Neste trabalho relata-se pela primeira vez a determinação de adenosina por um biossensor baseado em tirosinase. O biossensor foi desenvolvido mediante a modificação de um eletrodo de carbono impresso (SPE) com nanopartículas de ouro (AuNPs), tirosinase (Tyr) e Nafion, denominado biossensor Nafion/Tyr/AuNPs/SPE. As AuNPs sintetizadas possuem diâmetro médio de 15,0 ± 1,1 nm e sua função é melhorar a via de condução de elétrons entre a enzima e o eletrodo. Utilizou-se o aprisionamento com filme Nafion® para evitar a lixiviação enzimática da superfície do eletrodo. A tirosinase imobilizada apresentou boa atividade frente ao substrato catecol. Verificou-se que a adenosina atua como um inibidor do tipo não-competitivo. O biossensor é estável durante pelo menos 45 dias. Além disso, foi realizada a eletro-oxidação da adenosina para sua determinação. O biossensor apresenta sensibilidade superior em comparação com SPE, AuNPs/SPE e Nafion/AuNPs/SPE. As curvas de calibração revelaram duas faixas lineares para as concentrações de adenosina, de 1,0 × 10-5 mol L-1 até 5,0 × 10-5 mol L-1 e entre 6,0 × 10-5 mol L-1 e 1,2 × 10-4 mol L -1. O limite de detecção (3 × (desvio padrão + média dos brancos)/coeficiente angular da curva) foi de 7,0 × 10-7 mol L-1. / In this work we report for the first time the determination of adenosine by a biosensor based on tyrosinase. The biosensor was developed by modifying a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPE) with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), tyrosinase (Tyr) and Nafion, denoted as Nafion/Tyr/AuNPs/SPE biosensor. The synthesized AuNPs have a mean diameter of 15.0 ± 1.1 nm and their function is to improve the electron conduction pathway between the enzyme and the electrode. The entrapment with Nafion® film was selected to prevent the enzyme lixiviation from the electrode surface. Immobilized tyrosinase showed good activity with the catechol substrate. It was found that adenosine acts as a non-competitive type inhibitor. The biosensor is stable for at least 45 days. In addition, the electro-oxidation of adenosine was performed for its determination. The biosensor has superior sensitivity compared to SPE, AuNPs/SPE and Nafion/AuNPs/SPE. Calibration curves revealed two linear ranges for adenosine concentrations of 1,010-5 mol L-1 up to 5,010-5 mol L-1 and from 6,010-5 mol L-1 to 1,210-4 mol L-1. The detection limit (3 × (standard deviation + mean of blanks)/slope of the curve) was 7,010-7 mol L-1.

L’Imagerie par Résonance Magnétique (IRM) est une technique prometteuse largement répandue dans les milieux hospitaliers. Elle est non invasive, présente une bonne résolution spatiale et permet de visualiser en profondeur dans un organisme vivant. Elle possède cependant quelques défauts, dont sa faible sensibilité. Pour palier ce problème, il est possible d'utiliser des espèces hyperpolarisables telles que le xénon. Cependant, n’étant spécifique d’aucun récepteur biologique, le xénon nécessite d’être vectorisé. Pour ce faire, des auteurs ont proposé son encapsulation dans une cage moléculaire capable de reconnaître la cible biologique à imager. Les meilleurs candidats à ce jour sont les cryptophanes.Nous nous sommes fixés comme objectif dans cette thèse de concevoir et de synthétiser de nouvelles cages plus adaptées pour les applications en IRM 129Xe ainsi que des biosondes pertinentes pour se rapprocher d’applications in vivo. Dans une première partie de ma thèse, nous nous sommes intéressés au développement de nouvelles cages afin d’étudier et d’affiner les propriétés d’encapsulation du xénon au sein des cryptophanes. Dans les parties suivantes, nous nous sommes concentrés sur la conception de biosondes par fonctionnalisation de cryptophanes déjà décrits pour diverses applications d’intérêt biologique. D’une part, nous avons évalué la possibilité de détecter des métaux de manière plus spécifique et plus sensible grâce à l’IRM xénon hyperpolarisé. D’autre part, nous avons travaillé sur la conception de biosondes bimodales, afin de coupler des techniques complémentaires d’imagerie médicale. / Today, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a powerful clinically used imaging method which provides three-dimensional images with excellent resolution. However, conventional molecular MRI techniques that rely on the observation of water protons still suffer from reduced sensitivity and often lack selectivity. The use of hyperpolarized xenon can improve both the selectivity and sensitivity of the MRI method. As xenon has no specificity for any biological receptor, it needs to be vectorized. For this purpose, authors have proposed to encapsulate xenon inside molecular cages functionalized to recognize specific biological targets. The best candidates so far as biosensors are cryptophanes.The aim of this work is to design and synthesize new cryptophanes that are better suited for 129Xe MRI applications and relevant biosensors for future in vivo applications. In a first part, new cages were developed in order to study the encapsulation properties of xenon inside different cryptophanes. Then, biosensors were synthesized by functionnalization of known water-soluble cryptophanes for different applications of biological interest. We have therefore assessed the possibility of detecting metal ions specifically in a very sensitive way thanks to 129Xe MRI. New bimodal sensors were also designed and tested.

