O ouro foi considerado um metal pouco interessante do ponto de vista catalítico por muito tempo, devido ao fato de não quimiossorver moléculas como hidrogênio e oxigênio. Entretanto, suas propriedades catalíticas são reveladas quando suas dimensões são reduzidas a poucos nanômetros, particularmente menores do que 10 nm. Assim, nanocatalisadores de ouro vêm recebendo atenção devido as suas excelentes propriedades catalíticas e alta seletividade em reações de oxidação e redução. O presente trabalho descreve a síntese e caracterização de nanopartículas de ouro suportadas e sua aplicação em reações de oxidação de alcoóis para produção de aldeídos, cetonas e ésteres. Para facilitar a separação do catalisador, um suporte magnético composto de magnetita revestida com sílica foi desenvolvido. A síntese das nanopartículas de ouro suportadas foi realizada de duas maneiras: (I) pela impregnação do suporte com espécies aniônicas de ouro seguido de redução e (II) pela impregnação de nanopartículas de ouro pré-sintetizadas. Em todos os casos nanopartículas de ouro na faixa de 5 nm foram obtidas. A etapa de redução do metal impregnado no suporte foi investigada em detalhe através de duas estratégias: a redução térmica e a redução por hidrogênio. Os testes catalíticos para as reações de oxidação de alcoóis mostraram que os catalisadores sintetizados apresentam altas taxas de conversão e seletividade, porém dependentes do método de preparação utilizado / Gold in the bulk form has been regarded to be an uninteresting metal from the point of view of catalysis, as it is chemically inert towards chemisorption of reactive molecules such as oxygen and hydrogen. However, the catalytic properties of gold are revealed when the size is reduced to few nanometers, particularly with dimension less than 10 nm. Therefore, gold nanocatalysts have received great attention due to the excellent catalytic properties and high selectivity in oxidation and reduction reactions. This master thesis describes the synthesis and characterization of supported gold nanoparticles and their application in alcohol oxidation reaction to produce aldehydes, ketones and esters. In order to improve the catalyst separation and recovery, a magnetic support comprised of magnetite coated by silica was developed. The supported gold nanoparticles were synthesized in two different ways: (I) by impregnation of anionic gold species on silica surface followed by metal reduction, and (II) by impregnation of pre-synthesized gold nanoparticles on the support. In all examples supported gold nanoparticles of about 5 nm were obtained. The reduction step (of the metal impreganted on the support) was investigated in detail by two different strategies: thermal reduction and reduction by hydrogen. The synthesized catalysts showed high conversion rates and selectivity in the catalytic reactions of alcohol oxidation, but those are dependent on the preparation method

O ouro foi considerado um metal pouco interessante do ponto de vista catalítico por muito tempo, devido ao fato de não quimiossorver moléculas como hidrogênio e oxigênio. Entretanto, suas propriedades catalíticas são reveladas quando suas dimensões são reduzidas a poucos nanômetros, particularmente menores do que 10 nm. Assim, nanocatalisadores de ouro vêm recebendo atenção devido as suas excelentes propriedades catalíticas e alta seletividade em reações de oxidação e redução. O presente trabalho descreve a síntese e caracterização de nanopartículas de ouro suportadas e sua aplicação em reações de oxidação de alcoóis para produção de aldeídos, cetonas e ésteres. Para facilitar a separação do catalisador, um suporte magnético composto de magnetita revestida com sílica foi desenvolvido. A síntese das nanopartículas de ouro suportadas foi realizada de duas maneiras: (I) pela impregnação do suporte com espécies aniônicas de ouro seguido de redução e (II) pela impregnação de nanopartículas de ouro pré-sintetizadas. Em todos os casos nanopartículas de ouro na faixa de 5 nm foram obtidas. A etapa de redução do metal impregnado no suporte foi investigada em detalhe através de duas estratégias: a redução térmica e a redução por hidrogênio. Os testes catalíticos para as reações de oxidação de alcoóis mostraram que os catalisadores sintetizados apresentam altas taxas de conversão e seletividade, porém dependentes do método de preparação utilizado / Gold in the bulk form has been regarded to be an uninteresting metal from the point of view of catalysis, as it is chemically inert towards chemisorption of reactive molecules such as oxygen and hydrogen. However, the catalytic properties of gold are revealed when the size is reduced to few nanometers, particularly with dimension less than 10 nm. Therefore, gold nanocatalysts have received great attention due to the excellent catalytic properties and high selectivity in oxidation and reduction reactions. This master thesis describes the synthesis and characterization of supported gold nanoparticles and their application in alcohol oxidation reaction to produce aldehydes, ketones and esters. In order to improve the catalyst separation and recovery, a magnetic support comprised of magnetite coated by silica was developed. The supported gold nanoparticles were synthesized in two different ways: (I) by impregnation of anionic gold species on silica surface followed by metal reduction, and (II) by impregnation of pre-synthesized gold nanoparticles on the support. In all examples supported gold nanoparticles of about 5 nm were obtained. The reduction step (of the metal impreganted on the support) was investigated in detail by two different strategies: thermal reduction and reduction by hydrogen. The synthesized catalysts showed high conversion rates and selectivity in the catalytic reactions of alcohol oxidation, but those are dependent on the preparation method

