Tissue Engineering is a scientific discipline that aims to regenerate tissues and organs that are diseased, lost or congenitally absent. It encompasses the use of suitable synthetic equivalents of native extracellular matrix that may or may not be supplemented with cells or relevant growth factors. Such scaffolds are designed to reside at the site of implantation for a variable period of time during which they induce the regeneration of native tissue. During this time, they also provide a template for new cells to attach, infiltrate, differentiate into appropriate phenotype and eventually restore function of the concerned tissue. Among the factors that affect the outcome are the composition of scaffold, methods of fabrication, bulk properties of the scaffold and topography and architecture at the cellular level. Bone is unique in the body in that it is one of the few tissues capable of complete regeneration even in adults, as seen during fracture healing. However, certain conditions (non-union of fractures, congenital and acquired bone deficiencies) exist in which the regenerative capacities of bone are exceeded and appropriate intervention becomes necessary. Current treatment options include autologous bone grafts harvested from iliac crest or de-cellularized allografts or synthetic substitutes made from metals, ceramics and polymers. However these options have serious limitations: while autografts are limited in supply, necessitate second surgery and show inadequate vascularization, allografts can transmit viral infections. Metals, ceramics and polymers are in essence structural replacements without performing any biological function. Other problems associated with these synthetic materials include adverse immune reactions, corrosion, stress-shielding and secondary fractures due to inadequate osseo-integration. Bone tissue engineering is a specialized field of research that provides an alternative strategy to repair bone defects by exploiting the advances in engineering and better understanding of bone biology. Scaffold-based tissue engineering approach is a promising field that involves implantation of a biomaterial that is specifically matched in terms of biological and material properties to the tissue it replaces. This study explores the feasibility of using electrospinning as a potential fabrication strategy for bone tissue engineering applications, more specifically intended for cleft palate repair. This model represents a congenital deformity that affects both hard and soft tissues and presents unique challenges and opportunities. Among the challenges are: the need for the implant allow growth of the most complex areas of the facial skeleton, integrate and grow with the patient through adolescence, the ability of the implant to not interfere with vital functions including breathing and feeding. Further the implant should provide a flexible matrix that can effectively support erupting teeth. In spite of these extreme demands, maxilla is a non load-bearing membranous bone, a favorable consideration from materials engineering perspective. The present study is organized into three independent sections. The first section investigates developing strategies intended to improve the material properties of electrospun bone scaffold. Bone is composed of a high volume fraction (50%) of inorganic hydroxyapatite nanocrystals that is closely associated with collagen. The dispersal of brittle mineral is critical in not only strengthening the bone in compression but also contributes to the osteoconductivity of the matrix. Since loading of mineral in a bone scaffold is a serious limitation, we attempted to achieve improved loading of bone mineral by dual mineralization approach. We first incorporated nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (nHA) directly into the scaffold by adding it to the electrospinning polymer solution. The second step involves inducing biomimetic mineralization of electrospun scaffolds by incubating them in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 2 weeks. The hypothesis was that the nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite seeded during electrospinning would act as sites for nucleation and further crystal growth when incubated in solution supersaturated with respect to calcium and phosphate ions. We tested this approach in two synthetic, biocompatible polymers-polydioxanone and poly (lactide: glycolide) and four formulations of SBF with differential loading of nHA (0-50% by wt. of polymer). A modified Alizarin Red S (ARS) staining that specifically binds to calcium was developed that allowed us to quantify the mineral content of 3D scaffold with great accuracy. Results indicated a unique combination of factors: PDO scaffolds containing 50% nHA incubated in 1x revised-SBF incubated under static conditions gave maximum mineralization over a period of two weeks. We then sought to exploit these findings to engineer a stiffer scaffold by stacking multiple layers together and cold welding them under high pressure. Electrospun scaffolds (1, 2 or 4 layered stacks) were either compressed before or after mineralizing treatment with SBF. After two weeks, scaffolds were analyzed for total mineral content and stiffness by uniaxial tensile testing. Results indicated while compression of multiple layers significantly increases the stiffness of scaffolds, it also had lower levels of mineralization partly due to increased density of fibers and loss of surface area due to fiber welding. However this can be offset to a reasonable degree by increasing the number of stacks and hence this strategy can be successfully adopted to improve the mechanical properties of electrospun scaffolds. The second section introduces a novel infrared imaging technique to quantify and characterize the biological activity of biomaterials, based on cell adhesion. Cells attach to the surface by the formation of focal contacts where multiple proteins including vinculin and talin assemble to signal critical processes like cell survival, migration, proliferation and differentiation. After allowing MG-63 osteoblasts to adhere to 2D biomaterial surface coated with extracellular matrix proteins (collagen, gelatin, fibronectin) cells were fixed and probed with antibodies for vinculin and talin. Secondary