@phdthesis{Ahmed2014, author = {Ahmed, Arabe}, title = {Assessing particle deposition in a representative in vitro model of the rat respiratory tract}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-104912}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The aim of this thesis was to develop an in vitro model (IVR) of the rat lung for the purpose of investigating the deposition of drug particles in the rat airways. The model attempted to account for the affect of drug product characteristics and physiological parameters on deposition in the lungs. In addition, the model outputs were compared with in vivo lung deposition results from live rats and in silico predictions using published computer model of lung deposition in pre-clinical species. Initial work focussed on developing an aerosol exposure system capable of dosing small rodent to a range of airborne test materials. The system consists of two main parts; a fluidised bed aerosol generator and connection of the generator output to a nose only exposure chamber capable of accommodating 12 small animals in a single layer. In addition, an aerodynamic particle spectrometer (APS) was installed for continuously measuring the size distribution and airborne concentration of aerosol particles generated in the exposure chamber. System validation showed acceptable degree of variation of the test material tested, Fluorescent Microspheres (FMS) throughout the exposure chamber (CV < 15.0\%). Particle size (MMAD ± GSD) using the APS was shown to be stable throughout the exposure periods. The IVR model developed in this project was based on a number of euthanased (n=7), female Sprague-Dawley rats (weight: 372 ± 56 g), which underwent high-resolution micro-CT scans. The physical model consisted of five sub sections; Extra-Thoracic region containing the snout and nasophyarynx, trachea-bronchial region containing the trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles. All sections of the model were attached to one another in numerical order and housed within a containment unit. At the rear end of the cast, a flexible diaphragm was attached in order to collect the fraction of inhaled particles exiting the TB section and possibly reaching the lung, referred to as the Post-TB section. A study was conducted to assess the influence of inhalation parameters such as the breathing frequency and tidal volume on total and regional dose distribution using FMS as test material. The major finding of this study was the demonstration of the model sensitivity to changes in breathing parameters especially respiratory frequency, where the data showed increased deposition in the peripheral regions of the model with decreased respiratory frequency. Other studies assessed the effect of particle characteristics on deposition on the IVR model, such as particle size, dose increase and formulation changes. The results assessing particle size effect showed a slightly higher deposition levels for the 4µm sized particles versus 2µm sized particles in the head region; 90.8 ± 3.6\% and 88.2 ± 6.6\%. However, this difference did not reach statistical significance (P> 0.05) probably due to the polydispersity of aerosolised FMS particles. In addition, the regional deposition analysis showed an increased lung peripheral deposition with the smaller particles. In addition, the model was shown to be sensitive to changes in formulation composition mediated by inclusion of MgSt. The next stage of work was to validate the model in terms of comparison with lung deposition for in vivo rats. For lung deposition comparison, the absolute amount deposited in the IVR lung model (expressed as µg/kg) was shown to have a reasonably strong correlation with in vivo lung concentration measures (µg/kg); R2= 0.66, P < 0.05. Compounds were predicted well and within 2-folds of the measured lung deposition values. However, knowing the variability in biological systems and the multiple components required to estimate lung doses, predictions within 2-fold of the measured values would seem reasonable In terms of comparison with in silico model predictions using MPPD, similar deposition levels were noted between the two models, particularly when the data was expressed as percentage of total particles inhaled. The data showed the highest deposition levels were noted in the head region (> 80\%) and less than 5.0\% deposition for the peripheral lung fractions. With regards to using the IVR model to assess the relationship between dose, particle size and efficacy, an in vivo study using FP with different particle sizes (2.0 and 4.0 µm) but same doses ( 100 and 1000 µg/kg). This study demonstrated that exposure of rat to FP powder resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of neutrophils in BAL fluids. However, a clear difference in neutrophils suppression was demonstrated for equivalent doses but different particle sizes of FP, where the smaller FP particles (2.0 µm) induced a greater level of neutrophils suppression in comparison with larger FP particles (4.0 µm). In addition, a reasonably good correlation for the relationship between