Com a crescente demanda por dispositivos implantáveis de suporte cardíaco (vulgarmente chamados de Coração Artificial) no tratamento da insuficiência cardíaca, surge a demanda por sistemas de transmissão de energia transcutânea (TET) para recarregamento das baterias implantadas. Esses sistemas reduzem os riscos de infecções, por não terem cabos atravessando a pele para alimentar os implantes; evitando também intervenções cirúrgicas reincidentes para troca de baterias. Normalmente, são pesquisados e testados sistemas TET por acoplamento magnético (indutivo) entre bobinas através da pele. Este trabalho propõe um modelo para o acoplamento por meio do campo elétrico, através de um capacitor, cujo dielétrico é constituído por polímeros (materiais biocompatíveis) e tecido biológico vivo (pele humana). Provas de conceito para transmissão de energia pelo acoplamento capacitivo apresentaram a possibilidade de mitigar problemas relacionados ao alinhamento axial exigido pelo acoplamento indutivo. Simulações computacionais de circuitos elétricos equivalentes ao acoplamento capacitivo foram confrontadas com experimentos in vitro e ex vivo, com tecidos vivos, validando o modelo proposto e servindo de base para o desenvolvimento de uma nova tecnologia. / Heart failure (HF) is a complex syndrome and a problem in the world. Ventricular assistive devices (VADs) are being used as target therapy in the treatment of HF. In order to avoid infectious due to the driveline passing through the patients, transcutaneous energy transmission systems (TET) have been developed to VADs. These TETs usually act by magnetic coupling between coils. The present work proposes a modeling for capacitive coupling through a dielectric composed of polymer and human skin. Bench tests demonstrated advantages over the axial alignment required by inductive systems. Computational simulations of the equivalent electric circuit for capacitive coupling were compared with in vitro experiments and validated the proposed model.

L’objectif de cette thèse a été de synthétiser et de caractériser des assemblages linéaires de porphyrines reliées par des ions métalliques. Par réaction de porphyrines possédant un site de coordination externe avec des ions platine(II), des nouveaux homodimères et de nouvelles dyades ont pu être obtenus. Les mesures photochimiques et électrochimiques de ces composés ont alors permis de mettre en évidence un accroissement des interactions électroniques entre les sous-unités par rapport aux systèmes reliés par du palladium(II). Des transferts d’énergie ultra-rapides ont notamment été mis en évidence. Une série de monomères de porphyrines métallées en périphérie avec du palladium(II) ou du platine(II) ont ensuite été préparées. Pour ces molécules, les propriétés électroniques varient très peu en modifiant le complexe porté par la porphyrine. Des assemblages incorporant une unité porphyrinique difonctionnalisée ont ensuite été développés. La méthodologie utilisée a permis d’accéder à des trimères et des tétramères en solution comportant des porphyrines de nickel(II) ou de palladium(II). L’étude physico-chimique de ces composés a montré que les porphyrines interagissaient peu à travers les ions métalliques connecteurs. Enfin,des porphyrines difonctionnalisées comportant de longues chaînes alkyles ont été préparées. Comme cela a été vu grâce à la STM, certaines de ces molécules peuvent s’auto-assembler sur surface de graphite (HOPG) et ont permis de former des oligomères en présence d’ions métalliques / The goal of this thesis was to synthesize and characterize linear porphyrins assemblies linked by metal ions. The reaction of porphyrins bearing an external coordination group with platinum(II) ions led to the formation of new homodimers and new dyads. Electrochemical measurements demonstrated an increase in the electronic communication between the two subunits of the Pt-linked dimers compared to Pd-linked systems. In addition, an ultrafast energy transfer between the subunits was observed in the new dyads. Porphyrin monomers metalated at their periphery with palladium(II) and platinum(II) complexes were also prepared. Trimers and tetramers were obtained by reacting porphyrins with various external coordination sites with metal ions. With porphyrins bearing additional long alkyl chains, self assembly at the solid/liquid interface was also studied by STM. In particular, addition of metal ions to these self-assembled systems on HOPG led to linear porphyrin arrays.

