Soft particle glasses like microgels and compressed emulsions are densely packed, disordered suspensions of deformable particles. Quantitative relationships among the constituent properties and the macroscopic properties of the suspension are determined for their customized design as rheological additives. The microscopic origin of their macroscopic properties is also determined. Advanced characterization techniques like Large Amplitude Oscillatory Shear (LAOS) and microrheology are studied to use them efficiently to characterize these materials. Their microstructure and rheology are investigated through theory, simulations and experiments. Soft particle glasses are used as rheological additives in many applications including coatings, solid inks and textured food and cosmetic products but their formulation is largely empirical. A quantitative connection between their formulation and rheology is critical to enable their rational design. Their microstructure will lead to the microscopic origin of some unique properties in common with other soft crowded materials like intracellular cytoplasm and clays. These are complex fluids and require novel techniques to characterize them. A study of these techniques is essential to efficiently interpret the observations in terms of their macroscopic properties and the microscopic dynamics involved. Particle scale simulations of steady and oscillatory shear flow are developed to predict the nonlinear rheology and microstructure of these glasses. The origin of yielding is determined as escape of particles from their cages giving rise to a shear induced diffusion. Microrheology is studied by developing simulations of a probe particle being pulled at a constant force and the rheological information from microrheology is quantitatively connected to that from bulk rheological measurements. Soft particle glasses develop internal stresses when quenched to a solid state by flow cessation during processing. Experiments are performed to characterize and a priori predict these stresses. Simulations are used to determine the particle scale mechanisms involved in the stress relaxation on flow cessation and the microstructural origin of internal stresses. A pairwise interaction theory is developed for quiescent glasses to quantitatively predict their microstructure and elastic properties. The theory is then extended to sheared glasses to quantitatively predict their nonlinear rheology. The implementation of the pairwise theories is computationally much faster than the full three-dimensional simulations. / text

Cellulose is one of the most abundant biopolymers found in nature. Cellulose based derivatives have a number of advantages including recyclability, reproducibility, biocompatibility, biodegradability, cost effectiveness and availability in a wide variety of forms. Due to the benefits of cellulose based systems, this research study was aimed at developing novel cellulosic nanoparticles with potential pharmaceutical and personal care applications. Two different cellulosic systems were evaluated, each with its own benefits and proposed applications. The first project involves the synthesis and characterization of polyampholyte nanoparticles composed of chitosan and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), a cellulosic ether. EDC carbodiimide chemistry and inverse microemulsion technique was used to produce crosslinked nanoparticles. Chitosan and carboxymethyl cellulose provide amine and carboxylic acid functionality to the nanoparticles thereby making them pH responsive. Chitosan and carboxymethyl cellulose also make the nanoparticles biodegradable and biocompatible, making them suitable candidates for pharmaceutical applications. The synthesis was then extended to chitosan and modified methyl cellulose microgel system. The prime reason for using methyl cellulose was to introduce thermo-responsive characteristics to the microgel system. Methyl cellulose was modified by carboxymethylation to introduce carboxylic acid functionality, and the chitosan-modified methyl cellulose microgel system was found to be pH as well as temperature responsive. Several techniques were used to characterize the two microgel systems, for e.g. potentiometric and conductometric titrations, dynamic light scattering and zeta potential measurements. FTIR along with potentiometric and conductometric titration was used to confirm the carboxymethylation of methyl cellulose. For both systems, polyampholytic behaviour was observed in a pH range of 4-9. The microgels showed swelling at low and high pH values and deswelling at isoelectric point (IEP). Zeta potential values confirmed the presence of positive charges on the microgel at low pH, negative charges at high pH and neutral charge at the IEP. For chitosan-modified methyl cellulose microgel system, temperature dependent behaviour was observed with dynamic light scattering. The second research project involved the study of binding interaction between nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) and an oppositely charged surfactant tetradecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (TTAB). NCC is a crystalline form of cellulose obtained from natural sources like wood, cotton or animal sources. These rodlike nanocrystals prepared by acid hydrolysis of native cellulose possess negatively charged surface. The interaction between negatively charged NCC and cationic TTAB surfactant was examined and it was observed that in the presence of TTAB, aqueous suspensions of NCC became unstable and phase separated. A study of this kind is imperative since NCC suspensions are proposed to be used in personal care applications (such as shampoos and conditioners) which also consist of surfactant formulations. Therefore, NCC suspensions would not be useful for applications that employ an oppositely charged surfactant. In order to prevent destabilization, poly (ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA) chains were grafted on the NCC surface to prevent the phase separation in presence of a cationic surfactant. Grafting was carried out using the free radical approach. The NCC-TTAB polymer surfactant interactions were studied via isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), surface tensiometry, conductivity measurements, phase separation and zeta potential measurements. The major forces involve in these systems are electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. ITC and surface tension results confirmed two kinds of interactions: (i) electrostatically driven NCC-TTAB complexes formed in the bulk and at the interface and (ii) hydrophobically driven TTAB micellization on the NCC rods. Conductivity and surface tension results confirmed that the critical micelle concentration of TTAB (CMCTTAB) shifted to higher values in the presence of NCC. Phase separation measurements allowed us to identify the formation of large aggregates or hydrophobic flocs depending on the TTAB concentration. Formation of NCC-TTAB complexes in aqueous solutions was confirmed by a charge reversal from negative to positive charge on the NCC rods. The effect of electrolyte in shielding the negative charges on the NCC was observed from ITC, surface tensiometry and phase separation experiments. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the above results. Grafting of PEGMA on the NCC surface was confirmed using FTIR and ITC experiments. In phase separation experiments NCC-g-PEGMA samples showed greater stability in the presence of TTAB compared to unmodified NCC. By comparing ITC and phase separation results, an optimum grafting ratio (PEGMA : NCC) for steric stabilization was also proposed.

