Herein two novel synthetic strategies for the synthesis of sub-millimetre sized core–shell particles comprising a polyelectrolyte core and a porous hydrophobic shell are presented. In the first method, a water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) double-emulsion was used as a template for the simultaneous polymerisation of both the internal aqueous and the intermediate oil phases, via suspension polymerisation, leading to the formation of a cross-linked poly(acrylic acid-co-bisacrylamide) core contained in a porous poly(4-tert-butylstyrene-co-divinylbenzene) shell. It was found that the formation of core–shell morphology was favoured by the effect of acrylic acid which was responsible for the selective destabilization of the internal aqueous/oil (W/O) interface. It was found that rapid internal phase coarsening promoted the formation of single-core structures. A rapid gel-point of the oil phase, on the other hand, reduced the internal aqueous phase diffusion towards the external phase. The detrimental effect over internal emulsion stability was replicated using ethanol, 2-propanol, n-butanol and propionic acid which were used as a co-solvent in the internal aqueous phase to promote core/shell morphology formation. The second method involved the use of a flow-focusing device for the formation of monodisperse W/O/W emulsion droplets which were photo-polymerised. Anionic poly(sodium acrylate), poly(sodium vinyl sulfonate), and cationic poly(3-acrylamidopropyl)trimethylammonium chloride) hydrogels were encapsulated within a porous poly(trimethylolpropane triacrylate-co-methyl methacrylate) shell. Control over both particle diameter and shell thickness was achieved by tuning the flow rates of the different phases. The use of these novel hydrogel core/shell particles as novel material for environmental applications, including the scavenging of radionuclides, was investigated. It was found that hydrophilic substances including dyes and metal ions were rapidly adsorbed and encapsulated within the core region after diffusing through the permeable porous shell. Part of the results obtained in this work have been published in the article J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, 1, 12553-12559.

La lévitation diamagnétique est un des rares phénomènes permettant de soustraire des corps à la gravité. Si la répulsion diamagnétique est négligeable à nos échelles, elle devient significative aux petites dimensions, allant jusqu’à entraîner, sous certaines conditions, la mise en lévitation de micro-objets diamagnétiques. A travers le développement de microaimants, de modèles numériques et analytiques ainsi que de réalisations expérimentales, ces travaux explorent les potentialités de la lévitation diamagnétique de microgouttes et de particules dans un milieu paramagnétique. Ils démontrent notamment la possibilité de mesurer précisément l’interaction entre gouttes chargées en lévitation. Ces travaux analysent par ailleurs l’étude de cette lévitation combinée à une force diélectrophorétique. Cette étude ouvre de nouvelles perspectives pour le tri de bille diamagnétique basé sur leur taille ou leur susceptibilité. La diélectrophorèse ouvre le champ des possibilités en permettant d’actionner sans contact des micro-billes mises en lévitation. / Diamagnetic levitation is one of the rare way to compensate action of gravity. This kind of repulsion is negligible at our scale. However, at microscale, this effect becomes significant and can achieve levitation of diamagnetic objects. Through the development of micromagnets of numerical and analytical models as well as experimental achievements , these works explore the potential of diamagnetic levitation microdroplets and particles in a paramagnetic environment. They especially demonstrate the ability to accurately measure the interaction between charged droplets levitated . These studies analyze further the study of this levitation combined with dielectrophoretic force . This study opens new perspectives for sorting diamagnetic ball based on their size or susceptibility. Dielectrophoresis opens possibilities in the field for actuating contactless microbeads levitated.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world. It is therefore critically important to detect cancer in its early stage to significantly increase the survival rate of cancer patients. Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) are cancer cells that peel off from primary tumour and enter bloodstream in early stage of a cancer, and thus it has been established that these CTCs are reliable targets for early cancer diagnosis. However, background signal reduction and optimization of CTC capturing mechanisms are still significant challenges in CTC detections with high sensitivities and accuracies. To this end, we have developed an aptamers and dendrimers based ultra non-fouling microfluidic detection system for sensitive detections of circulating tumour cells. More specifically, we demonstrate a simple strategy to bind PDMS and SU-8 surfaces in order to prepare a hybrid microfluidic device and subsequently modify both surfaces simultaneously using poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM), a highly hydrophilic dendrimer to improve non-fouling properties of the hybrid microfluidic channel. The resulting hybrid microfluidic system shows a remarkable non-specific adsorption suppression of 99.7% when tested with hydrophobic microbead suspension, an ultra non-fouling performance that has not been reported before. This is significantly important for detections with high sensitivities. