The effect of coatings on the interfacial strength of a hollow glass microsphere/polyester composite and their capacity to endure thermal stresses were studied by mechanical testing and an active Acoustic Emission (AE) method. AE was postulated to provide more local information at or near the glass/polyester interface due to the sensitivity of elastic waves to the rigidity of polymer chains at the glass sphere/polyester interface compared to mechanical testing. Three frequency ranges identified by multivariate statistics yet consolidated for the initial analysis into a band of 140-240 kHz, were found to be changing with the different coated glass filler for different glass content and heating state. Considering the acoustic behavior of the composites containing different levels of glass sphere content (1-10 vol%), a lower concentration (aminoethylamino)-propyl-trimethoxy silane coated glass (AS6), demonstrated the lowest attenuation after heating (associated with higher interfacial strength). As anticipated, the highest attenuation after heating was observed for uncoated glass (16K) due to expectedly weaker associations. Mechanical testing results after heating were consistent with the AE response for AS6 and 16K for this frequency range. Trends in amplitude for the three narrower, frequency ranges of 130-160 kHz, 180-220 kHz and 230-260 kHz were compared against that of 140-240 kHz and very small differences were observed. It was found that the frequency range of 130-60 kHz was more descriptive of the changes of interfacial strength in composites (at 10 vol%), being consistent with the mechanical test results. Considering the AE response at 130-160 kHz and mechanical data, higher concentration (aminoethylamino)-propyl-trimethoxy silane (AS12), better endured thermal stresses compared to other coatings. A smaller trial looked at the effect of moisture aging and subsequent thermal cycling on the glass/polymer interface strength as another method to perturb the interface. Attenuation for the band of 180-260 kHz was studied for aged versus non-aged composites. The commercial coating, L21 demonstrated a better moisture resistance before and after thermal cycling compared to uncoated glass spheres. An improved evaluation of interfacial strength in glass/polyester was expected using AE technique versus mechanical testing due to its higher sensitivity to changes in internal structure, however; no significant improvement compared to mechanical testing was observed, at least based on the analysis technique currently being used. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc) / Sheet molded compound (SMC) is a polymer material reinforced by fibers providing a combination of light weight and high mechanical properties and is used in automotive industry. Light weight fillers (hollow glass microspheres) are used to obtain further weight reduction; however, addition of these fillers leads to reduced mechanical properties and further problems during painting process known as ‘paint popping’. The former is due to uncertain interfacial state between polymer and fillers and the latter results from different thermal expansion behavior of the polymer and filler materials while the material is exposed to high temperatures for painting process. This research aims to devise a highly sensitive technique and evaluate its suitability compared to mechanical testing for investigation of the origin of aforementioned problems. Acoustic Emission (AE) is a method with high sensitivity to changes in internal structure of the material which is postulated to provide a better insight on material microstructure compared to more commonly used method i.e. mechanical testing. Use of interfacial controlling agents was examined to reduce the problems as a result of introduction of fillers. The effect of using surface modified fillers and the effect of thermal stresses on material was investigated using AE technique. Application of AE method in this study provided a good insight about the changes in material internal structure; however, it did not demonstrate a significant improvement in detecting the origins of studied problems compared to mechanical testing at least based on the analysis technique used in this study.

