As two of the most abundant natural polymers, chitin and lignin not only play critical roles in fungal and plant cell walls but are also important functional materials and promising feedstocks for a variety of chemicals. This study investigated the interactions of chitin and lignin thin films with several other molecules via a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Interactions between chitin and family 18 chitinases are vital for understanding bacterial invasion of fungi and human defense against fungal infection. Regenerated chitin (RChitin) thin films were prepared via chemical conversion and spin-coating. Changes in their mass and viscoelasticity were monitored by a QCM-D in real time during incubation with family 18 chitinases. The optimal temperature for the activity of chitinases on surfaces was lower than bulk solution studies in the literature. Family 18 chitinases showed greater activity on dissolved chitin oligosaccharides while family 19 chitinases showed greater activity on RChitin films, which was attributed to chitin-binding domains in family 19 chitinases. Catechyl lignin (C-lignin) is a promising substrate for lignin valorization. Films of C-lignin were synthesized via adsorbed horseradish peroxidase-catalyzed dehydrogenative polymerization (DHP) of caffeyl alcohol (C-alcohol), and degraded through Fenton chemistry with all processes observed by a QCM-D and AFM. The synthetic rate and yield for C-DHP films was lower than DHP films made from coniferyl alcohol (G-alcohol) and p-coumaryl alcohol (H-alcohol). The C-DHP film underwent complete Fenton mediated degradation in contrast to the G-DHP and H-DHP films regardless of their thicknesses. Conventional lignin suffers from recalcitrance to degradation. Copolymer lignin films were synthesized through surface-initiated copolymerization of C and G or C, G and H monolignols. As the concentration of C-alcohol increased, the percentage degradation of the synthesized DHP copolymer films increased. Almost all the CG-DHP or CGH-DHP films were degraded when the percentage of the C-alcohol in the polymerization feed was ≥ 75% and ≥ 60% for CG-DHP and CGH-DHP, respectively. / Doctor of Philosophy / Natural polymers are widely considered as an alternative to fossil fuels for the production of biofuels, biochemicals, and biomaterials. The features of their biodegradability, biocompatibility, and sustainability can significantly alleviate concerns about environmental pollution and energy security. The surfaces of natural polymers are critical to their properties and applications. This dissertation focuses on the study of interfacial behaviors occurring at two of the most abundant natural polymers, chitin and lignin, via surface analysis techniques, a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). When an endosymbiont bacteria enter a fungal host, they secrete chitinases to soften and loosen the chitin layer in the fungal cell wall. Small chitin fragments will be released from digestion of the chitin layer of the fungal cell wall by chitinases in humans suffering from fungal infections. In order to fully understand the interactions between the fungal chitin layer and chitinases, a chitin thin film was fabricated to mimic the chitin layer, and the changes of the chitin film in mass, viscoelasticity, and morphology during treatment with family 18 chitinases were studied at various temperatures and pH using a QCM-D and AFM. Family 19 chitinases produced greater degradation of chitin thin films than family 18 chitinases, even though the family 18 chitinases had greater activity in solution. Greater surface activity for family 19 chitinases were attributed to chitin-binding domains in their chemical structure that are absent in family 18 chitinases. Millions of tons of lignin are produced in the lignocellulosic biorefinery and are discarded every year due to their recalcitrance to degradation as a result of their heterogeneous and complex structure. A newly discovered lignin, catechyl lignin (C-lignin), has potential for enhancing degradation on account of its simple linear structure. In this dissertation, C-lignin thin films were synthesized on gold-coated QCM-D sensor surfaces via surface-initiated dehydrogenative polymerization of caffeyl alcohol (C-alcohol). Their enzymatic and chemical degradation was investigated. It was found that the C-lignin films underwent complete chelator-mediated Fenton degradation in contrast to conventional lignin films. Although the C-lignin promises to be an ideal substrate for lignin valorization, its narrow distribution in nature severely limits its wide application. In view of this limitation, some people are trying to incorporate C units into conventional lignin through genetically engineered plants. This dissertation demonstrates the successful copolymerization of C-alcohol with conventional monolignols and the improved degradation of the synthesized C unit-containing copolymer lignin films relative to conventional lignin films. The results are expected to inform the design of lignocellulosic biomass for greater utilization.

