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Controlling tribological interactions, such as friction and adhesion between contacting interfaces is critical for the advancement of technologies such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices. The challenge in MEMS device lubrication lies in the inherent nature of the material’s surface at the nanoscale as well as the nature of the surfaces typically used during experimentation. Device surfaces often display nanoscale roughness with surface asperities dictating the tribological properties between interfaces, yet the vast majority of past research has focused predominately on nanotribological studies of thin films on flat silicon substrates to model the behavior of these self-assembled wear-reducing coatings. New model surfaces have been manufactured and integrated into experiments in which surfaces with controlled asperity sizes act as more realistic models of MEMS surfaces. As friction and adhesion between real surfaces in sliding contact are dominated by the interactions of nanoscaled surface asperities, this research is an extension of previous work, moving beyond smooth surfaces by manufacturing and implementing new experimental platforms possessing controlled asperity sizes. The influence of asperity size on the tribological properties of these contacts is being studied for both native oxide and organosilane derivatized surfaces. These studies more readily mimic the conditions found at true asperity-asperity contacts. This research has aimed to develop new lubricant thin films that can effectively protect MEMS device surfaces during use with the long term goal of bringing MEMS devices out of the laboratory and into wide scale commercial use. This work investigates how self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on curved surfaces can be utilized in manners that their analogs on flat surfaces cannot. SAMs on curved asperities can be used to trap short chain alcohols, which during contact may be released to function as an additional lubricant layer on the surface. Both atomic force microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy have been employed to evaluate how chain disorder influences the protective function of these molecular lubricant layers on asperities. It was found that functionalized surfaces resisted wear and were able to operate under continuous scanning for longer time frames than unfunctionalized surfaces and that multicomponent films improved upon the performance of their base, single component analogs.

We prepare a series of gold-silver alloy nanoparticles with different Au/Ag mole ratio. The UV/Vis absorption spectra of nanoparticle solutions exhibited one surface plasmon resonance absorption band and the surface plasmon absorption band of the gold-silver alloy nanoparticles is blue-shifted with increase the Ag content. Finally, we produced the nanoparticles capping with alkanethiolate and alkanecarboxylate via place-exchange reaction. The nanoparticles have been characterized by ICP-MS, TEM, 13C-NMR, FT-IR, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. We suggest that the carboxylate group is coordinated to the Ag ion as a bridging bidentate.

Highly organised structures have been well-known to be part of the complex neuronal network presented in the nervous system, where thousands of neuronal connections are arranged to give rise to critical physiological functions. Conventional in vitro culture methods are useful to represent simplistic neuronal behaviour, however, the lack of such organisation results in random and uncontrolled neurite spreading, leading to a lack of cell directionality and in turn, resulting in inaccurate neuronal in vitro models. Neurons are highly specialised cells, known to be greatly dependent on interactions with their surroundings. Therefore, when surface material is modified, drastic changes in neuronal behaviour can be achieved. The use of chemically modified surfaces in vitro has opened new avenues in cell culture, where the chaotic environment found in conventional culture methods can be controlled by the combination of surface modification methods with surface engineering techniques. Polymer brushes and self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) display a wide range of advantages as a surface modification tool for cell culture applications, since their properties can be finely tuned to promote or inhibit cellular adhesion, differentiation and proliferation. Therefore, when precisely combined with patterning techniques, a control over neuronal behaviour can be achieved. Neuronal patterning presents a system with instructive cues that can be used to study neuron-neuron communication by directing single neurites in specific locations to initiate synapses. Furthermore, although this area has not been much explored, the use of these patterned brushes could also be used in co-culture systems as a platform to closely monitor cell heterotypical communication. This research demonstrates the behaviour of SH-SY5Y neurons on a variety of SAMs and polymer brushes, both in isolation and combination to promote cellular spatial control. APTES and BIBB coatings promoted the highest cell viability, proliferation, metabolic activity and neuronal maturation, whilst low cell adhesion was seen on PKSPMA and PMETAC surfaces. Thereafter, PKSPMA brushes were used as a potential cell repulsive coating and its combination with micro- patterning techniques (photolithography and soft lithography) resulted in a system with instructive cues for neuronal guidance, where neuronal directionality was obtained. In the final chapter of this thesis, a chimeric co-culture system was developed where the patterned SH-SY5Y cells were co-cultured with C2C12 myoblasts in an attempt to obtain an organised neuronal-muscle co-culture system. Whilst preliminary observations showed first stages of a patterned neuronal-muscle co-culture, future work is necessary to refine and improve the patterned co-culture process.

