Polyaniline (PANI), when doped with small-molecule acids, is an attractive candidate for organic and polymer electronics because of its high electrical conductivity. Its utility as functional components in electrical devices, however, has been severely restricted because such PANI has limited processibility stemming from its limited solubility in common solvents. To overcome this barrier, we have developed water dispersible PANI that is template polymerized in the presence of a polymer acid, poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid), or PAAMPSA. The polymer acid serves two roles: it acts as a dopant to render PANI conductive and excess water soluble pendant groups provide dispersibility of PANI in aqueous media. While the introduction of polymer acids renders the conducting polymer processible, such gain in processibility is often accompanied by a significant reduction in conductivity. As such, PANI that is doped with polymer acids has only seen limited utility in organic electronics. Given the promise of conducting polymers in organic electronics in general, this thesis focuses on the elucidation of processing-structure-property relationships of PANI-PAAMPSA with the aim of ultimately improving the electrical conductivity of polymer acid-doped PANI. By controlling the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution of the polymer acid template, we have improved the conductivity of PANI-PAAMPSA from 0.4 to 2.5 S/cm. The conductivity increases with decreasing molecular weight of PAAMPSA, and it further increases with narrowing the molecular weight distribution of PAAMPSA. Strong correlations between the structure and the conductivity of PANI-PAAMPSA are observed. In particular, the crystallinity of PANI increases with increasing the conductivity of PANI-PAAMPSA. Given that the crystallinity qualifies the molecular order in PANI-PAAMPSA, we observe a linear correlation between molecular order and macroscopic charge transport in PANI-PAAMPSA. PANI-PAAMPSA forms electrostatically stabilized sub-micron particles during polymerization due to strong ionic interactions between the sulfonic acid groups of PAAMPSA and aniline. When cast as films, the connectivity of these particles must play an important role in macroscopic conduction. The size and size distribution of PANI-PAAMPSA particles is strongly influenced by the molecular characteristics of polymer acid template. Templating the synthesis of PANI-PAAMPSA with a higher molecular weight PAAMPSA results in larger particles, and templating with a PAAMPSA having a larger molecular weight distribution results in a large size distribution in the particles. Because conduction in PANI-PAAMPSA films is governed by how these particles pack, the macroscopic conductivity of PANI-PAAMPSA films increases with increasing particle density, that is reducible from the molecular characteristics of PAAMPSA. Moreover, PANI-PAAMPSA particles are structurally and chemically inhomogeneous. The conductive portions of the polymer preferentially segregate to the particle surface. Conduction in these materials is therefore mediated by the particle surface and conductivity thus scales superlinearly with particle surface area per unit film volume. We further have improved the electrical conductivity of PANI-PAAMPSA by more than two orders of magnitude via post-processing solvent annealing with dichloroacetic acid (DCA). Since DCA is a good plasticizer for PAAMPSA and its pKa is lower than that of PAAMPSA (pKas of DCA and PAAMPSA are 1.21 and 2.41, respectively, at room temperature), DCA can effectively moderate the ionic interactions between PANI and PAAMPSA, thereby relaxing the sub-micron particulate structure arrested during polymerization. PANI-PAAMPSA can thus rearrange from a “compact coil” to an “extended chain” conformation upon exposure to DCA. Efficient charge transport is thus enabled through such “extended chain” PANI-PAAMPSA structure. DCA-treated PANI-PAAMPSA exhibits an average conductivity of 48 S/cm. The DCA treatment is not only specific to PANI-PAAMPSA. This treatment can also enhance the conductivity of commercially-available poly(ethylene dioxythiophene) that is doped with poly(styrene sulfonic acid), or PEDOT-PSS. Specifically, DCA-treated PEDOT-PSS exhibits a conductivity of 600 S/cm; this conductivity is the highest among polymer acid-doped conducting polymers reported so far. PANI-PAAMPSA can effectively function as anodes in organic solar cells (OSCs) whose active layer is a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene), P3HT, and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). Specifically, the OSCs with PANI-PAAMPSA anodes exhibit an average short circuit current density of 1.95 mA/cm², open circuit voltage of 0.52 V, fill factor of 0.38, and efficiency of 0.39 %. The use of DCA-treated PANI-PAAMPSA as anodes increases device performance (i.e., short circuit current density and thereby efficiency) of OSCs by approximately two and a half fold. The OSCs with DCA-treated PANI-PAAMPSA anodes exhibit short circuit current density and efficiency as high as 4.95 mA/cm² and 0.97 %, respectively. We demonstrated several factors that govern the electrical conductivity of polymer acid-doped conducting polymers. Design rules, such as those illustrated in this study, can enable the development of conducting polymers that is not only easily processible from aqueous dispersions, but also sufficiently conductive for electronic applications, and should bring us closer to the realization of low-cost organic and polymeric electronics. / text

