Submitted by Milena Rubi (milenarubi@ufscar.br) on 2016-11-09T14:11:31Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ROSA_Wesley_2016.pdf: 8516860 bytes, checksum: ee5a7fd54adf8975660601cc883291f2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Milena Rubi (milenarubi@ufscar.br) on 2016-11-09T14:11:44Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ROSA_Wesley_2016.pdf: 8516860 bytes, checksum: ee5a7fd54adf8975660601cc883291f2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Milena Rubi (milenarubi@ufscar.br) on 2016-11-09T14:11:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ROSA_Wesley_2016.pdf: 8516860 bytes, checksum: ee5a7fd54adf8975660601cc883291f2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-09T14:11:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ROSA_Wesley_2016.pdf: 8516860 bytes, checksum: ee5a7fd54adf8975660601cc883291f2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-28 / Não recebi financiamento / The need to obtain biomaterials in order to reduce environmental impacts has been the focus of research groups in recent years, and cellulose, a dominant component at most forms of plants is a promising resource because of its abundance. In order to improve the ability processing, the chemical modification of cellulose has been widely studied. Among the most important reactions of cellulose are: etherification, esterification, acetylation and oxidation; being cellulose acetate, viscose, nitrocellulose and cellulose ethers, the main cellulose derivatives. The chemical modification with isocyanates presents some unique properties, such as absence of by-products and chemical stability of the urethane group. In this work we were synthesized gels obtained by modified cellulose acetate (CA) with a degree of substitution (DS) 2,5 by crosslinking, with 4,4' - Diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) in stoichiometry of 1:1, in homogeneous by varying the humidity and the homogenization time. For characterization were used the following techniques and tests: vibrational infrared absorption spectroscopy (Fourier Transform Spectrometer - FTIR), size exclusion Chromatography (SEC), molecular absorption spectrophotometry UV-VIS, density determining of the gels by pycnometry, determination of the coefficient swelling, determination of cross-links by Flory-Rehner theory, thermogravimetry (TG) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Crosslink density results showed that the gel synthesized in the absence of moisture suffered greater crosslinking with an average number of repeat units between the crosslinking points of about 1000 times lower. The potential applications of these gels were tested, by using than as stationary phase in size exclusion chromatography, having been assessed its efficiency in the fractionation and separation of natural and synthetic polymers. Results showed the effectiveness of the gel as stationary phase on separation of polymers, opening up a range of opportunities, taking into consideration the simplicity of the process and lower costs attributed to it. / A necessidade de se obter biomateriais na tentativa de reduzir impactos ambientais tem sido o foco de grupos de pesquisa nos últimos anos e, a celulose, um componente dominante na maioria das formas de plantas, é um recurso promissor devido à sua abundância. A fim de melhorar a capacidade de processamento, a modificação química da celulose tem sido amplamente estudada. Dentre as reações mais importantes da celulose estão: eterificação, esterificação, acetilação e oxidação; sendo o acetato de celulose, viscose, nitrocelulose e éteres de celulose, os principais derivados da celulose. A modificação química com isocianatos apresenta algumas propriedades únicas, como ausência de produtos secundários e estabilidade química do grupo uretano. Nesse trabalho foram sintetizados géis obtidos por meio da modificação de Acetato de Celulose (AC) com grau de substituição (GS) 2,5 através da reticulação com 4,4' - Difenilmetano Diisocianato (MDI), na estequiometria 1:1, em meio homogêneo, variando a umidade e o tempo de homogenização. Para caracterização foram utilizadas as seguintes técnicas e ensaios: espectroscopia vibracional de absorção no infravermelho por Transformada de Fourier (FTIR), cromatografia de exclusão por tamanho (SEC), espectrofotometria de absorção molecular UV-VIS, determinação de densidade dos géis por picnometria, determinação do coeficiente de intumescimento, determinação de ligações cruzadas pela teoria de Flory-Rehner, termogravimetria (TG) e microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV). Resultados da densidade de ligações cruzadas mostraram que o gel sintetizado na ausência de umidade sofreu uma maior reticulação, com um número médio de unidades de repetição entre os pontos de reticulação cerca de 1000 vezes menor. As aplicações potenciais desses géis foram testadas como fase estacionária em cromatografia de exclusão por tamanho, tendo sido avaliada sua eficiência no fracionamento e separação de polímeros naturais e sintéticos. Resultados mostraram a eficácia do gel como fase estacionária na separação de polímeros, abrindo uma gama de oportunidades, levando-se em consideração a simplicidade do processo e os baixos custos a ele atribuídos.