we first propose an experimental and modeling framework to characterize bacterial chemotaxis. The chemotaxis response of a species against a chemoattractant is experimentally quantified under a linear concentration gradient of the attractant. A signaling pathway model is fitted to the experimental measurements over a series of gradients to determine the species-specific parameters in the model, thereby fulfilling an analytical characterization of the chemotaxis. Subsequently, in a multi-bacteria-driven microrobotic system, we quantify the chemotactic drift of the microrobotic swarms towards a potent chemoattractant L-serine and elucidate the physical mechanisms associated with the drift motion by statistical trajectory analysis. It shows that the microrobots have an apparent heading preference for moving up the gradient, which constitutes the major factor that produces the chemotactic drift. The apparent heading bias is caused by a higher persistence in the heading direction when a microrobot moves up the the L-serine gradient compared to traveling down the gradient. Besides chemotaxis, we explore the potential of utilizing ambient pH to guide the motion of the bacteria-driven microrobots. Under three different pH gradients, we demonstrate that the microrobots exhibit both unidirectional and bidirectional pH-tactic behaviors. Two factors, a swimming heading bias and a speed bias, are found to be responsible for the pH-tactic motion while the heading bias contributes more. Like in chemotaxis, the heading directions of the microrobots are also significantly more persistent when they move towards favored pH regions. Finally, a biophysical model is developed to describe the bacterial propulsion and the chemotaxis in an extensively adopted design of bacteria-driven microrobots. The model traces helical trajectories and chemotactic motion that resemble those observed from experiments, which validates the basic correctness of the model. The model simulation also suggests that the seemingly collective chemotaxis among the multiple bacteria attached to a microrobot could be explained by a synchronized signaling pathway response among these bacteria. Furthermore, we investigate the dependencies of the microrobots’ per

Au sein du règne animal, les insectes sociaux fascinent les humains. En particulier les fourmis, capables de s’adapter à des environnements très variés et d’utiliser le biotope à leur avantage. L’observation de pratiques que l’on a longtemps pensées exclusives à l’humain telles que l’agriculture (de champignons) ou l’élevage (de pucerons) ne rend que plus urgente l’envie de comprendre de quelle manière s’opèrent ces phénomènes. Il s’avère que les fourmis réalisent certaines tâches de manière différente des humains. Par exemple pour trouver le chemin le plus court vers de la nourriture ou le meilleur nid vers lequel migrer, la colonie peut faire son choix de manière collective, décentralisée et sans avoir besoin que les individus ne comparent les options. Mon travail a consisté à élaborer et utiliser de nouvelles méthodes pour l’étude des fourmis. Deux objectifs complémentaires ont été fixés pour le conduire : réaliser un système biohybride et essayer de contrôler le comportement des fourmis. Le premier objectif consiste à se demander ce qu’il pourrait se passer si l’on connectait une colonie de fourmis à un ordinateur. Il s’agissait dans un premier temps de donner la vue à l’ordinateur sur ce que fait la colonie de fourmis. Il fallait ensuite fournir à l’ordinateur des moyens d’action sur la colonie.Pour cela, j’ai conçu et mis à l’épreuve des outils de suivi de l’activité de la colonie, ainsi que des environnements modulaires où évoluent les fourmis. J’ai créé un dispositif de suivi et d’analyse d’image embarquée sur micro-ordinateur et grâce à l’impression 3D j’ai fabriqué des modules de différentes tailles qui peuvent être assemblés afin de former un environnement structurellement varié. Afin que l’ordinateur puisse agir sur les fourmis, j’ai choisi de lui donner la possibilité de modifier les conditions environnementales, en particulier la température. Une fois le système conçu j’ai réalisé des expériences afin de savoir ce que les changements locaux de température induisent sur le comportement des fourmis. La caractérisation du comportement face à des changements de température apporte un éclairage sur la relation des fourmis à leur environnement. Cela a ensuite permis d’explorer les questions de contrôle du comportement des fourmis par une machine. L’usage de la température ayant démontré sa capacité à moduler localement le taux de présence des fourmis, j’ai pu ensuite prouver qu’il était possible de confiner une fourmi dans une zone prédéfinie. Enfin, j’ai mis en place une boucle de contrôle où la température utilisée pour confiner la fourmi dépend de son activité en temps réel. Cette dernière expérience permet de mettre en lumière la complexité du rapport des fourmis à leur environnement et ouvre de nouvelles perspectives dans la continuité de ce travail. Cette thèse a permis d’éclaircir