Cette thèse décrit une série de travaux réalisés dans le contexte des qubits de spins, allant de l'utilisation de ces qubits pour stocker de l'information à leur utilisation comme détecteurs ultra-sensibles. Nous utilisons des hétérostructures semi-conductrices d'arséniure de gallium dans lesquelles un électron unique peut être isolé au sein d'un piège électrostatique, une boîte quantique. Le spin de cet électron peut être utilisé pour encoder de l'information, et la boîte quantique contenant ce spin unique est alors vue comme un qubit (quantum bit). Au cours de cette thèse nous démontrons la réalisation expérimentale du transport d'un électron unique le long d'un circuit fermé au sein d'un système composé de quatre boîtes quantiques couplées. En considérant l'interaction spin-orbite, cette expérience ouvre la voie vers des manipulations cohérentes de spins utilisant des effets topologiques. Dans le contexte de l'ordinateur quantique et des qubits de spins, nous étudions les portes logiques à deux qubits. Dans le cadre de deux boîtes quantiques couplées par une barrière tunnel, nous démontrons qu'en contrôlant localement le champ magnétique, la porte logique à deux qubits évoluent de la porte SWAP à la porte C-phase. Nous démontrons ainsi la faisabilité d'une porte C-phase. Finalement nous montrons l'utilisation d'un qubit de spin comme un détecteur de charge ultrasensible. Un singlet-triplet qubit est un système quantique qui peut être réglé de manière à être extrêmement sensible à l'environnement électrostatique. Nous démontrons la faisabilité d'un tel détecteur, et nous montrons qu'il peut être utilisé pour détecter un électron unique. / In this thesis we described a series of experimental works, which have been realized in the context of spin qubits, going from their use as information carriers to their use as very sensitive detectors. We use AlGaAs semiconducting heterostructures in which a single electron can be isolated in an electrostatic trap, the so-called quantum dot. The electron spin can be used in order to encode information, and the quantum dot containing this electron can therefore be seen as a qubit (quantum bit). During this thesis we demonstrate the first experimental realization of a single electron transport along a closed path inside a system composed of four coupled quantum dots. By considering spin-orbit interaction, this experiment opens the way toward coherent topological spin manipulations. In the context of quantum computing and spin qubits, we study the two-qubit gates. By considering two tunnel coupled quantum dots, we demonstrate by controlling the local Zeeman splitting that the natural two-qubit gate for spin qubits evolves from the SWAP gate to the C-phase gate. This work demonstrates the feasibility of the C-phase gate. Finally we use spin qubits as very sensitive detectors. A singlet-triplet qubit is a quantum system which can be tuned in order to be very sensistive to the electrostatic environment. Here we report the use of such a qubit to detect a single electron transported next to the detector.

Mood disorders are serious diseases. Nevertheless, their pathophysiology is not sufficiently clarified. Biological markers that would facilitate the diagnosis or successful prediction of pharmacotherapy are still being sought. The aim of the study was to find out whether mitochondrial functions are affected by antidepressants, mood stabilizers and depression. Our research is based on recent hypotheses of mood disorders, the advanced monoamine hypothesis, the neurotrophic hypothesis, and the mitochondrial dysfunction hypothesis. We assume that impaired function of mitochondria leads to neuronal damage and can be related to the origin of mood disorders. Effects of antidepressants and mood stabilizers on mitochondrial functions can be related to their therapeutic or side effects. In vitro effects of pharmacologically different antidepressants and mood stabilizers on the activities of mitochondrial enzymes were measured in mitochondria isolated from pig brains (in vitro model). Activity of monoamine oxidase (MAO) isoforms was determined radiochemically, activities of other mitochondrial enzymes were measured spectrophotometrically. Overall activity of the system of oxidative phosphorylation was measured electrochemically using high- resolution respirometry. Methods were modified to measure the same...