Point-of-care testing (POCT) devices have received increasing attention because of their potential to address the urgent need for quick and accurate diagnostic tools, especially in areas of personal care and clinical medicine. They offer several benefits over current diagnostic systems, including rapid diagnostic results in comparison to microbial cultures, simple interpretation of results, portability, and requiring no specialised laboratory equipment or technical training to operate. These are essential for diagnosing critical illnesses, such as sepsis, in areas of poor healthcare infrastructure. Sepsis, an innate physiological response to infection, is a growing problem worldwide with high associated costs and mortality rates, and affects a wide range of patients including neonates, infants, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals. A literature review of the biomarkers of sepsis and the currently available diagnostic systems indicates the need for a biosensor capable of meeting the requirements of designing POCT systems and achieving detection of low concentrations of biomarkers. To meet these demands, two significant contributions to developing POCT platforms have been achieved and described in this thesis, including: 1) development of a colorimetric, magnetically separable biosensor that can be easily fabricated and demonstrates an easily identifiable colour response upon analyte detection, as well as the ability to capture and detection target biomarkers at low concentrations from complex solutions; and 2) tuning of the biosensor’s colorimetric response to achieve low detection limits, as well as demonstration of the versatility of the biosensor for sensing different target analytes. The developed biosensor in this work combines colour responsive polydiacetylenes and superparamagnetic iron oxide for the first time to achieve a biosensor capable of meeting these demands. The sensors exhibit identifiable colour responses to biomolecule detection, capture of a target analyte from complex solutions, sensing of different target analytes, a lower detection limit of 0.01 mg/mL, and rapid separation from solution with a common magnet. This work has been a significant demonstration of the capabilities of this biosensor as a new platform for POCT systems to diagnosis sepsis, and potentially other sensing applications.

ABSTRACT PRODUCTION OF HEAVY-MEDIA-QUALITY MAGNETITE CONCENTRATE FROM KESiKK&Ouml / PR&Uuml / IRON ORE TAILINGS G&uuml / ng&ouml / r, Kazim M. Sc. Department of Mining Engineering Supervisor: Prof. Dr. M. &Uuml / mit Atalay May 2010, 91 pages The aim of this research was to investigate the possibility of the production of a magnetite concentrate which is suitable for preparation of heavy media from iron ore tailings of G&uuml / ncem Mining Company magnetic separation facility. During the study, three different tailings named as low grade, medium grade and high grade with 5.91 % Fe3O4, 19.06 % Fe3O4 and 37.06 % Fe3O4, respectively, were used. Mineralogical analyses of test samples showed that magnetite and hematite were the major ore minerals while pyrite and chalcopyrite were found in trace amounts. Actimolite, tremolite, epidote, chlorite, quartz, calcite, and dolomite were the gangue minerals. The effects of feed particle size and applied magnetic field intensity on the Fe3O4 grade and recovery of concentrate were examined throughout magnetic concentration tests. The highest grade magnetite concentrate with 79.98% Fe3O4 content was obtained with 65.42% recovery from 100% -75 micron size feed at 1000 Gauss magnetic field intensity from high grade tailing.