Natural and synthetic polymers are highly related to people's daily life in every perspective and determine everyone's life quality. This study investigated the interactions between polymer thin films and other molecules, specifically natural polymer films with other components in plant and fungal cell walls, crosslinked thermoplastic films with solvent molecules, as well as commodity thermoplastic films with air and moisture during aging by a powerful surface analysis instrument, a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). The assembly and interactions of glucan and chitin are crucial for understanding the fungal infection mechanism. Adsorption of mixed-linkage glucan (MLG) onto regenerated chitin (RChitin) and cellulose (RC) surfaces were investigated by QCM-D and atomic force microscopy (AFM). MLG was irreversibly adsorbed onto both surfaces and formed soft hydrogel-like layers with viscoelastic properties. This work established a QCM-D method to mimic the assembly of natural polymers in fungal cell walls and provided insight into the interactions of these polymers with chitin and cellulose. Poly(ether imide) (PEI) has poor solvent resistance towards solvents including chloroform, dimethylformamide (DMF), dichloromethane (DCM), and N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP). Exposure to these solvents severely affects the thermal and mechanical performances of PEI. Therefore, crosslinked PEI (X-PEI) films was prepared from azide-terminated PEI (N₃-PEI-N₃) via a thermal crosslinking reaction. X-PEIs maintain outstanding solvent resistance towards common solvents by swelling ratio tests using QCM-D. Meanwhile, the thermal and mechanical properties of X-PEI were enhanced compared to the original PEI. Photo-oxidation is one of the dominant degradation mechanisms affecting the lifespan of polymers. The effect of photooxidative aging on the physiochemical properties of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films were investigated using QCM-D, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and tensile stress-strain tests. The crystallinity, mechanical properties, and weight loss were correlated to understand the aging behavior. Materials after aging showed higher tensile stress and modulus, with reduced mass and elongation properties. Particularly, the aging-induced damage of polymer chain integrity was first determined by QCM-D through the evolution of mass loss during aging, providing supports to the changes of mechanical properties under aging. / Doctor of Philosophy / Natural polymers and thermoplastics are two major materials that are highly related to modern life. The interactions of these polymers with other molecules are important research topics for people to understand and predict the material properties. This dissertation studied the following three topics using a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D): 1) interactions between plant natural polymer films and polymers in fungal cell wall; 2) solvent resistance of crosslinked thermoplastic films; and 3) physiochemical changes during photo-oxidation degradation of thermoplastic films. Pathogenic fungal cells can attack beneficial plant cell hosts by adhering themselves onto the plant cells, followed by penetration and enzymatic degradation of the multilayered plant cell walls until the host is digested. Therefore, the interaction between the components in fungal and plant cell walls is critical to understand pathogenic fungal cell invasion. Adsorption of mixed-linkage glucan (MLG) onto regenerated chitin (RChitin) and cellulose (RC) surfaces was monitored by QCM-D and atomic force microscopy (AFM). An irreversible binding interaction of MLG with chitin and cellulose films and a soft hydrogel-like layer on both surfaces were observed in our work. Poly(ether imide) (PEI) is a high-performance polymer with excellent thermal and mechanical properties. However, the good solubilities in common organic solvents that facilitate reasonable processibility limits its applications in solvent-related domains. Several methods of PEI crosslinking were developed in the literature to improve solvent resistance. This study prepared crosslinked PEI (X-PEI) films from azide-terminated PEI (N₃-PEI-N₃) via a simple thermal crosslinking reaction. X-PEI had better resistance to organic solvents from QCM-D measurements and maintained good thermal and mechanical performances. Photo-oxidation from air and sunlight slowly degrades plastics, shortens their service time, and leads to environmental pollution. This work bridged the gap between molecular integrity and its effect on the overall macroscopic mechanical changes through accurate measurement of the mass loss during degradation using a QCM-D. This work is essential in ensuring polymer design and active environmental protection.

