Les capteurs électrochimiques sont des outils pour la détection fiable, peu coûteux, avec une haute sensibilité et sélectivité, pour la détermination des composés biologiques et chimiques dans les domaines du diagnostic clinique, l'environnement et l'industrie alimentaire. Particulièrement, les Immunocapteurs, alliant une très grande spécificité. Également des nouveaux techniques produisent des résultats similaires, par exemple, les capteurs basés sur la technique des Polymères à empreinte moléculaire, la quelle produise des récepteurs artificiels. La technique devient très important dans les sciences bioanalytiques parce qu'il porte des avantages inhérents sur les récepteurs naturels: une grande stabilité dans des diffèrent environnement et conditions, également comptent avec une grande flexibilité dans la conception, une large gamme de molécules peuvent être utilisées. L'objectif du travail présenté ici est de développer des capteurs électrochimiques avec une très grande affinité et spécificité pour une analyte. Les quelles comprennent des applications très divers comme dans la protection de l'environnement, la sécurité alimentaire et le domaine biomédical. La première partie de la thèse présent l'état actuel de la conception et techniques de fabrication des biocapteurs. Ensuite, les aspects généraux des immuno capteurs électrochimiques et capteurs base sur des aptamères sont présentés ici, ainsi que plusieurs exemples rapportés dans la littérature pour la détection de marqueurs biologiques du cancer. Les avantages de l'intégration nanomatériaux dans les dispositifs de détection sont présentés. Ensuite, plusieurs aspects sur la technique des Polymères à empreinte moléculaire sont introduits. La partie personnelle de contribution est structuré en trois chapitres: en premier temps la méthodologie et les résultats obtenus pour le développement de deux essais biologiques pour la détection du marqueur tumoral Mucinl. Le premier chapitre est dédié sur un capteur à base de billes magnétiques, dans le deuxième chapitre une capteur aptamère base sur des nanoparticules d'or sans aucun marquage et finalement un capteur basée sur la technique des Polymères à empreinte moléculaire, cette protocole a été appliqué pour la détection d'explosifs, des médicaments, des hormones et les pesticides / Electrochemical sensors provide reliable and inexpensive tools for the determination of biological and chemical compounds with high sensitivity and selectivity, in the fields of clinical diagnosis, environment protection and food industry. Immunosensors hold particular promise, combining the high specificity of immuno- reactions with the sensitivity of electrochemical methods. Artificial receptors based on molecularly imprinted technique attracted considerable attention in bioanalytical sciences due to inherent advantages over natural receptors, such as high stability in harsh conditions and freedom of molecular design towards a wide range of molecules. The aim of the thesis presented here was to develop electrochemical affinity sensors based on various recognition receptors for environment monitoring, food safety and biomedical field. The first part of the thesis reviews the current state of knowledge in these fields. General aspects of electrochemical immuno- and apta-sensors are presented herein, together with several examples reported in the literature for the detection of cancer biomarkers. The advantages of integrating nanomaterials in sensing devices are then presented. At last, several aspects of the molecularly imprinted polymers are introduced. The personal contribution part is structured in three chapters, that include the methodology and results obtained for the development of biosensors for the detection of Mucinl tumor marker, the first chapter being focused on bioassays based on magnetic beads and second chapter on a label-free aptasensor based on gold nanoparticles, and finally, a third chapter dedicated to the molecularly imprinted-based sensors for the detection of explosives, drugs, hormones and pesticides

The synthesis of materials with molecular recognition properties has become a topic of great technological and scientific interest. Molecular imprinting is one of the most effective strategies in preparing highly selective synthetic receptors. The technique of molecular imprinting involves the copolymerization of functional and cross-linking monomers in the presence of a molecular template. Following polymerization and subsequent removal of the template, the molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) retains a “molecular memory” of the template. During rebinding, the resultant polymer shows higher affinity and selectivity towards the molecular template when compared to other structural analogs. Ease of preparation and high thermal and chemical stability of this class of materials offers a broad range of potential applications. Promising areas of application include separation, chromatography, catalysis, sensors, antibody mimics, and drug delivery etc. The thesis entitled “Molecularly Imprinted Polymers based on Fluorescent and Template binding Cross-linker” deals