Nucleic acids and proteins, some of the building blocks of life, are not static structures but highly dynamic entities that need to interact with one another to meet cellular demands. The work presented in this thesis focuses on the application of highly sensitive fluorescence methods, both at ensemble and single-molecule level, to determine the dynamics and structure of specific biomolecular interactions with nanometer resolution and in temporal scales from nanoseconds to minutes, which includes most biologically relevant processes. The main aims of my PhD can be classified in three areas: i) exploring new fluorescent sensors with increased specificity for certain nucleic acid structures; ii) understanding how some of these nucleic acids sense the presence of small molecules in the cellular environment and trigger gene regulation by altering their structure; and iii) understanding how certain molecular machines, such as helicase proteins, are able to unwind the DNA double helix by using chemical energy in the form of ATP hydrolysis.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterised by a series of biomolecular aggregation events, which include the formation of neurotoxic protein structures composed of the β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide. In this thesis, fluorescence self-quenching (FSQ) between fluorescently-labelled peptides is introduced as a strategy for detecting and characterizing Aβ aggregates in solution, and for overcoming limitations associated with conventional methods. Using a combination of steady-state, picosecond time-resolved fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy, the fluorescence response of HiLyte Fluor 555-labelled Aβ peptides is characterised to demonstrate that Aβ self-assembly organizes the covalently attached probes in close proximity to trigger the self-quenching sensing process over a broad range of conditions. Importantly, N-terminal tagging of β-amyloid peptides is shown to not alter the self-assembly kinetics or the resulting aggregated structures. When performed in Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) format, this method becomes a ratiometric platform to gain insights into amyloid structure and for standardizing in vitro studies of amyloid self-assembly. The ability of FSQ-based methods to monitor the inhibition of Aβ aggregation by model test compounds including the small heat shock protein (Hsp), the amyloid-binding alcohol dehydrogenase protein (ABAD) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) is also demonstrated. Given that Aβ is formed within the cell membrane and is known to induce its disruption, sophisticated single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy methods were developed to quantify membrane dynamics induced by the presence of disrupting agents, such as Aβ and detergents. The solubilisation dynamics of single liposomes induced by the non-ionic surfactant Triton-X 100 (TX-100) were studied in real-time. Using this approach, the swelling and permeabilization steps of the solubilisation process were unambiguously separated within single FRET trajectories, and their kinetic details as a function of Triton-X 100 and presence of cholesterol within the membrane structure were examined. Finally, single-molecule stepwise-photobleaching techniques were employed to study the effect of Aβ oligomers interacting with supported-lipid bilayers, establishing a platform from which to investigate how the presence of a membrane layer affects Aβ oligomerization at the level of individual molecules. Overall, the fluorescence-based strategies for amyloid- and liposome-sensing presented in this work bridges the gap between current morphology-specific techniques and highly-specialized single-molecule methods to provide a biophysical toolbox to investigate the changes in structure, size and molecular interactions accompanying the amyloid aggregation pathway and for the screening of novel therapeutic and diagnostic agents.