Foodborne illnesses are a significant public health challenge in the United States, with an estimated 9.4 million illnesses annually attributed to the consumption of contaminated food, of which 59% are estimated to be caused by viruses, 39% by bacteria and 2% by parasites. Timely detection and identification of the pathogens causing foodborne outbreaks is vital for the implementation of outbreak control strategies, allowing public health officials to prevent additional illnesses and maintain confidence in the food supply. Public health laboratories employ a variety of traditional and molecular testing techniques to identify foodborne outbreak etiologic agents. One technology is the Luminex XMap® microsphere system, which is also marketed as the Bio-Plex™ 200. This platform has a multiplexing capability with the potential to simultaneously detect up to 100 targets in one reaction. The studies described here show that the combination of two Bio-Plex assays with real-time virus assays and one extraction method provides a flexible foodborne outbreak screening algorithm that potentially identifies an outbreak-associated pathogen on the first day of specimen submission and aids in focusing confirmatory laboratory testing. In these studies, two microsphere-based assays were designed for use on the Bio-Plex 200 system as screening assays for the detection of four enteric protozoa (Giardia intestinalis, Cyclospora cayetanensis, Cryptosporidium parvum, Entamoeba histolytica) and six virulence determinants of shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC) and Shigella spp. Precision and limits of detections were established for both assays. The sensitivity and specificity of the protozoan assay as compared to reference methods ranged from 81.25% to 100% for most targets, while sensitivity for the E. histolytica target was 42.86%. Sensitivity and specificity for the bacterial assay was 100% as compared to reference methods. However, cross-reactivity of the protozoan assay E. histolytica target with E. dispar and of the bacterial assay uidA target with enteropathogenic E. coli strains was noted. Additionally, real-time detection of norovirus and rotavirus nucleic acids extracted with the QIAamp DNA Stool Mini Kit was statistically comparable to detection when extracted with the Ambion® MagMAX™-96 Viral RNA Isolation Kit combined with the KingFisher® Magnetic Particle Processor.

Ce travail de thèse s'inscrit dans le cadre de recherches sur le retraitement futur du combustible nucléaire usé et notamment sur la gestion poussée des radionucléides à vie longue tels que les actinides mineurs. Il concerne la fabrication de pastilles céramiques de Couvertures Chargées en Actinides Mineurs (CCAM) dédiées à la transmutation pour les réacteurs à neutrons rapides. Les pastilles céramiques utilisées dans le milieu nucléaire sont classiquement fabriquées en utilisant les procédés issus de la métallurgie des poudres. En raison de la pulvérulence des précurseurs poudres utilisés et de la forte radioactivité des actinides mineurs et notamment de l’américium, un procédé « sans poudre » innovant a été proposé. Ce procédé prévoit la fabrication de pastilles céramiques en utilisant des précurseurs oxydes non plus sous forme de poudre mais sous forme de microsphères (Calcined Resin Microspheres Pelletization, CRMP). Le principe de ce procédé consiste à compacter sous forme de pastilles des microsphères d’oxyde puis à fritter le comprimé obtenu.La première partie de cette étude concerne la synthèse et la caractérisation de précurseurs oxyde sous la forme de microsphères sub-millimétriques d’oxyde de lanthanides (simulants les actinides) par le procédé aux résines. Différents lots de microsphères ont pu être synthétisés afin de mieux appréhender l’influence de certains paramètres de synthèse, tel que la température de calcination, le tri en taille de la résine ou encore la teneur en lanthanides dans le cas des oxydes mixtes ont été investigués dans le but de déterminer leur impact sur les propriétés microstructurales et mécaniques de microsphères d’oxyde.L'étude aborde dans un deuxième temps la mise en forme des microsphères d’oxyde à travers une approche à la fois expérimentale et numérique. L’approche numérique utilise la méthode éléments discrets (Discrete Element Method, DEM), bien adaptée pour ces milieux granulaires. Les microsphères d’oxyde, prises individuellement, sont caractérisées mécaniquement notamment à travers la mesure de leur résistance à l'écrasement. Une mise en relation des conditions de synthèse et des tenues mécaniques des microsphères a été entreprise afin de comprendre l'impact de ces paramètres de synthèse sur le comportement mécanique du matériau. La compaction en matrice de lots de ces microsphères sous forme de pastille a été étudiée. En particulier, la compressibilité d'un certain nombre de microsphères a été analysée expérimentalement puis simulée par la DEM en mesurant la densification de la pastille en cru en fonction de la contrainte axiale appliquée et en décrivant l’évolution de sa microstructure. / One option envisioned for the future management of high level nuclear waste is the transmutation of minor actinides into short-lived fission products in sodium fast reactor. This route requires the development of pellet fabrication processes to prepare Minor Actinide Bearing Blanket (MABB) for the transmutation of americium.Currently, those ceramic pellets are produced by powder metallurgy processes involving numerous grinding and milling steps that generate very fine and highly contaminating and irradiating particles. A viable option for reducing the amount of those fine particles would be to develop a dustless process by working on much coarser particles. In this context, this study is concerned with the pelletization of porous and spherical lanthanides oxide precursors (surrogates of actinides). The present work uses both experimental data and numerical simulations to optimize the pelletization step. The final aim is to obtain, after sintering, homogeneous, dense and undistorted ceramic pellets.Firstly, this study concerns the synthesis and characterisation of these oxide microspheres precursors by the Weak Acid Resin process, which consists in loading beads of ion exchange resin with lanthanides cations and mineralizing the metal loaded resin leads into sub-millimetric-sized oxide microspheres. Comprehensive characterisations of the microstructure and mechanical properties of oxide microspheres have been carried out to better understand their behaviour into the matrix when producing pellets.Secondly, the mechanical properties of a single microsphere were investigated in order to better understand its behaviour during compaction steps. They were also analysed using multi-scale simulations based on the Discrete Element Method (DEM), which is well suited for such particulate materials. In a second approach, compaction studies were carried out in a three parts die to characterize the mechanical behaviour under pressure of a large number of oxide precursors. The behaviour of several microspheres in the matrix was finally simulated using DEM in order to describe interactions between microspheres and to have a better understanding of their evolution during pressing.

