This thesis reports on interactions between microgels and oppositely charged proteins. Two types of negatively charged microgels are investigated: poly(acrylic acid) microgels of 60-80 µm in diameter, and colloidal poly(NIPAM-co-acrylic acid) microgels of around 1 µm in diameter. The proteins used are lysozyme and cytochrome c, which both have positive net charge. The experimental techniques used in the studies of the larger microgels are mainly micromanipulator-assisted microscopy and confocal microscopy, while the smaller microgels are studied mainly with dynamic light scattering. It is observed that large amounts of protein are absorbed by the microgels, and that the uptake involves a substantial deswelling of the microgel. The uptake generally decreases as the ionic strength is increased, which is characteristic of electrostatic interactions. An ionic strength optimum is however observed in the case of lysozyme and poly(acrylic acid) microgels, where the highest uptake (10 gram lysozyme / gram microgel) is observed at ionic strength 40 mM. Cytochrome c uptake in poly(acrylic acid) microgels results in homogenous cytochrome c distribution throughout the microgel, whereas lysozyme uptake results in core-shell formation; the lysozyme concentration becomes much higher in the shell (outer part of the microgel) than in the core (inner part of the microgel). The shell constitutes a stress-bearing network which is sufficiently porous to allow protein diffusion through the shell. The different protein distributions are associated with different protein-protein interactions; strong protein-protein attraction promotes shell formation. In the case of colloidal microgels, lysozyme uptake decreases the electrophoretic mobility and the colloidal stability of the microgels. The microgels flocculate as the uptake reaches charge ratio 0.6-0.7 (positive lysozyme charges/negative microgel charges), largely independent of ionic strength. Initial experiments on the combination of cytochrome c and colloidal microgels show that colloidal stability is maintained at a range of conditions (ionic strength, protein concentration) where flocculation occurred in the case of lysozyme.

This PhD thesis presents structural investigations of amorphous inorganic materials: oxide and oxynitride glasses and mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs), by solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). Lanthanum oxide and oxynitride [La-Si-(Al)-O-(N)] glasses have a large number of potential applications due to their physical properties. In our work we have studied, compared to previous investigations, significantly expanded ranges of glass compositions (for oxynitride glasses, including samples of very high nitrogen content, up to 53 % out of the anions). We have estimated local environments of 29Si and 27Al structural units (their coordination, polymerization degree and number of N incorporated into tetrahedral units) in the materials. We have suggested a random Al/Si distribution along with almost uniform non-bridging oxygen atoms distribution in aluminosilicate glasses. Silicon nitride was used as precursor in the oxynitride glass synthesis. We studied both α- and β-modifications of silicon nitride, 15N-enriched, as well as fully (29Si, 15N)-enriched samples. We have shown that the linewidths of 15N NMR spectra are dominated by J(29Si-15N) coupling in 29Si315N4 sample. Mesoporous bioactive glasses in the CaO-SiO2-P2O5 system show superior bioactivity (the ability to form a hydroxycarbonate apatite layer on the glass surface when exposed to body fluids) compared to conventional bioactive glasses due to their large surface area and uniform pore-size distribution. Previous studies suggested a homogeneous cation distribution over the MBG samples on a 10−20 nm length-scale. From our results, on the other hand, we may conclude that Si and P is not intimately mixed. We propose a structural model, in which the pore walls of MBGs are composed of a silica network, and a phosphate phase is present as nanometer-sized clusters that are dispersed on the pore wall.

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) have attained considerable attention during the last decade because of the potential of becoming a low cost alternative to silicon based solar cells. Although efficiencies exceeding 10% in full sunlight have been presented, major improvements of the system are however limited. Electron transport is one of the processes in the cell and is of major importance for the overall performance. It is further a complex process because the transport medium is a mesoporous film and the pores are completely filled by an electrolyte with high ionic strength, resulting in electron-ion interactions. Therefore, present models describing electron transport include simplifications, which limit the practical use, in terms of improving the DSC, because the included model parameters usually have an effective nature. This thesis focuses in particular on the influence of the mesoporous film on electron transport and also on the influence of electron-ion interactions. In order to model diffusion, which is assumed to be the transport process for electrons in the DSC, Brownian motion simulations were performed and spatial restrictions, representing the influence of the mesoporous film, were introduced by using representative models for the structure. The simulations revealed that the diffusion coefficient is approximately half the value for electrons and ions in mesoporous systems. To study the influence of ions, a simulation model was constructed in where electric fields were calculated with respect to the net charge densities, resulting from the different charge carrier distributions. The simulations showed that electron transport is highly dependent on the nature of the ions, supporting an ambipolar diffusion transport model. Experimentally, it was found that the transport process is dependent on the wavelength of the incident light; we found that the extracted current was composed of two components for green light illumination, one fast and one slow. The slow component showed similar trends as the normal current. Also we found that the transport coefficient scaled linearly with film thickness for a fixed current, which questions diffusion as transport process. Other experiments, investigating various effects in the DSC, such as the effect of different cations in the electrolyte, are also presented. / QC 20100708

