Magister Pharmaceuticae - MPharm / In this study, new solid supramolecular derivatised forms of bis(adamantine-1-aminium) carbonate (ADTCO3) were prepared. ADTCO3 is a derivative of amantadine used for Parkinson’s disease and has antiviral properties against influenza-A, dengue fever and pharmacological activity towards Parkinson’s disease. The new forms prepared were polymorphic and co-crystal forms of ADTCO3. Polymorphism is a phenomenon where the ability of a substance to exist in two or more crystalline forms occurs when crystallised under different conditions and co-crystallization is the process of formation of multicomponent crystals of a drug substance. New solid forms often display different mechanical, physicochemical and thermal properties that can remarkably influence the bioavailability, hygroscopicity and stability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). For the formation of polymorphs of ADTCO3, techniques such as dry grinding, solvent-drop grinding, co-precipitation, sublimation and vapour diffusion were applied. For the development of co-crystals and/or complex formation, ADTCO3 was treated in combination with ten selected co-formers viz; benzoic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, cinnamic acid, 4-hydroxycinnamic acid, succinic acid, tartaric acid, salicylic acid, L-glutamic acid, citric acid monohydrate and L-glutaric acid using similar techniques as applied in the polymorphism study. The first four co-formers were selected for their potential biological activity and the latter six were selected for their generally regarded as safe (GRAS) status. All products were isolated and characterized using different analytical techniques to assess the thermal behaviour of the products by hot stage microscopy (HSM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). FTIR spectroscopy and proton-nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR) were used to identify and determine the purity of the parent compounds and the modified forms. X-ray powder diffraction was used to determine the formation of a new phase and single crystal X-ray diffraction was applied at the initial stages to identify ADTCO3 by its unit cell parameters. Furthermore, the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) and other resources were used to generate information on the molecular structures of all elucidated parent compounds, their polymorphs and reported co-crystals. Four different polymorphic forms of ADTCO3 were identified (viz. ADTCO3 Forms I to IV) and sixteen co-crystals (viz. ADTCO3BA1 to ADTCO3BA5, ADTCO3HBA, ADTCO3CIN, ADTCO3HCIN, ADTCO3SUC, ADTCO3LTTA, ADTCO3SA, ADTCO3CA, ADTCO3GLA, ADTCO3GA) were synthesised. Of the sixteen co-crystals 5 were identified as ADTCO3BA “salt” co-crystal polymorphic forms and 2 as ADTCO3SUC co-crystal polymorphic forms. Two solvated “salt” co-crystal forms were also identified, namely; ADTCO3GLA and ADTCO3LTTA. ADTCO3GLA had a mass loss of 10.3% (n = 2.4) and ADTCO3LTTA had a mass loss of 5.25% (n = 0.86). Finally, the rest of the co-crystals ADTCO3HBA, ADTCO3CIN, ADTCO3HCIN, ADTCO3SA, ADTCO3CA and ADTCO3GA all crystallised as “salt” co-crystals.

Graphene-based materials (GBM) have recently generated great interest due to their unique two-dimensional (2D) carbon geometry, which confers exceptional physicochemical properties that hold great promise in many fields, including biomedicine. An understanding of how these novel 2D materials interact with the biological milieu is therefore fundamental for their development and use. Graphene oxide (GO) has been proven more biologically friendly than the highly hydrophobic pristine graphene. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to prepare well-characterised GO derivatives and test the hypothesis of their possible use for biomedical applications. GO was prepared reproducibly by a modified Hummers' method and further functionalised by using a radio-metal chelating agent, namely 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) to form GO-DOTA. The constructs were extensively studied using structural, optical and surface characterisation techniques. GO prepared from different forms of graphite demonstrated differences mainly in structure and production yields. However, all GO constructs were found biocompatible, with the mammalian cell cultures tested; furthermore, the biocompatibility of GO prepared as papers was retained when they were used as substrates for cell growth. Radiolabelling of GO-DOTA was further carried out to yield highly stable radio-labelled constructs, both in vitro and in vivo. These constructs were used for in vivo whole-body imaging and biodistribution studies in mice after intravenous administration. Extensive urinary excretion and accumulation mainly in the reticuloendothelial system (RES), including the spleen, liver and lungs, was the main fate of all the GO derivatives used in this thesis. The physicochemical characteristics were determined to play a central role for their preferential fate and accumulation. While the thicker sheets tended to accumulate mainly in the RES, the thinner ones were mostly excreted via the kidneys. Finally, it was crucial to perform safety investigations involving the structure and function of organs at high risk of injury (mainly the kidney and spleen). Our results revealed that no severe structural damage or histopathologic or functional abnormality of these vital organs. However, some preliminary inflammatory responses were detected that require further investigation. In summary, this study helped gain a better understanding of how thin 2D materials interact with biological barriers and the results indicate that these materials could be potential candidates for biological applications. Nevertheless, further investigations are necessary to confirm our findings.