with the design and synthesis of several molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) using different functional and cross-linking monomers, the main focus being use of preformed template-monomer complex, use of fluorescent cross-linker and development of functional group containing cross-linker. Chapter 1: An Introduction to Molecularly Imprinted Polymers. The first chapter provides an introduction to the field of molecularly imprinted polymers. It presents an overview of molecular imprinting process including a brief history of its discovery and its evolution to the present form. This chapter further elaborates on the principle of molecular imprinting with an emphasis on different parameters that directly affect their performance. It also provides a brief review of the applications of molecularly imprinted polymers. Chapter 2: Highly Cross-linked Metal Ion Imprinted Polymers. The second chapter deals with the synthesis of series of highly cross-linked metal-ion imprinted polymers. The process of metal ion-imprinting usually involves carrying out the polymerization and cross-linking directly in presence of the appropriate metal ion. In the present study, chemical-immobilization method was adopted which involves the use of preformed metal complexes with polymerizable group for the imprinting. Acrylate complexes of various metal-ions, such as Cu2+, Zn2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Pb2+ and Cr3+, were synthesized prior to polymerization. These pre-assembled complexes were then used to prepare MIPs, in the anticipation that this would lead to enhanced selectivity. Ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) was used as the cross-linking monomer. As a control, the respective non-imprinted polymers (NIPs) were also made in absence of the template metal ion. Following polymerization, the template metal ion was extracted from the resultant metal ion-imprinted polymer. The selectivity of the metal ion-imprinted polymers was examined by a batch process using analytical tools, such as, Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectroscopy (ICP). The spectroscopic studies revealed significant selectivity of all the MIPs towards the template metal ion. Among all six metal ion-imprinted polymers, Pb2+ and Cr3+ ion-imprinted polymer showed remarkable selectivity, followed by Cu2+ and Zn2+ ion-imprinted polymers. The Co2+ and Ni2+ ion-imprinted polymers exhibited comparatively poor selectivity. Representative plots depicting the selectivity exhibited by Pb2+ and Cr3+ ion-imprinted polymers are shown in Figure 1. These observations were rationalized based on the size and geometric preferences imposed by the imprinted site on the ion that binds to it. Figure 1. Selectivity study for (a) Pb2+ ion-imprinted polymer, (b) Cr3+ ion-imprinted polymer. Chapter 3. Molecularly Imprinted Fluorescent Chemosensor for Copper (II). Cu(II) is a source of important pollutant and therefore, the development of sensors that can detect Cu(II) selectively as well as remove Cu(II) from contaminated samples is an important objective. The use of molecular imprinting technique is an appealing approach in this regard. For this, a fluorophore containing cross-linker, namely 9,10-bis-(acryloyloxymethyl)anthracene (BAMA) was synthesized. This fluorescent cross-linker was used along with the standard cross-linker, EGDMA, for preparing Cu2+ ion-imprinted polymer. The complex of copper methacrylate (Cu-MAA) was prepared prior to polymerization used for the preparation of MIP. The resultant imprinted polymer exhibited quenching of the fluorescence in presence of Cu2+ ion, both in organic and aqueous medium. The efficiency of quenching of NIP (prepared in absence of Cu2+ ion) was significantly lower than that of MIP. A typical stack spectra showing the quenching process, along with a comparison of the quenching efficiency of MIP and NIP is shown in Figure 2. The imprinted polymers showed significant selectivity over other non-template metal ions, thereby reaffirming the importance of the imprinting process. The sensitivity of the fluorescence detection could be enhanced by increasing the level of the fluorophore incorporation. The increased sensitivity in detecting Cu2+ ion, demonstrated by the MIP suggests that a statistically random incorporation of the fluorophore into MIP matrices could be a useful approach for imparting a sensing element to MIPs. Figure 2. Fluorescence spectra of the (a) imprinted (MIP-1) and (b) non-imprinted (NIP-1) polymers in the presence of various concentration of Cu(OAc)2 in methanol. (c) Comparison of quenching efficiency of MIP-1 and NIP-1. Data were collected 3 h after addition of copper solution. I0 and I are the fluorescence intensities at 399 nm of the polymers in the absence presence of copper respectively. Two individual runs are presented in (c). Chapter 4. Molecularly Imprinted Turn-Off-On Sensor. This chapter describes the design and synthesis of molecularly imprinted fluorescent turn-off-on sensor utilizing the same fluorescent cross-linker, BAMA. Combining the process of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) with