During the last decade, the dye sensitised solar cell (DSC) has attracted much attention. The technology has a potential to act as a new generation of photovoltaic device, it has also increased our knowledge within the field of photoelectrochemistry. The materials used in the DSC have been used in other technologies, such as electrochromic displays. This thesis examines how such systems can be analysed to understand their properties from their components. Both of the considered device technologies consist of a thin mesoporous semiconductor film immersed in an electrolyte. The study starts by investigating some of the fundamental properties of the mesoporous semiconductor and its interface with the electrolyte. This gives rise to the charge-voltage relationship for the devices, which is related to the chemical capacitance and electronic energy levels for the materials. In particular,special attention is given to the DSC and the properties of the charge carriers in the semiconductor. For the DSC, several techniques have been developed in order to understand the processes of transport and recombination for the charge carriers in the semiconductor film, which are vitally important for performance. In this thesis, particular focus is given to light modulation techniques and electrical analysis with impedance spectroscopy. The transportproperties show for both techniques a nonlinear behaviour, which is explained with the trapping model. The DSC solar cell is analysed in order to interpret the transport measurements for film thickness optimisation. DSC cells with new semiconductor materials, such as ZnO, were analysed with impedance measurements to provide new insights into the optimisation of the performance of the photoelectrochemical solar cell technology. / QC 20100804

The number of poorly water-soluble drug substances in the pharmaceutical pipeline is increasing, and thereby also the need to design effective drug delivery systems providing high bioavailability. One favourable formulation approach is preparation of solid dispersions, where dispersing a poorly water-soluble drug in a water-soluble polymer matrix improves the dissolution behaviour and the bioavailability of the drug. However, in order to take full advantage of such formulations the impact of material properties on their performance needs to be investigated.   An experimental toolbox has been designed, and applied, for analysing the processes which govern the behaviour of solid pharmaceutical formulations in general, and that of solid dispersions in particular. For the purpose of monitoring multifaceted phenomena in situ during tablet dissolution, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and NMR imaging are superior to many other techniques, both on macroscopic and molecular levels. The versatility of NMR with its isotope and chemical selectivity allows one to follow the influence of the original tablet properties on polymer mobilisation, drug migration and water penetration selectively. Mapping these processes on relevant time scales in dissolving tablets highlighted the gel layer inhomogeneity below the originally dry tablet surface as a key factor for drug release kinetics.   Furthermore, NMR relaxometry has been shown to provide novel information about the particle size of the drug and its recrystallisation behaviour within swelling solid dispersions. The NMR experiments have been complemented and supported by investigation of the crystalline state, the powder morphology and the surface composition of the dry solid dispersions. These experiments have been performed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS),  scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (pXRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and dynamic contact angle (DAT) measurements.   The methods presented in this thesis provide a new avenue towards better understanding of the behaviour of solid dispersions, which in turn may result in more effective distribution of promising drug candidates despite their low water-solubility. / En allt större andel av de läkemedelssubstanser som idag är av intresse för den farmaceutiska industrin är svårlösliga i vatten. För att trots detta erhålla hög biotillgänglighet måste man utveckla beredningsformer som medger effektiv frisättning av den aktiva substansen. En lovande sådan beredningsform utgörs av fasta dispersioner, där den svårlösliga substansen finfördelas i en vattenlöslig polymer. För att utnyttja dessa dispersioners potential fullt ut måste dock materialegenskapernas inverkan på deras beteende kartläggas i större utsträckning än vad som tidigare gjorts.   En uppsättning experimentella metoder har i detta arbete utvecklats och använts för att analysera de processer som styr beteendet hos fasta läkemedelsberedningar i allmänhet, och fasta dispersioner i synnerhet. För observation av sådana processer in situ, under pågående tablettupplösning, är NMR-spektroskopi (kärnmagnetisk resonans-spektroskopi) och NMR-avbildning överlägsna många andra tekniker, både på makroskopisk och på molekylär nivå. NMR är en mångsidig metod med både isotop- och kemisk selektivitet. Genom att utnyttja dessa möjligheter kan de enskilda sambanden mellan den ursprungliga tablettens materialegenskaper och polymermobilisering, vatteninträngning och den aktiva substansens migrering följas separat. Kartläggning av dessa processer, på relevanta tidsskalor i tabletter under upplösning, påvisar att gellagrets inhomogenitet inuti den ursprungliga tabletten har stor betydelse för frisättningskinetiken.   Vidare visar sig NMR-relaxometri ge värdefull information om den aktiva substansens partikelstorlek och dess omkristallisationsbeteende i fasta dispersioner under svällning och upplösning. NMR-experimenten kompletteras med oberoende karakterisering av det kristallina tillståndet, pulvermorfologin och ytsammansättningen hos de torra fasta dispersionerna. Dessa experiment utförs med hjälp av XPS (röntgen-fotoelektronspektroskopi), SEM (elektronmikroskopi), pXRD (pulver-röntgendiffraktion), DCS (differentiell kalorimetri), FTIR (infraröd Fourier transform spektroskopi) och DAT (dynamisk kontaktvinkel) mätningar.   De metoder som presenteras i den här avhandlingen pekar mot nya vägar att nå djupare förståelse för beteendet hos fasta dispersioner, vilket i sin tur kan leda till att fler lovande läkemedelssubstanser kan distribueras effektivt trots begränsad vattenlöslighet. / QC 20100915