antibodies, tagged with infrared-sensitive fluorescent dyes, were used to quantify the molecules of interest. In addition, the kinetics of focal contact formation in these different substrates was followed. Successful quantification of focal contacts were made and further research revealed phosphorylation of vinculin at pY-822 as one potential mechanism for recruitment of vinculin to focal contacts. Hence it could represent a subset of vinculin and might serve as a specific molecular marker for focal contacts. As an extension, we evaluated the possibility of using such an assay to quantify 3D electrospun tissue engineering scaffolds. We fabricated scaffolds of graded biological activity by electrospinning blends of polydioxanone and collagen in different ratios. Vinculin and talin expressed by MG-63 cultured on these scaffolds for 24 hours were quantified in a similar manner. Results indicate that while talin does not show a significant difference in expression among different scaffolds, vinculin showed a positive correlation with increasing biological activity of scaffolds. In conclusion, we have identified vinculin as a reliable marker of focal contacts in 3D scaffolds while phosphovinculin (pY-822) was more specific to focal contacts in coated 2D substrates. In both instances, infrared imaging proved to be reliable in study of focal contacts. The third section aims to make the bone scaffolds osteoinductive- a property of a material to induce new bone formation even when implanted in subcutaneous and intramuscular heterotopic sites. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) are potent cytokines that can induce migration, proliferation and differentiation of stem cells along osteoblastic lineage. The therapeutic efficacy of BMPs in the treatment of severe bone defects has been identified and is currently FDA approved for specific orthopedic applications. BMPs are clinically administered in a buffer form that not only makes the treatment expensive but less effective. Suitable delivery systems for BMP delivery have been an intense area of investigation. We rationalized electrospinning as a strategy to incorporate BMP within the scaffold and that would enable controlled release when implanted. One of the drawbacks of using electrospinning to deliver bioactive molecules is the potential denaturing effect and eventual loss of activity of BMPs. The final section of this dissertation tries to develop sensitive and relevant assays that could answer intriguing questions about solvent-protein interaction. We chose to use the BMP-2/7 heterodimer as the osteoinductive molecule of choice because of its superior potency compared to homodimer counterparts. We characterized the detection and quantification of BMP-2/7 using a slot blot technique. Further, we used a novel cell line (C2C12 BRA) to test the retention of activity of BMP-2/7 that has been exposed to organic solvents. Results indicate significant loss of activity when BMPs are exposed to organic solvents but complete recovery was possible by diluting the solvent with an aqueous buffer.

Thesis (M. Tech. Chemistry, Dept. of Chemistry, Faculty of Applied and Computer Sciences)--Vaal University of Technology, 2010. / Membrane separation processes offer a promising alternative to energy-intensive separation processes such as distillation and solvent extraction. NF and RO are among the most investigated membrane processes with a potential use in the chemical industry. Carbon-carbon coupling reactions feature in the top ten most used reactions in the chemical industry. These reactions often use homogeneous palladium, nickel and other precious catalysts which are often difficult to separate from reaction products. This leads to potential product contamination and loss of active catalysts. This not only poses a threat to the environment but is also costly to the chemical industry. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficiency of the recovery of the metal catalysts by selected membrane processes. Four commercial polymeric NF and RO membranes (NF90, NF270, BW30 and XLE) were selected for the study. Palladium catalysts commonly used in Heck and Suzuki coupling reactions were selected. These are Pd(OAc)2, Pd(OAc)2(PPh3)2, PdCl2 and Pd(PPh3)2Cl2. A range of organic solvents were also selected for the study. All the membranes were characterized for pure water permeability, pure solvent permeability, swelling, surface morphology and chemical structure. The chemical and catalytic properties of the catalysts were determined. Catalytic activity was investigated by performing coupling reactions. These catalysts generally performed well in the Heck coupling reaction with sufficient yields realized. The catalysts showed poor activities in the Suzuki and Sonogashira coupling reactions. These coupling reaction systems were affected by rapid palladium black formation. vi Catalyst retention studies showed the influence of membrane-solute interactions such as steric hindrance and size exclusion. The larger catalyst, Pd(OAc)2(PPh3)2 was rejected better by all the membranes irrespective of the solvent used. The smaller catalyst, Pd(OAc)2 was the most poorly rejected catalyst. This catalyst showed signs of instability in the selected solvents. An interesting finding from this study is that of higher rejections in water compared to other solvents for a particular catalyst. In this regard, the influence of solventsolute effects was evident. Generally, higher rejections were observed in solvents with higher polarity. This has been explained by the concept of solvation. It has been shown that solvents with different polarity solvate solutes differently, therefore leading to a different effective solute diameter in each solvent. Catalyst separation using NF90 membrane was attempted for the Heck coupling reaction system. The reaction-separation procedure was repeated for two filtration cycles with rapid activity decline evident. This was regarded as very poor showing of the catalyst separation efficiency of the membrane. Other authors in similar studies using SRNF membranes have reported reaction-separation processes of up to seven cycles. This observation shows the inferiority of polymeric membranes in organic solvent applications such as catalyst separation.