lung deposition in the IVR model and a neutrophils suppression level was demonstrated. Furthermore this data support the hypothesis that regional deposition is an important determinant in efficacy. Therefore, this suggests that the IVR model may be a useful as a tool to describe in vivo efficacy with in vitro data. However, further studies should be conducted to evaluate the validity of this model and relationship. The IVR model has a number of important limitations. First, the model is based on scans up to generation four of the rat respiratory tract as this represented the limits of the micro-CT scanning technology at the time of this study. Therefore deposition in the deeper region of the lung may not be reflected precisely in the IVR model. Second, the regional deposition data generated using the model tended to show an overestimation of deposition in head region and an underestimation of deposition in the peripheral regions of the lung, in comparison with in vivo lung deposition data. Third, the current model does not take into account lung clearance. However, the amount of the drug present in the in vivo lungs is dependent on numerous physiological processes such as dissolution, passive or active absorption into the systemic circulation, binding to lung tissue and mucociliary clearance. Consequently, the results generated using this IVR model for drug molecules with high lung clearance rate should be treated with some caution. Future work extending this research could go in a number of directions. In this research, a representative model of the rat respiratory tract was constructed from analysis of imaging data from a number of euthanised Sprague-Dawley rats. This model represented the "average respiratory tract" in terms of dimensions of Sprague-Dawley rats. However, there is considerable variability in the airway dimensions between rats. This variability encompasses a number of factors such as the strains of rats, sex and age, and disease state. Thus, it may be possible to produce a small number of airway models to represent small and large rats and scaled to represent the extrathoracic and peripheral regions based on literature reports of their dimensions in different rat populations. This approach will then enable the effect of intersubject airway dimensions for different rat populations on aerosol deposition to be thoroughly examined. In addition, due to the limitation of the micro-CT technology used to construct the physical IVR model, detailed morphology only up to generation 4 were captured. However, recent advances in MRI technology, such as the use of in situ-MRI based scanning technology have enabled rat airway morphometry to be extended to 16 airway generation. This coupled with improvements in the resolutions of rapid-prototyping process means it may be possible to construct a rat model that reflects the in vivo lung morphology more accurately, and thus enable greater understanding of the link between aerosol deposition and airway geometry. In conclusion, a model cast of the rat lung was developed and validated to allow the deposition of inhaled particles in the rat lung to be investigated. The model may be used to estimate the lung concentration in vivo rats in preference to exposure concentration measurements based on filter samples which have been shown to be a poor indicator of the lung concentration immediately after exposure. In addition, the model has the potential to be used along with live rats in an inhalation rig in pulmonary pharmaceutics research and may facilitate in development of inhaled formulations to target specific regions within the lung as well as screening of inhaled drugs in preclinical setting.}, subject = {Ratte}, language = {en} } @misc{BleasdalegebGoesswein1976, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {Bleasdale [geb. G{\"o}ßwein], Liselotte}, title = {Versuche zum Mechanismus des Protonentransports in der Purpurmembran von Halobacterium Halobium. Tritium- und Deuteriumaustausch am Protein-gebundenen Retinal}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-144987}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {1976}, abstract = {No abstract available.}, subject = {Halobacterium halobium}, language = {de} } @article{BossertdeBruinGoetzetal.2016, author = {Bossert, Nelli and de Bruin, Donny and G{\"o}tz, Maria and Bouwmeester, Dirk and Heinrich, Doris}, title = {Fluorescence-tunable Ag-DNA biosensor with tailored cytotoxicity for live-cell applications}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {6}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, number = {37897}, doi = {10.1038/srep37897}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-167482}, year = {2016}, abstract = {DNA-stabilized silver clusters (Ag-DNA) show excellent promise as a multi-functional nanoagent for molecular investigations in living cells. The unique properties of these fluorescent nanomaterials allow for intracellular optical sensors with tunable cytotoxicity based on simple modifications of the DNA sequences. Three Ag-DNA nanoagent designs are investigated, exhibiting optical responses to the intracellular environments and sensing-capability of ions, functional inside living cells. Their sequence-dependent fluorescence responses inside living cells include (1) a strong splitting of the fluorescence peak for a DNA hairpin construct, (2) an excitation and emission shift of up to 120 nm for a single-stranded DNA construct, and (3) a sequence robust in fluorescence properties. Additionally, the cytotoxicity of these Ag-DNA constructs is tunable, ranging from highly cytotoxic to biocompatible Ag-DNA, independent of their optical sensing capability. Thus, Ag-DNA represents a versatile live-cell nanoagent addressable towards anti-cancer, patient-specific and anti-bacterial applications.