Nano-cellulose fibers/suspension has very high viscosity, its viscosity has to be lower before it can be applied in the paper coating recipe. For this purpose the adsorption behaviour of polyvinyl alcohol on nano-cellulose fibers were investigated using method developed by Zwick in 1960, based on the formation of PVA-iodide blue complex in the presence of boric acid. The experiments showed that the maximum adsorbed amount i.e. 0.13 g PVA/g NFC was obtained in a dispersion with 0.2 % PVA concentration. It should be possible to further increase the PVA adsorption as the adsorbed amount didn’t reach a saturation point where the PVA adsorption attained a constant value. It was also found that adsorption of PVA on NFC is time dependent. The absorbance measurement after four days of mixing PVA/NFC suspension showed only partially adsorption of PVA on nano-cellulose surface.  An equilibrium time of 10-13 days was needed for PVA to fully adsorb on nano-cellulose fibers surface. Another important observation was that PVA adsorption also depends on the concentration of nano-cellulose fibers. A lower concentration of NFC easily allows PVA to adsorb on its surface, as compared to higher NFC concentration. An important finding during the methodology development was the method to get rid of formation of flocs in the blue iodide complex solution; by slowly addition of reactants, especially the KI/I2 solution under continuous stirring around 60oC the tendency to flocs formation was suppressed.

Catalysts based on the first-row (3d) transition metals are commonly seen in chemical and biological reactions. To understand the role of the transition metal in the catalyst, the element specific technique core level spectroscopy is used to probe the electronic structure and geometric properties centered around the metal site. Different types of X-ray spectra can be applied to probe the metal 3d character orbitals involved in reactions, which make it possible to identify and characterize the reactive sites of samples in different forms. A detailed interpretation and understanding of the different X-ray spectra requires a unified method which can be used to model different types of X-ray spectra, e.g., soft and hard X-rays. In this thesis, theoretical investigations of the electronic structures of 3d transition metal complexes through X-ray spectroscopy are presented. The restricted active space method (RAS) is used to successfully reproduce different types of X-ray spectra by including all important spectral effects: multiplet structures, spin-orbit coupling, charge-transfer excitations, ligand field splitting and 3d-4p orbital hybridization. Different prototypes of molecules are adopted to test the applicability of the RAS theory. The metal L edge X-ray absorption (XAS) spectra of low spin complexes [Fe(CN)6]n and [Fe(P)(ImH)2]n in ferrous and ferric oxidation state are discussed. The RAS calculations on iron L edge spectra of these comparing complexes have been performed to fingerprint the oxidation states of metal ion, and different ligand environments. The Fe(P) system has several low-lying spin states in the ground state, which is used as a model to identify unknown species by their spectroscopic fingerprints through RAS spectra simulations. To pave the route of understanding the electronic structure of oxygen evolution complex of Mn4CaO5 cluster, the MnII(acac)2 and MnIII(acac)3 are adopted as prototypical Mn-complexes. The 3d partial fluorescence yield-XAS are employed on the Mn L-edge in solution. Combining experiments and RAS calculations, primary questions related to the oxidation state and spin state are discussed. The first application to simulate the metal K pre-edge XAS of mono-iron complexes and iron dimer using RAS method beyond the electric dipole is completed by implementing the approximate origin independent calculations for the intensities. The K pre-edge spectrum of centrosymmetric complex [FeCl6]n– ferrous state is discussed as s and a donor model systems. The intensity of the K pre-edge increases significantly if the centrosymmetric environment is broken, e:g:, when going from a six-coordinate to the four-coordinate site in [FeCl4]n. Distortions from centrosymmetry allow for 3d-4p orbital hybridization, which gives rise to electric dipole-allowed transitions in the K pre-edge region. In order to deliver ample electronic structure details with high resolution in the hard X-ray energy range, the two-photon 1s2p resonant inelastic X-ray scattering process is employed. Upon the above successful applications of one-photon iron L edge and K pre-edge spectra, the RAS method is extended to simulate and interpret the 1s2p resonant inelastic X-ray scattering spectra of [Fe(CN)6]n in ferrous and ferric oxidation states. The RAS applications on X-ray simulations are not restricted to the presented spectra in the thesis, it can be applied to the photon process of interest by including the corresponding core and valence orbitals of the sample.