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This thesis consists of two parts. The first part deals with the visible emission of ZnO Nanocrystals and its possible application in Resonance Energy Transfer (RET) studies. The second part of the thesis is on the magnetic properties of the layered transition metal Thiophosphates MPS3 (M = Mn, Fe), their solid solutions and intercalation compounds. Recent advances in semiconductor nanocrystals or quantum dots (QDs) as inorganic fluorophores have pioneered a new direction in the fluorescent based techniques to investigate fundamental processes in lifesciences. Their broad absorption spectra with narrow, Size-tunable emissions with high quantum e±ciency and stability under relative harsh environments have made inorganic QD's the fluorophores of choice in many applications. Among inorganic fluorophores the II-VI semiconductors based on cadmium chalcogenides are the front-runners. The cytotoxicity associated with these QDs is, however, a major drawback and has lead to the search for new nanocrystalline fluorophores that are non-toxic and possess the same favorable fluorescence properties as the Cd based QDs, viz, tunability and narrow spectral profile. ZnO Nano particles are known to exhibit two emission bands; a narrow emission band in UV around 380 nm (3.25 eV) at a wavelength just below the onset of the band gap excitation in the absorption spectra and a broad emission band in the blue-green part of the visible spectrum, with a maximum between 500 and 550 nm (2.5-2.2 eV). The UV Emission originates from the recombination of bound excitons - excited electrons in the Conduction band with holes in the valence band. The visible emission of ZnO nanocrystals is known to involve deep trap states that lie approximately midway between the Conduction and valence bands and surface defects that exist as shallow traps. In principle, visible-light-emitting ZnO nanocrystals would be ideal candidates as replacement for Cd-based fluorescent labels since they are nontoxic, less expensive, and chemically stable in air. Nanoscale ZnO, however, tends to aggregate and/or undergo Ostwald ripening be-Cause of high surface free energy resulting in an increase in crystallite size and consequent Disappearance of the visible emission. Most attempts to stabilize the ZnO nanocrystals by Capping has usually resulted in the quenching of the visible trap emission. The objective of the present study was to stabilize the visible light emission of ZnO nanocrystals, to Understand the origin and mechanism of the visible emission and to explore the possibility Of using the visible emission of ZnO in RET studies. The stabilization of visible light emission in ZnO nanocrystals was achieved by forming ZnO:MgO core-shell nanocrystals. The nanocrystals were synthesized by a sequential preparative procedure that involved formation of a ZnO core followed by an MgO shell. The Nanocrystals were characterized by using XRD, TEM, optical absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy. These are described in Chapter 2 of the thesis. The ZnO: MgO Core-shell nanostructures exhibit stable emission in the visible for extended periods. Application of the ZnO: MgO nanocrystals either as fluorescent probes or RET studies require that they be dispersible in both polar and non-polar solvents. This as realized by appropriate choice of the capping agents (Chapter 3). ZnO: MgO nanocrystals with hydrophobic surface were obtained by capping the nanocrystals with oleic acid. The oleate capped ZnO: MgO nanocrystals are soluble in a variety of non-polar organic solvents with no change in their emission properties. Water-soluble ZnO: MgO nanocrystals were obtained by capping the ZnO:MgO nanocrystals with carboxymethyl-β-cyclodextrin (CMCD). The hydroxyl groups located at the rim of the cyclodextrin cavity renders the surface hydrophilic. The integrity of the CMCD molecules are preserved on capping and their by hydrophobic cavities available for host-guest chemistry. The visible emission of The ZnO: MgO nanocrystals are unaltered by the nature of the capping agent. The origin and mechanism of the visible emission from ZnO: MgO nanocrystals has been Investigated using time-resolved emission spectroscopy technique (Chapter 4). The time-evolution of the photoluminescence spectra show that there are, in fact, two features in the visible emission whose relative