The magnetic separation approach has several advantages compared with conventional separation methods / it can be performed directly in crude samples containing suspended solid materials without pretreatment, and can easily isolate some biomolecules from aqueous systems in the presence of magnetic gradient fields. This thesis focused on the development of new class of magnetic separation material particularly useful for the separation of histidine-tagged proteins from the complex matrixes through the use of imidazole side chains of histidine molecules. For that reason surface modified cobalt ferrite nanoparticles which contain Ni-NTA affinity group were synthesized. Firstly, cobalt ferrite nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution were prepared in aqueous solution using the controlled coprecipitation method. In order to obtain small size of agglomerates two different dispersants, oleic acid and sodium chloride, were tried. After obtaining the best dispersant and optimum experimental conditions, ultrasonic bath was used in order to decrease the size of agglomerates. Then, they were coated with silica and this was followed by surface modification of these nanoparticles by amine in order to add functional groups on silica shell. Next, &ndash / COOH functional groups were added to silica coated cobalt ferrite magnetic nanoparticles through the NH2 groups. After that N&alpha / ,N&alpha / -Bis(carboxymethyl)-L-lysine hydrate, NTA, was attached to carboxyl side of the structure. Finally, nanoparticles were labeled with Ni (II) ions. The size of the magnetic nanoparticles and their agglomerates were determined by FE-SEM images, particle size analyzer, and zeta potential analyzer (zeta-sizer). Vibrational sample magnetometer (VSM) was used to measure the magnetic behavior of cobalt ferrite and silica coated cobalt ferrite magnetic nanoparticles. Surface modifications of magnetic nanoparticles were followed by FT-IR measurements. ICP-OES was used to find the amount of Ni (II) ion concentration that was attached to the magnetic nanoparticle.

No description available.

Digital microfluidics (DMF) is an emerging liquid-handling technique that facilitates manipulation of discrete droplets across an array of electrodes. Although the working principle of droplet movement is still under debate, it has gained significant interest as the technique has been applied to various applications in biology, chemistry and medicine. With recent advances in rapid prototyping and multilayer fabrication techniques using printed circuit boards, DMF has become an attractive and alternative solution to conventional macroscale fluidics techniques with additional capability of sample size reduction, faster analysis time, full automation, and multiplexing. In this thesis, we explore the use of DMF for human plasma protein depletion due to its multiple advantages. The high abundance of human serum albumin (HSA) and immunoglobulins (Igs), which constitute 80% of total plasma proteins, is a major challenge in proteome studies. Unfortunately, conventional methods to deplete high abundant proteins (e.g. macro LC-columns) are labour-intensive, require dilution of sample, and run the risk of sample loss. Furthermore, most techniques lack the ability to process multiple samples simultaneously. Hence, we developed a new method of protein depletion using anti-HSA and Protein A/G immobilized paramagnetic beads manipulated by DMF to deplete HSA and IgG from human plasma. Toward this goal, prototype DMF devices and electronic controller were designed, built and characterized (Chapter 2). Preliminary depletion experiments were first optimized in-tubes and then adapted for DMF manually (Chapter 3). At last, the entire depletion process was performed on DMF using an automated controller system (Chapter 4). Results showed that the protein depletion efficiency for immunoglobulin G (IgG) and HSA in 10 minutes for four samples simultaneously was as high as 98%, and an approximately 3-fold increase in signal-to-noise ratio after depletion was demonstrated by MALDI-MS analysis. The depletion process is sufficient for a tryptic digest to be performed on a model protein, cytochrome C, where 89% sequence coverage was obtained for a depleted sample. Although some improvements such as on-chip sample processing (e.g. digestion) need to be carried out as future work, we anticipate that the new technique is a significant alternative for applications involving protein depletion steps. / Thesis (Master, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2014-05-29 02:38:50.176

Point-of-care testing (POCT) devices have received increasing attention because of their potential to address the urgent need for quick and accurate diagnostic tools, especially in areas of personal care and clinical medicine. They offer several benefits over current diagnostic systems, including rapid diagnostic results in comparison to microbial cultures, simple interpretation of results, portability, and requiring no specialised laboratory equipment or technical training to operate. These are essential for diagnosing critical illnesses, such as sepsis, in areas of poor healthcare infrastructure. Sepsis, an innate physiological response to infection, is a growing problem worldwide with high associated costs and mortality rates, and affects a wide range of patients including neonates, infants, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals. A literature review of the biomarkers of sepsis and the currently available diagnostic systems indicates the need for a biosensor capable of meeting the requirements of designing POCT systems and achieving detection of low concentrations of biomarkers. To meet these demands, two significant contributions to developing POCT platforms have been achieved and described in this thesis, including: 1) development of a colorimetric, magnetically separable biosensor that can be easily fabricated and demonstrates an easily identifiable colour response upon analyte detection, as well as the ability to capture and detection target biomarkers at low concentrations from complex solutions; and 2) tuning of the biosensor’s colorimetric response to achieve low detection limits, as well as demonstration of the versatility of the biosensor for sensing different target analytes. The developed biosensor in this work combines colour responsive polydiacetylenes and superparamagnetic iron oxide for the first time to achieve a biosensor capable of meeting these demands. The sensors exhibit identifiable colour responses to biomolecule detection, capture of a target analyte from complex solutions, sensing of different target analytes, a lower detection limit of 0.01 mg/mL, and rapid separation from solution with a common magnet. This work has been a significant demonstration of the capabilities of this biosensor as a new platform for POCT systems to diagnosis sepsis, and potentially other sensing applications.