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are eukaryotic integral membrane proteins that perform transmembrane signal transduction. Due to their pivotal role in a wide range of essential physiological functions GPCRs represent a high proportion of all drug targets. High resolution X-ray structures of GPCRs are however underrepresented in the Protein Data Bank. This is due to their instability in detergent, low expression levels and the presence of misfolded receptors in many heterologous expression systems. The objective of this project was to engineer the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R), a human GPCR, to make it suitable for structural studies. It was determined that detergentsolubilised AT1R was thermostable with antagonist bound with an apparent Tm of ~45°C, which was sufficiently stable for purification without further thermostabilisation by rational mutagenesis. Two expression systems were then evaluated for large-scale production of AT1R, namely baculovirus-mediated expression in insect cells and mammalian expression in HEK293 cells. Radioligand binding assays showed that only the mammalian system produced sufficient quantities of active AT1R for structural studies. Expression in the mammalian system was further optimised to approximately 6 mg/L. An AT1R-GFP fusion was created to examine membrane localisation using confocal laser scanning microscopy, to assay expression levels, to select highly expressing monoclonal cell lines using fluorescence activated flow cytometry and to develop a fluorescence size-exclusion chromatographybased assay to examine the suitability of 12 different ligands for co-crystallization. AT1R was also engineered to facilitate crystallisation, including C-terminal truncations to remove predicted disordered regions and bacteriophage T4-lysozyme being added to the third intracellular loop to provide additional points of contact for crystallisation, which increased the apparent Tm by approximately 10°C. All modified versions of AT1R were assessed for expression, stability and monodispersity. Additionally a rapid western blotting based assay was developed for the detection of unfolded membrane proteins, which will have wide applicability in the field.

Le but de cette thèse est d’étudier le comportement des asphaltènes dans des condition de hydrotraitement, y compris les propriétés de transport et d’adsorption. La chromatographie d'exclusion stérique inverse (ISEC) ainsi que la spectroscopie d'impédance sont utilisées pour déterminer des paramètres topologiques de solides poreux d’alumine (porosité, taille de pores, tortuosité). Des coefficients de diffusion effectifs de polystyrènes de différentes tailles sont aussi étudiés par chromatographie liquide en conditions non-adsorbantes: les molécules de petites tailles pénètrent plus profondément dans le milieu poreux donc elles prennent plus de temps pour traverser la colonne, tandis que les molécules ayant une taille supérieure à la taille du pore ne sondent que la macroporosité. Avec l'utilisation des méthodes dynamique et «peak parking», il est possible de modéliser le transport des molécules de différentes tailles, et cela aidera à prédire le comportement de molécules d’une taille quelconque. Les colonnes ont été assemblées au laboratoire à partir de poudres et de monolithes d’alumine. Les caractéristiques d'adsorption des asphaltènes modèles sont déterminées et comparées avec une fraction d’asphaltènes extraite d’un brut. Un phénomène de dimérisation ainsi qu’une très forte adsorption sur la surface de l’alumine sont observés avec la molécule modèle. La méthode dynamique a été utilisée avec des colonnes courtes dans des conditions de saturation. Une influence apparente du débit dans l’importance et le mécanisme d’adsorption a pu être constatée. / This work aims to study the complex behaviors of asphaltenes within the hydrotreatment catalytic porous system including transport properties and adsorption. Inverse size-exclusion chromatography (ISEC) and impedance spectroscopy are used to determine the topological characteristics of different alumina porous solids (porosity, pore size, tortuosity). The effective diffusion coefficient of polystyrenes of different sizes was studied via chromatography in non-adsorbing conditions. Elution peaks are used to determine the effect of molecule size on the accessible pore volume and the transport properties therein: molecules of relatively small sizes penetrate further into the porous medium, thus taking more time to navigate the chromatographic setup, while larger molecules traverse much faster, through the macroporosity. The liquid chromatography technique is divided in two different methods. Both methods yield diffusion coefficient values which are modelled, predicting the behavior of molecules of any size. Columns were assembled manually from alumina powders or monoliths. A synthesized asphaltene model molecule was used and its adsorption behavior was determined and compared to an asphaltene fraction recovered from crude oil. The asphaltene model molecule shows a dimerization behavior as well as extremely strong interactions with the alumina surface. Dynamic method was attempted in short alumina columns at saturation conditions and an apparent influence of the flow rate on the extent and mechanics of adsorption was observed.