Dans cette thèse, nous avons déterminé les mécanismes qui régissent l'efficacité des particules de fer zérovalent (ZVI) dans la dépollution des sols et des eaux souterraines. Dans les milieux contaminés par des polluants accepteurs d'électrons, le ZVI est injecté in situ sous forme de suspensions de particules micro et/ou nanométriques. La première étude a porté sur la caractérisation de poudres industrielles et de particules synthétisées au laboratoire à partir de thé vert. Afin de comparer la réactivité de l'ensemble des particules, un test en milieu fermé a été mis en oeuvre avec une solution de nitrate. Ce test a permis de différencier les particules en mettant en évidence des mécanismes réactionnels et des cinétiques de réduction qui dépendent du type de poudre utilisé. La seconde étude a porté sur la dégradation du chrome hexavalent (dans une matrice sol et eau) en combinant le ZVI à du thiosulfate de sodium. Les résultats ont été probants et ont mené au dimensionnement d'un pilote sur un site de Soléo Services. Enfin, deux cas de remédiation de sites pollués aux solvants chlorés ont été étudiés. Des expériences de laboratoire ont été menées pour expliquer l'impact des conditions opératoires sur l'efficacité du traitement / This thesis aims at a better understanding of mechanisms governing the efficiency of zerovalent iron (ZVI) particles in soil and groundwater remediation. In these processes ZVI is injected in situ as micro and/or nanoparticles slurry in areas contaminated by electron acceptor pollutants. At first, we characterized industrial powders and particles synthetized with green tea in the laboratory. In order to compare the reactivity of all the particles, a batch test has been carried out with nitrate solution. Differences in pathways and kinetic reduction have been exhibited. Secondly, we combined ZVI with sodium thiosulfate to investigate hexavalent chromium degradation (soil and water matrices). The results are conclusive and were used to design a pilot on a Soléo Services site.Finally, remediation cases of sites contaminated by chlorinated solvents have been investigated. Lab experiments have been run to explain the influence of operating conditions on the treatment efficacy

L’objectif de cette thèse de doctorat est le développement d’une nouvelle méthode théorique basée sur la simulation des équilibres liquide-gaz par simulations de dynamique moléculaire. Cette nouvelle m´méthode prédit les propriétés thermodynamiques telles que l’activité des solvants et les coefficients d’activité des solutés en phases aqueuses et organiques impliquées dans les systèmes d’extraction liquide-liquide. Ces propriétés thermodynamiques sont nécessaires pour les approches de modélisation thermodynamique mésoscopique permettant d’estimer l’efficacité et la s´électivité d’un système d’extraction par solvant jusqu’au une échelle industrielle. Les propriétés thermodynamiques et structurales des solutions électrolytiques aqueuses et des phases organiques, y compris les agrégats résultant des molécules d’extraction des amphiphiles, sont en bon accord avec les données expérimentales et théoriques disponibles. L’approche de dynamique moléculaire de l’équilibre osmotique fournit un nouvel outil puissant permettant d’accéder aux données thermodynamiques. / The aim of this PhD thesis is the development of a new theoretical method based on the simulation of vapor-liquid equilibria by means of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. This new method predicts thermodynamic properties such as solvent activities and solute activity coefficients of aqueous and organic phases used in liquid-liquid extraction systems. These thermodynamic properties are required for mesoscopic thermodynamic modeling approaches estimating the efficiency and selectivity of a given solvent extraction system up to an industrial scale. Thermodynamic and structural properties of aqueous electrolyte solutions and organic solvent phase including aggregates resulting from amphiphilic extractant molecules are reproduced in very good agreement with previously available experimental and theoretical data. The osmotic equilibrium MD approach provides a new and powerful tool for accessing thermodynamic data