Nanoparticles are very interesting components. Due to their very large specific surface area they possess properties in between molecules and macroscopic materials. In addition, a material built up of hierarchically assembled nanoparticles could obtain unique properties, not possessed by the nanoparticles themself. A very interesting group of nanoparticles is the cellulose nanofibrils. The fibrils are found in various renewable resources such as wood, bacteria and tunicates. In this work fibrils extracted from wood is studied. In wood the fibrils are the smallest fibrous component with the approximate dimensions; 4 nm in width and length in the micrometer range, providing a high aspect ratio. In addition, they have a crystallinity above 60% and, hence, a high stiffness. These fibrils are hierarchically ordered in the wood fiber to give it its unique combination of flexibility and strength. The properties of the fibrils make them very suitable to be used as reinforcement elements in composites and, due to their ability to closely pack, to make films with excellent gas barrier properties. The key aspect to design materials, efficiently utilizing the properties of the individual fibrils, is to control the arrangement of the fibrils in the final material. In order to do so, the interactions between fibrils have to be well characterized and controlled. In this thesis the interaction between fibrils in aqueous dispersions is studied, where the main interactions are attractive van der Waals forces and repulsive electrostatic forces. The electrostatic forces arise from carboxyl groups at the fibrils surface, which either are due to hemicelluloses at the fibrils surfaces or chemically introduced to the cellulose chain. This force is sensitive to the chemical environment. It decreases if the pH is reduced or if the salt concentration is increased. If it is strongly reduced the system aggregates. In dilute dispersions aggregation causes formation of multiple clusters, whereas in semi-dilute dispersions (above the overlap concentration) a volume filling network, i.e. a gel, is formed. The tendency of aggregation, i.e. the colloidal stability, can be predicted by using the DLVO theory. In this thesis DLVO predictions are compared to aggregation measurements conducted with dynamic light scattering. Good agreement between experiments and the designed theoretical model was found by including specific interactions between added counter-ions and the carboxyl groups of the fibrils in the model. Thus, the surface charge is both reduced by protonation and by specific interactions. This emphasizes a much larger effect of the counter-ions on the stability then generally thought. Hence, this work significantly improves the understanding of the interfibril interactions in aqueous media. As mentioned above, the fibrils can be physically cross-linked to form a gel. The gelation is an instant process, occurring at pH or salt levels causing the interfibril repulsion to decrease close to zero. If a well dispersed stationary dispersion is gelled, the homogenous and random distribution of the fibrils is preserved in the gel. These gels can be used as templates to produce composites by allowing monomers or polymers to enter the network by diffusion. In an effort to mimic processes occurring in the tree, producing materials with fibrils aligned in a preferred direction, the ability to form gels with controlled fibril orientation were studied. Such networks were successfully produced by applying strain to the system prior or past gelation. Orientation prior gelation was obtained by subjecting the dispersion to elongational flow and freezing the orientation by “turning off” the electrostatic repulsion. Orienting the fibrils after gelation was achieved by applying shear strain. Due to the physical nature of the crosslinks, rotation in the fibril-fibril joints can occur, enabling the fibrils to align in the shear direction. This alignment significantly increased the stiffness of the gels in the shear direction. / QC 20111205