Com a evolução tecnológica há nos dias de hoje um aumento de dispositivos eletrônicos presentes ao nosso redor. Com o passar dos anos diversas funcionalidades vêm sendo agregadas a estes inclusive com maior poder de processamento. Em particular, para sistemas embarcados houve um crescimento da quantidade de sensores para diversos propósitos. Seguindo esta tendência, na área de saúde também houve um aumento significativo de aparelhos e dispositivos de monitoramento, tais como glicosimetros, oxímetros, monitoramento de pressão e batimento cardíaco por exemplo, que através de sensores realizam transdução dos dados pertinentes ao parâmetro envolvido. Este trabalho apresenta a pesquisa e o desenvolvimento de um sistema embarcado com a propriedade de multiplexação de sensores, ou seja, foi desenvolvido um dispositivo microcontrolado o qual visa multiplicar a capacidade de monitoramento de analitos, conseguindo analisar múltiplos sensores para um mesmo experimento. Ao decorrer deste desenvolvimento foram utilizados quatro sensores dispostos simetricamente em um béquer, os dados são coletados e tratados de forma sequencial e individual. Inicialmente utilizamos um sistema embarcado com um microcontrolador (PIC 18F2550) que é responsável por digitalizar a informação e pela conexão via terminal USB. Posteriormente um microprocessador (Raspberry Pi Zero, placa embarcada) fez-se necessário devido ao melhor processamento de dados. Os sensores aqui estudados tratam-se de sensores químicos, que são introduzidos a uma célula eletroquímica, onde se encontram um eletrodo de referência (Prata em uma solução de Cloreto de Prata) e os outros quatro filmes finos que irão compor o sistema multiplexado. Para este estudo em específico o material escolhido para fabricação dos filmes finos foi um polímero condutivo, mais especificamente polianilina (PANI). Esta foi depositada sobre um substrato de oxido de estanho dopado com flúor (FTO) através da eletrodeposição. Para sensores não específicos (não imobilizados para um analito alvo) os dois sistemas embarcados apresentaram respostas satisfatórias. Prosseguindo com o estudo e usando filmes finos para analitos biológicos (ureia e glicose) o microcontrolador não conseguiu separar os sinais de cada filme fino. Apenas o sistema com a Raspberry Pi obteve sucesso, devido a maior resolução no conversor analógico para digital e sua maior capacidade de processamento para determinar com uma maior precisão os valores obtidos. O sistema pode ser facilmente expandido para um maior número de sensores. / With the evolution of technology there is nowadays an increase in the number of electronic devices present around us. Over the years various functionalities have been added to these devices including the increased processing power. In particular, for embedded systems there has been an increase in the number of sensors for various purposes. Following this trend, in the area of health, there has also been a significant increase in systems and monitoring devices, such as glycosimeters, oximeters, pressure monitoring and heart rate, for example, which, through sensors, transduce data pertinent to the parameter involved. This work presents the research and development of an embedded system with the property of multiplexing sensors, that is, a microcontrolled device was developed which aims to multiply the capacity of analytes monitoring, being able to analyze multiple sensors for the same experiment. During this development four sensors were used symmetrically arranged in a beaker, the data were collected and treated sequentially and individually. Initially we used an embedded system with a microcontroller (PIC 18F2550) that is responsible for scanning the information and for the connection via USB terminal. Subsequently a microprocessor (Raspberry Pi Zero, embedded board) was made necessary due to the better processing of data. The sensors studied here are chemical sensors, which are introduced to an electrochemical cell, where a reference electrode is found (Silver in a Silver Chloride solution) and the other four thin films that will make up the multiplexed system. For this specific study the material chosen for the manufacture of thin films was a conductive polymer, more specifically polyaniline (PANI). This was deposited on a substrate of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) by electrodeposition. For non-specific sensors (not immobilized for a target analyte) the two embedded systems presented satisfactory responses. Proceeding with the study and using thin films for biological analytes (urea and glucose) the microcontroller failed to separate the signals from each thin film. Only the system with Raspberry Pi has been successful, due to the higher resolution in the analog to digital converter and its greater processing capacity to determine with greater precision the obtained values. The system can be easily expanded to a larger number of sensors.