Ces travaux de thèse portent sur l’étude et l’optimisation des propriétés interfaciales verre/PA 6-6 pour la conception de matériaux composites de structure. Une méthode visant à nettoyer et réactiver la surface du verre a dans un premier temps été développée. Elle permet de travailler avec des substrats de type fibres ou substrats modèles (plaques de verre) et d’obtenir des surfaces « contrôlées » avant l’application de nouveaux revêtements. La maîtrise de l’interface entre renfort et matrice nécessite l’optimisation de l’ensimage, dont les principaux constituants sont des agents filmogènes et des agents de couplage. Au cours de ce travail, nous avons donc étudié les propriétés thermiques, mécaniques et de surface des nouveaux revêtements appliqués sur les substrats de verre. Différents agents filmogènes, sélectionnés pour être compatibles avec les conditions de mise en oeuvre du PA 6-6, ainsi que deux agents de couplages usuels ont été étudiés. Par le choix d’une large gamme de familles d’agents filmogènes, nous avons montré que l’utilisation d’un agent filmogène de composition chimique proche de celle de la matrice permet d’atteindre de meilleures propriétés interfaciales. L’augmentation de la rugosité de surface du revêtement contribue également à cette amélioration. Le greffage des agents de couplage sur le verre s’est révélé bien plus efficace avec un traitement thermique à 150°C qu’à 110°C et un effet de synergie a pu être observé lors de leur association avec un agent filmogène. L’utilisation d’agents filmogènes à haute résistance thermique a permis d’obtenir des propriétés interfaciales très intéressantes, renforcées pour certains systèmes par l’ajout de nanoparticules. Enfin, afin d’accéder à une estimation de la ténacité de l’interface, un test de DCB en mode I a été adapté à notre problématique. Les résultats obtenus ont été complémentaires à ceux obtenus par les tests du plot et de la microgoutte / This work is devoted to the study and optimisation of glass/PA 6-6 interfacial properties for the conception of structural composite materials. A method to clean and reactivate glass surface was first developed. It allowed us to work with glass fibres and model substrates (glass plates), aiming to get controlled surfaces before the application of new coatings. Controlling the interface between the reinforcement and the matrix requires the optimisation of the sizing, which is mainly composed of film formers and coupling agents. This study consisted in the characterisation of thermal, mechanical and surface properties of the new coatings applied to the glass substrates. Different film former bases, selected for their compatibility with the processing conditions of PA 6-6, and two usual coupling agents were studied. This work allowed to identify different parameters that play a role in the improvement of interfacial properties. By working with a wide range of film formers, we could show that the use of a film former with close chemical composition from the matrix allows to reach better interfacial properties. Increasing the surface roughness of coatings also participates in this improvement. The grafting of coupling agents was more efficient after 150°C thermal treatment than 110°C, and a synergistic effect was obtained by their association to a film former. The use of film formers with high thermal resistance provided very interesting interfacial properties, also improved, for some, by the addition of silica nanoparticles. Finally, DCB mode I mechanical test was adapted to our system, allowing to estimate the fracture toughness of the glass/PA 6-6 interface which is a complementary result to the estimation of the adhesion force measured by pull-off and pull-out tests