Recently, considerable attention has been focused on the generation of nano- and micrometer scale multicomponent polymer particles with specifically tailored mechanical, electrical and optical properties. As only a few polymer-polymer pairs are miscible, the set of multicomponent polymer systems achievable by conventional methods, such as melt blending, is severely limited in property ranges. Therefore, researchers have been evaluating synthesis methods that can arbitrarily blend immiscible solvent pairs, thus expanding the range of properties that are practical. The generation of blended microparticles by evaporating a co-solvent from aerosol droplets containing two dissolved immiscible polymers in solution seems likely to exhibit a high degree of phase uniformity. A second important advantage of this technique is the formation of nano- and microscale particulates with very low impurities, which are not attainable through conventional solution techniques. When the timescale of solvent evaporation is lower than that of polymer diffusion and self-organization, phase separation is inhibited within the atto- to femto-liter volume of the droplet, and homogeneous blends of immiscible polymers can be produced. We have studied multicomponent polymer particles generated from highly monodisperse micrordroplets that were produced using a Vibrating Orifice Aerosol Generator (VOAG). The particles are characterized for both external and internal morphology along with homogeneity of the blends. Ultra-thin slices of polymer particles were characterized by a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and the degree of uniformity was examined using an Electron Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX). To further establish the homogeneity of the polymer blend microparticles, differential scanning calorimeter was used to measure the glass transition temperature of the microparticles obtained. A single glass transition temperature was obtained for these microparticles and hence the homogeneity of the blend was concluded. These results have its significance in the field of particulate encapsulation. Also, better control of the phase morphologies can be obtained by simply changing the solvent/solvents in the dilute solutions. Evaporation and drying of a binary droplet containing a solute and a solvent is a complicated phenomenon. Most of the present models do not consider convection in the droplet phase as solvent is usually water which is not very volatile. In considering highly volatile solvents the evaporation is very rapid. The surface of the droplet recedes inwards very fast and there is an inherent convective flow that is established inside the solution droplet. In this dissertation work, a model is developed that incorporates convection inside the droplet. The results obtained are compared to the size obtained from experimental results. The same model when used with an aqueous solution droplet predicted concentration profiles that are comparable to results obtained when convection was not taken into account. These results have significance for more rigorous modeling of binary and multicomponent droplet drying.

Actuellement les traitements thérapeutiques pour soigner la schizophrénie, par voie intraveineuse ou orale, ne sont qu’en partie efficaces et associés généralement à des effets extrapyramidaux souvent dangereux et très gênants pour les patients. Afin d’augmenter l’efficacité du traitement toute en neutralisant les effets indésirables, ce travail a eu comme objectif de concevoir des capsules composites (PLGA-PEG / alginate) destinées à être administrées par voie orale et capables de libérer localement, de façon spécifique et contrôlée, le neuroleptique halopéridol dans le cerveau. L’optimisation du protocole de synthèse a permis d’obtenir de façon reproductible des nanocapsules de PLGA poreuses monodisperses et peu agrégées, possédant un diamètre hydrodynamique moyen inférieur à 80 nm et une bonne stabilité en solution aqueuse. Une fois fonctionnalisées avec le Poly (éthylène glycol) diamine, des études in vitro ont montré la faible toxicité de ces nanoparticules furtives ainsi que leur capacité à encapsuler une quantité satisfaisante d’halopéridol et de libérer ce principe actif sur une durée d’un mois avec un faible effet « burst ». L’incorporation des nanoparticules pégylées dans des matrices préparées à haute concentration d’alginate et de 100 % CaCl2 a permis d’obtenir des billes nanocomposites possédants une meilleure stabilité à la sortie du milieu gastrique simulé et persistent environ 30 minutes en milieu intestinal simulé. Enfin des études in vivo préliminaires sur des souris adultes utilisant des nanoparticules injectées et des billes nanocomposites ingérées ont démontré l’efficacité de ces systèmes à délivrer l’halopéridol au cerveau. / Currently therapeutic treatments for schizophrenia, intravenously or orally, are only partially effective and generally associated with extrapyramidal effects often dangerous and very troublesome for patients. In order, to increase the treatment efficiency by neutralizing any side effects the aim of this work was to design composite capsules (PLGA-PEG / alginate) intended to be administered by way oral and able to release locally, in a specific and controlled way, the neuroleptic “haloperidol” in the brain. The optimization of the protocol of synthesis allowed to obtain in a reproducible way of the nanocapsules of monodisperse and not very aggregate porous PLGA, having an average hydrodynamic diameter lower than 80 Nm and a good stability in aqueous solution. Once functionalized with Poly (ethylene glycol) diamine, in vitro studies showed the low toxicity of these furtive nanoparticles as well as their ability to encapsulate a satisfactory amount of haloperidol and release this active principle over a period of one month with a low burst effect. The incorporation of the PEGylated nanoparticles in matrices prepared with a high concentration of alginate and 100% CaCl2 made it possible to obtain nanocomposite beads having a better stability at the exit from the simulated gastric medium and persist approximately 30 minutes in simulated intestinal medium. Finally, preliminary in vivo studies on adult mice using injected nanoparticles and ingested nanocomposite balls showed the effectiveness of these systems to deliver haloperidol in the brain.