This work describes the results of experimental study of the flow of soft objects (microgels) through microchannels. This work was carried with the intention of building a fundamental biophysical model for the flow of neutrophil cells in microcirculatory system. In Chapter 1 we give a summary of the literature describing the flow of cells and “model cells” in microchannels. Paramount to this we developed methods to modify microchannels fabricated in poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS). Originally, these microchannels could not be used to mimic biological microenvironments because they are hydrophobic and have rectangular cross-sections. We designed a method to create durable protein coatings in PDMS microchannels, as outlined in Chapter 3. Surface modification of the channels was accomplished by a two-step approach which included (i) the site-specific photografting of a layer of poly(acrylamide) (PAAm) to the PDMS surface and (ii) the bioconjugation of PAAm with the desired protein. This method is compatible with different channel geometries and it exhibits excellent longevity under shear stresses up to 1 dyn/cm. The modification was proven to be successful for various proteins of various molecular weights and does not affect protein activity. The microchannels were further modified by modifying the cross-sections in order to replicate cardiovascular flow conditions. In our work, we transformed the rectangular cross-sections into circular corss-sections. Microchannels were modified by polymerizing a liquid silicone oligomer around a gas stream coaxially introduced into the channel, as outlined in Chapter 3. We demonstrated the ability to control the diameter of circular cross-sections of microchannels. The flow behaviour of microgels in microchannels was studied in a series of experiments aimed at studying microgel flow (i) under electrostatic interactions (Chapter 4), (ii) binding of proteins attached to the microgel and the microchannel (Chapter 5) and (iii) under the conditions of varying channel geometry (Chapter 6). This work overall present’s new methods to study the flow of soft objects such as cells, in the confined geometries of microchannels. Using these methods, variables can be independently probed and analyzed.

Microgels are a class of colloids that are mechanically soft, and while in many cases can behave similarly to their hard-sphere counterparts, their interaction potentials are quite different. The softness of the interaction between microgels makes them capable of deformation and compression into more concentrated assemblies. This concentrated regime is interesting because little, if any, experimental work has been done to see how the bulk properties of soft-sphere assemblies deviate from those of hard-spheres at the point where their interaction potentials begin to diverge. In this thesis the effects on assembly phase behavior and dynamics of both particle compression and softness of the interaction potential are addressed. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAm) microgels are an excellent model system in which to study these effects. The thermoresponsivity of the polymer provides the experimentalist with a dial to tune the volume fraction of an assembly, while maintaining a constant particle number density in the system. Optical microscopy, particle tracking analysis and rheology have been used to investigate the effects of packing and particle structure on equilibrium phase behavior and localized perturbations to the phase of the assembly of this soft-sphere system. It has been elucidated from these experiments and others involving deswelling of large microgel particles in the presence of high concentrations of smaller microgels, that the soft, repulsive interaction between microgels is caused by a longer-range repulsion than was previously believed. The particles are acting on each other from a distance through the osmotic pressure of the assembly, which causes each particle to deswell without coming into direct contact with a neighboring particle.