The enzymatic degradation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) occurs at mild reaction conditions and may find applications in environmentally friendly plastic waste recycling processes. The hydrolytic activity of the homologous polyester hydrolases LC cutinase (LCC) from a compost metagenome and TfCut2 from Thermobifida fusca KW3 against PET films was strongly influenced by the reaction medium buffers tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris), 3-(N-morpholino)propanesulfonic acid (MOPS), and sodium phosphate. LCC showed the highest initial hydrolysis rate of PET films in 0.2 M Tris, while the rate of TfCut2 was 2.1-fold lower at this buffer concentration. At a Tris concentration of 1 M, the hydrolysis rate of LCC decreased by more than 90% and of TfCut2 by about 80%. In 0.2 M MOPS or sodium phosphate buffer, no significant differences in the maximum initial hydrolysis rates of PET films by both enzymes were detected. When the concentration of MOPS was increased to 1 M, the hydrolysis rate of LCC decreased by about 90%. The activity of TfCut2 remained low compared to the increasing hydrolysis rates observed at higher concentrations of sodium phosphate buffer. In contrast, the activity of LCC did not change at different concentrations of this buffer. An inhibition study suggested a competitive inhibition of TfCut2 and LCC by Tris and MOPS. Molecular docking showed that Tris and MOPS interfered with the binding of the polymeric substrate in a groove located at the protein surface. A comparison of the Ki values and the average binding energies indicated MOPS as the stronger inhibitor of the both enzymes.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / In this study, acute effects of mercury on mouse blood, kidneys and liver were evaluated. Mice received a single dose of mercuric chloride (HgCl2 - 4.6 mg/kg, subcutaneously) for three consecutive days. We investigated the possible beneficial effects of antioxidant therapy (N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and diphenyl diselenide (PhSe)2) comparing to sodium salt of 2,3-dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid (DMPS), an effective chelating agent on mercury exposure in mice. We also verified if metallothionein (MT) induction would be involved in a possible mechanism of protection against mercury poisoning and if different therapies would modify MT levels and other toxicological parameters. The results demonstrated that animals treated with mercuric chloride presented a reduction in the body weight gain and therapies did not were effective in reverting this damage. HgCl2 exposure inhibited δ-aminolevulinic dehydratase (δ-ALA-D) activity in liver and only DMPS treatment prevented the inhibitory effect. Animals treated with mercury presented an increase in renal NPSH and therapies did not modify these levels. Urea concentration was increased after mercury exposure. NAC plus (PhSe)2 was partially effective in protecting against this effect of mercury . DMPS and (PhSe)2 were effective in restoring the increment in urea concentration caused by mercury. Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), ascorbic acid levels, aspartate (AST) and alanine (ALT) aminotransferases were not modified after mercury exposure. Moreover, mercury poisoning caused an increase in hepatic and renal MT levels and antioxidant therapies did not modify this parameter. Our data pointed out the lack of the therapeutic effect of antioxidants tested. / Neste trabalho foram avaliados os efeitos da intoxicação aguda induzida por cloreto de mercúrio (HgCl2) em sangue, rim e fígado de camundongos. Os animais receberam uma única dose de HgCl2 (4,6 mg/Kg de peso), via sub-cutânea, por três dias consecutivos. Investigou-se o possível efeito protetor da terapia com antioxidantes (N-acetilcisteína-NAC e disseleneto de difenila-(PhSe)2) comparando ao ácido 2,3-dimercapto-1-propanosulfônico (DMPS), um agente quelante efetivo contra intoxicações por mercúrio. Além disto, foi verificado se a indução de metalotioneínas (MT) poderia estar envolvida em um possível mecanismo de proteção contra a intoxicação pelo mercúrio e se as diferentes terapias poderiam modificar os níveis de MT e outros parâmetros toxicológicos. Os resultados demonstraram que os animais tratados com cloreto de mercúrio apresentaram uma redução no ganho de peso corporal e as terapias não foram efetivas em reverter este dano. A exposição ao HgCl2 causou inibição na atividade da enzima δ-aminolevulinato desidratase (δ-ALA-D) em fígado de camundongos e somente a terapia com DMPS foi efetiva em reverter esta inibição. Os animais tratados com mercúrio apresentaram um aumento nos níveis de NPSH renal e as terapias não modificaram estes níveis. A concentração de uréia foi aumentada nos animais expostos ao cloreto de mercúrio. A terapia com NAC + (PhSe)2 foi parcialmente efetiva em proteger contra este efeito do mercúrio. Já as terapias com DMPS e (PhSe)2 foram efetivas em proteger contra o aumento nos níveis de uréia induzido pelo mercúrio. As substâncias reativas ao ácido tiobarbitúrico (TBARS), os níveis de ácido ascórbico e as transaminases (aspartato-AST e alanina-ALT) não foram alteradas após a exposição ao HgCl2. Além disso, os resultados demonstraram que a exposição ao mercúrio causou um aumento nos níveis de metalotioneínas hepático e renal e as terapias com antioxidantes não modificaram este parâmetro. Nossos dados apontam para a falta de efeito terapêutico dos antioxidantes testados.

