Orientador: Robson Francisco Carvalho / Resumo: Adenocarcinoma ductal do pâncreas (PDAC) é extremamente agressivo, possui prognóstico desfavorável e não existem biomarcadores satisfatório para a doença ou identificação de indivíduos com alto risco de morbidade e mortalidade. A complexidade celular e molecular do câncer de pâncreas leva a inconsistências nas validações clínicas de muitas proteínas que foram avaliadas como biomarcadores prognósticos da doença. O secretoma tumoral desempenha um papel crucial na proliferação e metástase de células PDAC, bem como na resistência a tratamentos terapêuticos, que juntos contribuem para um pior resultado clínico. Assim, a enorme quantidade de dados proteômicos do câncer de pâncreas que foram gerados a partir de diferentes tipos de amostras e técnicas de espectrometria de massa pode ser integrada para a seleção de proteínas secretadas compartilhadas relevantes para o diagnóstico e prognóstico da doença. O objetivo do presente estudo foi realizar uma meta-análise combinando dados do proteoma do câncer de pâncreas e secretome publicamente para identificar novos potenciais biomarcadores de doenças. Realizamos uma meta-análise integrando dados de espectrometria de massa obtidos de duas revisões sistemáticas da literatura sobre câncer de pâncreas, que selecionaram independentemente 20 estudos do secretoma e 35 do proteoma. Em seguida, realizamos análises de predição de proteínas secretadas usando sete ferramentas ou bancos de dados “in silico”, que identificaram 39 proteínas compartilhada... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is extremely aggressive, has an unfavorable prognosis and there are no satisfactory biomarkers for the disease or identification of individuals at high risk of morbidity and mortality. The cellular and molecular complexity of pancreatic cancer leads to inconsistences in clinical validations of many proteins that have been evaluated as prognostic biomarkers of the disease. Tumor secretome plays a crucial role in PDAC cell proliferation and metastasis, as well as in resistance to therapeutic treatments, which together contribute to a worse clinical outcome. Thus, the massive amount of proteomic data from pancreatic cancer that have been generated from different studies can be integrated into the selection of shared secreted proteins relevant to the prognosis of the disease. The aim of the present study was to perform a metaanalysis combining pancreatic cancer proteome and secretome publicly data to identify new potential disease biomarkers. We performed a meta-analysis integrating mass spectrometry data obtained from two systematic reviews of the pancreatic cancer literature, which independently selected 20 studies of the secretome and 35 of the proteome. Next, we performed prediction analyses of secreted proteins using seven “in silico” tools or databases, which identified 39 proteins shared between the secretome and the proteome data. Notably, the expression of 31 genes of these proteins was upregulated in pancreatic adenocarcinoma samp... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Planar electronic devices represent an attractive approach towards roll-to-roll printed electronics without the need for the sequential, precisely aligned, patterning steps inherent in the fabrication of conventional ‘3D’ electronic devices. Self-switching diodes (SSDs) and in-plane-gate field-effect transistors (IPG-FETs) can be patterned using a single process into a substrate precoated with semiconductor.These devices function in depletion mode, requiring the semiconductor to be doped in order for the devices to function. To achieve this, a reliable and controllable method was developed for doping organic semiconducting polymers by the immersion of optimally deposited films in a solution of dopant. The process was shown to apply both semicrystalline and air-stable, amorphous materials indicating that the approach is broadly applicable to a wide range of organic semiconductors.Simultaneously with the development of the doping protocol specialised hot-embossing equipment was designed and constructed and a high-yielding method of patterning the structures of IPG-FETs and SSDs was arrived at. This method allowed for consistent and reliable patterning of features with a minimum line-width of 200nm.Following the development of these doping and patterning processes these were combined to fabricate controllably doped, functioning planar devices. SSDs showed true zero-threshold rectification behaviour with no observed breakdown in the reverse direction up to 100 V. IPG-FETs showed switching behaviour in response to an applied gate potential and were largely free of detectable gate leakage current, verifying the quality of the patterning process.Furthermore, high-performance semiconducting polymer PAAD was synthesised and characterised in field-effect transistors as steps towards its use in planar electronic devices. It was also shown that this material could be doped using the developed immersion doping protocol and that this protocol was compatible with top-gated device architectures and the use of fluoropolymer CYTOP as a dielectric.