Ionic liquids (ILs) present new approaches for controlling interactions at the solid-liquid interface. ILs are defined as liquids consisting of bulky and asymmetric ions, with a melting point below 373 K. Owing to their amphiphilic character they are powerful solvents but also possess other interesting properties. For example, ILs can self-assemble and are attracted to surfaces due to their charged nature. As a result, they are capable of forming nanostructures both in bulk and at interfaces. This thesis describes how the solid-IL interface responds to external influences such as elevated temperatures, the addition of salt and polarisation. An improved understanding of how these factors govern the surface composition can provide tools for tuning systems to specific applications such as friction. Normal and friction forces are measured for ethylammonium nitrate (EAN) immersed between a mica surface and a silica probe, at different temperatures or salt concentrations. The results demonstrate that an increase in temperature or low concentrations of added salt only induce small changes in the interfacial structure and that the boundary layer properties remain intact. In contrast, at sufficiently large salt concentrations the smaller lithium ion prevails and the surface composition changes. The interfacial layer of a similar IL is also investigated upon the addition of salt and the results reveal that lithium ions affect the surface composition differently depending on the ion structure of the IL. This demonstrates that the surface selectivity strongly depends on the ion chemistry. Remarkably, a repulsive double layer force manifests itself for EAN at 393 K, which is not observed for lower temperatures. This indicates a temperature dependent change in EAN’s microscopic association behaviour and has general implications for how ILs are perceived. A new method is developed based on a quartz crystal microbalance to investigate how the surface compositions of ILs respond to polarisation. The approach demonstrates that interfacial layers of both a neat IL and an IL dissolved in oil can be controlled using potentials of different magnitudes and signs. Furthermore, the method enables two independent approaches for monitoring the charges during polarisation which can be used to quantify the surface composition. The technique also provides information on ion kinetics and surface selectivity. This work contributes to the fundamental understanding of the solid-IL interface and demonstrates that the surface composition of ILs can be controlled and monitored using different approaches. / Jonvätskor möjliggör nya tillvägagångssätt för att kontrollera interaktioner vid gränsskiktet mellan fasta ytor och vätskor. Jonvätskor definieras som vätskor som består av stora och asymmetriska joner med en smältpunkt under 373 K. På grund av sin amfifila karaktär är de starka lösningsmedel men har också andra intressanta egenskaper. Jonvätskor kan till exempel självorganisera sig och attraheras till ytor på grund av sin laddning. En följd av detta är att de bildar nanostrukturer både i bulk och på ytor. Denna avhandling beskriver hur gränsskiktet mellan fasta ytor och jonvätskor svarar på yttre påverkan såsom en ökning i temperatur, tillsättning av ett salt samt polarisering. En ökad förståelse för hur dessa faktorer styr ytkompositionen av jonvätskor kan bidra med verktyg för att kontrollera system till specifika applikationer såsom friktion. Normala- och friktionskrafter mäts för etylammonium nitrat (EAN) mellan en glimmeryta och en kolloidprob vid olika temperaturer eller saltkoncentrationer. Resultaten visar att en ökning av temperatur eller låga koncentrationer av tillsatt salt bara marginellt framkallar ändringar i strukturen på gränsytan och att det adsorberade lagret förblir intakt. När saltkoncentrationen emellertid var tillräckligt hög får den mindre litiumjonen överhanden och ytsammansättningen ändras. Ytlagret av en liknande jonvätska undersöks också vid tillsättning av salt och resultaten avslöjar att litiumjoner påverkar ytsammansättningen annorlunda beroende på jonstrukturen av jonvätskan. Detta visar att ytselektiviteten starkt beror på jonkemin. En repulsiv dubbellagerkraft yttrar sig anmärkningsvärt för EAN vid 393 K vilket inte observeras vid lägre temperaturer. Detta indikerar en ändring i EANs mikroskopiska sammansättningsbeteende och har generella återverkningar för hur jonvätskor uppfattas. En ny metod har utvecklats baserad på en kvartskristall mikrovåg för att undersöka hur ytsammansättningen av jonvätskor reagerar på polarisering. Denna metod visar att det adsorberade lagret av både en ren jonvätska och en jonvätska löst i olja kan kontrolleras genom att applicera spänningar med olika tecken och storlekar. Dessutom möjliggör metoden två oberoende tillvägagångssätt för att övervaka laddningarna under polarisering vilket kan användas för att kvantifiera ytsammansättningen. Tekniken ger också information om jonkinetik och ytselektivitet. Detta arbete bidrar till den grundläggande förståelsen av gränsskiktet mellan fasta ytor och jonvätskor och visar att ytsammansättningen av jonvätskor kan kontrolleras och övervakas med olika tillvägagångssätt. / <p>QC 20160518</p>