molecular imprinting technique, a novel turn-off-on sensor was developed. A molecularly imprinted polymer was prepared using a fluorescent template Coumarin-30 (C-30). C-30 was chosen as the template to ensure a significant overlap of the emission spectra of BAMA and the absorption spectra of C-30, thereby optimizing for FRET. Figure 3. Structures of relevant molecules. The C-30 imprinted polymer exhibited simultaneous quenching in fluorescence (turn-off) of BAMA and enhancement in fluorescence (turn-on) of C-30 (Figure 4). The imprinted polymer showed significantly better performance over the non-imprinted polymer (NIP). Figure 4. Fluorescence spectra of the (a) imprinted (MIP) and (b) non-imprinted (NIP) polymers with increasing concentration of the template Coumarine-30 in methanol. The UV-vis studies revealed that the more effective quenching is indeed due to the affinity for C-30 exhibited by the higher binding imprinted polymer. The imprinted polymer also showed significant selectivity over structurally analogous molecules. Therefore, both high sensitivity and selectivity were realized in such novel off-on sensor. Extension of this concept to other biologically relevant fluorescent templates could lead to potentially useful applications. Chapter 5. Design of New Template Binding Cross-linker. In molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP), high cross-linking density (~80 to 90 mole percent) is essential to ensure high selectivity, which limits the functional (binding) monomer to about 10-20 mole percent. Methacrylic acid (MAA) and ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) are the most common combination of functional monomer and cross-linker, respectively, used in molecular imprinting. Generally a molecularly imprinted polymer made with this combination, contains only 10-20% binding sites. This limitation of binding site density is an aspect that has largely been overlooked. In order to improve the efficiency of MIP materials by enhancing the number of binding sites, a new cross-linking monomer (CYDI, 1) with two carboxylic acid groups was designed and synthesized by coupling itaconic anhydride with cyclohexane dimethanol (Figure 5). Figure 5. Structures of relevant molecules. The new functional group bearing cross-linking monomer (1) Itaconate ester of cyclohexanedimethanol (CYDI), the template (2) theophylline (Theop) and the structural analogue of template (3) caffeine (Caff). This new cross-linking monomer was then employed for preparing molecularly imprinted polymer using a drug molecule, theophylline (Theop 2, a bronchodilator) as the template. Seven molecularly imprinted polymers were synthesized with different ratios of CYDI and EGDMA, keeping the cross-linking density constant. The binding efficiency and the selectivity of these imprinted polymers were thoroughly investigated. It was seen that while saturation binding values for theophylline increased continuously with functional cross-linker (CYDI) content, the optimum selectivity with respect to analogous substrate, caffeine, was attained at 40 mol% CYDI. These studies suggest that the approach of using functional group containing cross-linkers could lead to improved MIP performance.

Für den Nachweis dieser Schadstoffe in niedrigen Konzentrationsbereichen sind schnelle und empfindliche Analysemethoden erforderlich. Molekular geprägte Polymere (MIPs) wurden als synthetische Materialien entwickelt, um die molekulare Erkennung von natürlichen Rezeptoren nachzuahmen, aufgrund ihrer Fähigkeit, selektiv eine Vielzahl von Analyten zu erkennen, ihre Stabilität und ihrer einfachen Herstellung. Sie sind zunehmend in der chemischen Sensorik als Rezeptormaterial für den Nachweis bestimmter Analyten bei niedrigen Konzentrationen zu finden, insbesondere in Kombination mit Fluoreszenz aufgrund dessen hoher Empfindlichkeit. Ziel dieser Arbeit war die Entwicklung von optischen Sensormaterialien unter Verwendung von MIPs als Erkennungselemente im Zusammenhang mit Fluoreszenz zum sensitiven Nachweis von Herbiziden und Antibiotika in Wasser- und Lebensmittelproben and deren Kombination mit verschiedenen Vorrichtungsformaten für die zukünftige Detektion einer breiten Palette von wichtigen Analyten. / For the detection of these contaminants in low concentration ranges fast and sensitive analytical tools are required. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have been used as synthetic materials mimicking molecular recognition by natural receptors due to their ability to recognize selectively a wide range of analytes, their stability and ease of synthesis. They have gained more and more attention in chemical sensing as receptor material for the detection of suitable groups of analytes at low concentrations especially in combination with fluorescence due to the latter’s high sensitivity. This work aimed the development of optical sensor materials using MIPs as recognition elements connected with fluorescence for the sensitive detection of herbicides and antibiotics in water and food samples and their combination with various device formats for the future detection of a wide range of analytes.