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and water contact angle are used to characterize and confirm surface modifications. In addition, we investigate the combined effects of surface properties on surface non-fouling performance to both live and dead cells. (3-aminopropyl)-trimethoxysilane (APTMS), carboxyl functionalized PAMAM dendrimer (PAMAM-COOH) and amino functionalized PAMAM dendrimer (PAMAM-NH2) are used to provide different surfaces with various surface hydrophilicity, electric charge and roughness. We show that electric charge of a surface is the most important factor influencing non- specific adsorption of live cells to the surface while hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of a surface is the most important factor for dead cells. Atomic force microscopy, water contact angle and microscopy are used to characterize and confirm surface modifications. To further exploit and improve capturing efficiency of target cancer cells, we investigate the effect of the length of spacers that tether capturing aptamer to the microfluidic surfaces on capturing performance of CCRF-CEM circulating tumour cells. Aptamers with different lengths of thymine base spacers are immobilized onto PAMAM dendrimer modified surfaces in microfluidic channels. We demonstrate that ten thymine bases spacer has the best length for sgc8 aptamer to form its secondary structure for CCRF-CEM cell capture. Water contact angle, and microscopy are used to characterize and confirm surface modifications. Taken together, the results of this study significantly highlight the importance of different considerations on surface modification and its optimizations when designing a microfluidic system for high sensitivity detection and biosensing applications.

Orientador: Rosiane Lopes da Cunha / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T01:07:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Costa_AnaLeticiaRodrigues_M.pdf: 3081485 bytes, checksum: 44ad03cd2e14d1ef00c3251b254983eb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: A técnica de emulsificação em dispositivos de microfluídica é utilizada para a produção de gotas de diâmetro reduzido e distribuição de tamanho monodispersa. A gelificação da fase dispersa de emulsões água em óleo pode levar à formação de microgéis com elevado potencial para encapsulação de compostos ativos. Do ponto de vista tecnológico, a utilização de partículas de tamanho reduzido permite entrega mais fácil e liberação do bioativo de forma mais eficiente no local alvo. Este trabalho teve como objetivo estudar o processo de formação de microgéis de goma gelana em dispositivos de microfluídica utilizando a técnica de focalização hidrodinâmica. Foram avaliadas as concentrações da goma gelana de 0,5 a 0,7% (m/m) e do agente gelificante acetato de cálcio nas concentrações de 0,5 e 2,0% (m/m) para formação dos microgéis. Na primeira etapa, emulsões simples água em óleo, sendo a fase dispersa constituída de água ou dispersões aquosas de goma gelana e fase contínua constituída por uma mistura composta por óleo de soja e o emulsificante polirricinoleato de poliglicerol (PGPR), foram avaliadas quanto ao regime de formação de gotas em diferentes vazões das fases e razões entre as vazões das fases dispersa e contínua. Também foram determinadas as velocidades reais das fases dentro dos dispositivos de microfluídica e os números adimensionais de Reynolds, Capilar e Weber que descrevem o escoamento dos fluidos no microcanais. Com o controle da condição de processo, vazão de entrada das fases dispersa e contínua, foi possível observar as variações no regime de formação de gotas, que variou desde o gotejamento até o jateamento. Em geral, todas as vazões calculadas (reais) das fases foram menores do que aquelas aplicadas na bomba, sendo este resultado relacionado às limitações das dimensões dos canais e alta viscosidade das fases. Desta forma, os números de Reynolds, Capilar e de Weber calculados a partir das velocidades reais das fases foram menores quando comparados com os valores obtidos usando as velocidades impostas na bomba. Na etapa seguinte, microgéis de goma gelana foram produzidos nos microcanais e caracterizados pela distribuição de tamanho de gotas e microscopia ótica. Os microgéis possuíam formato regular e esférico e distribuição de tamanho altamente monodispersa. O potencial da utilização de microgéis de goma gelana na encapsulação de compostos ativos foi avaliado adicionando o corante hidrofílico Rhodamina B na fase aquosa. As partículas obtidas na saída do dispositivo possuíam coloração vermelha, referente à boa retenção do corante hidrofílico. Desta forma, conclui-se que os