A contaminação da antiga Zona de Uso Predominantemente Industrial 131 (ZUPI 131) em Jurubatuba, São Paulo, levou ao estabelecimento de uma zona de restrição de uso da água subterrânea pelo Poder Público, sendo classificada posteriormente como uma área contaminada crítica. A falta de uma ferramenta que integre os dados ambientais dificulta o trabalho de gerenciamento do problema na escala de trabalho. O desenvolvimento desta ferramenta em SIG, objeto deste trabalho, contribui para a solução dessa demanda e apresenta um modelo conceitual da contaminação da ZUPI 131. O método de trabalho se mostrou adequado para superar as dificuldades de sistematização dos dados e a ferramenta apresentou bom desempenho. Contudo, não foram esgotadas todas as possibilidades de avaliação e processamento de dados, tampouco sua interpretação. A ferramenta possui caráter dinâmico, pode receber maior quantidade de dados e possibilitar novas interpretações e avanços na caracterização da contaminação. As operações espaciais realizadas permitiram identificar áreas prioritárias para futuras investigações; constatar a ausência de registros de informações pretéritas em metade dos empreendimentos; caracterizar rios e córregos como principais zonas de descarga dos aquíferos de porosidade intergranular (sedimentos e saprólito); caracterizar os principais locais de ocorrência de concentrações mais elevadas de solventes clorados; e identificar a existência de concentrações elevadas em alguns poços de abastecimento próximos às áreas que manipularam solventes clorados no passado. Todos esses achados contribuem para a gestão integrada da antiga ZUPI 131. / The contamination of the former industrial area 131 (ZUPI 131) at the Jurubatuba area, Sao Paulo, leaded to the demarcation of a groundwater restriction zone by the government authorities which classified the areas as critically contaminated. The lack of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to manage all the data poses many challenges to the problem in the work scale. The development of GIS tool brings new light to the former ZUPI 131 integrated management and its application resulted in a conceptual model of the contamination. The adopted method has proved to be able to deal with the data systematization issues and the tool had good performance, however the data evaluation and processing had just began as well as its interpretation. The tool is dynamic and more data can be imported enabling new interpretations and advances in the cha racterization of the contamination. Spatial operations have identified priority areas for future investigations such as; verify that half of the sites lack records of past land use; characterize the rivers and the streams as main discharge zones of the porous aquifers (sediments and saprolite); characterize the main hot spots of chlorinated solvents contamination; and identify the existence of high concentrations in some of the supply wells close to sites that manipulated chlorinated solvents in the past. All these findings contribute to the integrated management of the former ZUPI 131.

Le réflexe de l’oreille moyenne (ROM) diminue l’énergie acoustique portée par les bruits riches en basses fréquences et de fortes intensités qui pénètrent dans la cochlée. Son déclenchement bilatéral permet ainsi de protéger la cochlée. La perturbation de ce réflexe par des solvants peut accroître les effets cochléo-traumatisants du bruit, notamment chez les salariés du secteur industriel, où bruit et solvant sont souvent associés. L’objectif principal de ces travaux était d’élaborer un test de criblage capable d’identifier les substances volatiles susceptibles de modifier le réflexe. De plus, le choix des solvants nous a permis d’étudier le mode d’action des solvants sur les neurones impliqués dans l’arc réflexe. Pour cela, des rats Brown Norway anesthésiés ont été exposés par inhalation aux solvants aromatiques choisis selon leur lipophilie (log Kow) et/ou selon leur structure. L’amplitude du ROM a été déterminée grâce à la mesure de l’intensité du produit de distorsion acoustique. Les résultats montrent que les effets des solvants sur le ROM sont conditionnés par les paramètres stéréospécifiques des molécules et non par leur lipophilie. Par ailleurs, l’analyse RMN des microsomes de cerveaux de rats confirme que le toluène n’influence pas la fluidité membranaire. En conclusion, le ROM est un bon outil pour détecter des substances dangereuses pour l’audition en cas de co-exposition avec du bruit. De plus, nous pouvons dire que les solvants aromatiques ont une action neuropharmacologique et/ou cochléotoxique qui peuvent retentir de façon distincte sur l’audition des sujets co-exposés au bruit et à des solvants. / The middle-ear reflex (MER) reduces acoustic energy carried by the high intensity noises rich in low frequencies at entering the cochlea. His bilateral trigger thus protects the cochlea. Disruption of this reflex by solvents can increase cochleo-traumatic effects of noise, especially among industrial workers, where noise and solvent are often associated. The main objective of this work was to develop a screening test capable of identifying the volatile substances that could modify the reflex. Moreover, the choice of solvents allowed us to study the mode of action of solvents on the neurons involved in the reflex circuit. For this purpose, Brown Norway rats were anesthetized and then exposed to aromatic solvents selected according to their lipophilicity (log Kow) and/or their structure. The amplitude of the MER is determined by measuring cubic distortion product oto-acoustic emissions. For that, aromatic solvents appear to act directly on the neuronal targets involved in the acoustic reflex circuit, rather than on membrane fluidity. The affinity of this interaction is determined by stereospecific parameters rather than lipophilocity. Additionally, NMR spectra for brain microsomes confirmed that brain lipid fluidity was unaffected by toluene exposure. In conclusion, the MER can be used to detect hazardous volatiles substances for the hearing when co-exposed to noise. Moreover, this study revealed that aromatic solvents have a neuropharmacological and/or cochleotoxic action that can act separately on the hearing of workers exposed to noise and solvents simultaneously.