Orientador: Roger Frigério Castilho / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-24T17:18:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Michelini_LuizGuilhermeBueno_M.pdf: 1602537 bytes, checksum: f58032fd3eaf359e8f094658a3612c02 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Resumo: A inibição parcial do Complexo I da cadeia respiratória mitocondrial em ratos tratados cronicamente com rotenona está associada com o desenvolvimento de características neuroquímicas, comportamentais e neuropatológicas da doença de Parkinson. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram (i) caracterizar os efeitos de uma inibição parcial do Complexo I por rotenona na produção de peróxido de hidrogênio (H2O2) por mitocôndrias de cérebro de ratos (MCR) em diferentes estados respiratórios e (ii) avaliar a suscetibilidade de MCR velhos (24 meses) à inibição do consumo de oxigênio (O2) e ao estímulo da produção de H2O2 por rotenona em comparação a MCR adultos (3-4 meses). A análise do potencial de membrana por citometria de fluxo em mitocôndrias isoladas indicou que a adição de rotenona promoveu uma inibição uniforme da respiração mitocondrial nestas organelas. Quando mitocôndrias foram incubadas na presença de uma baixa concentração de rotenona (10 nM) e de substratos geradores de NADH, o consumo de O2 foi reduzido de 45,9±1,0 para 26,4±2,6 nmol O2.mg-1.min-1 e de 7,8±0,3 para 6,3±0,3 nmol O2.mg-1.min-1 nos estados respiratórios 3 (respiração estimulada por ADP) e 4 (respiração de repouso), respectivamente. Nessas condições, a produção mitocondrial de H2O2 foi estimulada de 12,2±1,1 para 21,0±1,2 pmol H2O2.mg-1.min-1 e de 56,5±4,7 para 95,0±11,1 pmol H2O2.mg-1.min-1 nos estados respiratórios 3 e 4, respectivamente. Resultados similares foram observados ao comparar preparações mitocondriais enriquecidas com organelas sinápticas e não-sinápticas ou quando o íon 1-metil-4-fenilpiridina (MPP+) foi utilizado como inibidor de Complexo I mitocondrial. O estímulo da produção de H2O2 por rotenona nos estados respiratórios 3 e 4 foi associado a um aumento do estado reduzido de nucleotídeos de nicotinamida endógenos. Na respiração mitocondrial com succinato, onde a maior parte da produção de H2O2 se origina do fluxo reverso de elétrons do Complexo II para o I, baixas concentrações de rotenona inibiram a produção de H2O2. Rotenona não exerceu efeito sobre a eliminação mitocondrial de concentrações micromolares de H2O2. Em sinaptossomas intactos, observamos que rotenona 10 nM estimulou a liberação de H2O2 em 20,2±3,3% no estado respiratório basal. Ao compararmos MCR adultos e velhos, verificamos que o consumo de O2 no estado respiratório 3 e a atividade da citrato sintase foram 21,0±3,3% e 17,0±5,4% mais baixos em MCR velhos. Experimentos conduzidos na presença de diferentes concentrações de rotenona (5, 10 e 100 nM) demonstraram sensibilidade similar à inibição do consumo de O2 por rotenona no estado respiratório 3, com IC50 de 7,8±0,4 e 6,5±0,5 nM para MCR adultos e velhos, respectivamente. De acordo com esses resultados, o estímulo da produção de H2O2 observado foi similar em MCR adultos e velhos, tratadas com diferentes concentrações de rotenona. Concluímos que, uma inibição parcial do Complexo I pode resultar em uma crise energética e/ou estresse oxidativo mitocondrial, enquanto o primeiro evento predominaria numa situação de alta demanda de fosforilação oxidativa, o segundo ocorreria em condições de respiração de repouso. Em adição, os experimentos com ratos velhos indicaram que rotenona exerce efeitos similares no consumo de O2 e na produção de H2O2 em MCR adultos e velhos / Abstract: Partial inhibition of mitochondrial Complex I is associated with the development of neurochemical, behavioral, and neuropathological features of Parkinson's disease in rats chronically and systemically treated with rotenone. The aims of this work were (i) to characterize the effects of partial inhibition of respiratory Complex I by rotenone on H2O2 production by rat brain mitochondria in different respiratory states and (ii) to evaluate the susceptibility of brain mitochondria from old rats (24 month-old) to