microgéis obtidos pela técnica da microfluídica poderão ser utilizados na encapsulação de compostos hidrofílicos, inclusive aqueles sensíveis à temperatura, como as vitaminas e probióticos, na imobilização de proteínas e enzimas, bem como, na entrega de drogas, pois além de apresentarem baixa polidispersidade na distribuição de tamanho das partículas mostraram elevada capacidade de retenção do corante utilizado para simular o composto ativo de interesse / Abstract: Emulsification in microfluidic devices is used for the production of droplets with reduced diameter and monodisperse particle size distribution. Gelation of the disperse phase of water in oil emulsions leads to formation of microgels with high potential for the encapsulation of active compounds. Small particle size allows more efficient release of the bioactive at the target site. This work aimed to study the production of gellan microgel using microfluidic devices through flow- focusing technique. Gellan gum concentration of 0.6% (w/w) and calcium acetate (gelling agent) in concentrations of 0.5 and 2.0% (w/w) were used for the formation of microgels. In the first step, it was evaluated of the droplets formation regime at different flow rates of the phases and flow rate ratio of the dispersed and continuous phases of water-in-oil emulsions, composed by dispersed phase of water or gellan aqueous solutions and continuous phase constituted of a mixture composed of soybean oil and the emulsifier polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR). The real velocity of the phases within the microfluidic devices and dimensionless numbers of Reynols, Capilar and Weber that describe the flow of fluids in microchannels were also evaluated. By controlling the process conditions and the input flow rate of dispersed and continuous phases, variations in the drop formation regime were observed which varied from dripping to the jetting regime, such variation exerted strong influence on droplet size. In general, the real flow rate (calculated values) was lower than those applied by pump, which was related with limitations of the size of channels and high viscosity of the phases. Reynolds, Capilar and Weber numbers calculated from the real velocity were smaller compared with the values obtained using the speed imposed by pump. In the next step, gellan microgels were produced the microchannel and characterized by droplet size distribution and optical microscopy. The microgels exhibit uniform and spherical shape and highly monodisperse distribution size. Potential use as gellan microgels as encapsulating matriz of active compounds was evaluated by adding the hidrophilic dye, Rhodamine B, in the aqueous phase. Results showed a low polydispersity and high hidrophilic compound retention capacity, indicating that microgels obtained by microfluidic technique may be used for the encapsulation of hydrophilic compounds that are sensitive to temperature, such as vitamins, probiotics and immobilization of proteins and enzymes, as well as in drug delivery / Mestrado / Engenharia de Alimentos / Mestra em Engenharia de Alimentos

This thesis aims to address the challenges of the development of cost-effective and rapid assays for the accurate counting of CD4+ T cells and quantification of HIV-1 viral load for resource-constrained settings. The lack of such assays has severely affected people living in disease prevalent areas. CD4+ T cells count information plays a vital role in the effective management of HIV-1 disease. Here, we present a flow-free magnetic actuation platform that uses antibody-coated magnetic beads to efficiently capture CD4+ T cells from a 30 μL drop of whole blood. On-chip cell lysate electrical impedance spectroscopy has been utilized to quantify the isolated CD4 cells. The developed assay has a limit of detection of 25 cells per μL and provides accurate CD4 counts in the range of 25–800 cells per μL. The whole immunoassay along with the enumeration process is very rapid and provides CD4 quantification results within 5 min time frame. The assay does not require off-chip sample preparation steps and minimizes human involvement to a greater extent. The developed impedance-based immunoassay has the potential to significantly improve the CD4 enumeration process especially for POC settings. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Cell-free transcription and translation systems promise to accelerate and simplify the engineering of synthetic proteins, biological circuits or metabolic pathways. Microfluidic droplet platforms can generate millions of reactions in parallel. This allows cell-free reactions to be miniaturized down to picoliter volumes. Nevertheless, the true potential of microfluidics have not been reached for cell-free bioengineering. Better approaches are needed for reaching sufficient in-drop expression levels while efficiently creating DNA diversity among droplets. This work develops a droplet microfluidic platform for single or multiple protein expression from a single DNA coated bead per droplet. This opens up the possibility to diversify a million droplets for synthetic biology applications.