des thématiques nouvelles appliquées aux fourmis, qui sont celles des systèmes biohybrides et du contrôle du vivant et de mettre en évidence les directions accessibles à l’avenir. Au cours de cette recherche, de nombreux outils ont été conçus. Les prototypes fonctionnels d’environnement modulaires ont démontré la pertinence de l’utilisation d’imprimante 3D pour l’étude des fourmis. Les différents outils de suivi, d’enregistrement et de traitement des données vidéos fournissent de nouvelles possibilités expérimentales inédites et pourront être utilisés pour d’autres études, notamment au temps long. Les dispositifs de contrôle de la température ont de même été conçus par des moyens propres au prototypage rapide, ce qui les rend accessibles, modulables et reproductibles dans une démarche open source / Within the animal kingdom social insects fascinate humans. Especially ants, which are capable of adapting to various environments and taking advantage of their biotopes. Observing practices that we would have thought to be exclusive to humans – such as farming (of mushrooms) or breeding (of aphids) – spurs the will to understand by which mean ants operate. It turns out that ants achieve certain tasks in different ways than humans. For instance, to find the shortest path to a food source, or the best nest to migrate to; the colony can make a collective decision, decentralized and without the need of direct comparisons by individuals. My work has consisted of the elaboration and use of new methods to study ants. Two complementary objectives have been chosen to drive the work: implementation of a biohybrid system and assessing the means of and limits to controlling the behaviour of ants. The first objective consists of asking ourselves what will happen if we connected an ant colony with a computer For this I have designed apparatus that permit interaction between those two entities. It involved giving sight to the computer into what the colony was doing, then providing ways for the computer to act on the colony. To do so, I designed and tried out tools to monitor the activity of colonies as well as modular environments which ants can inhabit. I designed an embedded system that records and analyses activity of ant colonies on a micro-computer. I designed and 3D printed modules of various sizes that can be assembled together to form a structurally varied environment. For the computer to be able to act upon ant behaviour, I chose to endow it with the capability of modifying environmental conditions, at particular temperatures. Once the system was built, I conducted experiments to assess how local changes of temperature affect ant behaviour. This characterisation of behaviour under temperature changes sheds light on the relation of ants with their environment. This permitted the exploration of questions of control of behaviour of ants by a machine. The use of temperature having proved its capacity to modulate the local occupancy density, I then have been able to show that it was possible to confine an ant in a set location. Finally, I implemented a closed feedback loop system, in which the temperature used to confine the ant is dependent on the ant activity in real time. This last experiment shed light on the complexity of the dynamic relation between ants and their environments and opened new perspectives for future investigations. During this research, many tools were developed. Functional prototypes of moduary environments have demonstrated the relevance of using 3D printers for the study of ants. The various tools for monitoring, recording and processing video data provide new and innovative experimental possibilities and can be used for other studies, especially over long periods of time. Temperature control devices have as well been designed using rapid prototyping tools, making them accessible, scalable and reproducible in an open source approach.

No description available.

Neuromorphic systems take inspiration from the principles of biological information processing to form hardware platforms that enable the large-scale implementation of neural networks. The recent years have seen both advances in the theoretical aspects of spiking neural networks for their use in classification and control tasks and a progress in electrophysiological methods that is pushing the frontiers of intelligent neural interfacing and signal processing technologies. At the forefront of these new technologies, artificial and biological neural networks are tightly coupled, offering a novel “biohybrid” experimental framework for engineers and neurophysiologists. Indeed, biohybrid systems can constitute a new class of neuroprostheses opening important perspectives in the treatment of neurological disorders. Moreover, the use of biologically plausible learning rules allows forming an overall fault-tolerant system of co-developing subsystems. To identify opportunities and challenges in neuromorphic biohybrid systems, we discuss the field from the perspectives of neurobiology, computational neuroscience, and neuromorphic engineering.