Ce travail de doctorat consiste à valoriser les coproduits issus des industries d’agrumes par des technologies innovantes. Le pressage des agrumes produit des millions de tonnes de déchets par an dans le monde. Ces déchets (peaux, pulpes et pépins) sont généralement dédiés à l’alimentation animale ou bien éliminés par compostage ou incinération. Cependant leur contenu en molécules bioactives conduit à plusieurs voies de valorisation. Vu que les peaux constituent à peu près la moitié de la masse des déchets d’agrumes, les études ont été faites sur la valorisation des peaux de différents types d’agrumes. Les méthodes conventionnelles généralement utilisées pour l’extraction des molécules d’intérêt (extraction solide-liquide, hydrodistillation) présentent plusieurs désavantages tels que l’utilisation des solvants coûteux et toxiques, les longues durées d’extraction et la consommation élevée en énergie. Pour cette raison plusieurs technologies innovantes non thermiques telles que les Champs Electriques Pulsés (CEP), les Décharges Électriques de Haute Tension (DEHT) et les ultrasons (US) et thermiques comme les microondes (MO) et les infrarouges (IR) ont été testées dans ce travail de thèse, pour la valorisation des coproduits d’agrumes. Les agrumes entiers (oranges, pomelos, citrons) sont traités par les CEP à une intensité de 3 kV/cm et l’extraction du jus d’agrumes et des polyphénols a été réalisée par pressage. L’étude de la perméabilisation cellulaire induite par les CEP a été réalisée par plusieurs méthodes et a montré que les degrés d’endommagement diffèrent selon le type d’agrumes traités. L’électroporation des cellules, induite par les CEP a permis d’augmenter les rendements en jus après pressage et d’améliorer le passage des polyphénols des peaux d’agrumes dans le jus. Ce qui explique la possibilité d’obtention d’un jus riche en polyphénols en traitant les agrumes par les CEP avant leur pressage. Parmi les solvants testés pour l’extraction des polyphénols à partir des peaux d’agrumes, l’eau est le moins efficace. L’ajout de 20% de glycérol dans l’eau a modifié la polarité du milieu et a amélioré l’extraction des polyphénols. L’utilisation d’un mélange enzymatique a favorisé la libération des polyphénols piégés dans les polysaccharides. Les solvants eutectiques profonds préparés, ont été aussi efficaces que les mélanges hydro éthanoliques. Pour améliorer d’avantages l’extraction dans les différents solvants verts ou dans le mélange enzymatique, les peaux d’agrumes ont été prétraitées par les DEHT dans l’eau. L’effet mécanique des DEHT, capable de fragmenter les peaux a permis d’améliorer l’extraction des polyphénols 6 dans les différents solvants. L’intensification de l’extraction des polyphénols a été aussi réalisée par les IR et les US. L’extraction des polyphénols par les IR a été optimisée en ayant recours à la méthodologie de surface de réponse. Le chauffage par les IR n’a pas altéré les polyphénols extraits qui ont gardé des activités antifongiques et anti-mycotoxinogènes importantes. Le prétraitement des peaux d’agrumes par les IR sans solvant a fragilisé les structures cellulaires, ce qui a permis d’augmenter la diffusion des polyphénols durant le traitement avec les US. / This work consists of the valorization of citrus by-products with innovative technologies. Citrus pressing produces millions of tons of waste per year worldwide. This waste (peels, pulps and seeds) is generally dedicated to animal feed or eliminated by composting or incineration. However its content in bioactive molecules leads to several ways of valorization. Since peels present about half of the citrus waste mass, studies have been focused on the valorization of citrus peels by the extraction of bioactive compounds. Conventional methods generally used for the extraction of bioactive compounds (solid-liquid extraction, hydrodistillation) have several disadvantages such as the use of expensive and toxic solvents, long extraction times and high energy consumption. For this reason, several innovative non-thermal technologies such as Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF), High Voltage Electrical Discharges (HVED) and Ultrasounds (US) and thermal treatments such as microwaves (MO) and