Orientador: Marcelo Ganzarolli de Oliveira / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Química / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-25T12:07:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcilli_RaphaelHenriqueMarques_M.pdf: 7897278 bytes, checksum: 7868f663066dcea221688ac8dc901af2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Condições fisiológicas associadas à diminuição do nível de óxido nítrico (NO) na vasculatura, como na síndrome de Raynaud e na angiopatia diabética, têm estimulado o desenvolvimento de novos biomateriais capazes de liberar NO topicamente. Neste trabalho efetuamos a modificação do poli(álcool vinílico), PVA, pela sua reticulação química através da esterificação com o ácido mercaptosuccínico. Esta reação permitiu a moldagem de filmes de PVA sulfidrilados (PVA-SH). A calorimetria diferencial de varredura e a difratometria de raios X mostraram que a reação de reticulação suprimiu a cristalização do PVA, levando a um material sem poros, com uma distribuição homogênea de grupos sulfidrila(-SH). Os grupos hidroxila remanescentes na rede de PVA-SH conferiram hidrofilicidade parcial ao material, associada a um grau de intumescimento de 80 a 120 % em meio aquoso. Os filmes de PVA-SH, foram submetidos a uma reação de S-nitrosação dos grupos ¿SH produzindo um PVA contendo grupos S-nitrosotióis (PVA-SNO). Medidas amperométricas e por quimiluminescência mostraram que os filmes de PVA-SNO contém ca. 6 nmols de NO/mg de filme e são capazes de liberar NO espontaneamente após imersão em meio fisiológico. A fluxometria por laser Doppler, usada para medir o fluxo sanguíneo na microcirculação dérmica, permite verificar que a aplicação tópica dos filmes de PVA-SNO hidratados sobre a pele saudável leva a um aumento dependente da dose e do tempo de mais de 5 vezes no fluxo sanguíneo basal em menos de 10 min de aplicação com uma ação prolongada de mais de 4 h durante a aplicação contínua. Estes resultados mostram que os filmes de PVA-SNO podem representar um novo material com potencial para o tratamento tópico no tratamento de desordens microvasculares da pele / Abstract: Pathological conditions associated with the impairment of nitric oxide (NO) production in the vasculature, like Raynaud¿s syndrome and diabetic angiopathy, have stimulated the development of new biomaterials capable of delivering NO topically. In this work, we have modified poly(vinyl-alcohol) (PVA) by chemically crosslinking it via esterification with mercaptosuccinic acid. This reaction allowed the casting of sulfhydrylated PVA (PVA-SH) films. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffractometry showed that the crosslinking reaction suppressed the crystallization of PVA, leading to a non-porous material with a homogeneous distribution of -SH groups. The remaining hydroxyl groups in the PVA-SH network confered partial hydrophylicity to the material, associated with a swelling degree of 80 to 120 % in aqueous medium. The PVA-SH films were subjected to an S-nitrosation reaction of the SH groups yielding a PVA containing S-nitrosothiol groups (PVA-SNO). Amperometric and chemiluminescence measurements showed that the PVA-SNO films contain ca. 6 nmol NO/mg of film and are capable of releasing NO spontaneously after immersion in physiological medium. Laser Doppler-flowmetry, used to assess the blood flow in the dermal microcirculation, showed that the topical application of hydrated PVA-SNO films on the health skin leads to a dose and time dependent increase of more than 5-fold in the dermal baseline blood flow in less than 10 min with a prolonged action of more than 4 h during continuous application. These results show that the PVA-SNO films may represent a new material with potential for the topical treatment of microvascular skin disorders / Mestrado / Físico-Química / Mestre em Química