importance and efficiencies vary with time. These features originate from recombination involving trapped electrons and holes, respectively, And with efficiencies that depend on the occupancy of the trap density of states. The application of the visible emission of ZnO: MgO nanocrystals as resonance energy transfer (RET) donors in water and hydrophobic media are demonstrated. In aqueous media, the carboxymethyl β-cyclodextrin (CMCD) capped ZnO: MgO nanocrystals is able to accommodate the organic dye Nile Red by an inclusion in the anchored hydrophobic cyclodextrin cavity forming a 1:1 complex. Nile Red was chosen as the guest molecule because its absorption has appreciable overlap with ZnO: MgO visible emission, a prerequisite for RET to occur. The resonance energy transfer on the band gap excitation of The ZnO core to included Red molecules in the CMCD-ZnO: MgO-Nile Red supramolecular assembly is demonstrated in aqueous media. A similar RET process is shown to occur in the non-polar media in the oleate capped ZnO: MgO nanocrystals when Nile Red is partitioned from the solvent into hydrophobic anchored oleate chains. The wavelength dependent energy transfer in the system has been studied using time-resolved emission spectroscopic technique. The importance of trap states in giving rise to non-Forster distance dependence for the RET is highlighted. The second part of the thesis deals with magnetism in low dimensional layered transition metal thiophophates, MPS3 (M = Mn, Fe). Low dimensional magnetic systems continue to be a fertile ground for discovering new phenomena and properties. Among two-dimensional magnetic systems the insulating transition metal thiophosphates are one of the few known layered systems, in which both magnetic and crystallographic lattices are two dimensional (2D). In the metal chalcogenophosphates, the magnetic MPX3 layers are separated by a van der Waals gap that effectively rules out interlayer exchange and hence these systems are nearly perfect 2D magnetic systems, with the magnetic ions forming a honeycomb arrangement within the layer. Due to the crystallographic two-dimensional nature these materials may be intercalated by variety of molecules or ions leading to change in magnetic properties. The objective of this thesis work is to try and modify the magnetic properties of the transition metal thiophosphates either by forming solid solutions of the type, M1-xMxPS3, (M, M = Mn, Fe) or by intercalating hydrated metal ions within the layers. The structure, Bonding, reactivity and magnetic properties are briefly introduced in Chapter 7. The Scope and nature of the present work in presented towards the end of the chapter. MnPS3 and FePS3 have identical crystal structures and both order antiferromagnetically at low temperatures, TN. The in-plane magnetic structures of the antiferromagnetically ordered the Neel state in the two compounds are, however, different. In MnPS3 the spins Alternate up-down whereas in FePS3 the spins are arranged as ferromagnetic chains with Alternate chains coupled antiferromagnetically. Since the crystal structures are identical, These two compounds can form solid solutions, Mn1-xFexPS3(0≤x≥1) over the entire concentration range. The magnetic properties of the single crystals of the solid solutions was measured by using a SQUID magnetometer. This system is of interest since the contrasting Neel states of the end-members may give rise to new magnetic phenomena at intermediate composition. It is shown that the magnetic behavior falls into three distinct categories. The Mn-rich compositions behave like a dilute MnPS3 lattice, the Fe-rich compositions behave like dilute FePS3 and in the intermediate compositions a spin-glass like phase appears. The phase boundaries for these regime in Mn1-xFexPS3, 0≤x≥1 is shown to be related to the percolation threshold for a honeycomb lattice. MnPS3 is known to undergo a unusual ion-exchange intercalation reaction. Intercalation occurs by the inclusion of hydrated metal ions in the galleries of MnPS3 with charge neutrality maintained by loss of the Mn2+ ions from the layer (Equation). MnPS3 + 2xG+ (aq) → Mn1-xPS3 [G (H2O) y] 2x + xMn2+ (aq) Where G is a neutral guest species. This chemistry has been exploited to intercalate hydrated Mn2+ ions in the interlamellar space to give Mn1-xPS3[Mn(H2O)6]x. the magnetic properties of this 3D analogue of MnPS3 has been investigated in Chapter 9.