rotenone-induced inhibition of oxygen consumption and increased generation of H2O2 when compared with organelles from adult rats (3-4 month-old). Flow cytometric analysis of membrane potential in isolated mitochondria indicated that rotenone leads to uniform respiratory inhibition when added to a suspension of these organelles. When mitochondria were incubated in the presence of a low concentration of rotenone (10 nM) and NADH-linked substrates, oxygen consumption was reduced from 45.9±1.0 to 26.4±2.6 nmol O2.mg-1.min-1 and from 7.8±0.3 to 6.3±0.3 nmol O2.mg-1.min-1 in respiratory states 3 (ADP-stimulated respiration) and 4 (resting respiration), respectively. Under these conditions, mitochondrial H2O2 production was stimulated from 12.2±1.1 to 21.0±1.2 pmol H2O2.mg-1.min-1 and 56.5±4.7 to 95.0±11.1 pmol H2O2.mg-1.min-1 in respiratory states 3 and 4, respectively. Similar results were observed when comparing mitochondrial preparations enriched with synaptic or nonsynaptic organelles or when 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+) ion was used as a respiratory Complex I inhibitor. Rotenone-stimulated H2O2 production in respiratory states 3 and 4 was associated with a high reduction state of endogenous nicotinamide nucleotides. In succinate-supported mitochondrial respiration, where most of the mitochondrial H2O2 production relies on electron backflow from Complex II to Complex I, low rotenone concentrations inhibited H2O2 production. Rotenone had no effect on mitochondrial elimination of micromolar concentrations of H2O2. In intact synaptosomes, we observed that 10 nM rotenone stimulated H2O2 release by 20.2 ± 3.3% under basal respiratory state. When comparing isolated brain mitochondria from adult and old rats we observed that oxygen consumption under respiratory state 3 and citrate synthase activity were 21.0±3.3% and 17.0±5.4% lower in mitochondria from old rats. Experiments conducted in the presence of different rotenone concentrations (5, 10 and 100 nM) showed that brain mitochondria from adult and old rats have similar sensitive to rotenone-induced inhibition of oxygen consumption in respiratory state 3, with IC50 of 7.8±0.4 and 6.5±0.5 nM for adult and old rats, respectively. In line with these results, similar stimulations in H2O2 production were observed in mitochondria from adult and old rats treated with different concentrations of rotenone. We conclude that partial Complex I inhibition may result in mitochondrial energy crisis and oxidative stress, the former being predominant under oxidative phosphorylation and the latter under resting respiration conditions. Rotenone exerts similar effects on oxygen consumption and H2O2 production by isolated brain mitochondria from adult and old rats / Mestrado / Biologia Estrutural, Celular, Molecular e do Desenvolvimento / Mestre em Ciências

(EN) Tumours are heterogeneous and consist of multiple populations of cells. The population of cells with tumour-initiating capability is known as cancer stem cells (CSC). Cells with increased stemness properties and elevated resistance to anti-cancer treatment have been shown to be highly affected upon decline of mitochondrial respiration, linking the concept of CSCs to deregulated bioenergetics. Consistently, functional electron transport chain (ETC) is crucial in tumorigenesis. Expression of HER2 oncogene, associated with resistance to treatment in breast cancer, has been connected with regulation of mitochondrial function. We therefore investigated the possibility that manipulation of mitochondrial bioenergetics via disruption of ETC eliminates the conventional therapy-resistant populations of tumour, such as CSCs and HER2high cells. We demonstrate that HER2high cells and tumours have increased complex I-driven respiration and increased assembly of respiratory supercomplexes (SC). These cells are highly sensitive to MitoTam, a novel mitochondria-targeted derivative of tamoxifen, acting as a CI inhibitor and SC disruptor. MitoTam was able to overcome resistance to tamoxifen, and to reduce the metastatic potential of HER2high cells. Higher sensitivity of HER2high cells to MitoTam is dependent on...