Le développement d’une nouvelle génération de catalyseurs dits biohybrides est basé sur l’association d’un complexe métallique et d’une protéine. D’un côté, le complexe métallique est responsable de l’activité catalytique ; de l’autre côté, la protéine protège le complexe métallique vis-à-vis de la dégradation en milieu aqueux et fournit également un environnement chiral propice à une catalyse énantiosélective. Ces catalyseurs fonctionnant de manière sélective en milieu aqueux s’inscrivent tout à fait dans les préceptes de la chimie verte.Une nouvelle famille de protéines artificielles, nommée αRep, a été récemment décrite. Toutes les protéines de la bibliothèque αRep présentent le même repliement en solénoïde incurvé, mais diffèrent à la fois en taille (nombre de motifs répétés) et dans la nature de 5 acides aminés par motif répété. Une surface variable est ainsi générée sur la surface concave du solénoïde. Ces protéines sont extrêmement stables et modifiables. La modularité de ces protéines ouvre la voie à un panel varié d’ingénierie des protéines, notamment la conception de catalyseurs artificiels.Au sein de la bibliothèque αRep, le variant αRep-A3 est une protéine homodimérique pour laquelle les surfaces concaves de chaque monomère génèrent une crevasse. Les résidus formant cette crevasse peuvent être modifiés sans affecter la structure tridimensionnelle de la protéine. Le but de cette thèse a été d’évaluer la capacité de la protéine αRep-A3 à procurer une architecture rigide pour l’incorporation de complexes de métaux de transition. Pour cela, différents ligands de métaux de transition (phénanthroline, terpyridine, porphyrine) ont été couplés covalemment à des variants de αRep-A3 à différentes positions. Des résultats encourageants concernant la réaction de Diels-Alder entre azachalcone et cyclopentadiène suggèrent que ce type d’architecture pourrait fournir une base intéressante pour la création de nouvelles classes de métalloenzymes entièrement artificielles. Des pistes pour l’amélioration des catalyseurs basés sur les αRep par des méthodes d’évolution dirigée sont alors avancées sur la base de ces résultats. / The development of a new generation of so-called biohybrid catalysts is based on the association of a metal complex and a protein. On the one hand, the metal complex is responsible for the catalytic activity; On the other hand, the protein protects the metal complex from degradation in aqueous medium and also provides a chiral environment conducive to enantioselective catalysis. These catalysts, which function selectively in an aqueous medium, fit perfectly into the precepts of green chemistry.A new family of artificial proteins, called αRep, has recently been described. All proteins in the αRep library exhibit the same curved solenoid folding, but differ in size (number of repeating units) and in the nature of 5 amino acids per repeat unit. A variable surface is thus generated on the concave surface of the solenoid. These proteins are extremely stable and modifiable. The modularity of these proteins paves the way for a varied panel of protein engineering, including the design of artificial catalysts.Within the αRep library, the variant αRep-A3 is a homodimeric protein for which the concave surfaces of each monomer generate a crevice. The residues forming this crevice can be modified without affecting the three-dimensional structure of the protein. The aim of this thesis has been to evaluate the ability of the αRep-A3 protein to provide a rigid scaffold for the incorporation of transition metal complexes. To this end, various transition metal ligands (phenanthroline, terpyridine, porphyrin) have been covalently coupled to variants of αRep-A3 at different positions. Encouraging results regarding the Diels-Alder reaction between azachalcone and cyclopentadiene suggest that this type of scaffold could provide an interesting basis for the creation of new classes of fully artificial metalloenzymes. From these results, lines of improvement for αRep-based catalysts by means of directed evolution are then advanced.

