No description available.

No description available.

Stem cell based therapy has the potential to treat several severe diseases; Parkinson’s disease is one well- known example. Transplantation of stem cell derived cells into animal models is unfortunately often associated with tumour formation or- uncontrolled growth of the transplanted cells. One strategy to suppress this tumour formation might be to induce differentiation of these cells, which in turn would prevent them from dividing.   Neuroblastoma tumors are known to demonstrate the complete transition from an undifferentiated state to a completely harmful, differentiated appearance and derived cells can be used as a model for cell differentiation and tumor suppression.   In this Master Thesis’s the conducting polymers PEDOT and PPy, that upon formation can be doped with biologically active compounds which in- turn can be released in a controlled manner through electrical stimulation, were formed together with various drugs (e.g. Methotrexate and Mycophenolic Acid), here shown to have effect on Neuroblastoma cells. Neuroblastoma- derived cell line SH- SY5Y was used as a model system for neuronal differentiation and tumour inhibition. Release profiles of neuroblastoma active drugs following electrical stimulation were evaluated and the effects from electrochemical processes on simultaneously growing SH- SY5Y cells were investigated.   The methods to deposit and release the drugs were based on electropolymerization and electrochemically controlled release, respectively. Controlled release of various drugs and compounds was monitored using Vis- and UV- spectroscopy and on some occasions using HPLC.   The electrochemically controlled release of a biologically inactive compound that can be used as a negative control for electrochemical release in future experiments was shown and that resulting electrochemical processes have negative effects on neuroblastoma cell growth.

Submitted by Fabio Sobreira Campos da Costa (fabio.sobreira@ufpe.br) on 2017-03-07T13:13:13Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) DISSERTAÇÃO DAYANNE.pdf: 3522857 bytes, checksum: cf44960151386725475547d266f32f30 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-07T13:13:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) DISSERTAÇÃO DAYANNE.pdf: 3522857 bytes, checksum: cf44960151386725475547d266f32f30 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-04 / CAPES / O Tamoxifeno (TMX) utilizado no tratamento do câncer de mama, apresenta diversas desvantagens, elevada toxicidade, baixa solubilidade e precipitação no ambiente gástrico na forma de sal com aumento do risco de ocorrência de câncer de estômago. Os sistemas de dispersões sólidas (DS) têm sido utilizados com polímeros comerciais, Eudragit®, para liberação controlada e em determinados pH. Assim, o objetivo desse estudo foi desenvolver sistemas de dispersões sólidas para liberação pH dependente do tamoxifeno. Utilizou-se os polímeros Eudragit® RL 100, Eudragit® L 100 e TMX, pelo método de evaporação do solvente, obtendo DS10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% e 60%, mistura física MF30% e dispersões binárias (DS binária) sem fármaco. A difração de Raios-X (DRX) mostrou amorfização das dispersões formadas nas proporções de 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% e 60%. Na MF30% foi constatada a cristalinidade do fármaco. Na análise térmica através das curvas (TG), foi observada aumento da temperatura de decomposição da DS binária. No DSC, para a MF30% foi observado o pico de fusão e as etapas de decomposição do fármaco. Já nas DS10%, DS20% e DS30% observou-se ausência desses picos. Para a DS binária a temperatura de transição vítrea (Tg) se assemelhou a Tg do Eudragit® L 100, aumentando estabilidade das DS. Na espectroscopia de Infravermelho (FTIR) foi verificado interações polímero-polímero através da diminuição e alargamento das bandas de 2601 cm-¹, atribuído ao grupamento livre do ácido carboxílico do Eudragit® L 100. Observou interação fármaco-polímero com ausência dos picos característicos do fármaco nas regiões de 1588 cm-¹, referente ao amônio quaternário, nas DS 10% e DS 20%, e diminuição da intensidade das bandas na DS 30%. Assim com o alargamento de banda das regiões 2601cm-1 do Eudragit® L100, sugerindo a interação do fármaco nessa região. A Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura exibiu diferenças significativas nas dispersões sólidas DS30% e MF 30%. Para os testes de solubilidade nos meios pH 1,2 e 7,4 a solubilidade do TMX aumentou com a diminuição do pH já com adição de Tween80 no meio pH 7,4 a solubilidade do fármaco aumentou em até 26 vezes a concentração, melhorando a solubilidade do TMX nesse meio. As condições designadas na USP para formulação gastrorresistentes (pH 1,2) foram satisfatórias para as DS10% e DS20%. Porém, para DS30% a condição não foi alcançada devido a mudanças da permeabilidade do polímero, pela formação de iPECS. No pH 7,4 + Tween80 (0,4% p/v) houve controle na liberação do fármaco com aumento de solubilidade de até 200% para DS20% e Ds30%. Portanto, pode-se concluir que o método empregado foi eficaz na obtenção das dispersões com aumento da estabilidade do fármaco nos sistemas formados, atendendo as diretrizes da USP para formulações gastrorresistentes e liberando de forma modificada o fármaco no pH 7,4, com incremento solubilidade. Sendo um promissor sistema para futuras modificações e estudos. / Tamoxifen (TMX) used in the treatment of breast cancer, has several disadvantages, like high toxicity, low solubility and precipitation in the gastric environment in salt form with an increased risk of stomach cancer. Solid dispersions systems (DS) have been used with commercial polymers, Eudragit, for controlled release and certain pH. The aim of this study was to develop solid dispersion systems for pH dependent release of tamoxifen. It was used the polymers Eudragit RL 100, Eudragit L 100 and TMX, the solvent evaporation method, obtaining. DS10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% and 60% physical mixture and binary dispersions PM30% (binary DS) no drug. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed amorphization of the dispersions formed in proportions of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% and 60%. In PM30% was observed crystallinity of the drug. In the thermal analysis curves through (Tg), it was observed increase of the decomposition temperature of the binary DS. In DSC, for PM30% was observed melting peak of the drug and decomposition steps. Already in DS10%, DS20 and DS30% was observed the absence of these peaks. For binary DS glass transition temperature (Tg) resembled the Tg of Eudragit® L 100, increasing stability of the DS. In infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was checked polymer-polymer interactions by lowering and widening of the bands 2601 cm-¹ assigned to the free carboxylic acid grouping of Eudragit® L 100 observed drug-polymer interaction with the absence of the characteristic peaks drug in the region of 1588 cm-¹, referring to quaternary ammonium, and the DS 10% DS 20%, and decreased intensity of the bands in DS30%. So, with the extension band of regions 2601cm-1 Eudragit® L100, suggesting the interaction of the drug in this region. The Scanning Electron Microscopy showed significant differences in solid dispersions DS30% and 30% MF. For solubility testing in pH 1.2 and 7.4 means the solubility of TMX increased with decreasing pH already with addition of Tween 80 at pH 7.4 means the solubility of the drug increased up to 26 times the concentration by improving TMX solubility in this medium. The conditions referred to in USP gastroresistant formulation (pH 1.2) were satisfactory for DS10 and DS20%. However, in DS30%, the condition was not achieved due to the polymer permeability changes by forming iPECS. At pH 7.4 + Tween 80 (0,4 w/v) there has been control drug release with increased solubility up to 200% for DS20 and DS30%%. Therefore, it can be concluded that the method employed was effective in obtaining the dispersions with increased drug stability in the systems formed, meeting the USP guidelines for gastroresistant formulations and modifying the release of the drug at pH 7.4, with increased solubility; and that it is a promising system for future modifications and studies.