L’usage des antibiotiques en médecine vétérinaire peut entrainer la présence de résidus d’antibiotiques dans les denrées alimentaires d’origine animale. Ces résidus peuvent présenter des risques (eg. toxicologiques, allergies, antibiorésistance) pour la santé du consommateur. La fixation de limites réglementaires pour ces résidus et un contrôle adapté sont primordiaux pour garantir la sécurité des consommateurs. Les méthodes de dépistage sont utilisées en première intention et représentent donc l’étape critique du contrôle. La validation d’une méthode va permettre de garantir qu’elle est adaptée à l’usage souhaité, aux attentes réglementaires et attester de sa performance. La validation constitue une exigence normative (ie. ISO 17025) et réglementaire (ie. Décision européenne 2002/657/CE). Dans une première partie, la diversité des méthodes de dépistage est présentée. Les méthodes dites conventionnelles de type microbiologique ou immunologique, développées dans les années 1980, sont toujours couramment utilisées, en raison de leur faible coût. Des méthodes innovantes, appelées biocapteurs, sont constituées d’un biorécepteur (eg. anticorps, aptamère) et d’un transducteur (eg. électrochimique, optique, massique, calorimétrique) pour la détection du signal. Ces méthodes sont en développement permanent et les progrès technologiques permettent de développer des méthodes de plus en plus sensibles, portables, parfois économiques. Dans une deuxième partie, différentes approches de validation, sous forme de réglementations, de lignes directrices ou de normes, sont discutées. La validation d’une méthode comporte deux étapes : tout d’abord la caractérisation des performances, puis la validation proprement dite par rapport à des critères préétablis. Les approches peuvent être absolue (une seule méthode) ou relative (comparaison de méthodes), globale (combinaison de plusieurs caractéristiques en une seule) ou critère par critère. L’objet de cette thèse est de comparer ces différentes approches de validation, afin de statuer sur leur application possible aux différentes méthodes de dépistage des résidus et déterminer si leurs conclusions sont équivalentes ou non. Différentes approches ont été testées en les appliquant pour valider des méthodes de dépistage de différents types : conventionnelles microbiologique et immunologique, innovantes par biocapteurs optiques. L’approche par comparaison de méthodes n’est pas adaptée aux méthodes de dépistage des résidus d’antibiotiques. En effet, le choix de la méthode de référence est compliqué car il n’existe pas de méthodes normalisées. De plus, les méthodes de référence choisies ont souvent des principes très différents de la méthode alternative et sont le plus souvent moins performantes. L’approche globale, telle que la Probabilité de détection (POD) et le profil d’exactitude sont applicables aux méthodes de dépistage. Ces approches récentes sont de plus en plus utilisées dans d’autres domaines et présentent un intérêt à être développées pour les méthodes de dépistage des résidus d’antibiotiques. Enfin, l’approche critère par critère de la décision européenne 20002/657/CE et du guide de validation européen de 2010, couramment appliquée aux résidus d’antibiotiques, comporte une caractéristique majeure et une avancée dans la validation qui est la capacité de détection (CCβ). En conclusion, les méthodes de dépistage sont en constante évolution, grâce au développement des biocapteurs. L’amélioration de leurs performances permet de répondre de mieux en mieux à la problématique du contrôle des résidus d’antibiotiques dans les denrées alimentaires. La validation des méthodes est primordiale pour garantir un contrôle efficace. Nous avons pu observer l’évolution de la validation ces 20 dernières années, à travers les travaux de cette thèse. Cette évolution doit continuer et des