Biofilm growth is a significant factor in subsurface processes governing fluid flow and contaminant transport. Biobarriers are known to reduce hydraulic conductivity, as well as to immobilise metals in the matrix of the exopolymeric substances (EPS) produced by bacterial cells. It is therefore necessary to develop understanding of how bioclogging and related mechanisms occur in porous media, and how contaminants interact with biofilms at the laboratory scale, which ultimately can be scaled up to field scenarios. The aims of the laboratory experiments were to a) enable uniform biofilm growth in columns packed with different types of porous media, b) develop methods of quantifying and visualising biofilm distribution in porous media, and c) measure transport of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles in columns with and without biofilm growing on the porous media. Experiments were conducted with columns and batch tests. Biofilms were grown by inoculating columns with Pseudomonas putida. Biofilm distribution was quantified by biomass extraction and visualised using X-ray computed microtomography (μCT) imaging. Colorimetric methods were used predominantly to quantify protein and polysaccharide content in biofilms. However, these methods possess several major disadvantages, which were highlighted using experimental data from batch tests. X-ray computer microtomography is a non-destructive method of visualising biofilm growth and illustrating flow paths in porous media. Particular components of μCT images (porous media, biofilm, tracer) were subtracted from images based on density contrasts. Reconstructed images of small, bio-clogged columns show that clogging occurs not only as a result of abundant biofilm growth but also air bubbles. Nanoparticle transport in porous media involved the injection of bare and capped ZnO nanoparticle suspensions into columns packed with glass beads, sand and calcite with and without inoculation of bacteria. Results, as well as modelled predictions, showed that ZnO nanoparticles generally possess low mobility, and that biofilm impedes nanoparticle transport. Porous media surface charge, as well as the extent of biofilm growth, play an important role in nanoparticle transport.

Many nonferrous industries such as mining and surface treatment plants produce co-products that are high in heavy metals and therefore toxic to the environment. A less obvious producer of heavy metal containing co-products is the whisky industry. Current methods of copper removal from such co-products include electrolysis and membrane filtration which are impractical and costly. When copper is found as a salt, current methods of removal include settlement, filtration and precipitation. Alternatives such as biological copper ion removal from effluents has also been shown to be effective. This study aimed to develop a biological method for the synthesis of stable copper nanoparticles. Morganella psychrotolerans was used to reduce Cu2+ to insoluble Cu0 nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were purified and characterised using X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM). Whisky distillery co-products were tested as a growth medium for M. psychrotolerans with concomitant copper nanoparticle synthesis. The copper nanoparticles were also studied for their application in electronics in order to make conductive circuits. Genomics studies combined with proteomics, helped develop possible models for copper nanoparticle synthesis by M. psychrotolerans, as well as identify proteins and genes not previously thought to be related to this pathway. The genome sequence of M. psychrotolerans obtained in this work allowed for a far more detailed study on the mechanism of copper nanoparticle synthesis than previously possible. This thesis also focused on understanding this mechanism better through proteomics and qRT-PCR. In order to study the identified copper ion reduction pathway in the future, a genetic modification toolkit was developed for M. psychrotolerans.

This thesis investigates some of the physics of semiconducting low-dimensional structures at low temperatures, as well as investigating the effects of defects on low-dimensional structures and magnetic fields on charge recombination in organic photovoltaics (OPVs). The applications of the systems studied vary from photodetectors, to LEDs, lasers and solar cells. We synthesised Cs2CuCl4 and CsCuCl3 nanoparticles. By varying the ratio of coordination solvents in the synthesis we can control the composition and morphologies of the fabricated nanoparticles, including dots, rods and wires. These nanocrystals showed broadband green emission upon excitation with sub-300 nm radiation, which we showed was due to emission from an intra-band Cu(II) defect. We also fabricated a variety of alkylammonium lead iodide materials. We found that hexylammonium lead iodide and dodecylammonium lead iodide emit broadband red light at low temperatures due to a Frenkel defect (f-centre). Additionally, we see evidence of biexciton emission in dodecylammonium lead iodide films at high excitation densities below temperatures of 225 K. The films in this study were seen to adopt two coexistent phases of dodecylammonium lead iodide, both a monoclinic P121/a structure and an orthorhombic Pbca structure, at room temperature. These films were used as the gain medium in a biexciton vertical cavity laser. This device was constructed from a distributed Bragg reflector coated with dodecylammonium lead iodide, a poly(methylmethacrylate) spacer layer, and an evaporated silver mirror. The onset of lasing was seen at 5.6 × 1018 excitations/cm3 at 75 K. Finally, the modulation of open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current by applied magnetic field in OPV devices made from PIDTPhanQ and PC(71)BM was investigated. We saw that magnetic fields influenced the recombination of charge-transfer (CT) states, and simulations indicated that the formation of CT states had a significant contribution from the bimolecular recombination of free charges. The simulations also showed that singlet CT state lifetimes were much smaller than triplet CT state lifetimes.