The research described covers fundamental studies of environmentally-responsive microgel-based thin films as a function of film architecture, microgel chemistry, film thickness, and environmental stimulus. Studies of multi-layer microgel thin films were conducted primarily using atomic force microscopy (AFM), quartz crystal microgravimetry (QCM), and surface plasmon resonance (SPR), each of which probed different aspects the film architecture as a function of pH of the environment around the film. Binary thin films were constructed by changing the ratios and composition of the microgels in solution to create multi-functional thin films for surface modification applications and were studied using AFM. The basic understanding of how these components create films at surfaces gives us insight into how the films perform and will allow for greater diversity without the guesswork. The morphology of films created from microgels with a degradable cross-linker was examined by AFM as a function of degradation of the particles structure. This thesis focuses mainly on very thin microgel films (<5 layers) studied using QCM, SPR, and AFM. Additional studies involving the characterization of semi-soft colloidal paint-on photonics are discussed in Appendix A.

Protein-based materials are an important area of research for various reasons. Natural protein materials such as spider silk have mechanical properties which compare favourably to artificial or inorganic materials, and in addition are biodegradable and can be produced from easily available feedstocks. It is also possible to produce materials that incorporate the functionality of a natural protein, such as ligand-binding or catalysis of reactions, thus allowing this functionality to be used in the solid rather than solution phase. Two particularly interesting components for protein-based materials are amyloid fibrils and tandem repeat proteins. Amyloid fibrils are exceptionally strong, tough, highly-ordered structures that self-assemble from a wide range of simple building blocks. Meanwhile, tandem repeat proteins are a class of proteins that act as scaffolds to mediate protein-protein interactions and are known to act as elastic springs. Unlike globular proteins, tandem repeat proteins can be designed to bind specific ligands, and their ligand-binding properties and stability can be tuned separately. This work details the synthesis and characterisation of repeat protein and amyloid fibril components for a “smart” hydrogel, the production of these gels, and their characterisation using a microfluidic method that I developed. Although amyloid fibrils have previously been decorated with functional proteins, hitherto, this has usually been done by assembling the fibrils from already-functionalised components. This approach limits the functionality to species that can survive the harsh conditions of amyloid aggregation and do not disturb fibril assembly. Therefore, a method was developed to produce amyloid fibrils that displayed an alkyne functionality on their surface to allow functional proteins or other species to be attached after assembly. This involved the design and synthesis (using solid-phase peptide chemistry) of a peptide based on the previously known TTR105-115 peptide (derived from the amyloidogenic Transthyretin protein). These fibrils were characterised by AFM and TEM and it was then shown that the assembled fibrils could be functionalised using an azide-alkyne “click” reaction. The reaction was shown to work with a variety of ligands including proteins, which were found to retain their structure and function after crosslinking to the fibril. The fibrils with ligands attached were characterised by a variety of methods including LCMS (liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry) and super-resolution optical microscopy. Next, repeat proteins were produced recombinantly containing non-natural azido amino acids at their termini. Incorporation of non-natural amino acids was carried out using a number of different methods including amber codon suppression and methionine replacement. Micron-sized hydrogels were then formed from microfluidic-generated droplets by covalently crosslinking the alkyne-functionalised fibrils with the azide-functionalised repeat proteins. The initial experiments to show proof of principle were carried out with consensus-designed repeat proteins, but repeat proteins based on natural sequences were also used to make hydrogels that could later be tested for potential uptake of peptides known to bind these proteins. These hydrogels could potentially be used for drug delivery or other applications in which a chemical response to a mechanical stimulus is desired. The mechanical properties of the hydrogels were measured using novel microfluidic devices, which were designed and fabricated using standard PDMS-based soft lithography.