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Bothe2021, author = {Bothe, Sebastian Helmut}, title = {Fragmentbasiertes Design von p97-Liganden: Identifizierung von Startstrukturen zur Entwicklung von Protein-Protein-Interaktionsinhibitoren f{\"u}r die SHP-Bindestelle der AAA+ ATPase p97}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-23911}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-239112}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Die AAA+ ATPase p97 ist ein essenzielles Protein, das an einer Vielzahl zellul{\"a}rer Prozesse beteiligt ist und eine Schl{\"u}sselrolle in der Protein-Hom{\"o}ostase spielt. Die funktionale Diversit{\"a}t von p97 beruht auf der Interaktion zahlreicher unterschiedlicher Kofaktoren, die vorwiegend an die N-Dom{\"a}ne von p97 binden. Aufgrund seiner Bedeutung in der Regulierung diverser physiologischer und pathologischer Prozesse stellt p97 eine interessante Zielstruktur f{\"u}r die Entwicklung neuer Wirkstoffe dar, die insbesondere in der Krebstherapie von Bedeutung sein k{\"o}nnte. Bekannte p97-Inhibitoren greifen vor allem die ATPase-Funktion des Proteins an. Ein neuer pharmakologischer Ansatz stellt die Inhibierung der Kofaktorbindung an die N-Dom{\"a}ne dar. Ein solcher Protein-Protein-Interaktionsinhibitor w{\"a}re nicht nur von therapeutischem Interesse, sondern h{\"a}tte auch einen besonderen Nutzen f{\"u}r die Entschl{\"u}sselung molekularer und zellul{\"a}rer Funktionen von p97-Kofaktoren. In dieser Arbeit wurde ein fragmentbasierter Ansatz f{\"u}r die Identifizierung von chemischen Startstrukturen f{\"u}r die Entwicklung eines Protein-Protein- Interaktionsinhibitors verfolgt. Als Zielstruktur wurde die SHP-Bindestelle in der N-Dom{\"a}ne gew{\"a}hlt. Die Identifizierung von Liganden erfolgte sowohl durch computergest{\"u}tzte Methoden (insbesondere virtuelles Screening und Molekulardynamik-Simulationen) als auch experimentell durch biophysikalische Techniken (wie Biolayer-Interferometrie, R{\"o}ntgenstrukturanalyse und ligandbasierte NMR-Techniken). Die Grundlage des computerbasierten Designs stellte eine Analyse der bekannten Kristallstrukturen der p97-Komplexe mit den SHP-Motiven der Kofaktoren UFD1 und Derlin-1 dar. Dar{\"u}ber hinaus dienten Molekulardynamik-Simulationen der Analyse der Wassereigenschaften innerhalb der SHP-Bindestelle. Darauf aufbauend wurden verschiedene Pharmakophormodelle entwickelt, die die Grundlage des im Anschluss durchgef{\"u}hrten virtuellen Screenings und Dockings bildeten. Anhand der Ergebnisse von Molekulardynamik-Simulationen wurden zehn Verbindungen f{\"u}r die experimentelle Validierung ausgew{\"a}hlt. Hiervon konnten zwei Fragmente in STD-NMR- und Biolayer-Interferometrie-Experimenten als Liganden best{\"a}tigt werden. In einem parallel durchgef{\"u}hrten biophysikalischen Fragmentscreening mittels Biolayer-Interferometrie wurden unter mehr als 650 Verbindungen 22 identifiziert, die an die N-Dom{\"a}ne binden. 15 dieser Fragmente wurden durch einen orthogonalen STD-NMR-Assay best{\"a}tigt. F{\"u}nf dieser Verbindungen zeigten Affinit{\"a}ten mit KD-Werten kleiner 500μMund g{\"u}nstigen Ligandeffizienzen. Des Weiteren konnte die Bindungskinetik und Affinit{\"a}t des in der Literatur als p97-Inhibitor berichteten Naturstoffes Xanthohumol bestimmt und eine Bindung an die N-Dom{\"a}ne best{\"a}tigt werden. Zur Identifizierung m{\"o}glicher Bindestellen dieser f{\"u}nf Fragmente wurden mixed-solvent Molekulardynamik-Simulationen durchgef{\"u}hrt. Diese ergaben, dass alle Verbindungen die SHP-Bindestelle in der N-Dom{\"a}ne adressieren. Die Regionen fielen mit hot spots der Kofaktorwechselwirkungen zusammen und stellen somit m{\"o}gliche Ankerpunkte f{\"u}r die Weiterentwicklung dar. F{\"u}r zwei Fragmente konnten die postulierten Bindestellen mittels R{\"o}ntgenstrukturanalyse bzw. STD-NMR-Messungen an p97-Alanin-Mutanten best{\"a}tigt werden. Die erhaltene R{\"o}ntgenstruktur ist die erste p97-Struktur, die ein gebundenes Fragment an der N-Dom{\"a}ne zeigt.