Peripheral vascular diseases such as peripheral artery disease (PAD) and critical limb ischemia (CLI) are growing at an ever-increasing rate in the Western world due to an aging population and the incidence of type II diabetes. A growing economic burden continues because these diseases are common indicators of future heart attack or stroke. Common therapies are generally limited to pharmacologic agents or endovascular therapies which have had mixed results still ending in necrosis or limb loss. Therapeutic angiogenic strategies have become welcome options for patients suffering from PAD due to the restoration of blood flow in the extremities. Capillary sprouting and a return to normoxic tissue states are also demonstrated by the use of angiogenic cytokines in conjunction with bone marrow cell populations. To this point, it has been determined that spatial and temporal controlled release of growth factors from vehicles provides a greater therapeutic and angiogenic effect than growth factors delivered intramuscularly, intravenously, or intraarterialy due to rapid metabolization of the cytokine, and non-targeted release. Furthermore, bone marrow cells have been implicated to enhance angiogenesis in numerous ischemic diseases due to their ability to secrete angiogenic cytokines and their numerous cell fractions present which are implicated to promote mature vessel formation. Use of angiogenic peptides, in conjunction with bone marrow cells, has been hypothesized in EPC mobilization from the periphery and marrow tissues to facilitate neovessel formation. For this purpose, controlled release of angiogenic peptides basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) was performed using tunable ionic gelatin hydrogels or fibrin scaffolds with ionic albumin microspheres. The proliferation of endothelial cell culture was determined to have an enhanced effect based on altering concentrations of growth factors and method of release: co-delivery versus sequential. Scaffolds with these angiogenic peptides were implanted in young balb/c mice that underwent unilateral hindlimb ischemia by ligation and excision of the femoral artery. Endpoints for hindlimb reperfusion and angiogenesis were determined by Laser Doppler Perfusion Imaging and immunohistochemical staining for capillaries (CD-31) and smooth muscle cells (alpha-SMA). In addition to controlled release of angiogenic peptides, further studies combined the use of a fibrin co-delivery scaffold with FGF-2 and G-CSF with bone marrow stem cell transplantation to enhance vessel formation following CLI. Endpoints also included lipophilic vascular painting to evaluate the extent of angiogenesis and arteriogenesis in an ischemic hindlimb. Tissue engineering strategies utilizing bone marrow cells and angiogenic peptides demonstrate improved hindlimb blood flow compared to BM cells or cytokines alone, as well as enhanced angiogenesis based on immunohistochemical staining and vessel densities.