infrared (IR) have been tested for the valorization of citrus by-products. Whole citrus fruits (oranges, pomelos, lemons) were PEF treated at an intensity of 3 kV/cm, then citrus juice and polyphenols were extracted by pressing. The study of the PEF-induced cell permeabilization was conducted by several methods and showed that the degree of damage varied according to the type of the treated fruit. The electroporation of the cells induced by the PEF, allowed an increase the juice yields after pressing and improved the liberation of the polyphenols from the citrus peels into the juice. This explains the possibility of obtaining a juice rich in polyphenols by treating the whole fruits with PEF before pressing. Among the solvents tested for the extraction of polyphenols from citrus peels, water is the least effective. The addition of 20% glycerol to water changed the polarity of the medium and improved the extraction of the polyphenols. The use of an enzyme mixture enhanced the release of the polyphenols related to the polysaccharides. Deep eutectic solvents have been as effective as hydroethanolic mixtures. To improve the yields and the kinetics of extractions in the different green solvents and in the enzyme mixture, citrus peels were pretreated with HVED in water. The mechanical effect of HVED, based on the fragmentation of the peels has improved the extraction of polyphenols in the various solvents. The intensification of polyphenols extraction was also conducted by IR and US. The extraction of polyphenols by IR was optimized using the surface response methodology. IR heating did not alter the extracted polyphenols which have significant antifungal and anti-mycotoxinogenic activities. The pretreatment of citrus peels with IR weakened the cell structures, increasing thus the diffusion of polyphenols during US treatment.

A contaminação da antiga Zona de Uso Predominantemente Industrial 131 (ZUPI 131) em Jurubatuba, São Paulo, levou ao estabelecimento de uma zona de restrição de uso da água subterrânea pelo Poder Público, sendo classificada posteriormente como uma área contaminada crítica. A falta de uma ferramenta que integre os dados ambientais dificulta o trabalho de gerenciamento do problema na escala de trabalho. O desenvolvimento desta ferramenta em SIG, objeto deste trabalho, contribui para a solução dessa demanda e apresenta um modelo conceitual da contaminação da ZUPI 131. O método de trabalho se mostrou adequado para superar as dificuldades de sistematização dos dados e a ferramenta apresentou bom desempenho. Contudo, não foram esgotadas todas as possibilidades de avaliação e processamento de dados, tampouco sua interpretação. A ferramenta possui caráter dinâmico, pode receber maior quantidade de dados e possibilitar novas interpretações e avanços na caracterização da contaminação. As operações espaciais realizadas permitiram identificar áreas prioritárias para futuras investigações; constatar a ausência de registros de informações pretéritas em metade dos empreendimentos; caracterizar rios e córregos como principais zonas de descarga dos aquíferos de porosidade intergranular (sedimentos e saprólito); caracterizar os principais locais de ocorrência de concentrações mais elevadas de solventes clorados; e identificar a existência de concentrações elevadas em alguns poços de abastecimento próximos às áreas que manipularam solventes clorados no passado. Todos esses achados contribuem para a gestão integrada da antiga ZUPI 131. / The contamination of the former industrial area 131 (ZUPI 131) at the Jurubatuba area, Sao Paulo, leaded to the demarcation of a groundwater restriction zone by the government authorities which classified the areas as critically contaminated. The lack of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to manage all the data poses many challenges to the problem in the work scale. The development of GIS tool brings new light to the former ZUPI 131 integrated management and its application resulted in a conceptual model of the contamination. The adopted method has proved to be able to deal with the data systematization issues and the tool had good performance, however the data evaluation and processing had just began as well as its interpretation. The tool is dynamic and more data can be imported enabling new interpretations and advances in the cha racterization of the contamination. Spatial operations have identified priority areas for future investigations such as; verify that half of the sites lack records of past land use; characterize the rivers and the streams as main discharge zones of the porous aquifers (sediments and saprolite); characterize the main hot spots of chlorinated solvents contamination; and identify the existence of high concentrations in some of the supply wells close to sites that manipulated chlorinated solvents in the past. All these findings contribute to the integrated management of the former ZUPI 131.