The preparation and spectroscopic characterizations of size-controlled Pyridine-functionalized gold clusters formed self-assembled 2D superlattices with hexagonal packing were studied. The characterizations of pyridine-modified Au clusters using TEM, UV-vis, NMR and ESCA techniques are also reported. Pyridine-functionalized monolayer-protected Au clusters (MPCs) were prepared as illustrated in Scheme 1. The gold nanoparticles prepared by the reduction with NaBH4 have 3.2 ¡Ó 0.88 nm average core diameters established by TEM. The ~3 nm particles were used to induce size and shap evolution with heating treatment in toluene or in TOABr (tetraoctylammonium bromide). The pyridine-functionalized MPCs exhibit an identifiable plasmon resonance band at ~515 nm. The confirmation of the functionalization of pyridyl octanethiol in Au MPCs came from the downfield NMR resonances in the region of 120-150 ppm, which were established the resonances of the Py moiety.

In this work, the synthesis and characterization of functionalized biosurfaces that can be used for bioseparations and bio-nanotechnology are reported. A novel protein purification technique that incorporates chelating ligands and polymers onto the same chromatographic matrix is explored. A polysaccharide based gel, agarose, was modified systematically with hybrid ligands of the chelator iminodiacetic acid (IDA) and the polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG). The PEG molecule acts as a blocking polymer that can allow only small proteins to permeate onto the matrix surfaces and form conventional immobilized metal ion affinity chromatographic (IMAC) interactions with the chelators. Kinetic studies of chelator and polymer attachment were performed in order to effectively control the chelator and polymer densities on the matrix. Studies with different PEG surface densities and their effects on the adsorption of several proteins (e.g. myoglobin, lysozyme and bovine serum albumin (BSA)) were evaluated to characterize these new hybrid size exclusion IMAC (SEIMAC) matrices. An exclusion effect was observed while adsorption as observed in IMAC systems took place.Functionalization schemes and procedures were extended in the activation and incorporation of affinity ligands on inorganic surfaces such as gold surfaces. Functional gold platforms were explored for development of nano-interconnects via functionalized self assembled monolayers (FSAMs) on gold to attach specific affinity ligands as linkers to immobilize biomolecules, such as microtubules (MTs). MTs eventually could be utilized as self assembling structures and templates for fabrication of nano-scale bio-interconnect arrays and networks. In this work, different organothiols were used to form FSAMs and anti-glutathione S-transferase was attached as a linker to utilize the attachment of MT cap proteins, gamma-tubulin. The gamma-tubulin could recognize specifically a heterodimer of the MTs and can provide a nucleation center for MT growth. Several methodologies were employed including photolithographic methods and the use of photoreactive compounds for proper micro/nano scale dual protein functionalization of surfaces with homogeneous affinity ligands and with heterogeneous ligands as well.

Molecular beam scattering experiments are used to investigate the extent of thermal accommodation of Ne, CD4, ND3, and D2O in collisions with long chain CH3, NH2, and OH terminated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold. Surface rigidity, internal degrees of freedom of the impinging gas, and potential energy surface well depths have been explored as a way to predict the outcome of a gas-surface collision. Ne is used to assess the mechanical rigidity of the SAMs. The order of rigidity is CH3 < NH2 ~ OH. The NH2 and OH terminated SAMs are more rigid due to the intermolecular hydrogen bonding structure at the gas-surface interface. Despite the hydrogen bonding nature of the NH2 and OH terminated SAMs CD4, ND3, and D2O are extensively thermally accommodated on the surfaces, therefore surface rigidity is no solely responsible for energy transfer dynamics. It was found that the number of degrees of freedom do not predict how extensively a gas will thermally accommodate on a surface capable of hydrogen bonding. A qualitative correlation between increasing potential energy well depths and the extent of thermal accommodation has been established as a result of these scattering experiments. / Master of Science