As society draws closer to the post-antibiotic era and the pipeline for alternatives dries, there is an urgent need for the development of novel antimicrobial therapies that do not promote bacterial resistance, particularly for immunocompromised chronic wound patients. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), including human-derived LL37, show considerable promise as broad spectrum alternatives that also have wound healing properties; however, few have been clinically implemented as novel antimicrobials due to their cytotoxicity stemming from a poor understanding of their mechanisms and low stability in vivo. It has been suggested that tethering, or attaching AMPs onto surfaces, is a viable strategy of delivering bioactive AMPs to surfaces while reducing cytotoxicity and improving stability. Thus, we designed new chimeric versions of LL37 with collagen-binding domains (CBD), derived from collagenase (cCBD-LL37) and fibronectin (fCBD-LL37) for non-covalent tethering onto collagen, a prevalent biopolymer in commercially available wound dressings and scaffolds. Our overall hypothesis was that CBDs would mediate stable tethering of broadly active, non-cytotoxic CBD-LL37 onto collagen-based scaffolds. We first studied the loading, release and bioactivities (e.g. antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity) of each CBD-LL37 on commercially available 100% collagen type I PURACOL® wound scaffolds. We found that both cCBD-LL37 and fCBD-LL37 bound highly to collagen, were active against relevant wound pathogens, demonstrated stable activity after 14 days of release, and were not cytotoxic to human fibroblasts. The addition of different CBDs onto LL37 also markedly altered their soluble bioactivities. Using similar methods, we then studied the loading, release and bioactivity of each CBD-LL37 on a commercially available FIBRACOL® wound scaffolds, comprised of 90% collagen type I and 10% calcium alginate biopolymers. We found that both cCBD-LL37 and fCBD-LL37 also bound highly to and retained on collagen for 14 days, but were only active against Gram-negative P. aeruginosa. This suggested that the presence other biopolymers in addition to collagen, which is common among commercial wound dressings, could cause significant differences in binding, retention and bioactivities of CBD-LL37. To better understand how CBD modification affected CBD-LL37 structure leading to different bioactivities, we studied the CBD sequence-, peptide structure-, concentration-, time-, and bilayer composition-dependent interactions of soluble CBD-LL37 and compared these findings with the properties of unmodified LL37. Using Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D), and fluorescent bilayer imaging we determined the structural basis behind CBD alterations in bioactivities. MD and CD, in addition to other intrinsic CBD properties (helicity, amphiphilicity, charge) we hypothesized that cCBD-LL37 utilized similar mechanisms as unmodified LL37 while fCBD-LL37 demonstrated based primarily on surface adsorption. We used QCM-D and Voigt-Kelvin viscoelastic modeling to determine the time- and concentration-dependent interactions of unmodified LL37 with model mammalian lipid bilayers, the mechanisms of which are still controversial in literature despite being widely studied. These results were used to propose a model for the interaction mechanism of LL37 with zwitterionic bilayers that aligned with its bioactive concentrations. LL37 adsorbed at concentrations where it is immunomodulatory until reaching a threshold which corresponded with its antimicrobial concentrations. The threshold was correlated to lipid bilayer saturation, after which LL37 formed transmembrane pores. We observed collapse of the bilayer into a rigid proteolipid film at concentrations higher than the reported cytotoxic threshold of LL37. The mechanistic and structural information for each CBD-LL37 and unmodified LL37 provided a baseline for QCM-D and Voigt-Kelvin viscoelastic modeling to further elucidate the time-, concentration-, lipid composition- and CBD sequence-dependent basis behind the observed bioactivities of cCBD-LL37 and fCBD-LL37. We found that similar to LL37, cCBD-LL37 demonstrated pore formation mechanisms likely due to their similar charges, structural content and amphiphilicity. fCBD-LL37 demonstrated time-dependent, adsorption-based mechanism likely due to its anchoring aromatic residues, low charge, and low amphiphilicity. Knowledge gained from this study allowed mechanistic predictions of two newly designed hypothetical CBD-LL37 peptides. Results from this study contribute to a better understanding of a new class of antimicrobial, non-cytotoxic therapies based on collagen-tethered CBD-LL37, bringing it closer to clinical implementation in chronic wound applications and demonstrate the viability of biopolymer tethering as a platform toward using AMPs to quench the resistance crisis.

Considerando a relevância dos trabalhos onde se utiliza eletrodos quimicamente modificados e o pequeno número de estudos envolvendo cocaína e seus interferentes (cafeína, teobromina e lidocaína), por técnicas eletroquímicas ou piezelétricas, este estudo tem como objetivo o desenvolvimento de eletrodos de ouro e platina quimicamente modificados com compostos da classe das cucurbiturilas (CB[5], CB[6] e CB[7]) para a detecção de cocaína. A técnica de microbalança de cristal de quartzo foi empregada a fim de se estudar cocaína padrão e seus interferentes, em fase gasosa. Os eletrodos de ouro foram quimicamente modificados com cucurbiturilas e o modificador CB[6] apresentou os melhores resultados. Medidas por voltametria cíclica foram realizadas utilizando-se um potenciostato Autolab III acoplado a um computador, com eletrodo de ouro e platina atuando como eletrodo de trabalho, Ag/AgCl como eletrodo de referência e eletrodo espiral de platina como eletrodo auxiliar, com velocidade de varredura de 0,1 V.s-1 (100 mV.s-1). Os parâmetros voltamétricos foram otimizados para tornar as análises mais rápidas e sensíveis sem perda de qualidade