Esta tese tem como objetivo estudar a derivatização da celulose sob condições homogêneas, utilizando líquidos iônicos (LIs), em micro-ondas, através de um método simples e reprodutível. Foram estudadas três etapas: i) Síntese dos LIs, buscando otimizar seu preparo; ii) Efeitos da estrutura dos LIs sobre a dissolução de celulose; iii) Otimização da derivatização da celulose em LIs. Foi realizado um planejamento experimental para a otimização da síntese dos LIs, mostrando-se que o uso de solvente molecular como diluente não traz vantagens. Na dissolução de celuloses fibrosas em LIs, observou-se a importância das estruturas dos cátions e ânions destes. Estudou-se a influência de um solvente molecular, DMSO, na reação de derivatização de celulose em LIs e percebeu-se que o uso do mesmo não é vantajoso. Por fim, realizou-se um planejamento experimental da acetilação da celulose, mostrando-se quais fatores mais afetam esse processo: tempo de reação, razão molar de anidrido acético/celulose e temperatura / The work reported has the target of studying the acylation of cellulose under homogeneous reaction conditions. Imidazolium-based ionic Liquids (ILs) were employed as solvents, and the reaction was assisted by a microwave. These following processes have been studied: Optimization of the synthesis of ILs; ii) Effects of the structure of ILs on the dissolution of cellulose; iii) Optimization of cellulose acylation. Experimental design has been applied in order to optimize the synthesis of ILs. The use of DMSO as a diluent decreased the efficiency of the synthesis. Dissolution of cellulose (eucalyptus, mercerized eucalyptus and mercerized cotton) in several ILs has shown the importance of the counter-ion and the structure of the cation side-chain. The addition of DMSO decreased the amount of dissolved cellulose. Experimental design has been applied in order to optimize the acetylation of cellulose. Reaction time, molar ratio acetic anhydride/anhydroglucose unit, and cellulose concentration influenced the reaction outcome.

The primary goal of the research studies conducted was to apply statistical mechanical and computer simulation methods to describe the equilibrium behavior of hazardous dipolar/quadru-polar single-gases and mixtures confined in micro porous adsorbents. Statistical mechanical models capable of handling the energetic heterogeneity by complex electrostatic interactions between adsorbate-adsorbent and adsorbate-adsorbate electrostatic interactions were developed and studied. The heterogeneous pore shape and size of different adsorbents were taken into account by two different approaches described in the following paragraphs. Under certain conditions, the use of Mean Field Perturbation Theories (MFPTs) is more attractive than Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations because of the enhanced physical insights that they offer, as well as very low computational times required. Existing literature shows that the applications of MFPTs for studying adsorption of polar molecules were limited due to the orientation dependency of the intermolecular potentials for electrostatic interactions, that in turn poses the challenging problem of seeking analytical expressions for the various thermodynamic functions involved. Furthermore, other existing approaches of accounting for complex electrostatic interactions through hydrogen bonding have limitations due to the requirement of parameter estimation related to radial distribution functions and the critical orientation values of molecules for hydrogen bonds, which are generally obtained through MC simulations and X-ray scattering techniques. In the first stage of research efforts, an attempt was made to express angle-dependent intermolecular potentials in the form of angle-independent intermolecular potential terms by employing statistical averaging methods. In particular, the permanent dipole-dipole and permanent dipole-induced dipole intermolecular potentials were expressed as angle-averaged intermolecular potentials. Then, angle-averaged intermolecular potentials were used to predict water isotherms in nano-slit pores. Furthermore, the angle-averaged intermolecular potentials were used for a binary mixture of polar molecules (water-methanol) to predict the adsorption behavior in nano-slit pores. However, significant limitations of MFPTs arise when they are used for the study of adsorption in zeolites that exhibit irregular shaped cavities with surface heterogeneities. The latter certainly represent a future meaningful research direction. It should be pointed out, that the mean field approach allows us to predict equilibrium sorption properties in homogeneous adsorbents like graphitic carbon (slit), carbon nano tubes (cylinder) and highly siliceous faujasites (spherical) as they have regular shaped cavities. The applications of such kinds of theory remained limited due to the (generally) unknown distribution of functional sites on adsorbents of interests (mainly