Dans ce travail, deux méthodes d'extraction multi-résidus de contaminants présents dans des sédiments ont été développées. Dans la première partie de cette étude, une méthode a été développée pour l’'extraction simultanée de deux familles de métabolites oxygénés d'hydrocarbures aromatiques polycycliques (HAP), les quinones et les HAP hydroxylés (OH-HAP). Une approche chimiométrique a permis de déterminer les paramètres influant sur l’extraction assistée par micro-ondes (MAE) et une zone de compromis a été trouvée pour extraire de manière optimale les deux familles de composés. Deux méthodologies d’analyses chromatographiques ont été développées et validées pour analyser les extraits, puis comparées, à savoir la chromatographie liquide haute performance couplée aux détections UV et fluorimétrique (HPLC-UV-Fluo) et la chromatographie en phase gazeuse couplée à un spectromètre de masse par impact électronique (CPG-SM). En CPG-SM, des réactions de silylation des OH-HAP et d’acétylation des quinones ont dû être mises au point, afin d’abaisser les limites de détection (LD), en particulier pour les ortho-quinones. En HPLC-UV-Fluo, les LD étaient plus faibles qu’en CPG-SM, surtout pour les OH-HAP détectés en Fluo et l'analyse était plus rapide, sans processus de dérivation; mais la détection n’étant pas sélective, l’identification des analytes s’est avérée hazardeuse. Le choix s’est donc porté sur la CPG-SM pour une analyse plus fiable des deux familles de composés de matrices sédimentaires naturellement contaminées. Dans la deuxième partie de ce travail de thèse, une nouvelle méthodologie d'extraction a été développée et validée, basée sur la dispersion en phase solide de la matrice solide (MSPD), capable d'extraire mais aussi de purifier l’échantillon, méthodologie par ailleurs simple et rapide. Deux familles de composés ont été extraits simultanément à partir de sédiments, les HAP et les polychlorobiphényles (PCB). Un certain nombre de paramètres ont été optimisés, tels la nature des agents dispersants, le temps de broyage, le volume et la nature du mélange de solvants d’élution. Dans un deuxième temps, l'introduction des OH-HAP dans le processus analytique a amené à coupler à la MSPD une autre méthode d’extraction/purification beaucoup plus sélective, basée sur les polymères à empreintes moléculaires (MIP). En effet, les interférents polaires, restés piégés par l’agent dispersant polaire dans la première cartouche contenant le sédiment broyé, devaient être élués afin de libérer les OH-HAP, qui a leur tour devaient être retenus sélectivement dans un MIP empreint pour les phénols, pour fournir une élution finale exempte d'autres composés. Il a été montré que ces MIPs pouvaient extraire sélectivement les OH-HAP de faible et de haut poids moléculaire, mais il fallait choisir soigneusement le solvant de percolation pour ne pas endommager le polymère. Cependant, la difficulté principale a été de désorber les OH-HAP fortement retenus par le sédiment par liaison hydrogène. Cela a pu être réalisé pour les OH-HAP légers, en utilisant un mélange de solvants avec un effet de relargage par un sel, mais pas pour les OH-HAP lourds, trop fortement adsorbés sur la matrice sédimentaire. Par ailleurs, il a fallu utiliser une grande quantité de polymère à empreinte moléculaire à cause de la compétition pour les sites de reconnaissance entre les OH-HAP et des composés phénoliques. / In this work two multiresidual methods for extracting contaminants from sediments were developed. In the first part of this study, a method was developed for extracting simultaneously two groups of oxygenated metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), quinones and hydroxylated PAHs (hydroxy-PAHs). A chemometric approach allowed us to determine the influential parameters on microwave assisted extraction (MAE), and a compromise could be found for extracting quantitatively both families of compounds. Two chromatographic analytical methodologies were developed and validated for analysing the extracts: high performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorimetric and ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV-FLD) and gas chromatography coupled with an electronic