Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a nonpeptidic neurotoxin with a high rate of food poisoning mortality (60%) that has been associated with the consumption of diets from puffer fish and mud snails harbouring TTX-producing bacteria. As this neurotoxin has no known antidote and could not be mitigated by cooking, the only way for safety appears to be the detection of TTX-contaminated fishes at the points of harvest and control. The overall aim of this study was to develop amperometric and impedimetric sensors for TTX based on ionophores and aptamer immobilised on the modified conducting electroactive polyaniline (PANI)/electrode. The undoped polyaniline and poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid) (PSSA) doped electroactive polyanilines were prepared in perchloric acid/acetonitrile and phosphoric acid respectively by electrochemical oxidative polymerisation. Two types of electropolymerisation were applied to prepare the neutral and p-doped PANI−PSSA films composites. The dynamic electroinactivity of TTX was studied which revealed that TTX is not electrochemically active on bare Au, GC, Pt, PG, Ni, Ti and BDD (Boron dopeddiamond) electrodes in acetate buffer pH 4.8. Using ion transfer voltammetry and UV-Vis analysis, the complexation of TTX with two neutral ionophores (sodium ionophore X (NaX) and dibenzo-18-crown6 (B18C6)) was investigated. The cyclic voltammograms (CVs) recorded from ion transfer voltammetry presented no redox peak and no increasing/decreasing current was observed which indicates that no TTX ions transfer from the liquid to the organic phase. In addition, the absorption spectra of the mixture of TTX/NaX and TTX/B18C6 presented the same absorption bands recorded for NaX and B18C6 respectively. Three absorptions bands at 250.4, 278.3, and 370.6 nm for NaX and two at 222.03 and 274.10 nm for B18C6 were observed before and after mixing TTX with NaX and TTX with B18C6 separately. No chemical reaction occurred between the TTX and both ionophores, therefore, sodium ionophore X and dibenzo-18-crown-6 did not form a complex with TTX. Thus, TTX ion sensor cannot be developed based on these two neutral compounds. The electrodynamics of the PANI and PANI−PSSA films electropolymerised on the bare precious metal electrodes were also investigated through various electrochemical techniques. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies in sodium phosphate (SPB) and acetate (OAc) buffer revealed that both neutral and p-doped films synthesized were thin (thickness L < 5 nm in acetate buffer and L < 10 nm in sodium phosphate buffer) film polymers.

L'énergie électrique (de préférence d’origine renouvelable) peut être stockée dans des liaisons chimiques grâce à un électrolyseur approprié. Les réactions typiques comprennent la production d'hydrogène, la production d'hydrocarbures et la synthèse d'ammoniac. Ces électrocarburants permettent de faciliter l'intégration de sources d'énergie renouvelables dans le mix de production électrique. Ils sont compatibles avec l'infrastructure industrielle actuelle et la chaîne d'approvisionnement et peuvent être stockés facilement. En outre, ce procédé est à la fois un moyen de stocker l'électricité dans des liaisons chimiques (vecteurs énergétiques) et une technique de synthèse de composés chimiques à partir de matières premières comme le CO2 plutôt que de ressources fossiles.La thèse s’intéresse au développement de nouveaux catalyseurs moléculaires pour la conversion sélective du CO2 en CO en utilisant uniquement des matériaux abondants sur Terre, comme les porphyrines de Fer. Tout d'abord, les tentatives pour obtenir de nouveaux catalyseurs avec divers substituants sont détaillées. Une fois qu'un catalyseur hydrosoluble actif est identifié, une évaluation des performances est réalisée en utilisant des techniques électrochimiques telles que la voltammétrie cyclique / Electrical energy (preferably issued from renewable sources) can be stored in chemical bonds thanks to an appropriate electrolyzer. Typical reactions include hydrogen generation, the production of hydrocarbons and oxygenates, and ammonia synthesis. Such electrofuels supplement the integration of renewable energy sources in the electrical production mix; they are compatible with the current industrial infrastructure and supply chain, while they can be stored easily. Besides, they may be used either as a means to store the electricity in the chemical bonds of high-energy-content molecules or as various feedstocks to manufacture high value compounds.The thesis focused on the development of new molecular catalysts for the selective CO2-to-CO conversion in water using only earth-abundant materials, namely iron-based porphyrin derivatives. First, successful and unsuccessful attempts to derive new catalysts with various substituents are reviewed. Once an active water-soluble catalyst is identified, a performance assessment is completed using electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry investigations.Then, the immobilization of said catalysts onto the electrode surface is discussed. Once a robust integration in the catalytic film is secured, the coupling with a heterogeneous water-oxidation catalyst can be considered. The subsequent assembly of a whole electrolysis cell is reported, where a cobalt-based film was picked for the anode. Finally, economic perspectives provide a clear, rational basis for future optimization of the device