}, subject = {Arzneimitteldesign}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Bozkaya2023, author = {Bozkaya, Beg{\"u}m}, title = {Influence of Carbon Additives on the Electrochemical Performance of Modern Lead-Acid Batteries}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-31917}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-319174}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {In the first part of this thesis, a validation of both short-term and long-term DCA tests on 2 V laboratory cells is focussed. The aim is to improve the laboratory cell level measurement technology for dynamic charge acceptance regarding the investigation of carbon additives. To address this issue, it is crucial to apply carbon additives generating a remarkable difference in charge acceptance. For this purpose, five different carbon additives providing a variation in the specific external surface were included as additives in the negative plates of 2 V lead-acid cells. Both short-term (charge acceptance test 2 from SBA and DCA from EN) and long-term (Run-in DCA from Ford) DCA tests were executed on the lead-acid cells. Further understanding of the mechanism was studied by applying electrochemical methods like cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The second part of this thesis aims to understand the impact of carbon surface functional groups on the electrochemical activity of the negative electrodes as well as the DCA of 2 V lead-acid cells. In order to address this topic, commercially available activated carbon was modified by different chemical treatments to incorporate specific surface functional groups in the carbon structure. A series of activated carbons having a broad range of pH was prepared, which were used as additives in the negative electrodes. The corresponding lead-acid cells were subjected to cyclic voltammetry and DCA test according to EN. Further, the physical and chemical properties of the functionalized carbon additives were intensively analyzed to establish a structure-property relationship with a focus on DCA.}, subject = {Bleiakkumulator}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Boehm2023, author = {B{\"o}hm, Christoph}, title = {Thermal Stability of the Polyesters PCL and PLGA during Melt Electrowriting}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-30613}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-306139}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The focus of this thesis was to investigate how PCL and PLGA react to the heat exposure that comes with the MEW process over a defined timespan. To assess the thermal stability of PCL during MEW over 25 d, an automated collection of fibers has been used to determine the CTS on each day of heating for three different temperatures. PCL is exceptionally stable over 25 d at 75 °C, whereas for 85 °C and 95 °C a slight upward trend during the last 10 d could be observed, which is an indication for thermal degradation. Same trend could be observed for diameter of fibers produced at a fixed collector speed. For all temperatures, CTS during the first 5 d decreased due to inhomogeneities of the melt. Physical analysis of the fibers by XRD and mechanical testing showed no significant changes. To investigate the chemical details of the thermal durability, PCL was artificially aged over 25 d at 75 °C, 85 °C and 95 °C. Data from GPC analysis and rheology revealed that PCL is degrading steadily at all three temperatures. Combined with GC-MS analysis, two different mechanisms for degradation could be observed: random chain scission and unzipping. Additional GPC experiment using a mixture of PCL and a fluorescence labelled PCL showed that PCL was undergoing ester interchange reactions, which could explain its thermal stability. PLGA was established successfully as material for MEW. GPC results revealed that PLGA degraded heavily in the one-hour preheating period. To reduce the processing temperature, ATEC was blended with PLGA in three mixtures. This slowed down degradation and a processing window of 6 h could be established. Mechanical testing with fibers produced with PLGA and all three blends was performed. PLGA was very brittle, whereas the blends showed an elastic behavior. This could be explained by ester interchange reactions that formed a loosely crosslinked network with ATEC.}, subject = {Degradation}, language = {en} } @misc{Christoffel1976, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {Christoffel, Volker}, title = {Rekonstitution des Chromophors und der Funktion von Bakteriorhodopsin aus Halobacterium halobium}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-144908}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, pages = {68}, year = {1976}, abstract = {Ein Modell der lichtgetriebenen Protonenpumpe Bakteriorhodopsin postulierte die direkte Beteiligung der Wasserstoffe in der 4-Stellung des Cyclohexenringes des Retinalchromophors an dem Vorgang der Protonenverschiebung. Mittels Blockaden der Retroform-Bildung von Retinal durch chemische Modifizierungen des Cyclohexenringes (4-Hydroxy-Retinal, 5,6-Epoxy-Retinal) konnten nach Einbau der modifizierten Molek{\"u}le in die isolierte Purpurmembran und nach Zugabe zu Halobakterien mit unterdr{\"u}ckter Retinalsynthese die direkte Beteiligung des Cyclohexenringes an der Protonenpumpe mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit ausgeschlossen werden.