The enzymatic degradation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) occurs at mild reaction conditions and may find applications in environmentally friendly plastic waste recycling processes. The hydrolytic activity of the homologous polyester hydrolases LC cutinase (LCC) from a compost metagenome and TfCut2 from Thermobifida fusca KW3 against PET films was strongly influenced by the reaction medium buffers tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris), 3-(N-morpholino)propanesulfonic acid (MOPS), and sodium phosphate. LCC showed the highest initial hydrolysis rate of PET films in 0.2 M Tris, while the rate of TfCut2 was 2.1-fold lower at this buffer concentration. At a Tris concentration of 1 M, the hydrolysis rate of LCC decreased by more than 90% and of TfCut2 by about 80%. In 0.2 M MOPS or sodium phosphate buffer, no significant differences in the maximum initial hydrolysis rates of PET films by both enzymes were detected. When the concentration of MOPS was increased to 1 M, the hydrolysis rate of LCC decreased by about 90%. The activity of TfCut2 remained low compared to the increasing hydrolysis rates observed at higher concentrations of sodium phosphate buffer. In contrast, the activity of LCC did not change at different concentrations of this buffer. An inhibition study suggested a competitive inhibition of TfCut2 and LCC by Tris and MOPS. Molecular docking showed that Tris and MOPS interfered with the binding of the polymeric substrate in a groove located at the protein surface. A comparison of the Ki values and the average binding energies indicated MOPS as the stronger inhibitor of the both enzymes.

Several novel polymer monoliths for the analysis of peptides and proteins were synthesized using polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) as crosslinker. Photo-initiated copolymerization of polyethylene glycol methyl ether acrylate and PEGDA yielded an inert monolith that could be used for size exclusion liquid chromatography of peptides and proteins. This macroscopically uniform monolith did not shrink or swell in either water or tetrahydrofuran. More importantly, it was found to resist adsorption of both acidic and basic proteins in aqueous buffer without any organic solvent additives. A strong cation-exchange polymer monolith was synthesized by copolymerization of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) and PEGDA. A ternary porogen (water, methanol and ethyl ether) was found suitable to prepare a flow-through monolith with moderate pressure drop in aqueous buffer. The resulting monolith showed excellent ion exchange capillary liquid chromatography of peptides using a simple salt gradient. Extremely narrow peaks were obtained for the analysis of synthetic peptides, natural peptides and a protein digest. A peak capacity of 179 was achieved. Although the poly(AMPS) monolith demonstrated extraordinary performance, one main drawback of this monolith was its relatively strong hydrophobicity. A decrease in hydrophobicity was achieved by using more hydrophilic monomers (e.g., sulfoethyl methacrylate or vinyl sulfonic acid). The most hydrophilic poly(vinyl sulfonic acid) monolith provided high resolution cation-exchange liquid chromatography of protein standards and lipoproteins. Use of the new PEGDA biocompatible crosslinker over the conventional ethylene glycol dimethacrylate crosslinker for the preparation of polymer monoliths was found to be advantageous for the analysis of biological compounds in several chromatography modes.