A fully automated Temperature Dependent Hall (TDH) measurement setup has been assembled for the purposes of this study. This TDH setup is capable of measuring samples in the 20 K to 370 K temperature range. Sample sizes of up to 20 mm × 20 mm can be accommodated by the custom designed and manufactured sample holder. Samples with a resistance in the 1Ω to 250 MΩ range can be measured with this setup provided that the mobility of the sample is greater than 1 cm²/Vs. The computer program controlling the automated measurement processwas written in LabView™ version 6.1. Single crystal Zinc Oxide (ZnO) was the material under investigation in this study. Bulk ZnO samples grown by three different methods, namely pressurized melt growth, seeded chemical vapor transport (SCVT) growth and hydrothermal growth, were measured in the 20 K to 370 K range. The effect of annealing in argon atmosphere in the 550 ºC to 930 ºC range was investigated on all three ZnO types. In addition, hydrogen-implanted layers on semi-insulating hydrothermally grown ZnO were studied. These samples were annealed in the 200 ºC to 400 ºC range and Hall measurements in the 20 K to 330 K range were performed. Programs were written to fit, wherever possible, the obtained temperature dependent carrier concentration and mobility profiles to suitable theoretical models. The carrier concentration data was fitted to a multi-donor single acceptor charge balance equation for the purpose of extracting donor concentrations and activation energies. Before fitting, the data was corrected for the Hall scattering factor and, where necessary, for two-layer effects particularly a degenerate surface conduction channel that developed through annealing on the SCVT-grown and hydrothermally grown samples. The acceptor concentrations of the samples were obtained by fitting the mobility data to a model based on D.L. Rode’s method of solving the Boltzmann transport equation. Scattering mechanisms included in the model were piezoelectric and deformation potential acoustic modes, polar optic modes and ionized impurity scattering. It was found that the mobility data did not fit the model very well without assigning questionable values to other parameters, in this case the deformation potential. Plausible values for the acceptor concentration were however obtained. The carrier concentration data fitted the model well, but due to the large number of parameters to be extracted (up to six parameters in the case of three donors) there was often not much certainty in the extracted values This study shows that TDH analysis is a valuable tool to assess the quality of semiconductors. Bulk and degenerate surface (or interfacial) conduction are separated with relative ease, and shallow defect concentrations as well as compensation level concentrations could be extracted. The generally observed uncertainty in values obtained in the multi-parameter regression of carrier concentration data indicates that supplementary techniques such as photoluminescence are needed to support results obtained by the TDH technique. / Dissertation (MSc (Physics))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Physics / MSc / unrestricted

The electron transport through a molecular wire under the influence of an external laser field is studied using a reduced density matrix formalism. The full system is partitioned into the relevant part, i.e. the wire, electron reservoirs and a phonon bath. An earlier second-order perturbation theory approach of Meier and Tannor for bosonic environments which employs a numerical decomposition of the spectral density is used to describe the coupling to the phonon bath and is extended to deal with the electron transfer between the reservoirs and the molecular wire. Furthermore, from the resulting time-nonlocal (TNL) scheme a time-local (TL) approach can be determined. Both are employed to propagate the reduced density operator in time for an arbitrary time-dependent system Hamiltonian which incorporates the laser field non-perturbatively. Within the TL formulation, one can extract a current operator for the open quantum system. This enables a more general formulation of the problem which is necessary to employ an optimal control algorithm for open quantum systems in order to compute optimal control fields for time-distributed target states, e.g. current patterns. Thus, we take a fundamental step towards optimal control in molecular electronics. Numerical examples of the population dynamics, laser controlled current, TNL vs. TL and optimal control fields are presented to demonstrate the diverse applicability of the derived formalism.