Cette thèse est consacrée à l'étude expérimentale par spectroscopie pompe-sonde femtoseconde des propriétés optiques hors-équilibre de solutions micellaires de nanotubes de carbone. Les propriétés des nanotubes de carbone sont profondément affectées par leur géométrie unidimensionnelle. Les interactions coulombiennes exaltées du fait du confinement quantique des électrons à une dimension donnent naissance à des excitons fortement liés. L'analyse des spectres d'absorption transitoire par la méthode des moments permet une étude des interactions entre excitons. La relaxation des excitons s'avère gouvernée par les collisions entre excitons, limitées par la diffusion à 1D dans le nanotube. La présence d'excitons dans une sousbande conduit à un décalage uniforme vers le bleu de l'ensemble des transitions excitoniques et à un élargissement de même ampleur. Ainsi, les interactions croisées entre excitons de sousbandes différentes sont de même amplitude qu'entre excitons de même sousbande, en accord avec une modélisation simple.Par ailleurs, les nanotubes sont constitués uniquement d'atomes de surface, ce qui leur confère une forte sensibilité à l'environnement. Cette sensibilité est mise à profit dans des composés hybrides où la fonctionnalisation non-covalente par des colorants ouvre une nouvelle voie d'excitation des nanotubes. Notre étude montre que le transfert d'énergie entre les colorants et les nanotubes permet une excitation monochromatique efficace et uniforme de l'ensemble des espèces de nanotubes. Une fois l'exciton transféré au nanotube, sa relaxation s'avère ensuite identique à celle observée dans les nanotubes nus. / This thesis is devoted to the experimental study by femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy of micellar solutions of carbon nanotubes. The properties of carbon nanotubes are greatly affected by their 1D geometry. Quantum confinement of electrons in 1D leads to enhanced coulomb interactions giving rise to strongly bound excitons. Many-body effects between excitons is investigated by the moment method analysis of the transient absorption spectra. The relaxation of excitons is controlled by diffusion-limited collisions between excitons. The presence of excitons in the lowest subband results in a broadening and an uniform blue-shift of the excitonic energy spectrum. Intra and intersubband interactions turn out to be of the same magnitude, in agreement with a simple mean field theory of excitonic interactions.Moreover, the one-layer structure of nanotubes results in strong interaction with the environment. We take advantage of the environmental sensitivity of nanotubes in hybrid compounds where the non-covalent functionalization with dyes opens a new extrinsic monochromatic excitation channel of the nanotubes through an efficient and ultrafast energy transfer between dyes and nanotubes. Once the exciton transferred to the nanotube, its relaxation is similar to the one observed in bare nanotubes.

Pour un bon contrôle du procédé de dépôt par pulvérisation magnétron et donc des propriétés des films déposés, une meilleure connaissance des processus de pulvérisation d’une part, et de croissance du film d’autre part est nécessaire. Une façon de mettre en évidence les différents mécanismes impliqués consiste à étudier les transferts d’énergie plasma/surface en temps réel pendant le procédé. Depuis une dizaine d’année, un outil de diagnostic permettant de mesurer directement l’énergie transférée, appelé ‘fluxmètre’ ou HFM (pour Heat Flux Microsensor), a été développé au GREMI. Il est basé sur l’insertion d’une thermopile dans un système adapté aux enceintes plasma basse pression. Bien que ce capteur de flux constitue un très bon outil de contrôle, son couplage avec d’autres diagnostics de la phase gazeuse (spectromètre de masse, spectroscopie d’émission, analyseur d’énergie etc.) et de caractérisation des films déposés (MEB, DRX, RBS,…) est nécessaire pour avoir une analyse complète du régime étudié. Pendant cette thèse, le fluxmètre a été principalement utilisé pour l’étude de trois régimes particuliers de pulvérisation magnétron en mode DC (Courant Continu); la pulvérisation en condition réactive, la pulvérisation d’une cible magnétique et la pulvérisation d’une cible chaude. Ce travail a permis de mettre en évidence des transitions de régimes dans le cas de la pulvérisation en mode réactif (oxydemétal) et à partir d’une cible magnétique (Ferro-paramagnétique). De plus, lorsqu’une cible monte en température, elle émet un rayonnement IR qui peut être absorbé avec plus ou moins d’efficacité par le film en cours de croissance. Les expériences menées dans le cadre de cette thèse ont contribué à l’étude de l’influence que cette contribution énergétique, différente de celle des processus collisionnels (condensation des atomes pulvérisés, interaction avec les ions, électrons