Polymers capable of thermally controlled reversible bonding reactions are promising candidates for stimuli responsive materials, as required for self-healing or drug delivery materials. In order to investigate how the dynamic reactions can be controlled, effective analytical tools are demanded that are capable of analyzing not only the polymers but can also monitor the respective bonding reactions. Herein, we employ size exclusion chromatography in a newly developed temperature dependent mode (TD SEC) for the in situ characterization of polymers that undergo retro Diels-Alder (rDA) reaction at temperatures higher than 60 °C. Monitoring the evolution of the molar mass distribution of the polymers during the rDA reaction and evaluating the data quantitatively gives detailed information about the extent of the reaction and allows elucidating structural parameters that can be used for controlling the polymers debonding behavior. In contrast to spectroscopic techniques, TD SEC analyzes only the size of the polymers, hence the polymers do not need to fulfill any particular requirements (e.g. presence of detectable functional groups) but only need to be soluble in the TD SEC, which makes the method universally applicable. Side effects that might bias the results are minimized by using a high temperature chromatograph that allows performing the analysis in a broad temperature range (60 – 200 °C) and in different solvents. Thus, the analysis can be performed under the exact conditions that are required for the bonding reactions and an in situ image is provided.

La manipulation des anticorps monoclonaux thérapeutiques (Acm) reconstitués avant administration aux patients est susceptible d’entraîner leurs dégradations physiques (e.g. dénaturation, agrégation). Ceci peut avoir un impact sur leur efficacité et sécurité. Afin d’étudier la conformation et la stabilité des Acms reconstitués, nous avons développé des méthodes séparatives couplées avec la spectrométrie de masse (MS) en conditions non-dénaturantes (« native »). Une méthode de CZE-native MS utilisant un revêtement constitué d’une triple-couche ionique a été développée pour séparer et détecter les différentes conformations (monomère natifs, dénaturés, dimères) d’Infliximab. Une étude approfondie réalisée en analysant de l’infliximab digéré a permis d’établir que la formation du dimère était liée à la dénaturation du fragment Fab. L’intérêt des revêtements statiques (commerciaux et préparés in situ) ont été étudiés pour analyser les Acms par CZE-UV et CZE-MS. Nos résultats ont montré l’intérêt d’un nouveau revêtement monolithique. Un couplage simultané de la SEC avec la MS et un détecteur de fluorescence a été développé. Nous avons ainsi identifié les conditions expérimentales qui entraînaient des dénaturations et des dimérisations artificielles. Cette méthode a ensuite été également appliquée avec succès pour la caractérisation d’un échantillon de Trastuzumab stressé. Une méthode orthogonale en utilisant la SEC-mobilité ionique-MS a été employé pour évaluer la proportion de monomères dénaturés par rapport aux monomères natifs. La méthodologie ainsi développée permettra la détection de très faibles taux d'anticorps dégradés dans des poches d'infusion. Ceci permettra de définir les paramètres critiques à maîtriser lors de la reconstitution et la manipulation d’anticorps à usage hospitalier. / Manufacturing and manipulation of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAb) in the hospital before administration to patient is prone to induce their physical degradations (e.g., denaturation, aggregation). This may impact their efficacy and safety. To study the stability of mAbs, capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC), coupled to native mass spectrometry (MS) have been developed. CZE-native MS method using a triple-layer coating was developed to detect and separate different conformational states (unfolded monomer, dimer) of Infliximab in a single analysis. In-depth study with digested infliximab confirmed that dimer formation was related to the Fab fragment. We also focused on covalent coatings in order to find the more adapted coating to analyze mAbs by CZE-UV and CZE-MS. We also developed for SEC a simultaneous coupling with MS and a fluorescence detector to detect the degraded mAbs. We have identified the biases inducing conformational changes (e.g. dimerization, denaturation) that may arise during native MS. We also successfully characterized aggregates and denatured monomer in stressed Trastuzumab sample. In addition, the orthogonal method SEC-ion mobility-MS has been employed to separate and measure the denatured monomers compared to their related native conformations. Moreover, the developed system enables the detection of a very low levels of degraded mAbs in infusion bags. It allows to define the critical parameters to be controlled during the reconstitution and manipulation of therapeutic mAbs in hospital.