ou intensidade do sinal voltamétrico. O eletrodo de platina quimicamente modificado com filme de cucurbit[6]urila apresentou aumento da corrente de pico catódica quando estudado frente à cocaína, teobromina e lidocaína. Análises com eletrodo de platina sem modificador químico apresentaram limite de detecção de 4,14.10-6 mol.L-1 e limite de quantificação de 1,38.10-5 mol.L-1 , para a cocaína, e na presença do modificador químico CB[6] apresentou limite de detecção de 1,36.10-6 mol.L-1 e limite de quantificação de 4,54.10-6 mol.L-1 . Eletrodos de ouro com ou sem a presença de modificadores químicos não apresentaram sinal para nenhum analito. / Considering the importance of chemically modified electrodes and the small amount of the cocaine study and their interfering (caffeine, theobromine and lidocaine) using electrochemical and piezoelectric techniques, this study aims to investigate the development of the gold and platinum electrodes chemically modified by cucurbiturils (CB[5], CB[6] and, CB[7]) in order to detect cocaine. The Quartz Crystal Microbalance technique was employed in order to study in gas phase the standard samples of cocaine and their interfering. Gold electrode was chemically modified with cucurbiturils films and the CB[6] modifier showed the best results. The cyclic voltammetric measurements were performed using a Autolab III potentiostat coupled to a computer, being gold and platinum as the working electrode, Ag/AgCl as the reference electrode and platinum wire as counter electrode, using a scan rate of 0,1 V.s-1 (100 mV.s-1). The voltammetric parameters were optimized in order to make the analysis faster and more sensitive without loss of intensity and quality of the voltammetric signal. The platinum electrode modified by cucurbit[6]uril film showed an increase of cathodic current peak when electrode was exposed to cocaine, theobromine and lidocaine. Analysis employed platinum working electrode without chemical modifier showed a detection limit of 4.14 . 10-6 mol.L-1 and quantification limit of 1.38 . 10-5 mol.L-1 for cocaine and with chemical modifier CB[6] showed a detection limit of 1.36 . 10-6 mol.L-1 and quantification limit of 4.54 . 10-6 mol.L-1 . Gold electrodes with or without chemical modifiers showed no response for any analyte.

Fish oil is an excellent source of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), which can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in addition to other health benefits. However, the average intake of LC-PUFA in the Western diet is much lower than the recommended levels. Fish oil is prone to oxidative deterioration when exposed to oxygen and thus must be protected in order to be used in food products. Microencapsulation is one possibility that is already applied by the industry to protect fish oil. However, most of the conventional microencapsulation techniques suffer from shortcomings such as harsh processing conditions or the use of numerous chemicals. The main objective of this thesis was to develop a novel spray process to microencapsulate fish oil based on supercritical fluid (SCF) technology using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) and CO2-expanded ethanol (CX EtOH). Fundamental physicochemical properties essential for optimal process design were lacking in the literature; therefore, density, interfacial tension (IFT) and viscosity of fish oil in the form of triglycerides and fatty acid ethyl esters were determined at different temperatures and pressures. Fish oil when equilibrated with SC-CO2 at elevated pressure expanded by up to about 40% in volume and increased in density by up to about 5%. Furthermore, IFT of fish oil in contact with SC-CO2 decreased substantially by an order of magnitude with an increase in CO2 pressure. When fish oil was in contact with CX EtOH, IFT decreased to ultra low levels at pressures of less than 10 MPa. Viscosity of fish oil equilibrated with SC-CO2 decreased substantially with pressure but increased with shear rate. Based on the physicochemical properties determined in this research, a novel process to produce micro- and nano-sized particles containing fish oil was developed based on a SCF spray-drying method. Key processing parameters have been evaluated and can be further optimized to improve encapsulation efficiency. Determination of physicochemical properties contributed to the fundamental understanding of the behavior of the fish oil+CO2 system with and without ethanol under high pressure conditions. The new microencapsulation process shows great potential for the delivery of bioactives in various product applications. / Bioresource and Food Engineering

Electrical double-layer formed at the interface between an electrode and an electrolyte has been a topic of innumerable studies. The electrical interface plays a crucial role in kinetics, mechanisms and applications in variety of electrochemical reactions. The electrical double-layer and electron-transfer reactions lead to many important applications of electrochemistry, which include energy storage devices, namely, batteries, fuel cells and supercapacitors. Electrochemical supercapacitors can withstand to higher power than batteries and deliver higher energy than the conventional electrostatic and electrolytic capacitors. A supercapacitor can be used as an auxiliary energy device along with a primary source such as a battery or a fuel cell for the purpose of power enhancement in short pulse applications. Among the various materials studied for electrochemical supercapacitors, carboneous materials, metal oxides and conducting polymers received attention. Among carboneous materials, various