Porous materials or a porous media can be encountered in our everyday life, both in industrial and household systems and in the nature. Generally speaking all solid and semisolid materials are porous to some degree e.g. different dense rock types, plastics etc. Porous materials are constantly finding more and more applications, both in industry and research. Many commercially important process in the industry utilize porous media e.g. flow of fluids through porous media for separation process and porous catalyst supports. This has strongly contributed to the development of porous media with controlled properties, which can be utilized for understanding the behavior of liquids confined in the material, and the morphology of these synthetic materials.This thesis work brings some insight and understanding of porous materials i.e. Controlled Pore Glass (CPG). Report also contains a brief explanation of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, diffusion NMR and other techniques such as Mercury porosimetry.The first part of the thesis is focused on determining the required amount of liquid i.e. octanol needed to achieve full pore saturation for different CPGs with varying pore sizes. This was achieved by taking into account that the transverse relaxation time T2 is sensitive in the ms-ns of motional correlation times, and that there are physical factors in porous material which affect the T2. Second part, diffusion NMR is used to study self-diffusion of octanol confined in CPG, thus bringing some insight on mass transfer limitations within porous systems. The report present results obtained from experiments with NMR and Diffusion NMR, discusses the issues that can arise when investigating porous materials and suggest solutions.

Topical treatment containing undeclared corticosteroids and illegal topical treatment with corticosteroid content have been seen on the Swedish market. In creams and ointments corticosteroids in the category of glucocorticosteroids are used to reduce inflammatory reactions and itchiness in the skin. If the inflammation is due to bacterial infection or fungus, complementary treatment is necessary. Side effects of corticosteroids are skin reactions and if used in excess suppression of the adrenal gland function. Therefore the Swedish Medical Products Agency has published related warnings to make the public aware. There are many similar structures of corticosteroids where the anti-inflammatory effect is depending on substitutions on the corticosteroid molecular skeleton. In legal creams and ointments they can be found at concentrations of 0.025 ‑ 1.0 %, where corticosteroids with fluorine substitutions usually are found at concentrations up to 0.1 % due to increased potency. At the Medical Products Agency 19F-NMR and 1H-NMR have been used to detect and quantify corticosteroid content in creams and ointments. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, NMR, is an analytical technique which is quite sensitive and can have a relative short experimental time. The low concentration of corticosteroids makes the signals detected in NMR small and in 1H‑NMR the signals are often overlapped by signals from the matrix. With 1H‑NMR characteristic signals could be detected in a less crowded spectral window between 5.96 ‑ 6.40 ppm where overlapping signals from the matrix often are absent. Since fluorine is less common in molecules, the option of using 19F‑NMR increases the possibility of finding fluorine-containing corticosteroids in creams and ointments. The corticosteroid signals in 19F‑NMR are detected at -165 ppm and -187 ppm, depending on where fluorine is located on the structure. Quantifying with 1H-NMR and 19F-NMR gave similar result with an accuracy of 98‑116 % and 89-106 % respectively, and RSD values between 2‑35 %, depending on the kind and amount of corticosteroid. Relations between the structure and some signals in 1H‑NMR were found, making it easier to determine the basic structure of unknown corticosteroids in creams and ointments. Screening experiments were performed on creams and ointments with known concentration corticosteroid in order to find minimum NS for analyzing products which might contain corticosteroids. In order to detect a corticosteroid concentration of 0.05 % 19F‑NMR needed 64 NS with an experimental time of 2 min and 1H-NMR needed 160 NS with an experimental time of 17 min. Concentrations of 0.025 % could for some corticosteroids be detected with these parameters. The possibility of spiking samples in order to discriminate between corticosteroids was also investigated. The corticosteroids available at the MPA could be discriminated from each other with at least one of the methods 1H‑NMR or 19F-NMR, and in most cases with both. A market research was done in order to search for counterfeits and salespersons in different health food stores were asked to recommend the best product to treat eczema or psoriasis. Nine recommended products were bought where one was found illegally containing a corticosteroid. In previous experiments at the MPA there had been occurrences of a split signal in 19F-NMR when analyzing creams. The split 19F‑NMR signal was shown to be related both to the presence of water and structural effects of the corticosteroid