perspectives d’évolution des référentiels de validation sont présentées dans cette thèse. / The use of antibiotic residues for animal treatment could lead to the presence of antibiotic residues in food of animal origin. The consumer could face some risks (eg. toxicological, allergies, bacterial resistance), due to these residues. The setting of regulatory limits or these residues and an adapted control of food products are thus essential to guarantee the safety of the consumers. Screening methods are used in first intention and represent the critical stage of the control. The validation of a method will guarantee that the method if fitted for purpose, adapted to the regulatory expectations and give evidence of its performance. The validation is mandatory due to international standards (ie. ISO 17025) and regulatory requirements (ie. European decision 2002/657/EC). In a first part, the diversity of screening methods is presented. The conventional methods, microbiological or immunological types, developed in the 1980s, are always used, because of their moderate cost. Innovative methods, called biosensors, consist of a bioreceptor (eg. antibody, aptamer) and a transducer (eg. electrochemical, optical, mass sensitive, calorimetric) for the detection of the signal. These methods are in continuous development and the technological progress allows developing more, more sensitive, portable and sometimes economic methods. In a second part, various approaches of validation, in the form of regulations, guidelines or standards, are discussed. The validation of a method contains two stages: first of all the characterization of the performances, then the validation itself with regard to preestablished criteria. The approaches can be absolute (a single method) or relative (comparison of methods), global (combination of several characteristics in only one) or criterion by criterion. The object of this thesis is to compare these various approaches of validation, to conclude on their potential application for different residue screening methods and to determine if their conclusions are equivalent or not. Various approaches have been tested by applying them to the validation of screening methods of various types: conventional methods (microbiological and immunological) and innovative optical biosensors. The approach by comparison of methods is not fitted to screening methods for antibiotic residues. Indeed, the choice of the reference method is complicated because there are no standardized methods. Furthermore, the chosen reference methods often have very different principles from the alternative method and are less sensitive most of the time. The global approach, such as the Probability of detection (POD) and the accuracy profile are applicable to the screening methods. These recent approaches are more and more used in other fields and present an interest to be developed for the screening methods for antibiotic residues. Finally, the criterion by criterion approach of the European decision 20002/657/EC and the European guideline for the validation of screening methods of 2010, usually applied to the screening methods for antibiotic residues, introduced a major characteristic and an improvement in the validation which is the detection capability (CCß). In conclusion, the screening methods are constantly evolving, thanks to the development of new biosensors. The improvement of their performances allows answering better and better to the issue of the control of antibiotic residues in foodstuffs. The validation of the methods is essential to guarantee an effective control. We were able to observe the evolution of the validation these last 20 years, through the works of this thesis. This evolution has to continue and perspectives of evolution of guidelines, regulations and standards of validation are presented in this thesis.