forms of carbon such as powders, woven cloths, felts, fibers, nanotubes etc., are frequently studied for electrochemical supercapacitors. Low cost, high porosity, higher surface area, high abundance and well established electrode fabrication technologies are the attractive features for using carboneous materials. However, specific capacitance (SC) of these materials is rather low. These electrodes store charge by electrostatic charge separation at the electrode/electrolyte interface. Electronically conducting polymers are interesting class of materials studied for supercapacitor application because of the following merits: high electronic conductivity, environmental friendliness, ease of preparation and fabrication, high stability, high capacitance and low cost. Polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole and polythiophene are studied in this category. Transition metal oxides have attracted considerable attention as electrode materials for supercapacitors because of the following merits: variable oxidation state, good chemical and electrochemical stability, ease of preparation and handling. Hydrated RuO2 prepared by sol-gel process at low temperature has a specific capacitance as high as 720 F g-1 due to solid state pseudo faradaic reaction. However, high cost, low porosity and toxic nature limit commercialization of supercapacitors using this material. MnO2 is attractive as it is cheap, environmentally benign, its resources are abundant in nature and also it is widely used as a cathode material in batteries. An early study on capacitance behaviour of MnO2 was reported by Lee and Goodenough. Amorphous hydrous MnO2 synthesized by co-precipitation method exhibited rectangular cyclic voltammogram in various aqueous alkali salt solutions. A specific capacitance of 200 F g-1 was reported. Following this report, several reports appeared on capacitance characteristics of MnO2. According to the charge-storage mechanism reported, a specific capacitance of 1370 F g-1 is expected from MnO2. However, this value can be obtained in practice only when the mass of MnO2 is at the level of a few micrograms per cm2 area. At such a low thickness range, the utilization of the active material is high. As thin layers of MnO2 are uneconomical for practical capacitors, studies with a mass range of 0.4-0.5 mg cm-2 have been extensively reported. At this mass range, a maximum specific capacitance of about 240 F g-1 has been obtained. With an increase in mass per unit area, the specific capacitance of MnO2 decreases. The problem associated with low values of specific capacitance of thick layers of MnO2 is the following. The MnO2 deposits or coatings generally do not possess high porosity and the electrolyte cannot permeate into the coating. Only the outer layer of the electrode is exposed to the electrolyte. Consequently, the electrochemical utilization of the material decreases with an increase in thickness. Nevertheless, utilization of thick layers of the active materials is preferable for obtaining capacitance as high as possible in a given volume and area of the electrodes. Indeed, it would be ideal if specific capacitance of MnO2 is improved from its presently reported value of 240 F g-1 to a value equivalent to that of RuO2.xH2O, namely, 720 F g-1. In view of this, attempts are made to enhance specific capacitance of MnO2 by electrochemical deposition in presence of surfactants. Nanostructured MnO2 synthesized by inverse microemulsion route is also studied for electrochemical supercapacitors. The effect of crystallographic structure of MnO2 on the capacitance properties, studies on electrochemical deposition of MnO2 in acidic and neutral medium using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance and capacitance characteristics of MnO2-polyaniline composites are also described in the thesis. Chapter 1 briefly discusses the importance of electrochemistry in energy storage and conversion, basics of electrochemical power sources, importance of MnO2, different synthetic procedures for MnO2 and its applications in energy storage and conversion in particular for electrochemical supercapacitors. Chapter 2 provides the experimental procedures and methodologies used for the studies reported in the thesis. In chapter 3, the effect of surface active agents, namely, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and Triton X-100 added to the electrolyte during electrodeposition of MnO2 on Ni substrate on capacitance properties is presented. Electrocrystallization studies show that MnO2 nucleates instantaneously under diffusion control and grows in three dimensions. The potentiodynamically prepared oxide provides higher specific capacitance than the potentiostatically and galvanostatically prepared oxides. Specific capacitance values of 310 and 355 F g-1 obtained for MnO2 electrodeposited in the presence of 100 mM SDS and 10 mM Triton X-100 are higher than the oxide electrodeposited in the absence of surfactants. Surfactant molecules adsorbed at the electrode/electrolyte interface alters structure of double-layer and kinetics of electrodeposition. Smaller particle size, greater porosity, higher specific surface area and higher efficiency of material utilization are the factors responsible for obtaining higher specific capacitance. Extended cycle-life studies indicate that the superior performance of MnO2 due to surfactants is present throughout the cycle-life tested. Chapter 4 pertains to electrochemical supercapacitor studies on nanostructured α-MnO2 synthesized by inverse microemulsion method and the effect of annealing. As synthesized nanoparticles of MnO2 was found to be in