activated carbons and zeolites) and their locations in the adsorbent framework. The second stage of research efforts focused on models capable of incorporating surface heterogeneities and addressing complex pore geometries. The models developed relied on Grand Canonical Monte-Carlo (GCMC) simulations. In particular, two types of GCMC simulations were carried out, namely molecular and atomistic MC simulations. Both techniques were applied to simulate sorption isotherms on zeolites and activated carbon to remove mercury chloride (quadrupole), hydrogen cyanide (HCN, dipole) and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK, dipole) from air. The molecular based MC technique utilized molecular properties of the molecules namely dipole, quadrupole moments, molecular polarizability and molecule size (kinetic diameter). The molecule was considered to be a spherical shaped particle. The dispersion interactions were calculated using Vaan der Waals equation and electrostatic interactions were quantified through the multi-pole expansion method. This approach was used to simulate adsorption of HgCl2, HCN and MEK in zeolite NaX and activated carbon with functional sites namely carbonyl, hydroxyl and carboxyls. Simulation results indicated that HgCl2 sorption could be attributed to charge-induced dipole interactions for activated carbon, suggesting that sorbents with more number surface charges can be useful except for the case of carbonyls in which quadrupole moments plays a crucial role in reducing sorbent capacities, in turn implying that relative positions of positively and negatively charged cations are indeed important. However, for zeolite NaX, performance characteristics were primarily attributed to charge-quadrupole interactions and dispersion interactions. Moreover, zeolite-NaX performance characteristics for capturing HCN and MEK were attributed to dipole-Na interactions due to the relatively large dipole moments of the molecules under consideration. In the case of activated carbon, HCN sorption was governed by mainly charge-dipole and charge-induced dipole interactions, and hence, carbons with carboxyls seemed to perform better than hydroxyls and carbonyls. MEK sorption was influenced by dispersion interactions (due to the large polarizability of MEK) and charge-dipole interactions, which makes carbon with carbonyls more efficient rather than carbons with hydroxyls having the same charge densities. However, application of the aforementioned molecular approaches was limited to sorbents with regular shape cavities having some surface heterogeneity such as activated carbons. Finally, in order to account for sorbents with irregular shaped cavities, such as silicalite and mordenite, one needs to use atomistic MC simulations. The atomistic MC technique utilizes appropriate atomic sizes and charges for the molecules under consideration to quantify intermolecular forces among the adsorbate molecules and the atoms of the zeolite framework as well as activated carbon. The dispersion interactions were calculated using the Van-Der Waals equation and electrostatic interactions were quantified through a standard Coulombic equation. The bond distances among atoms were kept fixed but variations in angular movement and dihedral/torsional movements were considered, and appropriate harmonic potentials were used to account for angle bending and torsional effects. The sorption performance was evaluated for mordenite, silicalite and zeolite beta for a Si/Al ratio of 47-197 for both an HCN and MEK system. The results of HCN/MEK sorption suggested that silicalite has greater capacity than that of mordenites .In the case of MEK Zeolite beta with sodium cations, performance was better than that of mordenites and silicalites. Sorption of HCN in silicalite was observed in straight and zigzag channels, and mainly attributable to hydrogen bonding among HCN molecules. The increase in sodium cations however decreases the capacity of silicalite, zeolite beta and mordenite slightly. The sorption of MEK in mordenite was mainly observed in an 12- and 8-member ring channel. It was found that an increase in sodium cations did not increase the sorption capacity of mordenite significantly as most of the cations in mordenite were located in an 8-member ring channel where MEK molecules can not be accommodated properly due to steric effects. However, the sorption of MEK in zeolite beta seemed to be influenced by the presence of sodium cations as most of the cations are at the intersection of two 12 member rings which provide sufficient space to orient MEK molecules at the intersection and maximize electrostatic interactions. The sorption of MEK in silicalite exhibited similar trends as in the case of mordenite, as all cations were at the intersection of straight and zigzag channels . Finally, in the last Section of the Thesis, a comparative assessment was made of all three approaches in terms of their significance in applications and the ease in applying them.