Glucose and other carbohydrates are some of the most abundant renewable energy sources in the world. The oxidation of carbohydrates in a fuel cell allows their chemical energy to be converted directly into electrical energy. Viologen has been indentified and shows promising ability as an electron-transfer catalyst or mediator for carbohydrate oxidation in an alkaline carbohydrate fuel cell. Building on the previous results, the objective of this work was to develop an immobilization chemistry of viologen onto an electrode and to investigate the catalytic activity for carbohydrate oxidation in direct carbohydrate fuel cells.The immobilization was achieved by electropolymerizing a novel viologen monomer onto an electrode surface. The novel viologen monomer, which functions as a monosubstituted viologen, was synthesized and isolated in-house. Gold-plated nickel wire and graphite disks were used as the substrates for the electropolymerization. SEM, EDAX, XPS and water-contact-angle measurement were used to verify the formation of the coating on the gold and graphite surfaces. The catalytic activity of the immobilized viologen on graphite disk surface was examined using a fuel-cell-like device. The test was operated within the desired pH range for an operating fuel cell; it was found that the immobilized viologen polymer has a low catalytic activity toward oxidizing carbohydrates. In addition, the electrochemical properties of the novel viologen monomer were investigated by the method of cyclic voltammetry, as well as for that of two aminoviologens synthesized in-house. Redox potentials, diffusion coefficients, and heterogeneous electron-transfer rate constants were determined.

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Dopamine and serotonin are two neurotransmitters known to both play a very important role in the human brain. For example, the death of dopamine producing neurons in a region of the brain known as the substantia nigra are known to cause the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Also, many antidepressants are believed to work by increasing the extracellular level of serotonin in the brain. For the first time, it is now possible to measure the release of these two chemicals at sub-second time resolution in a human brain using a technique known as fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, for example from patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrode implantation surgery. In this work, we aimed to assess the feasibility of obtaining veridical dual measurements of serotonin and dopamine from substrates with mixtures of both chemicals. In the wet lab, data was collected on known concentrations of dopamine and serotonin and then used to make models capable of estimating the concentration of both chemicals from the voltammograms recorded in the patients. A method of linear regression known as the elastic net was used to make models from the wet lab data. The wetlab data was used to compare the performance of univariate and multivariate type models over various concentration ranges from 0-8000nM of dopamine and serotonin. Cross validation revealed that the multivariate model outperformed the univariate model both in terms of the linear correlation between predictions and actual values, and pH induced noise. The pH induced noise for the univariate model was 3.4 times greater for dopamine and 4.1 times greater for serotonin than the multivariate model. Raman spectroscopy was also investigated as a possible alternative to fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. Raman spectroscopy could have several benefits over fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, including the ability to chronically implant the measurement probe into a patient's brain and make observations over a long period of time. Raman spectroscopy data was collected on known concentrations of dopamine to investigate its potential in making in vivo measurements, however this data collection failed. Therefore, simulations were made which revealed the potential of the elastic net algorithm to determine the Raman spectra of several neurotransmitters simultaneously, even when they are in mixtures and the spectra are obstructed by the noisy background. The multivariate type model outperformed the univariate type model on Raman spectroscopy data and was able to predict dopamine with an error of 805nM RMS and serotonin with an error of 475nM RMS after being trained on concentrations smaller than 5uM of both dopamine and serotonin. In addition, the original Raman spectra of both neurotransmitters was extracted from the noise and reproduced very accurately by this method. / Master of Science

Fast Fourier transforms are introduced as a.unique digital data handling tool for square wave voltammetry. Theoretical square wave voltammogra.ms were examined to study the effect of experimental parameters in the spatial frequency domain. A new method was developed to determine truncation frequencies. A₀, the first spatial frequency, was shown to be an effective measure of peak height and its use in calibration curves was demonstrated. The real and imaginary spatial frequencies were shown to be sensitive measures of peak position. FFT square wave voltammetry was developed. The technique performs the current differencing scheme in the spatial frequency domain over spatial frequencies which are noise free. The technique was verified experimentally with solutions of lead (II) in HCl and thallium (I) in HNO₃. FFT linear parameter estimation analysis was introduced as a new digital data manipulation technique for fused peak analytical systems. The algorithm was tested theoretically and experimentally on various ratios of lead (II) to thallium (I) in nitric acid where the peak separation is approximately 70 millivolts. The algorithm performs the calculation over noise free spatial frequencies and significantly reduces the complexity of the calculation relative to the conventional case. / Ph. D.

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Development and studies of new electrochemical methods for the detection of various biologically and environmentally relevant substances are the focus of this dissertation. A dual amperometric sensor, capable of the simultaneous, real-time determination of NO and O,2, has been developed and optimized. Many tests were performed in order to reduce cross-talking between the two sensors, and an electro-deposited polymer, poly-5-amino-1-naphthol, was shown to reduce the cross-talking to insignificant levels. The use of bismuth-based electrodes in the detection of various metals has been explored. A bismuth bulk electrode has been developed, optimized, and used for the individual and simultaneous determination of Pb(II), Cd(II), and Zn(II). The fundamental electrochemistry of several bismuth-based electrodes in the system used for Cr(VI) analysis has also been explored, and many interactions among the electrode material, ligand, and analyte were observed, particularly the formation of a soluble bismuth-ligand complex. Electrochemical analysis of Cr(VI) was attempted at all of the bismuth-based electrodes, with success at the thin bismuth film electrode. A series of surface modifications were made to the glassy carbon substrate, in an attempt to remove any co-adsorbed contaminants and to understand the sensitivity of the chromium detection process. Inevitably, it was found that the contaminating source was contaminants in the nitrogen gas used for solution deaeration. Upon switching to argon, detection became highly reproducible and showed strong linearity with the Cr(VI) concentration.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2008. / Principal faculty advisor: George W. Luther, III., College of Marine & Earth Studies. Includes bibliographical references.