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / O emprego das tÃcnicas de eletroquÃmica, microbalanÃa de cristal quartzo (QCM â Quartz Crystal Microbalance) e ressonÃncia de plÃsmons de superfÃcie (SPR â Surface Plasmon Resonance) mostram que as espÃcies 1,4-ditiano (1,4-dt), 4-mercaptopiridina (pyS), 5-(4-piridil)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-tiol (Hpyt), tionicotinamida (TNA) e isotionicotinamida (iTNA) experimentam adsorÃÃo espontÃnea formando SAMs (Self-Assembled Monolayers) como resultado da imersÃo de substratos de ouro em soluÃÃo contendo estas espÃcies. As imagens obtidas por microscopia de varredura por tunelamento (STM â Scanning Tunneling Microscopy) indicam um arranjo prÃximo do hexagonal com exceÃÃo da iTNA cujas imagens nÃo foram conclusivas. Adicionalmente, as imagens indicam a existÃncia de defeitos nas SAMs mesmo apÃs longos perÃodos de imersÃo (24 h). Os estudos termodinÃmicos e cinÃticos dos processos de adsorÃÃo foram realizados por desorÃÃo redutiva em meio alcalino e QCM. Os valores dos potenciais de desorÃÃo redutiva, Edr, foram observados em &#8722;0,9, &#8722;0,8 e &#8722;0,5 V vs. Ag/AgCl/Cl- para a desorÃÃo de iTNA, TNA e Hpyt, respectivamente. Comparativamente Ãs espÃcies 1,4-dt (&#8722;0,8 V) e pyS (&#8722;0,5 V), o valor de Edr da SAM de Hpyt indica uma interaÃÃo sigma ao passo que aqueles observados para iTNA e TNA sugerem uma contribuiÃÃo pi adicional. Os valores de quantidade de material adsorvido (gama) e da taxa de recobrimento da superfÃcie (teta), calculados por desorÃÃo redutiva e impedÃncia eletroquÃmica, respectivamente, foram consistentes com as imagens de STM. Comparativamente aos resultados de desorÃÃo, os maiores valores de gama determinados por QCM foram atribuÃdos à presenÃa de molÃculas de Ãgua co-adsorvidas visto que foi observada uma relaÃÃo linear entre o excesso de massa e o momento de dipolo das espÃcies modificadoras. As curvas de desorÃÃo obtidas para pyS indicam a decomposiÃÃo da monocamada nÃo possibilitando, portanto, a determinaÃÃo dos parÃmetros termodinÃmicos e cinÃticos de adsorÃÃo. A correlaÃÃo com os resultados obtidos apÃs imersÃo do eletrodo de ouro em soluÃÃo de Na2S sugere que este processo està associado à quebra da ligaÃÃo C&#9472;S com formaÃÃo de uma camada de enxofre atÃmico e/ou oligomÃrico. As isotermas de adsorÃÃo obtidas para os processos de formaÃÃo das SAMs de Hpyt, TNA e iTNA, adequaram-se ao modelo de Langmuir permitindo a determinaÃÃo da variaÃÃo da energia livre de adsorÃÃo, &#916;Gads, como &#8722;35,9, &#8722;38,5 e &#8722;34,9 kJ mol&#8722;1, respectivamente. Estes valores sÃo indicativos de interaÃÃo forte sendo caracterÃsticos de processos de quimissorÃÃo. Para o modelo de Frumkin, os dados apresentaram melhores correlaÃÃes quando o parÃmetro de interaÃÃo (g) foi fixado em &#8722;0,45, &#8722;0,30 e &#8722;0,10, respectivamente, para as SAMs de Hpyt, TNA e iTNA indicando interaÃÃes repulsivas entre as molÃculas adjacentes. Os valores de pKa das SAMs de Hpyt (4,2), TNA (5,0 e 8,5) e iTNA (4,5 e 7,9) foi determinado por voltametria utilizando-se o Ãon complexo [Fe(CN)6]3&#8722;. Neste estudo, foram sugeridas modificaÃÃes, uma vez que o mÃtodo proposto na literatura dificulta a determinaÃÃo de mais de um valor de pKa como observado para as molÃculas de TNA e iTNA. As reaÃÃes de transferÃncia de elÃtrons (TE) das metaloproteÃnas citocromo c (cyt c) e mioglobina (Mb) foram estudadas utilizando-se as SAMs de Hpyt, TNA, iTNA, pyS e 1,4-dt. Para as SAMs de TNA e iTNA, o deslocamento positivo de 0,2V no valor do potencial de meia-onda do cyt c (pH~7,0) em relaÃÃo a forma nativa, foi atribuÃdo à densidade de carga positiva resultante da protonaÃÃo do grupo NH2 (pKa ~ 8,0). Resultados de QCM e SPR indicaram que hà a formaÃÃo de uma monocamada de cyt c sobre as SAMs estudadas. Esta monocamada, embora nÃo sendo redox ativa, permite o estudo da reaÃÃo de TE das molÃculas de cyt c em soluÃÃo sugerindo que este processo pode envolver os orbitais das molÃculas modificadoras. Para a metaloproteÃna Mb, utilizou-se uma SAM formada pelo aminoÃcido L-cisteÃna (cys), uma vez que nenhuma das SAMs estudadas acessou a reaÃÃo de TE. O processo redox foi observado em 0,086 V o que sugere a forma nativa. Os dados de QCM e SPR indicaram, tambÃm, a formaÃÃo de uma monocamada sobre a SAM de cys (Au/cys/Mb). Valores de â49,67 kJ mol&#8722;1 e &#8722;0,15 para &#916;Gads e g, respectivamente, foram calculados para a formaÃÃo da monocamada de Mb sobre a SAM de cys. O eletrodo Au/cys/Mb apresentou atividade catalÃtica em relaÃÃo a reaÃÃo de oxidaÃÃo do Ãcido ascÃrbico com uma diminuiÃÃo de 400 mV no sobrepotencial e uma reaÃÃo cineticamente controlada com uma constante de velocidade, kf, de ~2,0 x 10^4 L mol-1 s-1. / Electrochemical