Após setenta anos de sua descoberta, o vírus da zika surgiu no Brasil, espalhou-se rapidamente pelas Américas e trouxe complicações incomuns em doenças causadas por Flavivirus, como a microcefalia. A Organização Mundial da Saúde classifica a zika como a doença viral mais preocupante da atualidade e considera urgente desenvolver novos métodos de diagnóstico para ela e doenças correlatas como a dengue. Embora existam exames para identificar infecções pelos vírus dessas duas doenças, ainda não há um método rápido, específico e de baixo custo para o diagnóstico precoce. Visando preencher essa lacuna, este trabalho teve como objetivo construir dois tipos de biossensores eletroquímicos de DNA para detecção label-free desses dois vírus. Foram fabricados eletrodos descartáveis em substrato de politereftalato de etileno metalizado com filme fino de ouro nas configurações com um e três contatos. As sequências genéticas de iniciadores e sondas de captura foram desenhadas especialmente para este trabalho com base na análise dos genomas dos vírus. O primeiro biossensor utilizou o eletrodo em uma célula eletroquímica e foi capaz de identificar sequências de DNA da zika ou da dengue. As análises por espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica mostraram que o biossensor é seletivo à sequência alvo com limite de detecção de (9,86 ± 0,89) nmol L-1. O segundo biossensor utilizou um eletrodo de três contatos para identificação de sequências de DNA em uma gota da amostra. No contato central, usado como eletrodo de trabalho, foi imobilizada a sequência de captura e os contatos laterais funcionaram como eletrodos de referência e auxiliar. Nesse sistema as medidas de impedância indicaram limite de detecção de (25,0 ± 1,7) nmol L-1. Os biossensores desenvolvidos mostraram seletividade para identificar o material genético dos vírus da zika e da dengue nos ensaios com DNA sintético e, portanto, são promissores para a análise de amostras reais, principalmente de produtos da polimerase da cadeia reversa. / After seventy years of its discovery, zika virus has emerged in Brazil, spread rapidly throughout the Americas, bringing unusual complications in diseases caused by flaviviruses, such as microcephaly. The World Health Organization classifies zika as the most harmful viral disease today and considers urgent the development of new diagnostic methods for zika and related diseases, such as dengue. Although there are tests to identify both infections, no current diagnostic method is rapid, specific and cost-efective. This thesis describes two types of electrochemical DNA biosensors for label-free detection of these zika and dengue. Disposable electrodes were fabricated on polyethylene terephthalate substrates covered with a nanometric gold layer by thermal evaporation, manufactured in one- and three-contact configurations. Genetic sequences of primers and complementary capture probes were designed based on the analysis of the virus genomes. The first biosensor we developed used the new electrode in an electrochemical cell and was able to identify zika or dengue DNA sequences. Analyses by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed that these biosensors are selective for zika or dengue with a detection limit of (9.86 ± 0.89) nmol L-1. A second type of biosensor used a three-contact electrode to identify DNA sequences in a drop of sample. In the central contact, used as a working electrode, the capture sequence was immobilized and the lateral contacts acted as reference and auxiliary electrodes. In this system the impedance measurements indicated a limit of detection of (25.0 ± 1.7) nmol L-1. The developed biosensors showed selectivity for zika and dengue in the synthetic DNA assays, and therefore are promising for the analysis of real samples, especially the polymerase chain reaction amplicon.

This thesis presents a detailed study of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatible silicon waveguide and ring resonator technologies. The project specifically focuses on a range of slotted ring resonator configurations comprised of rib-style waveguides. Single ring resonators and Mach-Zehnder interferometers with double rings and central drop port channels have been successfully characterised. Thermal tuning techniques using on-chip heaters were used to determine their sensitivities. A stringent signal cleaning method was also developed to remove systematic background noise. Analysing the transmission signals produced by the Mach-Zehnder interferometers with double rings and a central drop port, it was revealed that coupled resonator induced transparency (CRIT) is created along with Fano-type resonances when the resonant peaks of the two ring resonators are tuned to overlap. The tuning of these features revealed a 2.7 and 2-fold improvement in device sensitivity. A 3x3 transfer matrix model has been developed to simulate the behaviour of light travelling through this configuration. Modelling suggests that effective refractive index and relative phase are the key factors in determining this behaviour. When tuned to close proximity, a resonant ‘superstate’ is achieved in which a modified model is required. Applying the single ring resonators to biosensing applications, basic refractive index testing and a glucose sensing calibration were conducted. A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based microfluidics system was also developed to improve the reliability of sensing and enable automation. Using silicon nitride ring resonators with inkjet-printed upconverting nanoparticles, it was found that the evanescent field of the rings could stimulate the upconversion process revealing visible spectrum emission around the rings.