O aumento no consumo mundial de novos aparelhos eletroeletrônicos aliado à redução no tempo de vida útil destes equipamentos tem como principal consequência ao meio ambiente a geração de resíduos. No Brasil, com a instituição da Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos, criou-se a obrigatoriedade legal da responsabilidade dos fabricantes pela logística reversa dos equipamentos eletroeletrônicos, incentivando pesquisas para o desenvolvimento dos métodos de reciclagem e tratamento dos materiais descartados. O processo de lixiviação foi avaliado como alternativa à etapa de separação magnética presente nas atuais rotas hidrometalúrgicas para recuperação de metais valiosos de placas de circuito impresso. Para avaliar a composição das placas, foi realizado ensaio de dissolução em água régia. As amostras foram moídas e submetidas a ensaios de lixiviação com ácido sulfúrico nas concentrações de 1 e 2mol/L, às temperaturas de 75ºC, 85ºC e 95ºC, durante 24 horas. Com ácido sulfúrico 2mol/L a 95ºC, o tempo necessário para se obter 100% de extração do ferro foi de 2 horas. Nestas condições, não foi detectada a presença de cobre dissolvido. A cinética da reação é controlada por reação química e obedece a equação .=1(1)3. A energia de ativação aparente do processo equivale a 90kJ/mol. / The increase in world consumption of new electronic equipment along with the reduction of its lifespan has brought an environmental issue due to waste generation. In Brazil, the National Solid Waste Policy establishes that manufacturers should respond for the reverse logistics of consumer electronics devices. This policy encouraged research to the development of methods of treatment and recycling of discarded materials. Acid leaching was analyzed as an alternative to the magnetic separation process widely used in hydrometallurgical routes for precious metals recovery from PCBs. Aqua regia was used to dissolve PCBs and thus characterize samples. The samples were milled and leached with sulfuric acid 1 and 2mol/L, at temperatures of 75ºC, 85ºC and 95ºC, during 24 hours. With sulfuric acid 2mol/L at 95ºC, the necessary time for 100% iron extraction was 2 hours. Under these conditions, no copper was detected. Reaction kinetics is controlled by chemical reaction and follows the expression .=1(1)3. Apparent activation energy equals 90kJ/mol.