}, subject = {Bakteriorhodopsin}, language = {de} } @article{CzyschMedina‐MontanoZhongetal.2022, author = {Czysch, Christian and Medina-Montano, Carolina and Zhong, Zifu and Fuchs, Alexander and Stickdorn, Judith and Winterwerber, Pia and Schmitt, Sascha and Deswarte, Kim and Raabe, Marco and Scherger, Maximilian and Combes, Francis and De Vrieze, Jana and Kasmi, Sabah and Sandners, Niek N. and Lienenklaus, Stefan and Koynov, Kaloian and R{\"a}der, Hans-Joachim and Lambrecht, Bart N. and David, Sunil A. and Bros, Matthias and Schild, Hansj{\"o}rg and Grabbe, Stephan and De Geest, Bruno G. and Nuhn, Lutz}, title = {Transient Lymph Node Immune Activation by Hydrolysable Polycarbonate Nanogels}, series = {Advanced Functional Materials}, volume = {32}, journal = {Advanced Functional Materials}, number = {35}, doi = {10.1002/adfm.202203490}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-287255}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The development of controlled biodegradable materials is of fundamental importance in immunodrug delivery to spatiotemporally controlled immune stimulation but avoid systemic inflammatory side effects. Based on this, polycarbonate nanogels are developed as degradable micellar carriers for transient immunoactivation of lymph nodes. An imidazoquinoline-type TLR7/8 agonist is covalently conjugated via reactive ester chemistry to these nanocarriers. The nanogels not only provide access to complete disintegration by the hydrolysable polymer backbone, but also demonstrate a gradual disintegration within several days at physiological conditions (PBS, pH 6.4-7.4, 37 °C). These intrinsic properties limit the lifetime of the carriers but their payload can still be successfully leveraged for immunological studies in vitro on primary immune cells as well as in vivo. For the latter, a spatiotemporal control of immune cell activation in the draining lymph node is found after subcutaneous injection. Overall, these features render polycarbonate nanogels a promising delivery system for transient activation of the immune system in lymph nodes and may consequently become very attractive for further development toward vaccination or cancer immunotherapy. Due to the intrinsic biodegradability combined with the high chemical control during the manufacturing process, these polycarbonate-based nanogels may also be of great importance for clinical translation.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Englbrecht2014, author = {Englbrecht, Clemens}, title = {Biochemische Rekonstitution und funktionelle Charakterisierung der Zusammenlagerungsmaschinerie spleißosomaler U snRNPs}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-98168}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Das Spleißen von pr{\"a}-mRNAs stellt in der Expression eukaryontischer Gene einen essentiellen Reifungsschritt dar. Erst durch das exakte Entfernen von nicht-kodierenden Introns und Verbinden der kodierenden Exons kann die genetische Information am Ribosom in funktionelle Proteine umgesetzt werden. Spleißen wird durch das Spleißosom katalysiert, welches sich aus den small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) U1, U2, U4, U5 und U6 und einer großen Anzahl weiterer Proteinfaktoren zusammensetzt. Die snRNPs bestehen aus einer Uridin-reichen snRNA, spezifischen und generellen (Sm-)Proteinen. Die Sm-Proteine B/B`, D1, D2, D3, E, F, und G bilden einen heptameren Ring um die sog. Sm-Bindungsstelle der snRNAs. W{\"a}hrend die Zusammenlagerung von Sm-Proteinen mit der RNA in vitro spontan ablaufen kann, wird dieser Prozess in vivo von zwei makromolekularen Proteinkomplexen assistiert, die als PRMT5- bzw. SMN-Komplex bezeichnet werden. Der PRMT5-Komplex (bestehend aus PRMT5, WD45 und pICln) agiert in der fr{\"u}hen Phase der Zusammenlagerung. Seine Hauptfunktion ist die symmetrische Dimethylierung der Sm-Proteine und die Stabilisierung von Sm-Proteinkomplexen durch das Chaperon pICln in zwei Intermediaten. Einhergehend mit dieser Aktivit{\"a}t werden auch Aggregation bzw. unspezifische Wechselwirkungen der Sm-Proteine mit RNAs verhindert. In der sp{\"a}ten Phase der Zusammenlagerung l{\"o}st der SMN-Komplex (bestehend aus SMN, Gemin2-8 und unrip) pICln-Intermediate auf, wobei dieser die Sm-Proteine en bloc {\"u}bernimmt und sie auf die snRNA {\"u}bertr{\"a}gt. W{\"a}hrend dieser Reaktion wird pICln aus den Komplexen verdr{\"a}ngt. Ein Fehlen des SMN-Proteins, einer Schl{\"u}sselkomponente des SMN-Komplexes, f{\"u}hrt zur autosomal rezessiven Erbkrankheit `Spinale Muskelatrophie` (SMA) wobei der Schweregrad der Krankheit invers mit der Menge an funktionellem SMN-Protein korreliert. Es wird vermutet, dass eine gest{\"o}rte snRNP-Biogenese die Ursache der SMA ist. In der vorliegenden Arbeit sollte die U snRNP-Zusammenlagerungsmaschinerie aus rekombinanten Bausteinen rekonstituiert werden und so funktionellen und strukturellen Studien zug{\"a}nglich gemacht werden. Folgende Resultate wurden in dieser Arbeit erhalten: 1) Im ersten Teil der Arbeit wurde eine experimentelle Strategie etabliert, welche die Rekonstitution des humanen SMN-Komplexes aus rekombinanten Untereinheiten erlaubte. Entscheidend hierf{\"u}r war die Definition von Subkomplexen aufgrund einer Protein-Interaktionskarte. Die Subkomplexe konnten separat hergestellt und anschließend zum Gesamtkomplex vereinigt werden. 