Les nanoparticules (NP) comportent au moins une dimension entre 1 et 100 nm. Les nanoparticules de dioxyde de cérium (NPCeO2) sont largement utilisées au niveau industriel, en particulier comme additif au carburant diesel, mais font aussi l’objet d’étude en cancérologie. L’OCDE a placé les NPCeO2 dans la liste des nanomatériaux nécessitant une évaluation urgente de leur toxicité.Plusieurs études ont démontré le passage de NP métalliques dans les gonades après exposition in vivo chez l’animal, mais très peu de données sont disponibles concernant les NPCeO2.L’objectif de ce travail a été dans un premier temps d’étudier la génotoxicité des NPCeO2 sur spermatozoïdes et ovocytes murins par exposition in vitro, ainsi que leur impact sur la fécondation in vitro (FIV) murine. Nous avons dans un second temps étudié leur génotoxicité sur spermatozoïdes humains in vitro.Nous avons montré une diminution significative des taux de fécondation chez la souris, lors des FIV réalisées en présence de NPCeO2 à faible concentration (0,01 mg/l). Nous avons également montré une génotoxicité significative des NPCeO2 à faibles doses sur ovocytes, spermatozoïdes de souris, et spermatozoïdes humains par le test des comètes. En microscopie électronique à transmission, nous n’avons pas retrouvé de NP dans les milieux de culture à 0,01 mg/l, mais observé une endocytose dans les cellules du cumulus entourant les ovocytes à forte concentration (100 mg/l) et une accumulation des NP le long des membranes des spermatozoïdes et des zones pellucides des ovocytes. Ces résultats apportent des informations nouvelles et importantes sur les mécanismes d’actions suspectés. / The fast development of nanotechnology gives rise to questions regarding the potential risks on human health. Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2NP) are widely used, as diesel additive, as well as promising therapeutic in cancerology, yet scarce data are currently available on their toxicity. It has been shown that metal nanoparticles can cross biological barriers and accumulate into various organs including the gonads after in vivo exposure. Our objectives were to investigate CeO2NP’s genotoxicity on mouse spermatozoa and oocytes, human spermatozoa, and to study their possible impact on murine IVF.We showed a significant decrease of fertilization rate, during IVF carried out in culture medium containing CeO2NP at very low concentration (0.01mg/l). We also showed significant DNA damage induced in vitro by CeO2NP on mouse spermatozoa and oocytes at 0.01 mg/l using Comet assay. TEM did not detect any nanoparticles in the IVF samples at 0.01 mg/l, but showed, at high concentration (100 mg/l), their endocytosis by the cumulus cells surrounding oocytes and their accumulation along spermatozoa plasma membranes and oocytes zona pellucida. We showed significant DNA damage induced by CeO2NP on human spermatozoa. The genotoxicity was inversely proportional to the concentration. At 0.01 mg/l, the genotoxicity mechanisms involved oxidative stress and close interactions between spermatozoa and CeO2NP.We demonstrate for the first time the impact of CeO2NP on in vitro fertilization, as well as their genotoxicity on mouse gametes and human sperm, at very low nanoparticle concentration exposure. These results support several publications on metal nanoparticles reprotoxicity.