The use of thin-film techniques for the fabrication of microfluidic devices has gained attention over the last decade, particularly for three-dimensional channel structures. The reasons for this include effective use of chip volume, mechanical flexibility, dead volume reduction, enhanced design capabilities, integration of passive elements, and scalability. Several fabrication techniques have been adapted for use on thin films: laser ablation and hot embossing are popular for channel fabrication, and lamination is widely used for channel enclosure. However, none of the previous studies have been able to achieve a strong bond that is reliable under moderate positive pressures. The present work aims to develop a thin-film process that provides design versatility, speed, channel profile homogeneity, and the reliability that others fail to achieve. The three building blocks of the proposed baseline were fifty-micron poly(methyl methacrylate) thin films as substrates, channel patterning by laser ablation, and device assembly by thermal-fusion bonding. Channel fabrication was characterized and tuned to produce the desired dimensions and surface roughness. Thermal bonding was performed using an adapted mechanical testing device and optimized to produce the maximum bonding strength without significant channel deformation. Bonding multilayered devices, incorporating conduction lines, and integrating various types of membranes as passive elements demonstrated the versatility of the process. Finally, this baseline was used to fabricate a droplet generator and a DNA detection chip based on micro-bead agglomeration. It was found that a combination of low laser power and scanning speed produced channel surfaces with better uniformity than those obtained with higher values. In addition, the implemented bonding technique provided the process with the most reliable bond strength reported, so far, for thin-film microfluidics. Overall, the present work proved to be versatile, reliable, and fast, making it a good candidate to reproduce several on-chip functions. Future work includes implementing thick-substrate bonding techniques to further improve the process and decrease energy requirements.

Nous voulons mettre en évidence et analyser les réponses de systèmes biologiques à l’introduction de perturbations et de modulations spatio-temporelles. Plus précisément, afin de développer des stratégies innovantes pour l’étude des systèmes biologiques, nous proposons d’utiliser des outils microfluidiques. Nous concevons des microsystèmes adaptés qui peuvent influer localement sur les comportements biologiques, ceci afin qu’un experimentateur macroscopique puisse contrôler l’environnement externe des objects biologiques dont l’échelle est microscopique. Cette stratégie d’ingénierie est générique et multidisciplinaire. Au cours de cette thèse, elle a été mise en œuvre dans le cadre de deux projets collaboratifs, d’une part à l’échelle de la bactérie E.coli, et d’autre part à celle de l’embryon de souris à un stade post-implantation précoce. Les objets d’étude choisis sont caractéristiques à bien des égards des champs biologiques concernés : taille, représentativité, complexité.Nous avons mis nos compétences de spécialistes en conception et en fabrication de dispositifs fluidiques au service de la ligne DISCO du synchrotron SOLEIL et de l’équipe d’embryologie de la souris de l’IRIBHM. Le nœud de mon travail a été de concevoir et fabriquer les outils microfluidiques réutilisables pour des recherches génériques, qui permettent aux biologistes de se dispenser de l’utilisation d’une salle blanche.Plus précisément, le projet de microbiologie à SOLEIL avait pour object l’étude de l’influx et l’efflux de molécules antibiotiques dans des bactéries. Pour ce faire, nous avons developpé un dispositif réutilisable pour immobiliser les microorganisms et changer leur environnement chimique pendant l’imagerie en microscopie d’epifluorescence dans l’UV. Cette étude s’effectue en utilisant deux partenaires typiques : la bactérie Escherichia coli et un médicament de la famille des fluoroquinolones. Le projet d’embryologie a reposé sur l’électroporation localisée d’acides nucléiques au sein d’embryons de souris et le suivi des migrations cellulaires. Au cours de cette thèse, nous avons développé non seulement des microdispositifs réutilisables mais aussi des protocoles expérimentaux adaptés à l’utilisation de ces instruments miniaturisés.Plus précisément, le projet de microbiologie à SOLEIL avait pour object l’étude de l’influx et lantibiotiques dans des bactéries. Pour ce faire, nous avons developpé un dispositif réutilisable pour immobiliser lesmicroorganismes et changer leur environnement chimique pendant l’imagerie en microscopie d’épifluorescence dans l’UV.Cette étude s’effectue en utilisant deux partenaires typiques : la bactérie E. coli et un médicament de la famille desfluoroquinolones. Le projet d’embryologie a reposé sur l’électroporation localisée d’acides nucléiques des embryons desouris et le suivi des migrations cellulaires. / We want to analyze the responses of biological systems to the introduction of perturbations and spatio-temporal modulations. More specifically, in order to develop innovative strategies for the study of biological systems, we propose to use microfluidic tools. We design adapted microsystems that can locally influence biological behaviors, so that a macroscopic experimenter can control the external environment of biological objects whose scale is microscopic. This engineering strategy is generic and multidisciplinary. In this thesis, it has been implemented in two collaborative projects, on one