abstract: Many therapeutics administered for some of the most devastating illnesses can be toxic and result in unwanted side effects. Recent developments have been made in an alternative treatment method, called gene therapy. Gene therapy has potential to rectify the genetic defects that cause a broad range of diseases. Many diseases, such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, and acquired immunodeficiency (AIDS) already have gene therapy protocols that are currently in clinical trials. Finding a non-toxic and efficient gene transfer method has been a challenge. Viral vectors are effective at transgene delivery however potential for insertion mutagenesis and activation of immune responses raises concern. For this reason, non-viral vectors have been investigated as a safer alternative to viral-mediated gene delivery. Non-viral vectors are also easy to prepare and scalable, but are limited by low transgene delivery efficacies and high cytotoxicity at effective therapeutic dosages. Thus, there is a need for a non-toxic non-viral vector with high transgene efficacies. In addition to the hurdles in finding a material for gene delivery, large-scale production of pharmaceutical grade DNA for gene therapy is needed. Current methods can be labor intensive, time consuming, and use toxic chemicals. For this reason, an efficient and safe method to collect DNA is needed. One material that is currently being explored is the hydrogel. Hydrogels are a useful subclass of biomaterials, with a wide variety of applications. This class of biomaterials can carry up to a thousand times their weight in water, and are biocompatible. At smaller dimensions, referred to as micro- and nanogels, they are very useful for many biomedical applications because of their size and ability to swell. Based on a previously synthesized hydrogel, and due to the advantages of smaller dimension in biomedical applications, we have synthesized aminoglycoside antibiotic based nanogels and microgels. Microgels and nanogels were synthesized following a ring opening polymerization of epoxide-containing crosslinkers and polyamine-containing monomers. The nanogels were screened for their cytocompatibilities and transfection efficacies, and were compared to polyethylenimine (PEI), a current standard for polymer-mediated transgene delivery. Nanogels demonstrated minimal to no toxicity to the cell line used in the study even at high concentrations. Due to the emerging need for large-scale production of DNA, microgels were evaluated for their binding capacity to plasmid DNA. Future work with the aminoglycoside antibiotic-based nanogels and microgels developed in this study will involve optimization of nanogels and microgels to facilitate in better transgene delivery and plasmid DNA binding, respectively. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Chemical Engineering 2014

Orientador: Rosiane Lopes da Cunha / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-19T15:16:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vilela_JoiceAlinePires_M.pdf: 1796773 bytes, checksum: 34d2e3b8b4543d7ea7cce06e84d31138 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: A encapsulação de muitos compostos bioativos, como vitaminas, bactérias probióticas e antioxidantes ajuda na incorporação, proteção, e entrega do bioativo em sítio específico, porém a eficiência da matriz carreadora depende da sua composição e processo de fabricação. Com este intuito, a viabilidade de produção e as características finais de microgéis de gelana formados por extrusão e posterior gelificação iônica foram estudadas. Micropartículas, com tamanho médio entre 70-120 ?m, foram produzidas sob condições amenas de temperatura e concentração, utilizando um processo de atomização seguido de gelificação em soluções de cloreto de cálcio (CaCl2), cloreto de potássio (KCl) ou quitosana. O tamanho das partículas mostrou-se mais dependente das condições de processo (geometria do bico aspersor e velocidade de ar) que das propriedades da solução biopolimérica. No entanto, o aumento da concentração de gelana levou a maior esfericidade dos microgéis obtidos. Com relação aos agentes gelificantes, as micropartículas com gelificação induzida por CaCl2 apresentaram formato mais esférico e maior estabilidade que as partículas formadas a partir de KCl. A obtenção de micropartículas de gelana recobertas com quitosana foi possível somente através de um processo em duas etapas. Na primeira etapa, a gelana foi gelificada através da difusão salina (CaCl2 ou KCl) e posteriormente, as partículas formadas foram recobertas com quitosana. A presença da camada externa de quitosana teve influência na resistência das partículas às condições simuladas da digestão. As partículas estudadas, com ou sem recobrimento de quitosana, resistiram à digestão gástrica, mas na digestão entérica as partículas recobertas com quitosana apresentaram menor grau de fragmentação que as partículas contendo somente gelana. Assim, foi demonstrado que a produção de microgéis formados por interação entre dois biopolímeros de cargas opostas melhorou a eficiência das partículas como material de parede sendo este um potencial veículo de compostos bioativos / Abstract: The encapsulation of many bioactive compounds such as vitamins, antioxidants and probiotic bacteria allows the incorporation, protection, and delivery of bioactive on a specific site, but the efficiency of carrier matrix depends on its composition and manufacturing process. To this aim, the feasibility of production and the final characteristics of the gellan microgels obtained by extrusion process followed by ionic gelation were studied. Microparticles, with average size among 70-120 ?m, were produced under mild conditions of temperature and concentration using an atomization process followed by gelation induced by calcium chloride (CaCl2), potassium chloride (KCl) or chitosan solutions. The particle size was more dependent on process conditions (nozzle geometry and air velocity) than the properties of the biopolymeric solution. However, the increase in gellan concentration led to more spherical microgels. In relation to hardening agents, the microparticles with gelation induced by CaCl2 showed more spherical shape and greater stability than the particles formed by KCl. Gellan microparticles coated with chitosan was possible to obtain only through a two-step process. In the first step, the gellan microgels were obtained through salt diffusion (KCl or CaCl2) and the particles obtained were subsequently coated with chitosan. The presence of the outer layer of chitosan exerted effect on the resistance of the particles to the simulated digestion process. All particles studied, with or without a coating of chitosan, resisted to the gastric digestion, however the chitosan coated particles showed a lower degree of fragmentation than the particles containing only gelan when subjected to the enteric digestion step. Therefore the results obtained showed that the microgels formed by interaction between two oppositely charged polymers improved the efficiency of particles as wall material, showing a great potential as bioactive compounds carrier / Mestrado / Engenharia de Alimentos / Mestre em Engenharia de Alimentos