Environmental pollution and health problems created by fossil fuels have led to the development of alternative energies such as solar and wind energies, hydroelectric power, and green hydrogen. The use of biohybrid materials in the development of this type of alternative energies is recent. Biohybrid materials are a unique type of advanced materials that have a biological component that can be a biomolecule or a whole cell and an abiotic or non-biological component that can be a ceramic, a synthetic polymer, or a metal, among others. They have applications in different fields that range from construction (such as bioconcrete) to catalysis (such as artificial enzymes). There are examples in the literature in which bacteria are hybridized with reduced graphene oxide or manganese oxide to catalyze the oxygen evolution of the electrochemical water splitting reaction that produces green hydrogen. The focus of this dissertation is to synthesize efficient biohybrid catalysts following a whole cell approach using electroactive bacteria as the biological component and metallic precursors that form particles ranging from single atoms, nanoclusters, and nanoparticles as the abiotic component. The Fe molecule that is part of the heme group of C-type cytochromes in the outer membrane of Geobacter sulfurreducens acted as the reduction center that allowed the synthesis and hybridization of the metals with the bacteria. Single atom metal catalyst of Ir, Pt, Ru, Cu, and Pd were synthesized and demonstrated a bifunctional catalytic activity towards the hydrogen evolution reaction and the oxygen evolution reaction. Ni single atoms were also synthesized with excellent activity in the water splitting reactions making this biohybrid catalyst very efficient but also green, as Ni is an abundant and cheap metal. Pd nanoclusters with size-control were synthesized by controlling the metal concentration, dosing, and incubation times and were tested in the electrochemical water splitting. Overall, the findings of these studies provide new knowledge on the field of biohybrid materials by contributing with novel methodologies for the synthesis of these materials and the application in the green hydrogen production with high efficiencies.

Es ist schon seit längerer Zeit bekannt, dass nach Kontakt des Biomaterials mit der biologischen Umgebung bei Implantation oder extrakorporaler Wechselwirkung zunächst Proteine aus dem umgebenden Milieu adsorbiert werden, wobei die Oberflächeneigenschaften des Materials die Zusammensetzung der Proteinschicht und die Konformation der darin enthaltenden Proteine determinieren. Die nachfolgende Wechselwirkung von Zellen mit dem Material wird deshalb i.d.R. von der Adsorbatschicht vermittelt. Der Einfluss der Oberflächen auf die Zusammensetzung und Konformation der Proteine und die nachfolgende Wechselwirkung mit Zellen ist von besonderem Interesse, da einerseits eine Aussage über die Anwendbarkeit ermöglicht wird, andererseits Erkenntnisse über diese Zusammenhänge für die Entwicklung neuer Materialien mit verbesserter Biokompatibilität genutzt werden können. In der vorliegenden Habilitationsschrift wurde deshalb der Einfluss der Zusammensetzung von Polymeren bzw. von deren Oberflächeneigenschaften auf die Adsorption von Proteinen, den Aktivitätszustand der plasmatischen Gerinnung und die Adhäsion von Zellen untersucht. Dabei wurden auch Möglichkeiten zur Beeinflussung dieser Vorgänge über eine Veränderung der Volumenzusammensetzung oder durch Oberflächenmodifikationen von Biomaterialien vorgestellt. Erkenntnisse aus diesen Arbeiten konnten für die Entwicklung von Membranen für Biohybrid-Organe genutzt werden. / The implantation of biomaterials or the contact of blood with extracorporal devices leads to the rapid adsorption of proteins from the surrounding biological fluids. The surface properties of materials determine the composition of the adsorption layer and the conformation of adsorbed proteins. Hence, the subsequent interaction of cells with biomaterials is dependent on the adsorption layer of proteins. The detailed knowledge on the role of surface properties in protein adsorption and cellular interactions is a useful means to learn about the biomedical applicability of materials and to develop novel materials with improved biocompatibility. The thesis describes the influence of polymer composition and surface properties on protein adsorption, the activation of blood clotting and adhesion of cells. The thesis presents options to modify the reactions of the biological system by the modification of bulk or surface composition of polymers. Results of these studies have been used to develop polymer membranes for biohybrid organs.

Biohybrid micromotors propelled by motile cells are fascinating entities for autonomous biomedical operations on the microscale. Their operation under physiological conditions, including highly viscous environments, is an essential prerequisite to be translated to in vivo settings. In this work, a sperm-driven microswimmer, referred to as a spermbot, is demonstrated to operate in oviduct fluid in vitro. The viscoelastic properties of bovine oviduct fluid (BOF), one of the fluids that sperm cells encounter on their way to the oocyte, are first characterized using passive microrheology. This allows to design an artificial oviduct fluid to match the rheological properties of oviduct fluid for further experiments. Sperm motion is analyzed and it is confirmed that kinetic parameters match in real and artificial oviduct fluids, respectively. It is demonstrated that sperm cells can efficiently couple to magnetic microtubes and propel them forward in media of different viscosities and in BOF. The flagellar beat pattern of coupled as well as of free sperm cells is investigated, revealing an alteration on the regular flagellar beat, presenting an on–off behavior caused by the additional load of the microtube. Finally, a new microcap design is proposed to improve the overall performance of the spermbot in complex biofluids.