etc.) peut avoir sur les films synthétisés. / For a good control of the magnetron sputtering process and therefore of the properties of the deposited films, a better knowledge of the sputtering processes on the one hand and the growth of the film on the other hand is necessary. One way to demonstrate the different mechanisms involved is to study the plasma / surface energy transfers in real time during the process. For the last ten years, a diagnostic tool has been developed at GREMI to directly measure the transferred energy, called fluxmeter, or HFM (for Heat Flux Microsensor). It is based on the insertion of a thermopile in a system suitable for low pressure plasma reactors. Although this flux sensor is a very good control tool, its coupling with other diagnoses of gas phase (mass spectrometer, emission spectroscopy, energy analyzer etc.) and characterization of deposited films (SEM , DRX, RBS, ...) is necessary to have a complete analysis of the studied regime. During this thesis, the fluxmeter was mainly used for the study of three particular regimes of magnetron sputtering in DC (Continuous Current) mode; the sputtering in a reactive condition, the sputtering of a magnetic target, and the sputtering of a hot target. Transitions of regimes in the case of the reactive sputtering (oxide-metal) and the magnetic target (Ferro-paramagnetic) was studied. In addition, when he target emperature rises, it emits IR radiation that can be absorbed with more or less efficiently by the growing film. The experiments carried out in this thesis contributed to the study of the influence of this energy contribution, different from the collisional processes (condensation of atomized atoms, interaction with ions, electrons etc.) can have on the films Synthesized.

L’autonomie limitée du véhicule électrique est le premier frein au développement du marché de l’électrique. La charge inductive dynamique répond à ce problème, en offrant de charger son véhicule en roulant. La principale difficulté est de gérer les variations importantes du couplage magnétique lors du déplacement du véhicule, et ce pendant le transfert de puissance. Une précédente thèse dans l’équipe de recherche sur un prototype de 3 kW avait abouti au concept de recopie de tension, qui stabilise la tension en sortie du coupleur malgré la variation de couplage, et facilite notablement la conception du convertisseur DC/DC faisant interface avec la batterie. La thèse présentée ici porte sur l’adaptation du système pour fonctionner de 20 kW à 30 kW. Cette montée en puissance n’est pas évidente, du fait des importantes contraintes électriques sur les bobines du coupleur (1,4 kV sur le système de 3 kW), et du champ rayonné limité par des références normatives. Tout d’abord, nous proposons une nouvelle commande du circuit résonnant, qui permet de modifier le dimensionnement pour aboutir à des contraintes électriques plus faibles tout en conservant la recopie de tension. Ensuite, une forme de bobine en huit est étudiée pour aider à réduire le champ rayonné. Enfin, une démarche de dimensionnement est établie pour la partie électrique du système, ainsi que pour le coupleur magnétique, alliant modèle analytique et simulations à éléments finis et réduisant considérablement les temps de simulations. Les résultats de l’évaluation des performances du système dimensionné pour la haute puissance sont prometteurs. / The limited electric-vehicle distance range is the main reason hindering the development of the electric transportation market. Dynamic inductive charging solves this problem, offering the possibility to charge while driving. The main issue consists in handling wide magnetic coupling variations when the vehicle is moving, while charging. A previous thesis in the research team on a 3-kW prototype led to the concept of voltage copying, which stabilises the coupler output voltage despite the varying coupling, making it easier to design the DC/DC converter linking the coupler to the battery. The hereby thesis deals with adapting this system to transfer from 20 kW to 30 kW. Raising the power is no small matter, due to the high electrical constraints on the coupled coils (1.4 kV on the 3-kW system), and the radiated field, limited by standardised thresholds. Firstly, a new control of the resonating circuit is proposed, allowing to change the system design to get lower electrical constraints and maintaining voltage copying properties. Then, an eight-shape coil was investigated in order to reduce the radiated field. Finally, a design method was conceived for the electrical part of the system, as well as the magnetic coupler, using jointly analytical models and finite element simulations to reduce simulation times. Results of the evaluated performance for such a high-power system are quite promising.

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