α-crystallographic structure with particles less than 50 nm size. Nanoparticles exhibited rectangular cyclic voltammograms between 0 and 1 V vs. SCE in aqueous 0.1 M Na2SO4 at sweep rates up to 100 mV s-1 due to the short diffusion path length. On annealing at different temperatures, a mixture of nanoparticles and nanorods with varying dimension is noticed. Specific capacitance of 297 F g-1 obtained during initial cycling decreases gradually on extended cycling. The capacitance loss is attributed to the increase in the resistance for intercalation/deintercalation of alkali cations into/from MnO2 lattice. MnO2 crystallizes into several crystallographic structures, namely, α-, β-, γ-, δ- and λ-structures. As these structures differ in the way MnO6 octahedra are interlinked, they possess tunnels or inter-layers with gaps of different magnitudes. Because capacitance properties are due to intercalation/deintercalation of protons or cations in MnO2, only some crystallographic structures, which possess sufficient gap to accommodate these ions, are expected to be useful for capacitance studies. The effect of crystal structure of MnO2 on its electrochemical capacitance properties is also included in chapter 4. Specific capacitance of MnO2 is found to depend strongly on the crystallographic structure, and it decreases in the following order: α ≅ δ > γ > λ > β. A specific capacitance value of 240 F g-1 is obtained for α-MnO2, whereas it is 9 F g-1 for β-MnO2. A wide (~ 4.6 Å) tunnel size and large surface area of α-MnO2 are ascribed as favorable factors for its high specific capacitance. A large interlayer separation (~7 Å) also facilitates insertion of cations in δ-MnO2 resulting in SC close to 236 F g-1. A narrow tunnel size (1.89 Å) does not allow intercalation of cations into β-MnO2. As a result, it provides very small SC. In Chapter 5, capacitance characteristics of PANI synthesized using (NH4)2S2O8, nanostructured MnO2 (α- and γ-form) and also PANI-MnO2 composites are presented. Morphology of PANI synthesized resembles the morphology of the MnO2 used as the oxidant. Electrochemical capacitance properties of PANI and composites are studied in a mixed electrolyte of 0.1 M HClO4 and 0.3 M NaClO4 between 0 and 0.75 V vs. SCE. Specific capacitance of 394 F g-1 is obtained for PANI synthesized using γ-MnO2. Chapter 6 describes the electrocatalytic behaviour of Mn3[Fe(CN)6]2 synthesized by ion-exchange reaction between MnSO4 and K3[Fe(CN)6] and the effect of annealing on its electrochemical capacitance properties. As prepared Mn3[Fe(CN)6]2 and also the sample heated at 100 oC exhibit redox couple in 0.1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte, corresponding to Fe(CN)64-/Fe(CN)63- present in the matrix. Mn3[Fe(CN)6]2 samples annealed at 150 oC and above decompose to oxides of manganese and iron, and hence exhibit capacitance characteristics in 0.1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte. A maximum specific capacitance of 129 F g-1 is obtained for Mn3[Fe(CN)6]2 annealed at 300 oC. Electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) investigations of kinetics of electrodeposition of MnO2 in acidic and neutral media, and capacitance behaviour are presented in chapter 7. Oxidation of Mn2+ to MnO2 is characterized by an anodic cyclic voltammetric peak both in acidic and neutral media. During the reverse sweep, however, reduction of MnO2 into Mn2+ occurs in two steps in the acidic medium and in a single step in the neutral medium. From EQCM data of mass variation during cycling, it is observed that the rate of electrodeposition of MnO2 is higher in the neutral medium than in the acidic medium. Specific capacitance of MnO2 deposited from the neutral medium is higher than that deposited from acidic medium owing to different crystallographic structures. Reversible insertion/deinsertion of hydrogen in to the layers of δ-MnO2 is observed in hydrogen evolution region. Details of the above studies are described in the thesis.

This thesis details the development of expertise and tools required for the study of amino acids deposited on Au(111), with a primary focus on the design and testing of a Knudsen cell for controlled deposition of L-cysteine and L-methionine. An ultra-high vacuum preparation chamber designed by Dr. Katie Mitchell and built by Torrovap Industries Inc. was installed. This chamber is connected to the existing scanning tunneling microscopy chamber via a gate valve, and both chambers can operate independently. Various instruments such as a mass spectrometer, quartz crystal microbalance, ion source, and sample manipulator were installed on the preparation chamber. Scanning tunneling microscopy was performed on both homemade and commercial Au(111) thin films. High resolution images of "herringbone" reconstruction and individual atoms were obtained on the commercial thin films, and optimal tunneling conditions were determined. A Knudsen cell was designed to be mounted on the preparation chamber. The Knudsen cell operates over the temperature range 300-400K, with temperatures reproducible to ±0.5K, and stable to ±0.1K over a five minute period. Reproducible deposition rates of less than 0.2Ǻ/s were obtained for both L-cysteine and L-methionine. Electron impact mass spectrometry and heat of sublimation measurements were performed to characterize the effusion of L-cysteine and L-methionine from the Knudsen cell. The mass spectrometry results suggest that L-cysteine was decomposing at 403K while L-methionine was stable during effusion. Heats of sublimation of 168.3±33.2kJ/mol and 156.5±10.1kJ/mol were obtained for L-cysteine and L-methionine respectively.