Three-dimensional (3D) TiO₂–SnO₂–graphene aerogels (TTGs)were built up from the graphene oxide nanosheets supported with both TiO₂ and SnO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) via a facile hydrothermal assembly process. The resulting TTGs exhibit a 3D hierarchical porous architecture with uniform distribution of SnO₂ and TiO₂ NPs on the graphene surface, which not only effectively prevents the agglomeration of SnO₂ NPs, but also facilitates the fast ion/electron transport in 3D pathways. As the anode materials in lithium ion batteries (LIBs), TTGs manifest a high reversible capacity of 750 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹ for 100 cycles. Even at a high current density of 1 A g⁻¹, a reversible capacity of 470mA h g⁻¹ can still be achieved from the TTG based LIB anode over 150 cycles.

The history of silicon technology showed that controlled doping was a key step for the realization of e®ective, stable and reproducible devices. When the conduction type was no longer determined by impurities but could be controlled by doping, the breakthrough of classical microelectronics became possible. Unlike inorganic semiconductors, organic dyes are up to now usually prepared in a nominally undoped form. However, controlled and stable doping is desirable in many organic-based devices as well. If we succeed in shifting the Fermi level towards the transport states, this could reduce ohmic losses, ease carrier injection from contacts and increase the built-in potential of Schottky- or pn-junctions.

This thesis deals with the characterization and implementation of transparent electron transport materials (ETM) in vacuum deposited p-i-n type organic solar cells (OSC) for substituting the parasitically absorbing standard ETM composed of n-doped C60. In addition to transparency in the visible range of the sun spectrum, the desired material properties include high electron mobility and conductivity, thermal and morphological stability, as well as good energy level alignment relative to the adjacent acceptor layer which is commonly composed of intrinsic C60. In this work, representatives of three different material classes are evaluated with regard to the above mentioned criteria. HATCN (hexaazatriphenylene hexacarbonitrile) is a small discoid molecule with six electron withdrawing nitrile groups at its periphery. It forms smooth thin films with an optical energy gap of 3.3eV, thus being transparent in the visible range of the sun spectrum. Doping with either 5wt% of the cationic n-dopant AOB or 7wt% of the proprietary material NDN1 effectively increases the conductivity to 7.6*10^-6 S/cm or 2.2*10^-4 S/cm, respectively. However, the fabrication of efficient OSC is impeded by the exceptionally high electron affinity (EA ) of approximately 4.8eV that causes the formation of an electron injection barrier between n-HATCN and intrinsic C60 (EA=4.0eV). This work presents a strategy to remove the barrier by introducing doped and undoped C60 intermediate layers, thus demonstrating the importance of energy level matching in a multi-layer structure and the advantages of Fermi level control by doping. Next, a series of six Bis-Fl-NTCDI (N,N-bis(fluorene-2-yl)-naphthalenetetracarboxylic diimide) compounds, which only differ by the length of the alkyl chains attached to the C9 positions of the fluorene side groups, is examined. When increasing the chain length from 0 to 6 carbon atoms, the energy levels remain nearly unchanged: We find EA=3.5eV as estimated from cyclic voltammetry, an ionization potential (IP ) in the range between 6.45eV and 6.63eV, and Eg,opt=3.1eV which means that all compounds form transparent thin films. Concerning thin film morphology, the addition of side chains results in the formation of amorphous layers with a surface roughness <1nm on room temperature glass substrates, and (1.5+/-0.5)nm for deposition onto glass substrates heated to 100°C. In contrast, films composed of the side chain free compound Bis-HFl-NTCDI exhibit a larger surface roughness of (2.5+/-0.5)nm and 9nm, respectively, and are nanocrystalline already at room temperature. Moreover, the conductivity achievable by n-doping is very sensitive to the side chain length: Whereas doping of Bis-HFl-NTCDI with 7wt% NDN1 results in a conductivity in the range of 10^-4 S/cm, the attachment of alkyl chains causes a conductivity which is more than three orders of