Size exclusion chromatography is the method of choice for characterizing molecular weights and molecular weight distributions of polymers. An important advancement in SEC is multidetection SEC which includes multi-angle laser light scattering, viscometry, refractive index and UV spectroscopy to analyze block and graft copolymers as well as polymers with oligomeric molecular weights. Oligomeric molecular weights present special challenges since the light scattering and viscosity detectors are more sensitive to higher molecular weights and both detectors have low molecular weight threshold values. The molecular weights and distributions of poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) oligomers and block copolymers as well as poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) were investigated by SEC using multiple detectors. Both a universal calibration method and light scattering were used to determine molecular weights and molecular weight distributions. The solvent was N-methylpyrrolidone that contained 0.05M LiBr used to minimize interactions among the polymers and solvent. SEC was used to establish that the diblock copolymers had heterogeneous compositional distributions. The low molecular weights of the diblock and homopolymer made it necessary to use the universal calibration method with combined refractive index and viscometry detectors to determine absolute molecular weights. / Master of Science

Le développement des outils analytiques pour l'analyse de la matière organique complexe en géochimie organique a connu de nombreuses avancées ces dernières années. Ce développement a permis de répondre à un grand nombre de questions quant à la composition de la matière organique. Cependant, beaucoup des points restent encore à élucider comme notamment la caractérisation des fractions de hauts poids moléculaires ainsi que le suivi de la réactivité de la matière organique. Ce travail de thèse a eu pour objectif (i) d'adapter les techniques de spectrométrie de masse déjà existantes pour l'analyse de la matière organique fossile (notamment par la sélection de la source d'ionisation atmosphérique la plus adaptée) mais également (ii) de développer un nouveau type de couplage entre la chromatographie d'exclusion stérique (SEC) et la spectrométrie de masse APPI-QTOF pour l'analyse des fractions peu polaires de hauts poids moléculaires. L'adaptation du l'APPI-QTOF a tout d'abord permis de mieux comprendre la réactivité de contaminants organiques polyaromatiques en présence de phases minérales. Le couplage SEC-APPI-QTOF a, quant à lui, permis d'améliorer les connaissances sur la structure des asphaltènes. Cependant, malgré la « simplification » rendue possible par la SEC, la très grande quantité d'informations reste difficile à interpréter et prend beaucoup de temps. Un modèle mathématique a donc été développé basé sur des analyses numériques et statistiques des spectres de masse, permettant de les comparer entre eux afin de distinguer l'origine des échantillons et de suivre l'impact de processus physico-chimiques (altérations naturelles - traitements de remédiation). / The development of analytical tools for organic geochemistry analysis has increased these past years. This development has allowed answering many questions about organic matter composition. However, many issues remain to be clarified including the characterization of high molecular weight fractions and monitoring the reactivity of organic matter. This thesis has focused on both (i) existing method improvements for fossil organic geochemistry analysis but also on (ii) developing a new type of coupling between the size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and the APPI-QTOF mass spectrometry for high molecular weight weakly polar fractions. Adjustments on APPI-QTOF mass spectrometry have allowed a better understanding of polyaromatic organic contaminant reactivity in presence of mineral matrices. The success of this coupling has allowed a better understanding of the structure of asphaltenes. However despite the "simplification" obtained by the SEC, the large amount of information remains difficult to interpret and time-consuming. A mathematical model has been developed based on numerical and statistical analysis of mass spectra, allowing direct comparison of mass spectra and being able to identify several types of information such as origins of samples, monitoring of physico-chemical processes and also the efficiency of soil recovery treatments as well as the identification of analytical protocols.