The development of a chip-based sensor array composed of individually addressable polystyrene-polyethylene glycol and agarose microspheres has been demonstrated. The microspheres are selectively arranged in micromachined cavities localized on silicon wafers. These cavities are created with an anisotropic etch and serve as miniaturized reaction vessels and analysis chambers. The cavities possess pyramidal pit shapes with trans-wafer openings that allow for both fluid flow through the microreactors/analysis chambers as well optical access to the chemically sensitive microspheres. Identification and quantification of analytes occurs via colorimetric and fluorescence changes to receptor and indicator molecules that are covalently attached to termination sites on the polymeric microspheres. Spectral data is extracted from the array efficiently using a charge-coupled device (CCD) allowing for the near-real-time digital analysis of complex fluids. The power and utility of this new microbead array detection methodology is demonstrated here for the analysis of complex fluids containing a variety of important classes of analytes including acids, bases, metal cations, sugars and antibody reagents. The application of artificial neural network analyses to the microbead array is demonstrated in the context of pH measurements. To assess the utility of the analysis and gain an understanding of the molecular level design of the sensor, parameters such as the choice of the indicator dyes, array size, data pre-processing techniques, as well as different network types and architectures were evaluated. Additionally, the development of miniaturized chromatographic systems localized within individual polymer microspheres and their incorporation into an array is reported. The integrated chromatographic and detection concept is based on the creation of distinct functional layers within the microspheres. Such beads have been incorporated into the array platform and used for speciation and concentration determination of aqueous metal cation solutions. / text

La régénération tissulaire est une voie prometteuse de thérapie dans le cadre des maladies dégénératives. Dans ce but sont conçus les microcarriers pharmacologiquement actifs (PAM). Ce sont des microsphères fournissant un environnement adéquat à la survie et la différenciation de cellules souches par la libération d’un facteur de croissance protéique encapsulé.Pour potentialiser l’intérêt des PAM, les microsphères doivent (1) permettre la libération complète et prolongée de la protéine (2) être formulées sans solvant halogéné par un procédé transposable à l’échelle pilote.Deux stratégies sont menées afin d’améliorer la stabilité et la libération de la protéine. La première consiste à utiliser de nouveaux additifs. Une étude bibliographique révèle le potentiel d’additifs protéiques ; leur application a permis d’augmenter significativement l’activité biologique de la protéine libérée. La seconde stratégie consiste à moduler la matrice de copolymère PLGAP188-PLGA. La modification de ses propriétés physicochimiques (Mw, hydrophobie…) a permis d’accéder à la compréhension de la structure des microsphères et d’obtenir une libération continue.Le développement du procédé de fabrication des microsphères sans solvant toxique associe la technique du prilling avec le glycofurol comme solvant. Cette combinaison se heurte à de nombreux verrous technologiques. La mise au point du procédé a été réalisée à l’aide de plans d’expériences. Ils ont conduit à la production de particules grâce à la modélisation des propriétés physicochimiques du milieu de réception et à la prise en compte des différents paramètres du procédé. / Pharmacologically active microcarriers (PAM) have been developed as innovative tools for tissue regeneration. This microspherical platform provided an environment for the survival and the differentiation of stem cells through the release of encapsulated protein growth factor. To improve the therapeutic efficacy of the PAM, the microspheres have to (1) provide the full and sustained release of the protein (2) be formulated without halogenated solvent by a process with an easy scale-up. The protein release has been studied through two strategies. The first one was to look for a preservation of the biological activity of the protein during the release. A literature review highlighted protein additives. Some of them were incorporated into the microspheres and increased significantly the protein release. The second one was the modulation of the matrix copolymer PLGAP188-PLGA. The modification of its properties (MW,hydrophobicity) permitted to reach a continuous release and to understand the structure of the microspheres. The prilling technique and the use of glycofurol provide an easy transferable process without toxic solvent. Experimental designs were performed to overcome the technological barriers. Through the modeling the physicochemical properties of the reception medium and the study of the process parameters, the formulation has been improved to produce acceptable particles.

