Aliphatic polyesters prepared by the ring opening polymerization of lactones and lactides, are versatile polymers having good hydrolyzability, mechanical properties and biocompatibility. These characteristics make them a leading material in biomedical and pharmaceutical industries as a resorbable implant and a vehicle for controlled drug delivery. An extensive research effort has been made to develop new initiators, catalysts for the ring opening polymerization of cyclic esters. Many effective initiators based on alkali metals, metal oxides have been developed for anionic polymerization of lactones. The main objectives of this project were to develop a novel catalyst by utilizing fully biocompatible and non-toxic reagents for the synthesis of polycaprolactone (PCL) by ring opening polymerization of cyclic esters at reasonably low temperature and a synthesis of hybrid silica nano-composite for biomedical applications and its characterization. Silica and dry calcium hydride reagents were used to successfully prepare heterogeneous catalysts for the ring opening polymerization of cyclic ester monomer å-caprolactone at reasonably low temperature of 100 oC. Two kinds of catalyst were prepared with non-functionalized and silane functionalized silica. The GP silane functionalized silica catalyst showed higher activity and higher product yield as compared to non-functionalized catalyst during polymerization at the same temperature. The in-situ polymerization kinetics of both reactions was studied using Raman spectroscopy. A silica based nano-composite was also synthesized which has a potential application in bone tissue engineering and possible drug delivery. The synthesized polyester and hybrid silica nano-composite were characterized with different analytical techniques to confirm required product formation.

Submitted by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2015-10-23T12:13:09Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Eli José Miranda Ribeiro Júnior - 2015.pdf: 709119 bytes, checksum: baa5cef4451e6bd53886e3cc249f19df (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2015-10-23T12:15:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Eli José Miranda Ribeiro Júnior - 2015.pdf: 709119 bytes, checksum: baa5cef4451e6bd53886e3cc249f19df (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-23T12:15:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Eli José Miranda Ribeiro Júnior - 2015.pdf: 709119 bytes, checksum: baa5cef4451e6bd53886e3cc249f19df (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-01-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Laccase is a poliphenoloxidase enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of phenolic compounds in the corresponding quinones. The current obtained in this redox process can be used for quantitative analysis. In this work, a carbon paste biosensor modified gluteraldehyde functionalized silica and an enzymatic extract of the “Pycnoporus sanguineus” fungi as a lacase source is proposed for phenol determination. The effect of carbon paste and electrolyte composition, pH from 3,0 to 8,0, start potential from 0,55 to 0,25mV, scan rate from 5 to 25 mV s-1 and potential pulse amplitude from 10 to 60mV on the differential pulse voltammetric response was investigated. A linear correlation of R² = 0,9946 was obtained for the phenol content (catechol) in the concentration range from 50 to 500nMol L-1, with a detection limit of 30nMol L-1. This biosensor was used for the determination of different kinds of phenolic compounds, presenting a better response for catechol. / A lacase é uma enzima poliphenoloxidase que catalisa a oxidação de compostos fenólicos nas correspondentes quinonas. A corrente obtida neste processo redox pode ser usada para a análise quantitativa da concentração dos fenóis na água. Neste trabalho, é proposto o uso de um biossensor modificado para a determinação de fenol. O biossensor de pasta de carbono com sílica funcionalizada foi modificado com glutaraldeído e um extrato enzimático de fungos “Pycnoporus sanguineus” como uma fonte de lacase. O efeito da pasta de carbono e da composição de electrólito, permite trabalhar com pH compreendido entre 3,0 - 8,0, e um potencial inicial entre 0,55 - 0,25mV. A velocidade de varrimento foi de 5 a 25mV s-1 e amplitude de pulso de 10 a 60mV, estudando-se na resposta voltamétrica de pulso diferencial .Uma correlação linear de R2 = 0,9946 foi obtida para o teor de fenol (catecol) na gama de concentrações de 50 a 500nMol L-1, com um limite de detecção de 30nMol L-1. Este biossensor foi utilizado para a determinação de diferentes tipos de compostos fenólicos, apresentando uma melhor resposta para o catecol.