L'objectif de cette recherche est d'établir des mécanismes de formation de la structure des systèmes hybrides organique-inorganique à base des oligomères uréthane et silicates en fonction de la réactivité de la composant organique, d'identifier l'impact de l'organisation structurelle du OIS obtenue sur leurs propriétés électriques et thermomécaniques, de sorption et de l'activité du capteur. La signification pratique des résultats est la détermination de l'impact de la réactivité composant organique sur la structure des systèmes hybrides polymère organique-inorganique avec la possibilité d'obtenir des matériaux avec des propriétés spéciales prévisibles. Les résultats peuvent être utilisés comme base scientifique pour comprendre l'interconnexion de la structure, les propriétés et les moyens de leur régulation en direction de systèmes hybrides polymère organique-inorganique. La sensibilité très élevée pour les différents types de solvants, qui, combiné avec une haute sélectivité, a été révélé pour les systèmes de synthèse, la possibilité de leur utilisation pratique en tant que matières capteur existe.

Electrophysical agents (EPA) are a fundamental element of therapy practice and are vital for the treatment of a variety of conditions. Many of these agents employ some form of electromagnetic fields (EMF), in which radiofrequency (RF) is a major component. The therapeutic effects of RF are mainly linked to their effects on pain relief and potential effects on tissue repair. Although RF across various frequency ranges has been in use, reviews have shown that the frequency ranges currently used in therapy practice have narrowed to within 30 kHz-30,000 kHz (30 MHz). The most commonly used and hence the most commonly researched are shortwave therapies (SWT) that operate at 27.12 MHz, which is presently used predominantly in its pulsed form (PSWT). In addition to SWT, devices employing significantly lower RF ranges have also been used widely despite their lack of evidence. Capacitive Resistive Monopolar Radiofrequency (CRMRF) that operates at 448 kHz is one such RF. This programme of research was designed to investigate the physiological and clinical efficacy of CRMRF delivered using the 'Indiba Activ 902' device. The project also evaluated the scope and evidence for RF-based EPAs in therapy, through a comprehensive review of literature. A total of 120 relevant clinical studies on either acute (30 studies) or chronic (90 studies) conditions were reviewed. Notable evidence was identified for chronic OA knee and acute postoperative pain and wound healing. Some evidence also exists for chronic low back pain and healing of chronic wounds. Only eight studies reported devices that employed RF outside the shortwave frequency band. In a randomised crossover laboratory study on asymptomatic adults, the effects of contrasting doses of CRMRF on skin temperature (SKT), skin blood flow (SBF), nerve conduction velocity (NCV), deep blood flow and the extensibility of tissues were examined against a placebo dose and a control condition with no treatment. The study further compared CRMRF results with that of PSWT. The results showed that high (moderately thermal) and low (sub/minimally thermal) doses of CRMRF significantly enhanced and sustained SKT (p < 0.001), while only the high dose meaningfully increased SBF (p < 0.001). High dose PSWT increased SKT marginally (p < 0.001) but did not sustain it. Further, the high and low dose CRMRF significantly enhanced blood flow volume at depth (p=0.003), while PSWT failed to show any significant impact. None of the treatments significantly affected deep blood flow velocity, tissue extensibility or NCV. These results were reproduced on a cohort of patients affected by OA knee in a randomised controlled trial (RCT), and the effects appeared more pronounced in the patients than in the asymptomatic people. More importantly, the RCT showed that a four-week high dose CRMRF treatment (eight sessions) produced statistically and clinically significant gains in pain and function associated with OA knee in the short to medium term (p < 0.001), which was also significantly more pronounced than the gains produced by a placebo, or standard care (p=0.001for pain; p=0.031 for function). The findings of this study were considered promising. It is therefore suggested that CRMRF-based treatment can potentially be used as an adjunct to current therapeutic methods to enhance the clinical outcomes. However, further studies are needed to substantiate this, and the current results will provide credible baseline data for future research.

L'objectif de cette recherche est d'établir des mécanismes de formation de la structure des systèmes hybrides organique-inorganique à base des oligomères uréthane et silicates en fonction de la réactivité de la composant organique, d'identifier l'impact de l'organisation structurelle du OIS obtenue sur leurs propriétés électriques et thermomécaniques, de sorption et de l'activité du capteur. La signification pratique des résultats est la détermination de l'impact de la réactivité composant organique sur la structure des systèmes hybrides polymère organique-inorganique avec la possibilité d'obtenir des matériaux avec des propriétés spéciales prévisibles. Les résultats peuvent être utilisés comme base scientifique pour comprendre l'interconnexion de la structure, les propriétés et les moyens de leur régulation en direction de systèmes hybrides polymère organique-inorganique. La sensibilité très élevée pour les différents types de solvants, qui, combiné avec une haute sélectivité, a été révélé pour les systèmes de synthèse, la possibilité de leur utilisation pratique en tant que matières capteur existe. / The aim of the research is to establish mechanisms of structure formation of hybrid organic-inorganic systems based on urethane oligomers and silicates, depending on reactivity of organic component, to identify the impact of structural organization of OIS obtained on their electrophysical and thermomechanical properties, sorption and sensor activity.The practical significance of the results is the determination of the impact of organic component reactivity on the structure of hybrid organic-inorganic polymer systems with the possibility of obtaining of the materials with predictable special properties. The results can be used as scientific basis for understanding the interconnection of structure, properties and ways of their directional regulation of hybrid organic-inorganic polymer systems. Whereas, the extremely high sensitivity to different types of solvents, which combined with the high selectivity, was revealed for the synthesized systems, the possibility of their practical use as sensor materials exists.