The field of biomedical sciences has been expanded through the introduction of a novel cohort of soft and intelligent microrobots that can be remotely operated and controlled through the use of external stimuli, such as ultrasound, magnetic fields, or electric fields, or internal stimuli, such as chemotaxis. The distinguishing factor of these microrobots lies in their propulsion system, which may encompass chemical, physical, or biohybrid mechanisms. Particularly, microrobots propelled by motile cells or microorganisms have found extensive usage because they combine the control/steerability and image-enhancement capabilities of the synthetic microstructures with the taxis and cell-interaction capabilities of the biological components. Spermatozoa (sperms), among other types of motile microorganisms and cells, are promising biological materials for building biohybrid microrobots because they are inherently designed to swim through complex fluids and organs, like those in the reproductive system, without triggering negative immune responses. Sperms are suitable for a variety of gynecological healthcare applications due to their drug encapsulating capability and high drug-carrying stability, in addition to their natural role of fertilization. One objective of this project is to help sperms reach the site of fertilization in vivo where the sperm count is low (20 million sperm per mL), a condition known as oligospermia. In order to reach this goal, we are developing alternative strategies for transporting a significant number of sperms, as well as improving the functionality of sperm-hybrid microcarriers. Here, we use a thermoresponsive hydrogel made of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and a non-stimuli-responsive polymer (IPS photoresist) to create four dimensional (4D)-printed sperm-hybrid microcarriers via two-photon polymerization (TPP). We present a multifunctional microcarrier that can: i) transport and deliver multiple motile sperms to increase the likelihood of fertilization, ii) capacitate/hyperactivate the sperms in situ through the local release of heparin, and iii) assist the degradation of the hyaluronic acid (HA), present in extracellular matrix (ECM) of oocyte-cumulus surrounded the Egg. HA degradation occurs through the local action of hyaluronidase-loaded polymersomes (HYAL-Psomes) that have been immobilized on the microcarrier's surface. Dual ultrasonic (US)/photoacoustic (PA) imaging technology can also be used to visualize a swarm of microcarriers, making them ideal candidates for upcoming in vivo applications. In addition, as a second objective, we demonstrate that similar sperm-hybrid microcarriers can be utilized to deliver targeted enzymes and medication for the treatment of gynecological cancer. As proof of concept, we show that combined therapy using enzymes and anti-cancer drugs is an appealing strategy for disrupting the tumor tissue microenvironment and inducing cell apoptosis, thereby offering a more effective cancer therapy. To achieve this, we functionalize the microcarriers with polymersomes loaded with enzymes (such as hyaluronidase and collagenase) and anti-cancer drugs (such as curcumin), respectively, and demonstrate their cargo-release capability, enzyme function, and therapeutic effect for targeting cervical cancer cells in vitro.:Abstract iv 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Motivation 1 1.2 Objectives 3 1.3 Structure of this dissertation 4 2 Background 5 2.1 Introduction on additive manufacturing technology 5 2.2 Direct laser writing (DLW) based on two-photon polymerization 6 2.2.1 Writing principles of two-photon lithography 8 2.2.2 Available materials for two-photon lithography 9 2.2.3 Engineering (Preprogrammed designs) 12 2.3 4D Lithography 13 2.3.1 Biodegradable microrobot 13 2.3.2 Stimuli-responsive micromotors 15 2.3.3 Other 4D-printing approaches 17 2.4 Motion at the microscale (Micromotility) 21 2.4.1 Physical propelled micromotors 23 2.4.2 Chemical propelled micromotors 32 2.4.3 Biohybrid micromotors 34 2.5 Other two-photon polymerized microrobots and their biomedical applications 35 2.5.1 Functionalized carriers 36 2.5.2 Multiple-cell carrying scaffolds 38 2.5.3 Single particle and cell transporters 39 2.6 Comparison of 3D and 4D-lithography