Submitted by Liliane Ferreira (ljuvencia30@gmail.com) on 2018-04-05T11:33:30Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Rafael Souza Antunes - 2018.pdf: 1117552 bytes, checksum: 7b6b38df98706830495a6656969aa5e7 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2018-04-05T12:47:18Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Rafael Souza Antunes - 2018.pdf: 1117552 bytes, checksum: 7b6b38df98706830495a6656969aa5e7 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-05T12:47:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Rafael Souza Antunes - 2018.pdf: 1117552 bytes, checksum: 7b6b38df98706830495a6656969aa5e7 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-05 / The use of plant enzymes for analytical purposes is increasing every day, especially in the field of biotechnology linked to the development of new and more specific analytical instruments. In this way, the development of biosensors has been increasing since these allow the measurement of the analyte of interest to be performed by the selective transduction of a parameter of the target-analyte reaction that can be monitored. For this reason, the biological element that makes up the instrument, becomes an essential component for its construction. Polyphenoloxidase is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of a phenolic compound to a quinone, which can be reduced electrochemically and thus allows the detection (quantification) of the analyte of interest. This enzyme is widely distributed in plants and is widely used in the production of biosensors and the selective evaluation of phenolic drugs in pharmaceutical formulations and total phenols in industrial effluents. The polyphenoloxidases in this specific work were extracted from the fruit of Jurubeba (Solanum paniculatum L.) and used in the development of carbon paste electrochemical biosensors in the determination of phenolic drugs, such as paracetamol, ascorbic acid, salicylic acid and or methyldopa. Under experimental conditions the effect of the amount of enzymatic extract in the carbon paste ranging from 50 to 200 μL and the optimum pH of 3.0 to 9.0 using the differential pulse voltammetry technique was investigated. After optimization, the intermediate precision of the biosensor was tested through its reproducibility through the tests of repeatability, time of conditioning, stability and linearity. Soon after, used in the determination of the drugs, obtaining a better response in the detection of paracetamol, in this way, the calibration curve was realized and consequently applied in the determination of paracetamol of commercial samples in tablets. The biosensor had a linearity in the range of 5 to 245 μM, with a detection limit of 3 μM. The polyphenoloxidase extracted from the fruit of Jurubeba showed peculiar characteristics that it provided in the technological development of biosensors with application in the quality control of phenolic drugs, exhibiting high sensitivity, satisfactory selectivity, good repeatability and adequate stability. / O uso de enzimas vegetais para fins analíticos vem aumentando a cada dia, principalmente no ramo da biotecnologia ligada ao desenvolvimento de novos instrumentos de análises cada vez mais específicos. Desta forma, o desenvolvimento de biossensores vem crescendo, já que estes permitem que a medida do analito de interesse seja realizada pela transdução seletiva de um parâmetro da reação analito-alvo passível de ser monitorado. Por este motivo, o elemento biológico que compõe o instrumento, torna-se um componente essencial para a sua construção. A polifenoloxidase é uma enzima que catalisa a conversão de um composto fenólico a uma quinona, que pode ser reduzida eletroquimicamente e permite assim a detecção (quantificação) do analito de interesse. Esta enzima é amplamente distribuída nos vegetais e bastante utilizada na produção de biossensores e na avaliação seletiva de fármacos fenólicos em formulações farmacêuticas e de fenóis totais em efluentes industriais. As polifenoloxidases, neste trabalho em específico, foram extraídas do fruto da Jurubeba (Solanum paniculatum L.) e utilizadas no desenvolvimento de biossensores eletroquímicos de pasta de carbono na determinação de fármacos fenólicos, tais como o paracetamol, o ácido ascórbico, o ácido salicílico e o metildopa. Sob condições experimentais foram investigados o efeito da quantidade de extrato enzimático na pasta de carbono que variou-se de 50 a 200 μL e o pH ótimo de 3,0 a 9,0, utilizando a técnica de voltametria de pulso diferencial. Após otimizado, foi testado a precisão intermediária do biossensor através de sua reprodutibilidade por meio dos teste de repetibilidade, tempo de condicionamento, estabilidade e linearidade. Logo em seguida, empregado na determinação dos fármacos, obtendo uma melhor resposta na detecção do paracetamol, dessa forma, foi realizado a curva de calibração e consequentemente aplicado na determinação do paracetamol de amostras comerciais em comprimidos. O biossensor apresentou uma linearidade na faixa de 5 a 245 μM, com um limite de detecção de 3 μM. Frente aos resultados alcançados foi evidenciado que a polifenoloxidase extraída do fruto da jurubeba apresentou características peculiares que proporcionou no desenvolvimento tecnológico dos biossensores com aplicação no controle de qualidade dos fármacos fenólicos, exibindo alta sensibilidade, seletividade satisfatória, boa repetibilidade e estabilidade adequada.