Atualmente o interesse no bio-óleo para geração de energia e para produção de insumos químicos vem crescendo. O bio-óleo produzido a partir da pirólise rápida de biomassa gera compostos químicos de grande valor agregado para indústria química. Os compostos orgânicos voláteis (COVs) provenientes do bio-óleo como metanol, etanol, acetona, ácido acético e furfural podem ser recuperados e comercializados. A determinação e a quantificação dos COVs são realizadas por cromatografia gasosa. No entanto, os COVs do bio-óleo não podem ser caracterizados diretamente por cromatografia gasosa, pois o bio-óleo é uma matriz complexa e necessita de várias etapas de preparação de amostra. Este problema pode ser diminuído aplicando a técnica de headspace de evaporação completa (HSEC), juntamente com a análise por cromatografia gasosa (CG). Este trabalho apresenta um método simples e rápido, com necessidade mínima de preparação de amostra, desenvolvido para caracterizar metanol, etanol, acetona, ácido acético e furfural em amostras de bio-óleo por HS/EC-CG/DIC. O método utiliza 4 µL de amostra de bio-óleo em um frasco de headspace (20 mL), o tempo de evaporação completa para os compostos foi atingido em 7 minutos a 90 °C. Os compostos foram detectados e quantificados com um detector de ionização de chama e curvas analíticas externas. Os resultados mostraram que o método pode ser aplicado para determinar os COVs do bio-óleo. Os limites de detecção variaram de 0,13 a 0,16 µg entre os compostos. O método mostrou uma excelente exatidão avaliada pelo teste de recuperação, onde os valores encontrados para o metanol, etanol, acetona e ácido acético foram respectivamente 100,9%, 99,2%, 92,8%, e 104,3%. A recuperação do furfural foi baixa, cerca de 74,3%, provavelmente devido à polimerização do composto com componentes fenólicos do bio-óleo. O composto orgânico volátil de maior concentração na amostra de bio-óleo foi o ácido acético com 11,13%, seguido de metanol com 0,39%, etanol 0,26%, acetona 0,04% e furfural 0,01%. / The current growing of bio-oil interest for power generation and production of chemical inputs does the bio-oil from the fast pyrolysis of biomass an interesting raw material for chemical compounds of great value. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of bio-oil as methanol, ethanol, acetone, acetic acid and furfural can be recovered and marketed. The determination and quantification of VOCs are performed by gas chromatography, but VOCs bio-oil cannot be characterized directly by gas chromatography, as the bio-oil is a complex matrix, and requires several sample preparation steps. This problem can be solved by full evaporation headspace (HS/FE) and gas chromatography (GC) analysis. This paper presents a simple and rapid method to characterize methanol, ethanol, acetone, acetic acid and furfural in samples of bio-oil by HS/FE-GC. The method uses 4 µL sample of bio-oil in a headspace vial (22 mL), the time for complete evaporation of the compounds was 7 minutes at 90 °C, and detection and quantification was performed by a flame ionization detector using external analytical curves. The results showed that the method can be applied for determining VOCs of bio-oil, detection limits ranged from 0.13 to 0.16 µg of the compounds. The method showed excellent accuracy with the following recoveries: methanol (100.9%), ethanol (99.2%), acetone (92.8%) and acetic acid (104.3%). Furfural recovery was low, about 74.3% and it was associated to polymerization with phenolic the compound of bio-oil. The major volatile organic compound was acetic acid with 11.13%, followed by methanol with 0.39%, 0.26% ethanol, 0.04% acetone and 0.01% furfural.