This Thesis considers peculiarities of nanoparticle formation from the gas in different systems. The main role of the surface condensation in the nanoparticle growth in metal flames was established through a series of experiments and was described by the developed model. The stagnation of the post-nucleation nanoparticle growth was experimentally revealed and theoretically explained. The influence of generation conditions on the post-processing nanoparticle properties was examined. The non-isothermal approach to correct the homogeneous nucleation theory was developed. The results of this work can be summarized in 3 categories: (1) Nanoparticle formation in metal flames. In this work, it was demonstrated that the surface condensation is a main process responsible for nanooxides growth during metal combustion. It was shown that the rate of this condensation growth is consistent with the exponential law, which could lead to the formation of the lognormal particle size distribution in the system, where the Brownian coagulation is suppressed. The post-nucleation stagnation of the nanoparticle growth was found. The particle overheating was suggested as a cause of the growth stagnation. The found stagnation leads to the accumulation of the supercritical clusters in the system generating nanoparticles. The role of these supercritical clusters in the nanoparticle agglomeration was considered. (2) Study of properties of nanoparticles generated in different metal flames. The light absorption, photoluminescence and magnetic properties of nanoparticles produced in different metal flames were examined. The significant broadening of the absorption edge was found in nanooxides produced by direct metal combustion. This broadening allowed one to excite the unforeseen photoluminescence from these nanoparticles. The significant light absorption in the visible light found in the titania particles produced by metal combustion allows one to consider these particles as a prospective photocatalyst. The unusual optical properties revealed were related to the extreme conditions of the nanoparticle formation, namely, to high energy release (about 5 eV per condensing molecule). The stabilization of spinel structure was found in iron oxide particles synthesized by iron combustion. It allowed one to produce nanoparticles with magnetization close to the high-limit value of the bulk. (3) Approach to correct the homogeneous nucleation theory. The existing homogeneous nucleation theory implies that nucleation occurs at isothermal conditions, i.e. subcritical clusters have the same temperature as the ambient gas does. However, the theory overestimates the actual nucleation rate and underestimates the critical cluster size. It is understandable that due to release of the latent heat of condensation, the cluster temperature in the nucleating system should be higher than the environment temperature. In this work, it was suggested the method to account for the cluster overheating during nucleation. It was demonstrated that the consistent description of the detailed balance in the nucleating system may allow one to evaluate magnitudes of overestimation of the actual nucleation rate and underestimation of the number of molecules in the critical cluster, usually obtained by the isothermal nucleation theory. The numerical estimates are in good agreement with the wellknown experimental results. The implications of the results to generation of atmospheric aerosols were discussed.

QC 20120315

We described the synthesis of multilayer organic thin films prepared by sequential vapor-phase coupling of monomers. The reactions were carried out at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Films prepared using up to six sequential coupling reactions are reported. Homobifunctionalized monomers, such as hexamethylenediamine, react primarily via a single endgroup rather than cross coupling to the reactive surface via both reactive groups. We synthesized bifunctionalized polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers having both quaternary ammonium groups and primary amines on their periphery were prepared. The high positive charge on the surface of these dendrimers prevents agglomeration, and the unquanternized amine groups provide a reactive handle for immobilizing the dendrimer-encapsulated nanoparticles onto surfaces. We prepared highly monodisperse, 1-2 nm diameter Au nanoparticles using bifunctionalized PAMAM dendrimers as templates. The synthesis is carried out in water, takes less than 30 min, and requires no subsequent purification. The high monodispersity is a function of the template synthesis, which avoids size variations arising from random nucleation and growth phenomena, and the use of magic number equivalent ratios of AuCl4-/dendrimer. We investigated the electrochemical properties of Au, Pd and PdAu monolayer-protected clusters (MPCs), prepared by dendrimer-templating and subsequent extraction, are described. Purification of the extracted Au, Pd and PdAu nanoparticles was not required to obtain well-defined differential pulse voltammetry peaks arising from quantized double-layer charging. The calculated sizes of the nanoparticles were essentially identical to those determined from the electrochemical data. The capacitance of the particles was independent of the composition of core metal.