Sensores são dispositivos capazes de captar um determinado sinal físico -químico do meio e converte-lo num sinal elétrico mensurável por meio de um transdutor. Biossensor é um sensor que tem como parte funcional um receptor biológico específico a determinado analito alvo. Os sinais físico-químicos experimentados por estes dispositivos são convertidos em sinais elétricos de magnitude proporcional à concentração de um ou mais compostos químicos. Neste trabalho, foi construído um sensor de pH utilizando filmes finos comerciais de óxido de estanho dopado com flúor (FTO) como receptor a íons. O sensor foi feito ligando-se amostras de FTO ao terminal de porta de um transistor de efeito de campo do tipo MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor). Quando colocado em solução, os íons presentes interagem com a amostra sendo adsorvidos na superfície do filme de FTO. O potencial gerado pelos íons adsorvidos modulam a tensão na porta do transistor e, desta maneira, pode -se determinar a concentração dos íons presentes na solução de acordo com a magnitude da resposta do transistor. A este tipo de dispositivo dá -se o nome de EGFET (Extended Gate Field Effect Transistor). O EGFET construído apresentou responsividade de 55 mV/pH e resposta linear em soluções de pH 2 ao 12. Através de técnicas de imobilização enzimática foi possível ligar covalentemente proteínas urease sobre a superfície dos filmes de FTO, convertendo o sensor de pH em biossensor de ureia. Soluções tampão com diferentes pHs e concentrações foram testadas e determinou -se que as condições ideais para o uso deste biossensor de ureia são soluções tampão com pH = 6 e concentração de 10mM. Nessas condições, o biossensor apresentou uma responsividade de 114,5 mV/p(ureia) e linearidade no intervalo de concentrações de ureia entre 3,2.10 -4 e 3,2.10 -2 mol/L. / Sensors are devices capable of capturing a certain physical-chemical signal from environment and convert it into a measurable electrical signal by a transducer. Biosensor is a sensor which has a biological sensing element as receptor specific to a particular target analyte. The physical-chemical signals experienced by these devices are converted into electrical signals with magnitude proportional to the concentration of one or more chemical compounds. In this work, we built a pH-sensor using commercial thin films of tin oxide doped with fluorine (FTO) as ions receptor. The sensor was made by linking FTO samples to the gate of a field effect transistor MOS type. In solution, the ions interact with the sample being adsorbed on the surface of FTO film. The potential generated by the ions adsorbed on film\'s surface modulate the gate voltage of the transistor and, in this way, we can determine the concentration of ions present in solution correlated with the magnitude of the transistor response. This kind of device is given the name of EGFET (Extended Gate Field Effect Transistor). The EGFET built exhibits sensitivity of 55 mV/pH and linear response in the range of pH 2 to 12. Through enzyme immobilization techniques we could covalently bind urease proteins on the surface of FTO film, changing the pH-sensor in urea biosensor. Buffer solutions with differents pHs and concentrations were tested and was determined that optimal environment conditions for this urea biosensor is buffer solutions with pH = 6 and 10mM of concentration. Under these conditions, the biosensor showed sensitivity of 114.5 mV/p(urea) and linear response in the range of 3,2.10 -4 to 3,2.10 -2 mol/L

Electrochemistry has undergone a transition since the discovery of electrochemical polymerization of conducting polymers on the electrode surface. These films can be modified in order to give electrodes unique capabilities. This thesis presents an intensive study of novel conducting polymers based on the use of polypyrrole and poly(N-methylpyrrole), and new counter ions, single-stranded and double-stranded DNA. This research has established the polymerization kinetics which now allows the films on the electrode surface to be modified in order to perform specific tasks. The alternating current impedance of the films has been determined to understand their equivalent circuit parameters. EQCM presents a more thorough understanding of ion movement into and out of the film. A new biosensor composed of poly(N-methylpyrrole), ssDNA, and GOx is presented. This glucose oxidase sensor has short response times and holds promise of being able to determine glucose concentration in a human blood sample without addition preparation.