Atualmente o interesse no bio-óleo para geração de energia e para produção de insumos químicos vem crescendo. O bio-óleo produzido a partir da pirólise rápida de biomassa gera compostos químicos de grande valor agregado para indústria química. Os compostos orgânicos voláteis (COVs) provenientes do bio-óleo como metanol, etanol, acetona, ácido acético e furfural podem ser recuperados e comercializados. A determinação e a quantificação dos COVs são realizadas por cromatografia gasosa. No entanto, os COVs do bio-óleo não podem ser caracterizados diretamente por cromatografia gasosa, pois o bio-óleo é uma matriz complexa e necessita de várias etapas de preparação de amostra. Este problema pode ser diminuído aplicando a técnica de headspace de evaporação completa (HSEC), juntamente com a análise por cromatografia gasosa (CG). Este trabalho apresenta um método simples e rápido, com necessidade mínima de preparação de amostra, desenvolvido para caracterizar metanol, etanol, acetona, ácido acético e furfural em amostras de bio-óleo por HS/EC-CG/DIC. O método utiliza 4 µL de amostra de bio-óleo em um frasco de headspace (20 mL), o tempo de evaporação completa para os compostos foi atingido em 7 minutos a 90 °C. Os compostos foram detectados e quantificados com um detector de ionização de chama e curvas analíticas externas. Os resultados mostraram que o método pode ser aplicado para determinar os COVs do bio-óleo. Os limites de detecção variaram de 0,13 a 0,16 µg entre os compostos. O método mostrou uma excelente exatidão avaliada pelo teste de recuperação, onde os valores encontrados para o metanol, etanol, acetona e ácido acético foram respectivamente 100,9%, 99,2%, 92,8%, e 104,3%. A recuperação do furfural foi baixa, cerca de 74,3%, provavelmente devido à polimerização do composto com componentes fenólicos do bio-óleo. O composto orgânico volátil de maior concentração na amostra de bio-óleo foi o ácido acético com 11,13%, seguido de metanol com 0,39%, etanol 0,26%, acetona 0,04% e furfural 0,01%. / The current growing of bio-oil interest for power generation and production of chemical inputs does the bio-oil from the fast pyrolysis of biomass an interesting raw material for chemical compounds of great value. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of bio-oil as methanol, ethanol, acetone, acetic acid and furfural can be recovered and marketed. The determination and quantification of VOCs are performed by gas chromatography, but VOCs bio-oil cannot be characterized directly by gas chromatography, as the bio-oil is a complex matrix, and requires several sample preparation steps. This problem can be solved by full evaporation headspace (HS/FE) and gas chromatography (GC) analysis. This paper presents a simple and rapid method to characterize methanol, ethanol, acetone, acetic acid and furfural in samples of bio-oil by HS/FE-GC. The method uses 4 µL sample of bio-oil in a headspace vial (22 mL), the time for complete evaporation of the compounds was 7 minutes at 90 °C, and detection and quantification was performed by a flame ionization detector using external analytical curves. The results showed that the method can be applied for determining VOCs of bio-oil, detection limits ranged from 0.13 to 0.16 µg of the compounds. The method showed excellent accuracy with the following recoveries: methanol (100.9%), ethanol (99.2%), acetone (92.8%) and acetic acid (104.3%). Furfural recovery was low, about 74.3% and it was associated to polymerization with phenolic the compound of bio-oil. The major volatile organic compound was acetic acid with 11.13%, followed by methanol with 0.39%, 0.26% ethanol, 0.04% acetone and 0.01% furfural.