techniques, quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and surface plÃsmons resonance (SPR) were used to study the formation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 1,4-ditiano (1,4-dt), 4-mercaptopyridine (pyS), 5-(4-piridinyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol (Hpyt), thionicotinamide (TNA) and thioisonicotinamide (iTNA) as a result of the immersion of gold substrates into the respective solutions. STM (Scanning Tunneling Microscopy) images indicate the sulfur atom as the adsorption site of these molecules and a hexagonal conformation on surface. For the iTNA molecule, the images were not conclusive. In addition, the images indicated the existence of defects even after longer immersion times (24 h). Thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of the adsorption process were evaluated by reductive desorption in alkaline media and QCM. The reductive desorption potentials, Edr, were observed at &#8722;0.9, &#8722;0.8, and &#8722;0.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl for the desorption of iTNA, TNA and Hpyt, respectively. In comparison to 1,4-dt (&#8722;0.8 V) and pyS (&#8722;0.5 V) species, the Edr value of Hpyt indicates a sigma interaction whereas those of iTNA and TNA indicate an additional pi contribution. The values of the concentration of adsorbed material, gama, and fractional coverage (teta ~ 0.9), determined, respectively, by reductive desorption and impedance are consistent with the STM images. In comparison to the desorption data, the higher values of gama calculated by QCM were assigned to the presence of water molecules since a linear relation was observed between the dipole moment and the mass change calculated by QCM. The desorption curves acquired for the pyS SAM indicated the decomposition of the monolayer thus not allowing the determination of the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of adsorption. In comparison with the results obtained for the electrode modified after immersion in Na2S solution, it was suggested that this process is associated to the cleavage of the C&#9472;S bond which results in the formation of an adlayer composed of atomic and/or oligomeric sulfur species. The adsorption isotherms for Hpyt, TNA and iTNA fitted the Langmuir model of adsorption allowing the determination of the free energy of adsorption, &#916;Gads, as &#8722;35.9, &#8722;38.5 and &#8722;34,9 kJ/mol, respectively. These values are indicative of strong interaction being typical of chemisorption. For the Frumkin model, the best correlation was found when the interaction parameter, g, was established as &#8722;0.45, &#8722;0.20 and &#8722;0.10 for Hpyt, TNA and iTNA, respectively, indicating repulsive interactions between the adjacent molecules. Cyclic voltammetry was used to determinate the pKa of the SAMs of Hpyt (4.2), TNA (5.0 and 8.5) and iTNA (4.5 and 7.9) by using [Fe(CN)6]3&#8722; as a probe molecule. For this study, some changes were suggested since in the method proposed in the literature the existence of more than one protonation site was not considered thus not allowing the determination of more than one pKa value as was observed for TNA and iTNA molecules. Electron transfer reactions (TE) of cytochrome c (cyt c) and myoglobin (Mb) metalloproteins were studied by using the SAMs of Hpyt, TNA, iTNA, pyS and 1,4-dt. For the SAMs formed with TNA and iTNA, the positive shift of 0.2V on the half-wave potential of cyt c in relation to that of the native protein, was assigned to the positive charge density on surface in consequence of the protonation of NH2 groups (pKa~8.0) since these measurements were carried out in physiological medium. QCM and SPR data indicated the formation of a monolayer of cyt c on the studied SAMs. This monolayer, although not being electroactive, allows the study of the TE reaction of the cyt c molecules in solution suggesting that this process involves the orbitals of the modifier molecules. For the Mb metalloprotein, a SAM of L-cysteine amino acid was used since none of the studied sulfur molecules was able to access the TE reaction. The redox process was observed at 0.086 V suggesting the native form of Mb. QCM and SPR data indicated, also, the formation of a monolayer of Mb on the cys SAM (Au/cys/Mb). Values of â49.67 kJ mol&#8722;1 and &#8722;0.15 for &#916;Gads and g, respectively, were calculated for the formation of the monolayer of Mb on the cys SAM. The electrode Au/cys/Mb presented catalytic activity toward the oxidation reaction of ascorbic acid presenting a decrease of 400 mV in the overpotential and a kinetic controlled with a rate constant, kf, of 2.0 x 104 L mol-1 s-1.