2) Die erfolgreiche Etablierung eines rekonstitutiven Systems erlaubte eine detaillierte biochemische Charakterisierung des SMN-Komplexes. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass der rekombinante Komplex alle f{\"u}r die Biogenese von U snRNPs n{\"o}tigen Schritte bewerkstelligen konnte. Dies schließt sowohl die {\"U}bernahme der Sm-Proteine aus den pICln-Intermediaten als auch das Verdr{\"a}ngen des Chaperons pICln und die {\"U}bertragung der Sm-Proteine auf die snRNAs ein. 3) Durch die Reduzierung des SMN-Gesamtkomplexes um Gemin3-5 auf einen SMN-Pentamer konnte dieser als ein funktioneller Kernbereich identifiziert werden, der die einzelnen Schritte der U snRNP-Biogenese vergleichbar mit dem gesamten Komplex bewerkstelligen konnte. Zudem agierte dieser reduzierte Komplex als notwendiger und ausreichender Spezifit{\"a}tsfaktor der RNP-Zusammenlagerung. 4) Das rekombinante System erm{\"o}glichte erstmals SMN-Komplexe mit SMA-pathogenen Mutationen herzustellen und einer eingehenden funktionellen und strukturellen Untersuchung zu unterziehen. Die detaillierte Analyse der SMA-verursachenden Punktmutation SMN(E134K) offenbarte spezifische Defekte im Zusammenlagerungsprozess und damit Einblicke in die Pathophysiologie der Krankheit. Mit der im Rahmen dieser Arbeit etablierten Rekonstitution des rekombinanten SMN-Komplexes wurde die Grundlage f{\"u}r die detaillierte biochemische und strukturbiologische Untersuchung der Zusammenlagerungsmaschinerie spleißosomaler U snRNPs gelegt. Dieses experimentelle System wird auch bei der Aufdeckung der biochemischen Defekte hilfreich sein, die zur neuromuskul{\"a}ren Krankheit SMA f{\"u}hren.}, subject = {Small nuclear RNP}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Feineis2018, author = {Feineis, Susanne}, title = {Thioether-poly(glycidol) as multifunctional coating system for gold nanoparticles}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-172902}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2018}, abstract = {The aim of this thesis was the development of a multifunctional coating system for AuNPs based on thioether polymers, providing both excellent colloidal stability and a variable possibility to introduce functionalities for biological applications. First, two thioether-polymer systems were synthesised as a systematic investigation into colloidal stabilisation efficacy. Besides commonly used monovalent poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-SR), its structural analogue linear poly(glycidol) (PG-SR) bearing multiple statistically distributed thioether moieties along the backbone was synthesised. Additionally, respective thiol analogues (PEG-SH and PG-SH) were produced and applied as reference. Successive modification of varyingly large AuNPs with aforementioned thiol- and thioether-polymers was performed via ligand exchange reaction on citrate stabilised AuNPs. An increased stabilisation efficacy of both thioether-polymers against biological and physiological conditions, as well as against freeze-drying compared to thiol analogues was determined. Based on the excellent colloidal stabilisation efficacy and multi-functionalisability of thioether-PG, a plethora of functional groups, such as charged groups, hydrophilic/hydrophobic chains, as well as bio-active moieties namely diazirine and biotin was introduced to the AuNP surface. Moreover, the generic and covalent binding of diazirine-modified PG-SR with biomolecules including peptides and proteins was thoroughly demonstrated. Lastly, diverse applicability and bioactivity of aforementioned modified particles in various studies was displayed, once more verifying the introduction of functionalities. On the one hand the electrostatic interaction of charged AuNPs with hydrogels based on hyaluronic acid was applied to tune the release kinetics of particles from three-dimensional scaffolds. On the other hand the strong complexation of siRNA onto two positively charged AuNPs was proven. The amount of siRNA payload was tuneable by varying the surface charge, ionic strength of the surrounding medium and the N/P ratio. Moreover, the biological activity and selectivity of the biotin-streptavidin conjugation was verified with respectively functionalised particles in controlled agglomeration test and in laser-triggered cell elimination experiments. In the latter, streptavidin-functionalised AuNPs resulted in excellent depletion of biotinylated cells whereas unfunctionalised control particles failed, excluding unspecific binding of these particles to the cell surface.