Ce travail porte sur la mise au point, le développement et l’étude de la dégradation et de la biocompatibilité d’un nouveau ciment phosphocalcique modifié par ajout de strontium. Un ciment composite formé par l’insertion de microsphère de PLAGA a aussi été développé. Ces ciments ont un intérêt thérapeutique en orthopédie et en chirurgie maxillo-faciale pour le comblement ou le renforcement osseux. Les caractéristiques mécaniques, rhéologiques et radiologiques du ciment et du composite ont été évaluées et optimisées pour rendre leurs formulations à la fois résistantes, injectables et radio-opaque. Un travail de développement à été mené pour répondre au mieux au cahier des charges clinique de ce type de substitut osseux. La chimie de la réaction au sein du ciment à été étudiée pour connaître les mécanismes réactionnels, l’évolution et le produit final de la réaction de prise. Des tests in vitro sur la dégradation par dissolution passive des constituants du ciment et du composite ont été réalisés ainsi que l’étude de la biocompatibilité sur des cultures cellulaires. Des expérimentations animales sur la peau de souris et sur le tibia de lapin ont permis de confirmer la biocompatibilité du ciment et du composite et de donner une première évaluation de sa résorption et de son remplacement par du tissu osseux néo formé. / The aim of this thesis is to design and develop a new calcium phosphate cement modified by addition of strontium and a composite cement formed by the insertion of PLAGA microspheres.These cements have a therapeutic interest in orthopaedic and maxillofacial surgery for bone filling or reinforcement.The mechanical, rheological and radiological properties of cement and composite were evaluated and optimized to improve their mechanical strength, injectability and radio-opacity. Development works were conducted to meet clinical specifications required for this type of bone substitute.The cement chemistry was studied to determine the reaction mechanisms, evolution and the final product of the setting reaction. In vitro tests on the degradation of cement components and composites were performed and the biocompatibility was studied by cell cultures.Animal experiments on mouse skin and rabbit tibia have confirmed the biocompatibility of these cements and provide a preliminary assessment of its resorption and replacement by newly formed bone tissue.

Content: Nowadays, protein-based nanoparticle as a biodegradable, biocompatible product attracts considerable interest for new uses in specialized technical areas. Gelatin is a denatured, biodegradable, and nonimmunogenic protein obtained by controlled hydrolysis of the triple-helix structure of collagen into single-strain molecules. As an amphiphilic biopolymer, gelatin can easily assemble into different kinds of aggregates under the defined pH and temperature and the resulting gelatin nanoparticles have been developed to be applied in the food industry and biomedical fields. Herein we report a novel macromolecular microsphere composites (MMC) hydrogels with the use of prepared methacrylated gelatin nanoparticles (MA-GNP) as the cross-linker. MA-GNP have the ability of chemical crosslinking by the polymerization of C=C bonds, such that the composite hydrogels can be formed by radical polymerization of acrylamide (AAm) on the surface of MA-GNP. The smooth spherical particles with an average size of ~100 nm have been synthesized through a modified two-step desolvation method as proved by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results of nuclear magnetic resonance and dynamic light scattering further confirm the presence of reactive groups (C=C bonds) in the particles and its narrow sizes distribution. The resulting composite hydrogels (MA-GNP/PAAm) are porous materials with tunable pore sizes and exhibit enhanced compressive resistance and elasticity as well. Increasing appropriately the dosage of MA-GNP reduces the equilibrium swelling ratio and improves thermal stability of the gels. Moreover, all the hydrogels exhibit prolonged blood-clotting time, nonhemolytic nature and strong suitability for cell proliferation, indicating the improved antithrombogenicity and excellent cyto-compatibility. It suggests that the novel MA-GNP/PAAm hydrogels have potential application as tissue engineer scaffold materials, and the MA-GNP can be a promising macromolecular microsphere cross-linker for application in biomedical materials. The present work not only exploits new strategies to fabricate MMC hydrogels but also advance the potential application of biodegradable gelatin-based nanoparticles in biomedical fields. Take-Away: 1. A well-dispersed methacrylated gelatin nanoparticle (MA-GNP) with an average size of ~100 nm is presented by a modified two-step desolvation method. 2. MA-GNP is readily introduced into the polyacrylamide (PAAm) system as a cross-linker to prepare macromolecular microsphere composites (MMC) hydrogels via a free radical polymerization reaction. 3. MA-GNP is an effective cross-linker, improving both the compressive resistance and elasticity of MMC hydrogels as well as the biocompatibility.