Compreender a correlação entre as características de um catalisador particular e seu desempenho catalítico tem sido um dos principais objetos da pesquisa em catálise heterogênea a fim de usar esse conhecimento para o desenho racional de catalisadores mais ativos, seletivos e estáveis. A seletividade é um dos fatores mais importantes a ser controlado pelo desenho de catalisadores, podendo ser alcançada de diversas maneiras, levando-se em consideração mudanças do tipo estrutural, química, eletrônica, de composição, de cinética e de energia. O trabalho descrito nessa tese de doutorado compreende a síntese e caracterização de catalisadores compostos de nanopartículas de óxido de cobre, paládio e cobre-paládio e seu estudo em reações de hidrogenação e oxidação seletivas de hidrocarbonetos insaturados. Os catalisadores foram preparados através da deposição de nanopartículas dos metais cataliticamente ativos sobre suportes magneticamente recuperáveis compostos de nanopartículas de magnetita revestidas por sílica com superfícies funcionalizada com diferentes grupos orgânicos. A natureza magnética do suporte permitiu a fácil separação do catalisador do meio reacional pela simples aproximação de um ímã na parede do reator. O catalisador pôde ser completamente separado da fase líquida, fazendo com que a utilização de outros métodos de separação como filtração e centrifugação, comumente utilizados em sistemas heterogêneos líquidos, fossem completamente dispensados. Os catalisadores foram inicialmente testados em reações de hidrogenação de alquenos e alquinos. As reações de hidrogenação foram realizadas utilizando hidrogênio molecular como agente redutor, dispensando a utilização de agentes redutores mais agressivos. Os catalisadores compostos de NPs de Pd mostram excelente atividade e capacidade de reutilização na hidrogenação de cicloexeno, podendo ser utilizados em até 15 ciclos sem perda de atividade. Nas reações de hidrogenação de alquinos, os catalisadores que contêm cobre mostraram maior seletividade para a obtenção dos produtos de semi-hidrogenação, com destaque para o catalisador composto de NPs de CuPd, que não apresenta nem traços do produto de hidrogenação completa na amostra final. Esse catalisador bimetálico alia as características do paládio (elevada atividade) e do cobre (elevada seletividade) para fornecer um catalisador ativo e seletivo para a transformação desejada. Além disso, os grupos funcionais presentes na superfície do suporte catalítico mostraram influência na atividade e seletividade para a hidrogenação de alquenos e alquinos. Os catalisadores sintetizados também foram testados na reação de oxidação de cicloexeno e mostraram seletividade para a produção do composto carbonílico α,β-insaturado, cicloex-2-en-1-ona, que é um reagente de partida de grande interesse para a síntese de diversos materiais na indústria química. As reações de oxidação foram realizadas utilizando-se apenas O2 como oxidante primário, dispensando o uso de oxidantes tóxicos como cromatos, permanganatos ou compostos halogenados, que não são recomendados do ponto de vista ambiental. Os catalisadores sintetizados puderam ser reutilizados em sucessivos ciclos de oxidação, mostrando seletividade para a formação dos produtos alílicos em todos os ciclos. Os catalisadores foram estáveis sob as condições reacionais e não apresentaram problemas de lixiviação da espécie ativa para o meio reacional, que é comum na catálise heterogênea. Um estudo cinético mostrou que, mesmo no início da reação, o catalisador tem seletividade para a ocorrência de oxidação alílica em detrimento da reação de oxidação direta que dá origem ao epóxidos correspondente, e se mostrou condizente com o mecanismo proposto na literatura para a reação de oxidação de alquenos via radicalar. / Understanding the correlation between the characteristics of a particular catalyst and its catalytic performance has been the main goal in heterogeneous catalysis research in order to use this knowledge for the rational design of more active, selective, and stable catalysts. Selectivity is one of the most important factors to be controlled by catalyst design as it can be tuned in several ways such as by structural, chemical, electronic, compositional, kinetic and energy considerations. This PhD thesis describes the synthesis and characterization of catalysts composed of palladium, copper oxide and copper-palladium nanoparticles and their study for selective hydrogenation and oxidation reactions of unsaturated hydrocarbons. The catalysts were prepared by deposition of the catalytic active metal nanoparticles on magnetically recoverable supports comprised of magnetite and silica-coated magnetite functionalized with different organic groups. The magnetic nature of support allowed the easy separation of the catalyst from the reaction medium by the approximation of a magnet on the reactor wall. The catalyst could be completely separated from the liquid phase, making unnecessary further uses of other separation methods, e.g. as filtration and centrifugation, commonly used in heterogeneous systems. Catalysts were initially tested in hydrogenation reactions of alkenes and alkynes. The hydrogenation reactions were carried out using molecular hydrogen as reducing agent, eliminating the use of more aggressive reducing agents. The Pd NPs catalyst showed excellent activity and recyclability for up to 15 cycles of hydrogenation of cyclohexene without losing activity. In alkyne hydrogenation, the catalysts containing copper showed the highest selectivity to obtain the semi-hydrogenation products, especially the CuPd NP catalyst, which does not display any traces of the complete hydrogenated product. This bimetallic catalyst combines the best characteristics of palladium (high activity) and copper (high selectivity) to provide an active and selective catalyst for the desired transformation. The functional groups present on the support surface showed influence on the activity and selectivity for the hydrogenation of alkenes and alkynes. The synthesized catalysts were also tested in the cyclohexene oxidation reaction and showed selectivity for the carbonyl α,β-unsaturated compound, cyclohex-2-en-1-one, which is a starting material of great interest for the synthesis of various materials in the chemical industry. The oxidation reactions were carried out using only O2 and primary oxidant, eliminating the use of toxic oxidants such as permanganates and chromates, which are not recommended from an environmental point of view. The synthesized catalyst could be reused in successive oxidation cycles, showing selectivity for the formation of the allylic products in all cycles. The catalysts were stable under reaction conditions and there was no leaching of the active species in the reaction medium, a common problem in heterogeneous catalysis. A kinetic study showed that even at the beginning of the reaction the catalyst has selectivity for the occurrence of allylic oxidation at the expense of direct oxidation reaction that gives rise to the corresponding epoxide, which is consistent with the mechanism proposed in the literature for a radical-chain oxidation of olefins.