}, subject = {Nanopartikel}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{FlatenAndersen2013, author = {Fl{\aa}ten Andersen, Hanne}, title = {New Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-101434}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Over the last decades, lithium-ion batteries have grown more important and substituted other energy storage systems. Due to advantages such as high energy density and low self-discharge, the lithium-ion battery has taken its part in the rechargeable energy storage market, and it is now found in most laptops, cameras and mobile phones. With the increasing demands for electrical vehicles and stationary energy storage systems, there is a necessity for improved lithium-ion battery materials. In this thesis several alternative electrode materials have been examined with a main focus on the electrochemical characterisation. As an alternative to the commercial cathode LiCoO2, the LiMn2O4 cathode has been suggested due to its reduced toxicity, material abundance, reduced costs and increased specific capacity. On the anode side, several Sn-containing anodes have been investigated and steps to overcome the main challenge, the great volume expansion upon cycling, have been taken. In addition, a novel anode material group was synthesised at the University of Marburg and two substances of the lithium chalcogenidometalate networks were successfully characterised. The cathode material, LiMn2O4, was synthesised via the sol-gel technique and several coating methods such as dip-coating, electrophoretics and infiltration were investigated. The LiMn2O4 material was initially coated on a porous metal foam as a current collector, thus providing new possibilities as the porosity of the substrate increased, mechanical stability and adhesion improved and a 3-dimensional network was obtained. In order to compare the results of the LiMn2O4 cathode material on the novel current collector, the material was also coated on a standard metallic foil and characterised. The analysis followed via X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, thermogravimetrical analysis and several electrochemical techniques. Tin containing anode materials were chosen due to the doubling of the theoretical capacity compared with the commercially used graphite. However, a great challenge lies with using tin or tin-containing anode materials. Upon lithiation of Sn, the material can expand up to 300 \%, therefore a stabilising effect is necessary to avoid a collapse of the material. This work shows several new concepts and attempts to overcome this challenge, including SnO2 nanowires deposited via chemical vapour deposition on both metallic foam and standard current collectors. A new improvement consisted of the tin - carbon nanofibers where the nanofibers form a stabilising matrix that can partially buffer the volume change of the Sn particles. The synthesis of the Sn-containing anodes took place at the University of Cologne, while characterisation, cell preparation and optimising the electrode system were features of this thesis. In addition, a lithium chalcogenidometalate network proved to be an interesting, new anode material group. Both Li4MnSn2Se7 and Li4MnGe2S7 (synthesised at Philipps-Universit{\"a}t Marburg) were electrochemically examined to better understand the lithiation processes. Both materials obtained very high specific capacities and were found to be possible alternatives to the state-of-the art anodes. All the examined electrode materials were found to have some advantage over the commercially used LiCoO2 and graphite electrodes, and a thorough characterization of the materials was performed to understand the processes that took place.}, subject = {Lithium-Ionen-Akkumulator}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Gold2023, author = {Gold, Lukas}, title = {Methods for the state estimation of lithium-ion batteries}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-30618}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-306180}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {This work introduced the reader to all relevant fields to tap into an ultrasound-based state of charge estimation and provides a blueprint for the procedure to achieve and test the fundamentals of such an approach. It spanned from an in-depth electrochemical characterization of the studied battery cells over establishing the measurement technique, digital processing of ultrasonic transmission signals, and characterization of the SoC dependent property changes of those signals to a proof of concept of an ultrasound-based state of charge estimation. The State of the art \& theoretical background chapter focused on the battery section on the mechanical property changes of lithium-ion batteries during operation. The components and the processes involved to manufacture a battery cell were described to establish the fundamentals for later interrogation. A comprehensive summary of methods for state estimation was given and an emphasis was laid on mechanical methods, including a critical review of the most recent research on ultrasound-based state estimation. Afterward, the fundamentals of ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation were introduced, starting with the sound propagation modes in isotropic boundary-free media, followed by the introduction of boundaries and non-isotropic structure to finally approach the class of fluid-saturated porous media, which