In this study, it is aimed to develop an injectable controlled release system of PCL and P(L,DL)LA microspheres loaded with TA and/or Ral for local treatment of rheumatoid arthritis which will avoid from systemic side effects of traditional administration and eliminate problems caused by direct local injections. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic, autoimmune disorder that most commonly causes inflammation and tissue damage in joints and tendon sheaths. Current strategies for the disease are mainly towards relieving symptoms and increasing mobility. The microsphere form drug delivery systems were developed to enhance the treatment success of rheumatic diseases by providing these agents alone or together for long terms without causing systemic or local site effects upon injection to the RA joints. Microspheres were prepared with s/o/w solvent evaporation technique and optimized to achieve a suitable size for joint application, to sustain the delivery of the drug(s), to provide required amount of the agent with feasible amount of microsphere. In order to manage these, microspheres prepared with different combinations of polymers and drugs were examined for particle size analysis, surface and structural characterizations, time related drug release properties, and drug loading capacities. In vitro cytotoxicity tests using 3T3 fibroblast cells were done to evaluate the biocompatibility of drug loaded PCL microspheres. The degradation of polymers were conducted and evaluated by GPC analysis. In PCL:TA microspheres, as polymer:drug ratio decreased (from 10:1 towards 10:4), namely as the drug partition increased, it was seen that encapsulation efficiency and loading percentages increased. Meanwhile, percent release of the drug decreased, indicating more prolonged release. Among all microspheres, PCL:TA 10:4 and PCL:Ral 10:2 were found to be the most appropriate for dual release in terms of release values (ca 21% and 0.09%, respectively), loadings (ca 27% and ca 13%, respectively) and mean particle size values (ca 100 &mu / m and ca 95 &mu / m, respectively). After release studies, microspheres preserved their sphericity. These selected polymer:drug groups also represented no cytotoxic effect. The microspheres for dual drug study (PCL:TA:Ral 10:4:2) released app. 55% of its TA and 0.29% of Ral at the end of 4 weeks. Drug loading capacities of these microspheres were found to be ca 14% for TA and 8% for Ral. Furthermore, with dual loading case, smallest mean particle size (68 &mu / m) could be obtained among all studied groups. P(L,DL)LA microspheres caused high viscosity problems during microsphere preparation steps and resulted in the slowest release, which was unfavorable for the aim of the study. To our knowledge there is no microsphere study reported with P(L,DL)LA in literature. The TA and Ral delivery systems with PCL and P(L,DL)LA were developed and studied for the first time in literature and they were optimized for RA treatment purposes. The potential of these systems, should be further tested in experimental animal models of RA.

Le but de cette thèse est l’étude du système électrochimique or-cuivre en milieucyanure, la finalité étant la réalisation de microballons en or-cuivre de 800 μm de diamètre etd’épaisseur 20 à 40 μm. La composition, la microstructure ainsi que la rugosité doivent êtreparfaitement maîtrisées. La technique utilisée pour réaliser ce type d’objet est le dépôtélectrolytique en milieu cyanure.Dans un premier temps, l’influence des principaux paramètres d’élaboration(température de l’électrolyte, agitation, etc.) a été étudiée. Cette première étude a permis deréaliser des alliages d’or-cuivre de 5 μm d’épaisseur sur substrat plan de différentescompositions. En effet, il a été montré que la teneur en cuivre des dépôts augmente lorsque lepotentiel de réduction appliqué croît. Une augmentation du taux de cuivre modifie lesmécanismes de germination et de croissance des dépôts, ce qui a pour effet de diminuer lataille de grains et de modifier la microstructure. Ainsi, plus le dépôt est riche en cuivre, plus lataille de grains est faible et plus la structure est colonnaire, nodulaire voire dendritique.Des dépôts de 20 μm d’épaisseur ont ensuite été effectués sur substrat plan.Conformément à ce qui est décrit dans la littérature, ces dépôts se sont avérés très difficiles àréaliser en raison de l’apparition de nodules et de dendrites lorsque l’épaisseur augmente. Deplus, pour des épaisseurs supérieures à 10 μm, les dépôts sont alors constitués uniquementd’or, le cuivre n’étant plus réduit. Le changement de structure en cours de dépôt s’expliquepar l’inhibition de croissance engendrée par le cyanure libre. En effet, au cours de la réductionde l’aurocyanure et du cuprocyanure, du