This thesis outlines a study of the physical changes that hybridisation imposes on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) immobilised by one end to a substrate, and of how such physical changes can be exploited to detect specific sequences of DNA in a target solution. The system studied was composed of a mixed monolayer of 20mer ssDNA with C6 alkanethiolate modifications on their 3??? ends and short-chain hydroxyterminated alkanethiolates, on a gold substrate. It was prepared using the self-assembly properties of alkanethiols on gold. Atomic force microscopy images showed that the end-immobilised ssDNA is flexible enough to lie over the diluent hydroxy-terminated self-assembled monolayer (SAM). Hybridisation was shown to cause the DNA to become more rigid and stand up off the substrate due to an increase in persistence length. Such physical changes of the DNA upon hybridisation were significant enough to be exploited in the development of a DNA recognition interface. The recognition interface was designed with the view of keeping it both simple to make and simple to use, and was coupled with electrochemical transduction. A label-free recognition interface was developed that relied on the oxidation of the sulfur head group of the alkanethiolate SAM to detect hybridisation (firstly air oxidation and then electrochemical oxidation). It produced a positive signal upon hybridisation with complementary target DNA. Improvements in the reliability and robustness of the recognition interface were made using a labelled approach. The labelled version employed electroactive molecules as labels on the 5??? ends of the probe DNA strands. Two labels were investigated ??? anthraquinone and ferrocene. The flexibility of the ssDNA ensured that the redox labels were able to directly access the underlying gold electrode. Hybridisation was expected to remove the labels from the electrode due to an increase in the DNA???s persistence length, and thus perturb the electrochemical signal. The use of ferrocene as a label provided a ???proof-of-concept??? for the system. The labelled recognition interface provides a foundation for the future development of a simple, reliable, and selective DNA hybridisation biosensor.

Bostadsfrågor utgör en stor del i samhällsplanering, och boendesegregation har under de senaste åren uppmärksammats. Syftet med denna masteruppsats är att analysera befolkningssammansättningen i nyproducerade bostadsområden med särskilt fokus på blandade upplåtelseformer som metod för att uppnå social blandning. Uppsatsen är skriven på uppdrag av Arbetsmarknadsdepartementet och grundas i en teori om att blandade upplåtelseformer bidrar till en ökad social blandning och därmed ett mindre boendesegregerat samhälle. Teorier angående social blandning och dess effekter, samt strategin att blanda upplåtelseformer diskuteras. Frågeställningarna lyder: Bidrar social blandning i nyproducerade bostadsområden till mindre boendesegregation? Hur ser en eventuell förändring av befolkningssammansättningen ut i upplåtelseformerna? Har upplåtelseformer i nyproduktion förändrats över tid? Vilken roll har hyresrätten? Metoden är kvantitativ och bygger på LOUISE-data inom projektet SPaDE, och behandlar SAMS-områden i utvalda kommuner och stadsdelar i Sverige. Resultatet visar bland annat en skillnad mellan befolkningen i befintliga bostadsområden med befolkningen i områden med nyproduktion, trots en ökad blandning av upplåtelseformer och en ökad andel hyresrätter. Befolkningsutvecklingen ser även olika ut över tid då färre är arbetslösa, har socialbidrag eller studiebidrag, och fler är födda i Sverige, inom områden med nyproduktion. Den sociala blandningen som eftersträvas kan kopplas till blandade upplåtelseformer, men detta sker på olika skalor och kontext och förutsättningar är avgörande. / SPaDE