Perlcellulose stellt ein interessantes Material für den Einsatz in der wässrigen Größenausschlusschromatgraphie (SEC) dar. Sie ist aufgrund ihrer guten Modifizierbarkeit zudem ein perfektes Ausgangsmaterial für Protein-Aggregationsuntersuchungen. Ein Protein von besonderem praktischem Interesse ist Insulin. Dessen Fehlfaltung und Aggregation verursacht eine Reihe von schwerwiegenden Problemen (z.B. in Drug-Delivery-Systemen). Hierbei erfolgt eine Umwandlung von alpha-Helix- in beta-Faltblatt-Strukturen wobei sich unlösliche Fibrillen bilden. Deren Rückfaltung mit Hilfe fluorierter Alkohole sowie mit fluorierten Nanopartikeln wurde in der Literatur beschrieben. Der Ansatzpunkt dieser Arbeit war es zu untersuchen, ob Fluor auf Oberflächen mit hohem Anteil von Hydroxygruppen eine Rückfaltung von Proteinen wie Insulin bewirken kann. Das Ziel war es, schaltbare stationäre Phasen zu erhalten, mit denen sowohl eine Rückfaltung als auch die Trennung von Proteinen durchgeführt werden können. Zunächst erfolgte die Charakterisierung geeigneter Perlcellulosen, wobei erstmals eine Kombination der „klassischen“ Porosimetrie (Hg-Intrusion, N2-Sorption) mit SAXS und Inverser SEC zur Untersuchung der Porenstruktur von Cellulose angewandt wurde. Es konnte die reversible Schrumpfung der Poren während der Trockungsprozesse beschrieben werden. Die Immobilisierung von Fluor auf der Oberfläche von Cellulosepartikeln erfolgte u.a. durch Pfropfung von fluorierten Acrylaten mittels Cer(IV)-Redoxinitiierung. Es gelang eine homopolymerfreie Pfropfung, wobei es zu keiner Veränderung der Porenstruktur kam. Die Kontrolle der Proteinadsorption auf der modifizierten Oberfläche mittels chemischer Stimuli konnte beschrieben werden. Aggregationsuntersuchungen mittels SEC, DLS und SAXS ergaben, dass fluormodifizierte Perlcellulose keine Verzögerung der Insulinaggregation bewirkt. Jedoch zeigte sich, dass unmodifizierte Perlcellulose eine signifikante Verzögerung der Aggregation bewirken kann. / Porous bead cellulose is an interesting material for the application in aqueous size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Its good modifiability makes it furthermore to a perfect starting material for protein aggregation studies. A protein with huge practical importance is insulin. Misfolding and aggregation of insulin creates serious problems e.g. in drug delivery systems. Thereby it undergoes a change from alpha-helix to beta-sheet structure and forms insoluble fibrils. A back-folding with (toxic) fluorinated alcohols and fluorinated nanoparticles was already shown in literature. The approach for this work was that fluorine (CF3-) on a surface with high hydroxyl-content can induce the back folding of proteins like insulin. The purpose was to get stationary phases that can induce back folding and separation of proteins on a single column. At first a characterization of suitable cellulose beads with focus on different porosimetry methods was done. For the first time a combination of “classical” porosimetry methods (Hg-Intrusion; N2-Sorption) with SAXS and inverse SEC was applied for porous cellulose particles. A reversible shrinking of pores during drying process was shown. Immobilization of fluorine on the surface of cellulose beads was done by grafting of fluorinated acrylates via cer(IV)-redox-initiation and by polymer analogous reaction with fluorinated iodo alkanes. Homopolymer free graft-copolymerization was achieved, whereas no effect on pore structure was observed. The control of protein adsorption on surface by chemical stimuli was shown. Aggregation studies using SEC, DLS and SAXS showed that fluoro-modified cellulose beads do not delay insulin-aggregation due to strong adsorption effects. Though a significant aggregation delay for insulin with unmodified cellulose beads was discovered.