This thesis focuses on improved processing methods for enhanced mechanical properties in polymer nanocomposites, and controlled drug release in polymer based delivery systems. Supercritical carbon dioxide assisted mixing was successfully used in preparation of polypropylene/sepiolite and polypropylene/multiwall carbon nanotube nanocomposites. Relatively homogeneous dispersed and well separated nanofillers were obtained throughout the PP matrix. A better preservation of nanofiller lengths was observed in the scCO 2 assisted mixing. Mechanical property studies showed a marked increase in Young's modulus and tensile strength with the addition of nanofillers. More interestingly, techniques usually designed to achieve high quality PP nanocomposites, such as the use of masterbatches, maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene compatibilizers or polymer coated MWNTs are not needed to achieve equivalent mechanical properties with scCO2 assisted mixing. ScCO2 was also used as a foaming technique to modify the traditional cured poly(ethyl methacrylate/tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylate) system for a controlled release of chlorhexidine. Highly porous structures were produced and chlorhexidine released from scCO2 foamed samples was more than 3 times higher than traditionally cured samples. By altering the processing conditions, such as CO2 saturation time and depressurization time the CX release rate was altered. Finally, the electrospinning method was combined with the layering encapsulation technique in order to enable the incorporation of water-soluble drugs in poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) fibres for biomedical applications. Water-soluble drug, Rhodamine 6G or protein bovine serum albumin, loaded calcium carbonate microparticles were successfully incorporated in PLGA fibres and a bead and string structured composite fibres.