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DNA vaccines offer unique promise as a means of generating immunity against infectious and malignant disease. Unfortunately a number of obstacles, including rapid degradation of naked plasmid DNA (pDNA), poor cellular uptake by antigen presenting cells (APCs) and subsequent low levels of gene expression have limited the ability of DNA vaccines to raise sufficient immune responses towards the target antigen. This thesis is focused on investigating the immunostimulatory potential of liposomal nanoparticulate (LN) formulations of pDNA (stabilized plasmid lipid particles; SPLP) and cytosine-guanine oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODN; LN CpG-ODN), and examining their ability to act together as a non-viral DNA vaccine in attempt to address the shortcomings of current DNA vaccine approaches. One focus of this thesis concerns investigating the immunostimulatory activity of LN formulations of CpG-ODN and pDNA. It is shown that despite dramatic differences in pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of LN CpG-ODN following intravenous (i.v.) and subcutaneous (s.c.) administration the resultant immune response is very similar, which is concluded to be due to the intrinsic ability of APCs to sequester LN CpG- ODN. In addition, it is demonstrated that lipid encapsulation dramatically enhances the immunostimulatory potential of pDNA and it is observed that SPLP maintains immunostimulatory activity in Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) knock-out mice. Together theses findings highlight the need for DNA-based therapies to consider both TLR9-dependent and -independent immunostimulatory activities of pDNA when constructing non-viral vectors. Furthermore, a new role for SPLP as a non-viral gene delivery vehicle for the generation of a systemically administered genetic vaccine in the presence of LN CpG-ODN is introduced. The ability of vaccination with SPLP to act prophylactically, to protect mice from tumour challenge, and therapeutically, in a novel vaccination strategy where the antigen is expressed at the tumour site as a result of SPLP-mediated transfection, is explored, demonstrating that in the presence of LN CpG-ODN SPLP possesses potential as a non-viral delivery system for DNA-based cancer vaccines. In summary, this work represents a substantial advance in the understanding of the immunostimulatory potential of both SPLP and LN CpG-ODN and provides insight into their ability to work together as a non-viral DNA vaccine.

The research in this thesis involves the synthesis and characterization of nanoparticle catalysts for oxidation reactions. It includes two projects: 1) polymer-stabilized Au, Pd and bimetallic AuPd nanoparticle catalysts for alcohol oxidation reactions, and 2) oxidative stabilities and catalytic activities of thiolate- and dithiolate-protected Au monolayer-protected clusters (MPCs).<p>n the first project, alcohol oxidations under mild conditions using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-stabilized Au, Pd and bimetallic AuPd nanoparticle catalysts in aqueous solutions have been investigated. The catalytic activities of the nanoparticles towards the oxidation of benzyl alcohol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, 2-buten-1-ol and 1,4-butanediol indicate that bimetallic 1:3 Au:Pd nanoparticles have higher catalytic activities than Au, Pd and other bimetallic AuPd nanoparticles, and that selectivities towards specific products can often be tuned using bimetallic particles. In addition, advantages and disadvantages for the use of such nanoparticle catalysts as mild, environmentally-friendly oxidation catalysts have been examined. This work has recently been published in the Journal of Catalysis.<p>In the second project, 1-dodecanethiolate-, dithiolate-, and 1:1 mixed 1-dodecanethiolate/dithiolate-protected Au MPCs have been synthesized and their thermal stability, oxidative stability in the presence of oxygen and cyanide anions have been studied. These systematic investigations reveal the stability of Au MPCs can be tuned by choosing different thiolate ligands and oxidation conditions. Partially-oxidized thiolate-protected Au MPCs which have substrate-accessible surfaces and are stabilized by residual thiolate ligands show indications they will be promising catalysts. The catalytic activities of 1-dodecanethiolate-, dithiolate-, and 1:1 mixed 1-dodecanethiolate/dithiolate-protected Au MPCs for catalytic 4-nitrophenol reduction with sodium borohydride were investigated, and all the Au MPCs showed high catalytic activity for this reaction.