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / infarction (MI) affects many parts of the western world and in South Africa alone it is estimated that MI is responsible for 1 in 6 deaths (17.3%). Traditional diagnostic methods for MI include an electrocardiograms and blood tests. The problem with these diagnostic methods are that they are time consuming, require large sample volumes, expensive equipment and complicated machinery. To achieve early detection of MI the discovery of specific, sensitive and reliable biomarkers are required. Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) has been identified as a reliable biomarker for MI due to the fact that it has a defined cutoff of 100 pg/ml and it is not susceptible to patient‘s age which could make early detection of BNP complicated. Early detection methods for BNP has been based on immunoradiometric assays but problems associated with immunoradiometric assays are that there is a restricted availability of antigens and incubation of the labeled antibody could take up to two weeks which affects the patients waiting time on results. Electrochemical biosensors are emerging as early detection method for MI because they can be designed to be sensitive, specific to BNP at a low cost. This research study reported for the first the successful fabrication and implementation of highly sensitive mercaptosuccinic acid capped nickel selenide quantum dots (MSA-NiSe2 QDs) aptasensor for the detection of BNP. The poly-dispersed MSA-NiSe2 QDs were synthesized via an inexpensive, simple and reproducible aqueous microwave assisted irradiation method. The prepared MSA-NiSe2 QDs were characterized by Ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV-Vis), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), High Resolution Transmission/Scanning Electron Microscopy (HR TEM/SEM) and Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXSpace). The electrochemical properties of the MSA-NiSe2 QDs were investigated by Cylic Voltammetry (CV) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). HR-TEM revealed the formation of small sized MSA-NiSe2 QDs about 4 nm in diameter which was complemented by SAXSpace. UV-Vis studies showed absorption peaks in the ultraviolet region (100-400 nm) confirming the small size of these QDs as well confirming the direct and indirect bandgap of the QDs. XRD confirmed that the QDs are crystalline and belong to the bulk cubic MSA-NiSe2 QDs phase. FTIR studies confirmed the successful capping of MSA on the QDs due to the disappearance of the thiol peak at 2652 cm-1. Electrochemical studies revealed that the MSA-NiSe2 QDs showed good electrochemical properties on screen printed carbon electrodes (SPCE) which allowed them to be used as a mediating platform between the aptamer and SPCE. The successful detection of BNP was achieved by an incubation process between the aptamer drop coated on the MSA-NiSe2 QDs/SPCE surface overnight. The response of the MSA-NiSe2 QDs based aptasensor towards different concentrations of BNP was studied by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). DPV showed a good linearly with correlation coefficient of R2 = 0.98. DPV also showed a high sensitivity (0.4513 μA/ pg/mL) towards detecting BNP with a detection limit of 11.93 pg/ml. The value of 11.93 pg/ml falls within the negative predictive value range of 10-100 pg/ml for early-stage diagnosis of BNP.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Prostate cancer, commonly referred to as adenocarcinoma of the prostate, is the leading cause of cancer death in men in 46 countries, and it was estimated that by the end of 2018 there would approximately be 1.3 million new cases of prostate cancer worldwide. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved biomarker for prostate cancer disease diagnostics Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is not specific to the disease itself but extends to other cases such as Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH) a condition in which the prostate grows uncontrollably. This biomarker is then detected in blood samples via conventional methods which require a qualified individual to operate and are often time consuming. Examples of these methods are spectrophotometry and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Hence, a more efficient biomarker and method of detection is needed for prostate cancer disease diagnostics, as early detection of the disease means early treatment, which could ultimately save lives. Currently, an emerging biomarker for prostate cancer known as Alpha-Methyl CoA Racemase (AMACR) has shown to be more specific to the disease with advantages such as being a non-invasive biomarker. AMACR has been reported to be present in urine, and thus may be detected via a non-invasive method. This study proposed an economical, non-invasive electrochemical biosensor for the rapid detection of AMACR based on mercaptosuccinic acid capped tungsten telluride (MSA-WTe3) quantum dots (QDs). Nanomaterial has shown promise in terms of increasing the sensitivity and specificity of sensors. MSA-WTe3 QDs was successfully synthesized using easy, inexpensive method and was studied by various techniques such as High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM) where the size was confirmed to be within the nanometer scale and was reported to be 2.65 nm with a good crystallinity. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the structural properties and chemical composition of the QDs and it is reported that the QDs are rich in both tellurium and tungsten and comprise of a hexagonal structure. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) confirmed the successful immobilization of aptamer sequence specific to AMACR onto the electrode surface by showing a distinct conformational change when aptamers were introduced to the QDs under study. This study reports the successful detection of AMACR using an MSA-WTe3 QDs based aptasensor immobilized onto a screen printed glassy carbon electrode, with a detection limit of 0.35651 ng/mL and a limit of quantification calculated to be 1.08033 ng/mL.

The aim of this work was to synthesise water-soluble QDs using different precursors and stabilizers and to determine the toxicity of the synthesized QDs by in vivo imaging. Experiments were performed on water-soluble QDs (MPA-CdTe, MPA-CdTe/ZnS, MSA-CdTe, MSA-CdTe/ZnS, GSH-CdTe, GSH-CdTe/ZnS, TGA-CdTe, TGA-CdTe/ZnS, GSH-ZnSe and GSH-ZnSe/ZnS ) and toxicity was measured. Synthesized QDs were characterized by high intensity (fluorescence spectroscopy), FWHM and zeta potential (ZS Zetasizer) were selected due to their suitability for this task. The toxicity of QDs was determined by the MTT assay on the cell line HEK 293. The experiments show that a core/shell structure is less toxic than a core structure. The results indicate that the toxicity of our synthesized QDs is the lowest for MPA-CdTe (core structure) and MPA-CdTe/ZnS (core/shell structure).

The aim of this work was to synthesise water-soluble QDs using different precursors and stabilizers and to determine the toxicity of the synthesized QDs by in vivo imaging. Experiments were performed on water-soluble QDs (MPA-CdTe, MPA-CdTe/ZnS, MSA-CdTe, MSA-CdTe/ZnS, GSH-CdTe, GSH-CdTe/ZnS, TGA-CdTe, TGA-CdTe/ZnS, GSH-ZnSe and GSH-ZnSe/ZnS ) and toxicity was measured. Synthesized QDs were characterized by high intensity (fluorescence spectroscopy), FWHM and zeta potential (ZS Zetasizer) were selected due to their suitability for this task. The toxicity of QDs was determined by the MTT assay on the cell line HEK 293. The experiments show that a core/shell structure is less toxic than a core structure. The results indicate that the toxicity of our synthesized QDs is the lowest for MPA-CdTe (core structure) and MPA-CdTe/ZnS (core/shell structure).