Dans cette these nous avons étudié la dynamique de colloides aux interfaces fluides. Dans une première partie nous avons étudié la dynamique de drainage de films minces liquides contenant des particules de microgels de PNiPAM. Ces systèmes sont de plus en plus utilisés pour stabiliser et déstabiliser des émulsions sur demande en jouant sur la température. Nous avons montré que la dynamique de drainage et l'épaisseur des films dépend de la concentration et du degré de réticulation des particules. Nous avons pu à partir des épaisseurs des films remonter à la conformation des particules. Les microgels moins réticulés s'étalent davantage aux interfaces à basse concentration que les particules ayant un taux de réticulation plus élevé. En revanche à haute concentration, les particules moins réticulées forment des couches plus compactes, ce qui induit des films moins stables. Dans la deuxième partie nous avons étudié la dynamique d'adsorption de particules colloidales dans des systèmes eau dans eau, obtenus par la séparation de phase de deux solutions de polymères. A temps courts, la position de la particule varie exponentiellement avec le temps alors qu'aux temps plus longs l'évolution est logarithmique. De façon surprenante, nous trouvons que dans le régime exponentiel, le temps caractéristique, qui résulte théoriquement d'un équilibre entre les forces de tension interfaciale et la friction visqueuse est trop lent par rapport à la théorie. De plus l'existence d'un régime logarithmique (habituellement attribué à un piégeage/dépiégeage de la ligne de contact) est également surprenante puisque notre système présente des tensions interfaciales très faibles, de l'ordre de 100 µN/m. / This thesis examines interfacial colloidal dynamics in two separate aqueous systems. The first part aims to improve understanding of thermoresponsive microgel-stabilised emulsions. Many emulsion properties are determined by the behaviour and drainage dynamics of the thin films that form between droplets. This study reveals these drainage dynamics, achieved through observing a model thin film of PNiPAM microgel solution in air. We explore why, as other studies have shown, less cross-linked microgels stabilise emulsions more effectively than more cross-linked microgels, concluding that both adsorption dynamics and particle rearrangement under pressure play a role. Through a simple calculation, we are able to estimate the conformation of microgels at the interface, showing that microgel concentration in bulk determines the concentration at interface due to differences in adsorption kinetics, and microgel excess does not play a role. The second part of the thesis investigates behaviour of spherical colloidal particles within an Aqueous Two-Phase System (ATPS) composed of non-mixing polymer solutions of fish gelatin and dextran, with applications in low-fat foods. Additionally, the very low surface tension of these systems allows studing fast interfacial processes at experimentally accessible timescales. In this work, we examine adsorption dynamics of spherical particles, observing for the first time the theoretically-predicted exponential ‘snap-in’ stage of particle adsorption. Surprisingly, even at this low surface tension, a slower logarithmic relaxation is subsequently observed which at the oil/water interface is ascribed to pinning of the contact line on surface defects.

This thesis investigated a new group of poly(Bd)/poly(Bd-co-MAA) core-shell particles that were ionically crosslinked and cast as nanostructured ionomer films from aqueous dispersions. The new group of poly(Bd)/poly(Bd-co-MAA) core-shell particles were studied for structure-property relationships and morphology. The covalent crosslinking content in the core and the shell were varied at constant ionic crosslinking. Stress-strain data showed control of the nanostructured films. The chain transfer agent used during the preparation of the nanoparticles core-shells was shown to independently tune the mechanical properties of the films.