impact mass spectrometer (GC-MS). Using GC-MS, reactions of silylation of hydroxy-PAHs and of acetylation of quinones had to be developed, to decrease detection limits (LOD), particularly for ortho-quinones. Using HPLC-UV-FLD, LODs were lower than using GC-MS, particularly for hydroxy-PAHs detected by FLD, and the analysis was faster, without derivatization; but the detectors were not selective, and identification of analytes was doubtful. Choice was done to favour GC-MS for a more reliable analysis of the two families of compounds extracted from naturally contaminated sediments. In the second part of this thesis work, a new fast and simple extraction methodology was developed and validated, based on matrix solid phase dispersion (MSPD), capable of extracting and purifying simultaneously sediment samples. Two families of compounds were simultaneously extracted from sediments, PAHs and polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs). Many parameters were optimized, as the nature of dispersing agents, the time of grinding, the volume and nature of elution solvent mixtures. In a second step, hydroxy-PAHs were introduced in the analytical process, which led us to add another more selective extraction/purification method to MSPD, based on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). Indeed polar interfering compounds, trapped by the polar dispersant in the first cartridge containing the blended sediment, had to be eluted to release hydroxy-PAHs, which in turn had to be selectively retained by the polymer, imprinted for phenols, to provide a final eluate free from other polar compounds. It was demonstrated that those MIPs could selectively extract low and high molecular weight hydroxy-PAHs, but appropriate percolating solvents had to be chosen to avoid polymer damages. However, the main difficulty was to desorb hydroxy-PAHs strongly retained by the sediment matrix through hydrogen bonds. It could be achieved for light hydroxy-PAHs, using a mixture of eluting solvents with salting-out effect, but not for heavy hydroxy-PAHs which stayed strongly sorbed on the sediment matrix. Furthermore we needed to use high amounts of imprinted polymer because of the competition for recognition sites between hydroxy-PAHs and phenolic compounds.

Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Entwicklung von Biosensoren mit dem Ziel, mit Hilfe der Kopplung molekular geprägter Polymere (MIPs) als neuartiges Rezeptormaterial und dem sensitiven Nachweisprinzip der Fluoreszenz eine neue Qualität des Analytnachweises zu erreichen. Es wurde eine neue Strategie zur Optimierung der Bindungseigenschaften von molekular geprägten Polymeren in wässrigen Lösungsmitteln entwickelt, die die Kopplung aus Design of Experiments und der Optimierung multipler Zielgrößen umfasst. Damit konnten die Polymerbindungseigenschaften für alle vier betrachteten Parameter wesentlich verbessert werden. Mit Hilfe stationärer und zeitaufgelöster Fluoreszenztechniken wurde die Aufklärung der Wechselwirkung zwischen MIP und Analyt auf molekularer Ebene sowie die Charakterisierung einer neuen Nachweisstrategie basierend auf einen Förster-Resonanzenergietransfer-Mechanismus realisiert. Es wurde ferner ein MIP-Sensor für biologische Proben mit mikrofluidischer Probenzuführung aufgebaut und mittels Fluoreszenzspektrometer als konventionelles Nachweisverfahren etabliert. Darauf aufbauend wurde der optische Nachweis miniaturisiert und somit miniaturisierte Lichtquellen und Detektoren sowie eine faser-optische Lichtleitung eingesetzt. Davon ausgehend erfolgte die Optimierung des Messaufbaus hinsichtlich der Sensitivität und Nachweisgrenze des fluoreszierenden Analyten. Schließlich wurden erstmalig fluoreszenzmarkierte MIP-Partikel zur Lokalisation und Quantifizierung auf Zelloberflächen eingesetzt, d.h. diese dienten als Antikörperersatz der Immunfärbung. / This thesis deals with the development of biosensors with the aim to couple molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as new receptor material with the sensitive detection principle of fluorescence in order to improve analyte detection. A new strategy for optimization of binding parameters of molecularly imprinted