hand, on the scale of the E.coli bacterium and on the other hand on that of the embryo of mouse at an early stage post-implantation. The selected study objects are characteristic in many respects of the biological fields concerned: size, representativeness, complexity.We extended our expertise in fluidic device design and manufacturing to the service of the DISCO beamline of the synchrotron SOLEIL and the IRIBHM mouse embryology team. The key point of my work has been to design and manufacture reusable microfluidic tools for generic research, which allow biologists to dispense with the use of a clean room.More precisely, the project of microbiology at SOLEIL had for object the study of the influx and the efflux of antibiotic molecules in bacteria. To do this, we have developed a reusable device for immobilizing microorganisms and changing their chemical environment during UV imaging on epifluorescence microscopy. This study is carried out using two typical partners: the Escherichia coli bacterium and a drug from the fluoroquinolone family. The embryology project relied on the localized electroporation of nucleic acids within mouse embryos and the monitoring of cellular migrations.In this thesis, we have developed not only reusable micro-devices but also experimental protocols adapted to the use of these miniaturized instruments.More precisely, the microbiology project at SOLEIL focused on the influx and the efflux of antibiWe have developed a reusable device for immobilizing those microorganisms and changing their chemical environmentduring UV imaging on an epifluorescence microscopy. This study was carried out using two typical partners: thebacterium and a drug from the fluoroquinolone family. The embryology project relied on the localized electroporation ofnucleic acids into mouse embryos and the monitoring of cell migrations.

Molecular self-assembly is the process of molecules able to associate into more ordered structures. Examples of self-assembling molecules is a class of ultrashort amphiphilic peptides with a distinct sequence motif, which consist of only three to seven amino acids. These peptides can self-assemble to form nanofibrous scaffolds, such as in form of hydrogels, organogels or aerogels, due to their amphiphilic structure which contains a dominant hydrophobic tail and a polar head group. Interestingly, these peptide scaffolds offer a remarkably similar fiber topography to that one found in collagen which is a dominant part of the extracellular matrix. The resemblance to collagen fibers brings a potential benefit in using these peptide scaffolds together with native human cells. Specifically, they can maintain high water content over 99 % weight per volume and are suitable for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. Over the last decade, they have shown promising therapeutic potential in treating several diseases thanks to their high activity, target specificity, low toxicity, and minimal nonspecific and drug-drug interactions. This dissertation describes how to characterize and use ultrashort amphiphilic peptides for tissue engineering and biomedicine. The first chapter offers an overview of already reported self-assembling ultrashort peptides and their applications. As a proof-of-concept, ultrashort peptide scaffolds were used for osteogenic differentiation. Peptide nanoparticles were embedded into 5 peptide hydrogels with the goal to tune the stiffness of the peptide gels. Furthermore, the peptide scaffold was used for the generation of gold and silver nanoparticles after UV irradiation, which allowed the production of nanoparticles in the absence of any additional reducing agent. The mechanism of the generation of these nanoparticles was then investigated. The last chapter describes how tetrameric peptide solutions were utilized for 3D bioprinting applications. Compared to earlier reported self-assembling ultrashort peptide compounds, these tetrapeptides can form hydrogels at an extremely low concentration of 0.1% w/v in a relatively short time under physiological conditions. These promising findings suggest that the peptide solutions are promising bioinks for use in 3D bioprinting.

Biomaterials are defined as non-viable materials whose functions strives to interact with biological systems, this makes biomaterials suitable for medical devices and applications. Biomaterials biological properties must be thoroughly investigated and evaluated in order to be approved for clinical usage. In vitro studies are used to characterize the materials biological properties, if promising results are achieved in vitro, in vivo studies may be performed to ensure that the material can interact with living animal models in the intended way. However, for a biomaterial such as calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite there is a gap between results observed in vitro and in vivo studies. Microfluidic systems have been highlighted as a possible evaluation model to achieve reliable results for in vitro studies. The aim of this thesis was to compare and evaluate a biomaterial- on-a-chip, i.e., a biomaterial integrated in a dynamic microfluidic system, with a traditional static in vitro system in the regards of drug release and protein adsorption. Two chemically identical calcium-deficient hydroxyapatites but with different topographies were integrated in the microfluidic system and manufactured as discs for static evaluation. Results from drug release and protein adsorption studies showed different behaviours for dynamic and static control, which is significant since it indicates that the outcome of the characterization correlates to the evaluation model used.