magnitude smaller despite equal or slightly higher doping concentrations. The insufficient transport properties of the alkylated derivatives lead to the formation of pronounced s-kinks in the jV -characteristics of p-i-n type OSC while the use of n-Bis-HFl-NTCDI results in well performing devices. The last material, HATNA-Cl6 (2,3,8,9,14,15- hexachloro-5,6,11,12,17,18-hexaazatrinaphthylene), exhibits Eg,opt=2.7eV and is therefore not completely transparent in the visible range of the sun spectrum. However, its energy level positions of EA=4.1eV and IP=7.3eV are well suited for the application as ETM in combination with i-C60 as acceptor. The compound is dopable with all available n-dopants, resulting in maximum conductivities of sigma=1.6*10^-6, 3.5*10^-3, and 7.5*10^-3 S/cm at 7.5wt% AOB, Cr2(hpp)4, and NDN1, respectively. Applying n-HATNA-Cl6 instead of the reference ETM n-C60 results in a comparable or improved photocurrent density at an ETM thickness d(ETM)=40nm or 120nm, respectively. At d(ETM)=120nm, the efficiency eta is more than doubled as it increases from eta(n-C60)=0.4% to eta(n-HATNA-Cl6)=0.9% . Optical simulations show that the replacement of n-C60 by n-Bis-HFl-NTCDI, n-HATNA-Cl6, or the previously studied n-NTCDA (naphthalenetretracarboxylic dianhydride) in p-i-n or n-i-p type device architectures is expected to result in an increased photocurrent due to reduced parasitic absorption. For quantifying the gain, the performance of p-i-n type OSC with varying ETM type and thickness is evaluated. Special care has to be taken when analyzing devices comprising the reference ETM n-C60 as its conductivity is sufficiently large to extend the area of the aluminum cathode and thus the effective device area which may lead to distorted results. Overall, the experiment is able to confirm the trends predicted by the optical simulation. At large ETM thickness in the range between 60 and 120nm, the window layer effect of the ETM is most pronounced. For instance, at d(ETM)=120nm, eta(C60) is more than doubled using n-HATNA-Cl6 and even more than tripled using n-Bis-HFl-NTCDI or n-NTCDA. At optimized device geometry the photocurrent gain is slightly less than expected but nonetheless, the efficiency is improved from eta(max)=2.1% for n-C60 and n-HATNA-Cl6 solar cells to eta(max)=2.3, and 2.4% for n-Bis-HFl-NTCDI and n-NTCDA devices, respectively. This development is supported by generally higher Voc and FF in solar cells with transparent ETM. Finally, p-i-n type solar cells with varying ETM are aged at a temperature of 50°C and an illumination intensity of approximately 2 suns. Having extrapolated lifetimes t(80) of 36, 500, and 14000h and nearly unchanged jV-characteristics after 2000h, n-C60 and n-Bis-HFl-NTCDI devices exhibit the best stability. In contrast, n-NTCDA devices suffer from a constant decrease in Isc while n-HATNA-Cl6 solar cells show a rapid dscegradation of both Isc and FF associated with a decomposition of the material or a complete de-doping of the ETM. Here, lifetimes of only 4500h and 445hare achieved.

1 Abstract in English Mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) targeting shows a great promise in cancer therapy. However, why modern ETC-targeted compounds are tolerated on the organismal level and what are the molecular reasons for this tolerance remains unclear. Most somatic cells are in a non-proliferative state, and features associated with the ETC in quiescence might therefore contribute to specificity. Thus, we investigated the ETC status and the role of two major consequences of ETC blockade, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and inhibition of ATP production, in cell death induction in breast cancer cells and in proliferating and quiescent non-transformed cells. First, we characterised the effect of a newly developed ETC inhibitor mitochondria- targeted tamoxifen (MitoTam) in in vitro and in vivo tumour models of breast cancer with varying status of the Her2 oncogene. We document that Her2high cells and tumours have increased assembly of respiratory supercomplexes (SCs) and increased complex I-driven respiration in vitro and in vivo. They are also highly sensitive to MitoTam. Unlike the parental compound tamoxifen, MitoTam efficiently suppressed experimental Her2high tumours without systemic toxicity. Mechanistically, MitoTam inhibits complex I- driven respiration and disrupts respiratory...