polymers in aqueous media was developed which is based on the coupling of design of experiments and the optimization of multiple objective parameters. Due to that the polymer binding properties for all four considered parameters could be optimized considerably. With the help of steady state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques the interaction between MIP and analyte could be clarified on a molecular basis. Furthermore the characterization of a new detection strategy based on a Förster resonance energy transfer mechanism was realized. Moreover a MIP sensor with microfluidic sample handling for biological samples was built-up and established with fluorescence spectroscopy as conventional detection method. Based on that, the optical detection was miniaturized with respect to light sources, detectors as well as optical fibers for light guidance. This set-up was optimized concerning sensitivity and limit of detection of the fluorescent analyte. Finally, for the first time fluorescently marked MIP particles were applied for imaging on cell surfaces – meaning that they were used for immunostaining as antibody mimics.

Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Entwicklung von Biosensoren mit dem Ziel, mit Hilfe der Kopplung molekular geprägter Polymere (MIPs) als neuartiges Rezeptormaterial und dem sensitiven Nachweisprinzip der Fluoreszenz eine neue Qualität des Analytnachweises zu erreichen. Es wurde eine neue Strategie zur Optimierung der Bindungseigenschaften von molekular geprägten Polymeren in wässrigen Lösungsmitteln entwickelt, die die Kopplung aus Design of Experiments und der Optimierung multipler Zielgrößen umfasst. Damit konnten die Polymerbindungseigenschaften für alle vier betrachteten Parameter wesentlich verbessert werden. Mit Hilfe stationärer und zeitaufgelöster Fluoreszenztechniken wurde die Aufklärung der Wechselwirkung zwischen MIP und Analyt auf molekularer Ebene sowie die Charakterisierung einer neuen Nachweisstrategie basierend auf einen Förster-Resonanzenergietransfer-Mechanismus realisiert. Es wurde ferner ein MIP-Sensor für biologische Proben mit mikrofluidischer Probenzuführung aufgebaut und mittels Fluoreszenzspektrometer als konventionelles Nachweisverfahren etabliert. Darauf aufbauend wurde der optische Nachweis miniaturisiert und somit miniaturisierte Lichtquellen und Detektoren sowie eine faser-optische Lichtleitung eingesetzt. Davon ausgehend erfolgte die Optimierung des Messaufbaus hinsichtlich der Sensitivität und Nachweisgrenze des fluoreszierenden Analyten. Schließlich wurden erstmalig fluoreszenzmarkierte MIP-Partikel zur Lokalisation und Quantifizierung auf Zelloberflächen eingesetzt, d.h. diese dienten als Antikörperersatz der Immunfärbung. / This thesis deals with the development of biosensors with the aim to couple molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as new receptor material with the sensitive detection principle of fluorescence in order to improve analyte detection. A new strategy for optimization of binding parameters of molecularly imprinted polymers in aqueous media was developed which is based on the coupling of design of experiments and the optimization of multiple objective parameters. Due to that the polymer binding properties for all four considered parameters could be optimized considerably. With the help of steady state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques the interaction between MIP and analyte could be clarified on a molecular basis. Furthermore the characterization of a new detection strategy based on a Förster resonance energy transfer mechanism was realized. Moreover a MIP sensor with microfluidic sample handling for biological samples was built-up and established with fluorescence spectroscopy as conventional detection method. Based on that, the optical detection was miniaturized with respect to light sources, detectors as well as optical fibers for light guidance. This set-up was optimized concerning sensitivity and limit of detection of the fluorescent analyte. Finally, for the first time fluorescently marked MIP particles were applied for imaging on cell surfaces – meaning that they were used for immunostaining as antibody mimics.