Développement de méthodes analytiques pour l’évaluation de l'impact de l'industrie de fertilisants chimiques sur le milieu marin / Development of Analytical methods for the evaluation of the impact of phosphate fertilizer industry on marine environment

<p>This thesis describes the synthesis and characterization ofbranched semi-crystalline polymers. Included in this work isthe SEC characterization of a series of dendrimers. Thebranched semi-crystalline polymers were synthesized in order toinvestigate the concept of their use as powder coatings resins.This concept being that the use of branched semi-crystallinepolymers in a UV-cured powder coating system may offer a lowertemperature alternative thus allowing the use of heat sensitivesubstrates and the added benefit of a reduced viscositycompared to linear polymers.</p><p>A series of branched poly(ε-caprolactone)’s (PCL)(degree of polymerization: 5-200) initiated from hydroxylfunctional initiators were synthesized. The final architectureswere controlled by the choice of initiator structure;specifically the dendritic initiators yielded starbranchedPCL’s while the linear initiator yielded comb-branchedPCL’s. The dendritic initiators utilized were: (1) a3rd-generation Boltorn H-30, commercially availablehyperbranched polyester with approximately 32 hydroxyl groups,(2) a 3rd-generation dendrimer with 24 hydroxyl groups, and (3)a 3rd-generation dendron with 8 hydroxyl groups. Linear PCL wassynthesized for comparison. All dendritic initiators are basedon 2,2- bis(methylol) propionic acid. The comb-branchedpolymers were initiated from a modified peroxide functionalpolyacrylate. The resins were end-capped withmethylmethacrylate in order to produce a cross-linkable system.The polymers and films were characterized using 1H NMR, 13CNMR, SEC, DMTA, DSC, FT-IR, FT-Raman, rheometry and a rheometercoupled to a UV-lamp to measure cure behavior.</p><p>The star-branched PCL’s exhibited considerably lowerviscosities than their linear counterparts with the samemolecular weight for the molecular region investigated (2-550kg mol-1). It was also found that the zero shear viscosityincreased roughly exponentially with M.</p><p>The PCL star-branched resins are semi-crystalline and theirmelting points (Tm) range from 34-50°C; films can beformed and cured below 80°C. The viscoelastic behaviourduring the cure showed that the time to reach the gel point, afew seconds, increased linearly with molecular weight. Thecrossover of G’and G’’was used as the gelpoint. Measurement of mechanical properties of films showedthat the low molecular weight polymers were amorphous whilethose with high molecular weight were crystalline after cure.The polymerization of 5,5-dimethyl-1,3-dioxane-2-one (NPC) fromoligo- and multifunctional initiators was evaluated utilizingcoordination and cationic polymerization. Two tin basedcatalysts, stannous(II) 2-ethylhexanoate and stannous(II)trifluoromethane sulfonate, were compared with fumaric acid.Fumaric acid under bulk conditions resulted in lowerpolydispersity and less chance of gelling. The synthesis ofstar-branched polymers was confirmed by SEC data. The starpolymers exhibited a Tg at 20-30°C and a Tm at about100°C.</p><p>All semi-crystalline resins exhibited a fast decrease inviscosity at Tm. Blends of combbranched semi-crystalline resinsand amorphous resins exhibited a transition behavior inbetweenthat of pure semi-crystalline resins and that of amorphousresins.</p><p>The SEC characterization of a series of dendrimers withdifferent cores and terminal groups showed that the core had animpact on the viscosimetric radius of the core while theterminal groups appeared to have no effect.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>star-branched, semi-crystalline,comb-branched, ring-opening polymerization,poly(ε-caprolactone), dendritic, thermoset, lowtemperature curing, powder coating, UVcuring,poly(5,5-dimethyl-1,3-dioxane-2-one), size exclusionchromatography, rheology, dendritic aliphatic polyester</p>