One the most daunting technical challenges in the realization of biosensors is functionalizing transducing surfaces for the detection of biomolecules. Functionalization is defined as the formation of a bio-compatible interface on the transducing surfaces of bio-chemical sensors for immobilizing and subsequent sensing of biomolecules. The kinetics of functionalization reactions is a particularly important issue, since conventional functionalization protocols are associated with lengthy process times, from hours to days. The objective of this thesis is the improvement of the functionalization protocols and their kinetics for biosensing applications. This objective is realized via modeling and experimental verification of novel functionalization techniques in microfluidic environments. The improved functionalization protocols using microfluidic environments enable in-situ functionalization, which reduces the processing times and the amount of reagents consumed, compared to conventional methods. The functionalization is performed using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of thiols. The thiols are organic compounds with a sulphur group that assists in the chemisorption of the thiol to the surface of metals like gold. The two reactions in the functionalization process examined in this thesis are the SAM formation and the SAM/probe molecule conjugation. SAM/probe molecule conjugation is the chemical treatment of the SAM followed by the binding of the probe molecule to the SAM. In general, the probe molecule is selective in binding with a given biomolecule, called the target molecule. Within this thesis, the probe molecule is an antibody and the target molecule is an antigen. The kinetics of the reaction between the probe (antibody) and the target biomolecule (antigen) is also studied. The reaction between an antigen and its antibody is called the immunoreaction. The biosensing technique that utilizes the immunoreaction is immunoassay. A numerical model is constructed using the finite element method (FEM), and is used to study the kinetics of the functionalization reactions. The aim of the kinetic studies is to achieve both minimal process times and reagents consumption. The impact of several important parameters on the kinetics of the reactions is investigated, and the trends observed are explained using kinetic descriptive dimensionless numbers, such as the Damköhler number and the Peclet number. Careful numerical modeling of the reactions contributes to a number of findings. A considerably faster than conventional SAM formation protocol is predicted. This fast-SAM protocol is capable of reducing the process times from the conventional 24-hours to 15 minutes. The numerical simulations also predict that conventional conjugation protocols result in the overexposure of the SAM and the probe molecule to the conjugation reagents. This overexposure consequently lowers conjugation efficiencies. The immunoreaction kinetics of a 70 kilo-Dalton heat shock protein (HSP70) with its antibody in a hypothetical microchannel is also investigated through the FEM simulations. Optimal reaction conditions are determined, including the flow velocity and the surface concentration of the immobilized probes (antibodies). Based on the numerical results and a series of experimental studies, the fast-SAM protocol application is successfully confirmed. Moreover, the optimum reagent concentration for a given one- hour conjugation process time is determined. This functionalization protocol is successfully applied to immobilize the HSP70 antibody on gold surfaces. The use of the fast-SAM protocol and the predicted optimum conjugation conditions result in binding of the HSP70 antibody on gold, with the same or superior immobilization quality, compared to the conventional protocols. Upon implementation of a 70 μm.s^(-1) flow velocity, the reaction is observed to complete in around 30-35 minutes, which is close to the numerically predicted 30 minutes and 16 seconds. This immunoreaction time is considerably less than conventional 4-12 hour processes. The modified in-situ functionalization techniques achieved here are promising for substantially reducing the preparation times and improving the performance of biosensors, in general, and immunoassays, in particular.

This thesis describes a number of novel experiments contributing to the understanding of protein adsorption from both a fundamental and applied perspective. The first three papers involve the use of the localized surface plasmon resonance of gold nanospheres to measure protein conformational dependencies during heat and acid denaturation. Thermal denaturation of BSA is shown to proceed differently depending on the size of nanosphere to which it is conjugated. Activation energies are extracted for thermal denaturing on nanoparticles. These energies decrease with decreasing radius of curvature. Under pH perturbation in the acid region, the multiple transition states of bulk BSA are suppressed, and only one apparent transition around pH 4 is evident. Smaller spheres (diameter < 20nm) do not exhibit any transition. A significant finding of all three studies is that the state and stability of BSA depends strongly upon local curvature. The last two papers investigate protein adsorption relevant to the biomaterial field. Investigation of protein adsorption to polyHEMA hydrogels is carried out using a quartz crystal microbalance. Single and mixed protein adsorption kinetics for BSA, lysozyme and lactoferrin are extracted and interpreted. Selected commercial cleaning solutions are shown to be no more effective than simple buffer solution. Examination of commercial lenses indicates that the morphology of adsorption is material dependent and that siloxane-based hydrogels only deposit low levels of protein. A unique fibril-like morphology is identified on galyfilcon A. Protein morphology is discussed in terms of bare lens morphology, roughness, and surface composition.