with other fabrication methods 42 3 Materials and methods 44 3.1 Synthesis and fabrication 44 3.1.1 Synthesis of PNIPAM 44 3.1.2 Fabrication of microcarrier 44 3.1.3 Preparation of sperm medium and sperm solution 45 3.1.4 Preparation and composition of different body fluids 45 3.1.5 Fluidics channels 46 3.1.6 In situ preparation of microcarriers and sperms 46 3.1.7 Loading of microcarriers with heparin 46 3.1.8 Synthesis of block copolymers (BCPs) 47 3.1.9 Fabrication of Empty-Psomes A and D 48 3.1.10 Preparation of Curcumin complex CU(βCD)2 and calibration curve 49 3.1.11 Fabrication of cargo-loaded Psomes with enzymes and antitumoral drug 50 3.2 Characterization 51 3.2.1 MTS-Assay 51 3.2.2 Toluidine blue assay 52 3.2.3 Characterization of Empty-Psomes A and D: pH cycles and pH titration by dynamic light scattering (DLS) 53 3.2.4 Characterization of cargo-loaded Psomes with enzymes and antitumoral drug 54 3.2.5 Loading efficiency of HYAL-Psomes 55 3.2.6 Loading efficiency of MMPsomes 56 3.2.7 Loading efficiency, stability and release study of CU(βCD)2-Psomes 57 3.2.8 Size and polydispersity analysis of cargo-loaded Psomes in different simulated body fluids by DLS 58 3.2.9 Conformation and stability study of cargo-loaded Psomes in different simulated body fluids by asymmetric flow field flow fractionation (AF4) 59 3.2.10 Immobilization of the cargo-loaded Psomes on the surfaces 61 3.2.11 Enzymatic assay of HYAL for enzyme activity measurement 62 3.2.12 Enzymes assay in different simulated body fluids 64 3.2.13 Stability study of RhB-HYAL-Psomes in different pH 65 3.2.14 Calculation of the magnetic field flux of an external hand-held magnet 66 3.3 Temperature actuation and imaging 67 3.3.1 Temperature actuation test of PNIPAM and video recording 67 3.3.2 Hybrid ultrasound (US) and photoacoustic (PA) Imaging 67 3.4 Other useful information 68 3.4.1 pH and temperature through the female reproductive tract 68 3.4.2 Calculation of the light-to-heat conversion during imaging process 69 4 Multifunctional 4D-printed sperm-hybrid microcarriers for assisted reproduction 72 4.1 Background 72 4.2 Concept and fabrication of the 4D-printed microcarriers 74 4.3 Sperm coupling and geometrical optimization of microcarrier 77 4.4 Characterization of the 4D-printed streamlined microcarriers 78 4.5 Microcarrier loaded with heparin for in situ sperm capacitation 82 4.6 Microcarriers decorated with HYAL-Psomes for in situ degradation of the HA-cumulus complex 86 4.6.1 Immobilization of HYAL-Psomes on the microcarrier’s surface 89 4.6.2 Qualitative study of cumulus cell removal 90 4.7 Sperm-microcarrier motion performance in oviduct-mimicking fluids 91 4.7.1 Capture, transport, and release of sperms 92 4.7.2 Sperm-microcarrier motion performance on ex vivo oviduct tissue 93 4.8 Tracking of a swarm of microcarriers with a dual ultrasound (US) and photoacoustic (PA) imaging system 95 4.9 Summary 96 5 Polymersomes-decorated micromotors with multiple cargos for gynecological cancer therapy 98 5.1 Background 98 5.2 Characterization and size quantification of Psomes before and after loading of cargoes by DLS, and Cryo-TEM 103 5.3 Characterization and size quantification of cargo-loaded Psomes by DLS, and Cryo-TEM in different simulated bodily fluids 104 5.4 Immobilization and characterization of cargo-loaded Psomes on the microcarrier’s surface 106 5.5 Immobilization and characterization of dual cargo-loaded Psomes on the microcarrier’s surface 108 5.6 Investigation of ECM degradation and antitumoral effect of cargo-loaded Psomes 110 5.7 Magnetic and bio-hybrid guidance of microcarriers toward targeted cargo delivery 115 5.8 Summary 117 6 Conclusion and Outlook 119 6.1 Achievements 119 6.2 Outlook 121 Bibliography I List of Figures and Tables XXI Acknowledgements and funding XXIV Scientific publications and contributions XXVI Curriculum Vitae XXVII