<p>The focus of this study is to synthesize a novel hinged polymer actuator. The linking molecule (hinge) is phenazine with interconnected dipyrrole units.</p>

<p>The focus of this study is to synthesize a novel hinged polymer actuator. The linking molecule (hinge) is phenazine with interconnected dipyrrole units.</p>

Magister Scientiae - MSc / The focus of this study is to synthesize a novel hinged polymer actuator. The linking molecule (hinge) is phenazine with interconnected dipyrrole units. / South Africa

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T13:21:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 3294045 bytes, checksum: 7c607c275b5a8128ac7f6746b18d8ec1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-10-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Mesoporous materials present a highly ordered porous arrangement with narrow pore size distribution and high specific surface area, which are interesting features for adsorption and release of bioactive molecules. Another important feature of these solids is the presence of free hydroxyl groups on the pore walls that can react with functional organic moieties. Mesoporous solids have been synthesized by using specific molecules as templates which had to controlled polymerization in reactions. Thus, the present thesis describes the synthesis of mesoporous hydroxyapatite by using casein as a novel template. The mesoporous solids were functionalized with 3-aminepropyl-, 3-propylethylenediamine-, 3-propyldiethylenetriaminetrimethoxysilanes. The precursor and the modified phosphates derived from the silanization reactions were characterized by N2 adsorption, elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, solid state 31P and 13C NMR, thermogravimetry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Both regular and mesoporous hydroxyapatites were studied on their ability to uptake and release bobine soroalbumine (BSA) from aqueous solutions. BSA was chosem as model guest compound. The nitrogen adsorption isotherms showed that structural aspects of the mesoporous hydroxyapatite are controlled by tuning experimental parameters, such as the calcination temperature, surfactant concentration, and pH. These isotherms also showed that casein is a promising biotemplate for synthesizing mesoporous calcium phosphates with improved values of specific surface area, such as 106 m2 g-1, which are higher than those found in the literature for analogous materials. Additionally, the template extraction was carried out during the washing process with water only, which avoided the need of spending time and energy with the calcinations step, and confirmed casein as an excellent template/surfactant in the synthesis of mesostructured materials. The BSA release kinetics decreased considerably as the silane amount increased on the silica surface. The organofunctionalized solids showed a lower BSA release rate, which decreased as the organic length chain increased. Thus, the amount of the organic groups, which contains nitrogen basic centers and interacts with BSA, controls the release process. The isotherms for releasing BSA showed a two step profile, with a fast release at the beginning, followed by a slower release rate, which fit the diffusion model proposed by Higuchi. / Materiais mesoporosos apresentam um arranjo de poros ordenados e uma distribuição de poros muito estreita aliada a altas áreas superficiais, que são características estruturais interessantes para adsorção e liberação de moléculas bioativas. Outra característica relevante desses sólidos é a presença dos grupos hidroxilas livres nas paredes dos poros que podem reagir com grupos orgânicos funcionais. Os sólidos mesoporosos têm sidos sintetizados pelo uso de esceficas moléculas atuando como direcionadores na polimerização. Neste contexto, o presente trabalho descreve a síntese de hidroxiapatita mesoporosa utilizando caseína como um novo direcionador. As matrizes mesoporosas foram funcionalizadas covalentemente com aminopropil-, propiletilenodiamino-, propildietilenotriaminotrimetoxissilano. Os fosfatos precursores e derivados das reações de silanização foram caracterizados pelas técnicas de adsoção de N2, análise elementar, difração de Raios-X, espectroscopia na região do infravermelho, RMN CP/MAS de 31P e 13C, termogravimetria e microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV). Os sólidos precursores e modifcados foram aplicados para estudos de emissão da soroalbumina bovina (BSA) em solução aquosa. BSA foi escolhida como molécula modelo. As isotermas obtidas através da adsorção de N2 demonstraram que as características estruturais da hidroxipatita mesoporosa podem ser controladas modificando parâmetros, tais como temperatura de calcinação, pH de síntese e concentração do surfactante. Estas isotermas também indicam que a caseína é um promissor biosurfactante na síntese de fosfatos de cálcio mesoporosos, obtendo áreas superficiais de 106 m2.g-1, cujo valor é superior aos dados disponíveis na literatura. Os resultados comprovaram que a extração do surfactante foi realizada durante o processo de lavagem dos sólidos, este fato credencia a caseína como um excelente biosurfactante na síntese de materiais mesoestruturados. A modificação superficial da hidroxiapatita mesoporosa com os agentes sililantes nitrogenados diminuiu consideravelmente a cinética de liberação da BSA. Os sólidos organicamente funcionalizados apresentaram uma taxa de liberação mais lenta, que diminuindo à medida que a cadeia orgânica do agente sililante aumentou. Isto mostra que os grupos orgânicos presentes neste sólido agem como uma barreira temporária que evita a rápida liberação da BSA. As isotermas de liberação de BSA mostraram perfis de liberação em duas etapas, uma liberação rápida inicial seguida por uma mais lenta, o que caracteriza que estes materiais se adequaram ao modelo de liberação através do mecanismo de difusão proposto por Higuchi.

No description available.