cyanure libre est libéré à la cathode. Ce cyanure libreinhibe la croissance latérale et promeut la croissance tridimensionnelle dite « instantanée »,provoquant l’apparition de nodules et de dendrites. Quant à l’appauvrissement en cuivre dudépôt, il s’explique également par la présence de cyanure libre à la cathode qui génère descomplexes cuprocyanure d’ordre 4. Les complexes d’ordre 4 possèdent une énergied’activation supérieure et un coefficient de diffusion plus élevé que les complexes d’ordre 3,d’où l’appauvrissement en cuivre du dépôt.Suite aux études électrochimiques, un modèle a été établi permettant d’expliquerl’influence du cyanure libre sur l’électrocristallisation des alliages d’or-cuivre. Ce modèle apermis de mettre en place des solutions visant à limiter l’inhibition électrochimique et ainsioptimiser les propriétés des alliages or-cuivre obtenus.L’une des solutions mises en place est l’application d’un champ ultrasonore pendant ledépôt. La cavitation générée par les ultrasons permet en effet d’évacuer le cyanure libre de lasurface de la cathode et d’optimiser le processus d’électrocristallisation. Ainsi, des dépôtsd’or-cuivre sur microballons ont été réalisés en présence d’ultrasons. Les analyses MEB etEDX de ces microballons montrent qu’il est possible d’obtenir des dépôts de 20 à 40 μmd’épaisseur de composition maitrisée. Les dépôts analysés ne présentent aucun gradient deconcentration dans l’épaisseur et il est ainsi possible de réaliser des alliages d’or-cuivrecontenant jusqu’à 45 %m de cuivre. Les dépôts réalisés présentent une structure lisse(80 ≤ Ra ≤ 230 nm) et compacte, et cela quelle que soit la concentration en cuivre. Quant à lamicrodureté de ces dépôts sur microballons, elle est fonction de la taille de grains (relation deHall-Petch) et donc de la concentration en cuivre du dépôt. / The aim of this PhD Thesis is to study the gold-copper cyanide electrochemicalsystem and finally to realize gold-copper microspheres with a diameter of 800 μm and athickness between 20 and 40 μm. The composition, the microstructure and the roughness ofthese shells must be perfectly controlled. To synthesise such a material, electrodepositionfrom a gold-copper alkaline cyanide bath has been chosen.Initially, the influence of the principal electrochemical parameters (temperature of theplating bath, stirring, etc.) was studied. This study showed that it is possible to realize5 μm thick gold-copper alloys with various compositions. Actually, it was shown that thecopper content of deposits varies with the applied potential. When increasing the coppercontent of coatings, the nucleation and growth mechanisms change. As a result, the grain sizeand the microhardness of the coatings are modified. An increase in the copper content reducesthe grain size witch increases the microhardness until a critical grain size of 6 nm. Thisincrease of copper content also affects the microstructure: columnar, nodular even dendriticalstructures were observed.Then, 20 μm thick gold-copper coatings were realized using the same electrochemicalparameters. As expected, these coatings were very difficult to plate because of the instabilityof the electrocrystallization process resulting in the development of columnar and nodularstructures. Moreover, for thicknesses above 10 μm, all deposits are free from copper. Themicrostructure change of deposits can be explained by inhibition phenomena generated byfree cyanide. Actually, the reduction of gold-copper generates free cyanide at the cathodesurface which inhibits the electrocrystallization and promotes instantaneous nucleation. Thisproduction of free cyanide also modifies the electrolyte chemistry promoting the formation ofCu(CN)43- instead of Cu(CN)32-. Cu(CN)43- complexes have lower diffusion coefficients andhigher activation energy witch explains why copper content reduces when increasing thethickness of deposits.Then a model was established which explains the influence of free cyanide on thegold-copper electrocrystallization. This model permitted to develop solutions in order to limitthe inhibition phenomena and to optimize the electrocrystallization of gold-copper.One of the solutions developed is the application of an ultrasonic field. The cavitationgenerated by the ultrasonic field eliminates the free cyanide from the cathode surface andoptimize the electrocrystallization process. Gold-copper deposits on shells were then platedunder sonication. SEM and EDS results show that it is possible to make 20 to 40 μm thickcoatings with a controlled composition. All the coatings plated under sonication were smooth(80 ≤ Ra ≤ 230 nm) and compact for various copper contents. The microhardness of thesecoatings varies with grain size (Hall-Petch relation) which depends of copper content.