Ces travaux de thèse pluridisciplinaires à l‘interface entre biocatalyse et nanomatériaux visent la conception de matériaux biohybrides innovants par assemblage dans des conditions douces de matériaux inorganiques de type hydroxydes doubles lamellaires (HDL) avec des enzymes. La première partie de ce mémoire est consacrée à la caractérisation des interactions physico-chimiques entre les HDL et la fructose-6-phosphate aldolase (FSA) catalysant la formation stéréosélective de liaisons C-C pour conduire à des polyols chiraux. Les structures lamellaires HDL permettent un confinement efficace de systèmes enzymatiques grâce à leur structure bidimensionnelle poreuse, leurs propriétés physico-chimiques favorables à l‘échange ionique et leur biocompatibilité. Différentes stratégies d‘immobilisation de la FSA dans des matrices d‘HDL ont été explorées, le taux d‘immobilisation et l‘activité biocatalytique étant fortement dépendant de la méthode d‘assemblage et de la nature des phases HDL. Le taux d‘immobilisation de l‘enzyme obtenu par coprécipitaton est supérieur à celui obtenu par adsorption. Dans une deuxième partie, un bioréacteur a été élaboré par un assemblage hiérarchisé constitué de la FSA, de nanoplaquettes d‘HDL et de billes de polysaccharide, ce dernier jouant le rôle de matrice macrostructurante. De façon notable, le taux d‘encapsulation de l‘enzyme dans la matrice macroscopique est amélioré lorsque le biocatalyseur est pré-encapsulé dans les nanoplaquettes d‘HDL. Ceci est attribué aux interactions électrostatiques favorables entre les chaînes de polysaccharide et les HDL, facilitant une charge de matière plus importante. L‘efficacité catalytique du bioréacteur obtenu et sa recyclabilité ont été démontrés. Dans la troisième partie de cette thèse, nous décrivons pour la première fois la conception de bionanoréacteurs enzymes@HDL par co-immobilisation de systèmes bi- ou tétra-enzymatiques dans les HDL permettant de réaliser des cascades multienzymatiques biomimétiques. L‘immobilisation des différentes enzymes prises séparément a d‘abord été optimisée afin de déterminer les conditions de co-immobilisation et de réaliser les cascades biocatalytiques en phase hétérogène. Ces bionanoréacteurs, dont nous avons démontré la recyclabilité, ont été appliqués pour la synthèse de sucres phosphorylés de série D. Enfin, une cascade multienzymatique a été conçue de novo en solution aqueuse et optimisée pour synthétiser différents sucres phosphorylés rares de série L. / This multidisciplinary thesis at the biocatalysis/nanomaterial interface perfectly aims at designing innovative biohybrid materials by the assembly of inorganic materials the Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH) with enzymes under mild conditions. The first part of this thesis is devoted to the characterization of physico-chemical interactions between the LDH and the fructose-6-phosphate aldolase (FSA) catalyzing the stereoselective C-C bond formation to provide chiral polyols. LDH structures allow the effective confinement of enzymatic systems thanks to their opened two-dimensional structure as well as their chemical surface properties at the nanoscale and their biocompatibility. The FSA immobilization in different LDH matrices by different methods was studied. Biocatalytic activity is highly dependent on the method of assembling, modulating the final amount of FSA. The retaining activity rate of co-precipitated material was higher than that obtained for the adsorbed enzyme. In a second part, a bionanoreactor was developed based on a hierarchized assembly of FSA, LDH nanoplatelets and polysaccharide beads acting as a macrostructuring matrices. Significantly, the encapsulated enzyme rate in the beads was improved when the biocatalyst was pre-encapsulated in LDH nanoplatelets. This is attributed to favorable electrostatic interactions between the polysaccharide chains and LDH, facilitating a higher catalyst loading. The catalytic efficiency of the prepared bioreactor and its recyclability were demonstrated. In the third part of this thesis, we describe for the first time the design of bionanoreactors ―enzymes@LDH‖ by co-immobilisation of two and four enzymes in LDH allowing biomimetic multienzymatic cascades. We first studied the immobilization of the different enzymes taken separately. Then we worked on the optimization of the biocatalytic cascades in heterogeneous phase. These bionanoreactors, for which we have shown the recyclability, have been applied to the synthesis of D-series phosphorylated sugars. Finally, a multienzymatic cascade was de novo designed in aqueous homogeneous solution. It was optimized for the synthesis of rare L-phosphorylated sugars.