My research broadly covers various important aspects of microfluidic devices and biosensors. Specifically, this dissertation reports: (1) a new and effective room temperature method of bonding polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidics to substrates such as silicon and glass, (2) a new microfluidic pump concept and implementation specifically designed to repeatedly drive a small sample volume (<1 µL) very rapidly (~500 µL/min) through a sensor-containing flow channel to significantly decrease sensor response time through advection-driven rather than diffusion-driven mass transport, (3) use of a new microfluidic material based on polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) to implement impedance-based dynamic nanochannel sensors for protein sensing, and (4) an investigation of galvanoluminescence and how to avoid it for conditions important to fluorescence-based dielectrophoresis (DEP) microfluidic biosensors. Over the last decade, the Nordin research group has developed a lab-on-a-chip (LOC) biosensor based on silicon photonic microcantilever arrays integrated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidics for protein biomarker detection. Integration requires reliable bonding at room temperature with adequate bond strength between the PDMS element and microcantilever sensor substrate. The requirement for a room temperature process is particularly critical because microcantilevers must be individually functionalized with antibody-based receptor molecules prior to bonding and cannot withstand significant heating after functionalization. I developed a new room temperature bonding method using PDMS curing agent as an intermediate adhesive layer. Two curing agents (Sylgard 184 and 182) were compared, as well as an alternate UV curable adhesive (NOA 75). The bond strength of Sylgard 184 was found to be stronger than Sylgard 182 under the same curing conditions. Overnight room temperature curing with Sylgard 184 yields an average burst pressure of 433 kPa, which is more than adequate for many PDMS sensor devices. In contrast, UV curable epoxy required a 12 hour bake at 50 °C to achieve maximum bond strength, which resulted in a burst pressure of only 124 kPa. In many biosensing scenarios it is desirable to use a small sample volume (<1 µL) to detect small analyte concentrations in as short a time as possible. I report a new microfluidic pump to address this need, which we call a reflow pump. It is designed to rapidly pump a small sample volume back and forth in a flow channel. Ultimately, the flow channel would contain functionalized sensor surfaces. The rapid flow permits use of advection-driven mass transport to the sensor surfaces to dramatically reduce sensor response times compared to diffusion-based mass transport. Normally such rapid flow would have the effect of decreasing the fraction of analyte molecules in the volume that would see the sensor surfaces. By configuring the pump to reflow fluid back and forth in the flow channel, the analyte molecules in the small sample volume are used efficiently in that they have many opportunities to make it to the sensor surfaces. I describe a 3-layer PDMS reflow pump that pumps 300 nL of fluid at 500 µL/min for 15 psi actuation pressure, and demonstrate a new two-layer configuration that significantly simplifies pump fabrication. Impedance-based nanochannel sensors operate on the basis of capturing target molecules in nanochannels such that impedance through the nanochannels is increased. While simple in concept, the response time can be quite long (8~12 hours) because the achievable flow rate through a nanochannel is very limited. An approach to dramatically increase the flow rate is to form nanochannels only during impedance measurements, and otherwise have an array of nanotrenches on the surface of a conventional microfluidic flow channel where they are exposed to normal microfluidic flow rates. I have implemented such a dynamic nanochannel approach with a recently-developed microfluidic material based polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA). I present the design, fabrication, and testing of PEGDA dynamic nanochannel array sensors, and demonstrate an 11.2 % increase in nanochannel impedance when exposed to 7.2 µM bovine serum albumin (BSA) in phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Recently, LOC biosensors for cancer cell detection have been demonstrated based on a combination of dielectrophoresis (DEP) and fluorescence detection. For fluorescence detection it is critical to minimize other sources of light in the system. However, reported devices use a non-noble metal electrode, indium tin oxide (ITO), to take advantage of its optical transparency. Unfortunately, use of non-noble metal electrodes can result in galvanoluminescence (GL) in which the AC voltage applied to the electrodes to achieve DEP causes light emission, which can potentially confound the fluorescence measurement. I designed and fabricated two types of devices to examine and identify conditions that lead to GL. Based on my observations, I have developed a method to avoid GL that involves measuring the impedance spectrum of a DEP device and choosing an operating frequency in the resistive portion of the spectrum. I also measure the emission spectrum of twelve salt solutions, all of which exhibited broadband GL. Finally, I show that in addition to Au, Cr and Ni do not exhibit GL, are therefore potentially attractive as low cost DEP electrode materials.