batteries can be counted to. As the processing of the ultrasonic signals transmitted through lithium-ion battery cells with the aim of feature extraction was one of the main goals of this work, the fundamentals of digital signal processing and methods for the time of flight estimation were reviewed and compared in a separate section. All available information on the interrogated battery cell and the instrumentation was collected in the Experimental methods \& instrumentation chapter, including a detailed step-by-step manual of the process developed in this work to create and attach a sensor stack for ultrasonic interrogation based on low-cost off-the-shelf piezo elements. The Results \& discussion chapter opened with an in-depth electrochemical and post-mortem interrogation to reverse engineer the battery cell design and its internal structure. The combination of inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry and incremental capacity analysis applied to three-electrode lab cells, constructed from the studied battery cell's materials, allowed to identify the SoC ranges in which phase transitions and staging occur and thereby directly links changes in the ultrasonic signal properties with the state of the active materials, which makes this work stand out among other studies on ultrasound-based state estimation. Additional dilatometer experiments were able to prove that the measured effect in ultrasonic time of flight cannot originate from the thickness increase of the battery cells alone, as this thickness increase is smaller and in opposite direction to the change in time of flight. Therefore, changes in elastic modulus and density have to be responsible for the observed effect. The construction of the sensor stack from off-the-shelf piezo elements, its electromagnetic shielding, and attachment to both sides of the battery cells was treated in a subsequent section. Experiments verified the necessity of shielding and its negligible influence on the ultrasonic signals. A hypothesis describing the metal layer in the pouch foil to be the transport medium of an electrical coupling/distortion between sending and receiving sensor was formulated and tested. Impedance spectroscopy was shown to be a useful tool to characterize the resonant behavior of piezo elements and ensure the mechanical coupling of such to the surface of the battery cells. The excitation of the piezo elements by a raised cosine (RCn) waveform with varied center frequency in the range of 50 kHz to 250 kHz was studied in the frequency domain and the influence of the resonant behavior, as identified prior by impedance spectroscopy, on waveform and frequency content was evaluated to be uncritical. Therefore, the forced oscillation produced by this excitation was assumed to be mechanically coupled as ultrasonic waves into the battery cells. The ultrasonic waves transmitted through the battery cell were recorded by piezo elements on the opposing side. A first inspection of the raw, unprocessed signals identified the transmission of two main wave packages and allowed the identification of two major trends: the time of flight of ultrasonic wave packages decreases with the center frequency of the RCn waveform, and with state of charge. These trends were to be assessed further in the subsequent sections. Therefore, methods for the extraction of features (properties) from the ultrasonic signals were established, compared, and tested in a dedicated section. Several simple and advanced thresholding methods were compared with envelope-based and cross-correlation methods to estimate the time of flight (ToF). It was demonstrated that the envelope-based method yields the most robust estimate for the first and second wave package. This finding is in accordance with the literature stating that an envelope-based method is best suited for dispersive, absorptive media [204], to which lithium-ion batteries are counted. Respective trends were already suggested by the heatmap plots of the raw signals vs. RCn frequency and SoC. To enable such a robust estimate, an FIR filter had to be designed to preprocess the transmitted signals and thereby attenuate frequency components that verifiably lead to a distorted shape of the envelope. With a robust ToF estimation method selected, the characterization of the signal properties ToF and transmitted energy content (EC) was performed in-depth. A study of cycle-to-cycle variations unveiled that the signal properties are affected by a long rest period and the associated relaxation of the multi-particle system "battery cell" to equilibrium. In detail, during cycling, the signal properties don't reach the same value at a given SoC in two subsequent cycles if the first of the two cycles follows a long rest period. In accordance with the literature, a break-in period, making up for more than ten cycles post-formation, was observed. During this break-in period, the mechanical properties of the system are said to change until a steady state is reached [25]. Experiments at different C-rate showed that ultrasonic signal properties can sense the non-equilibrium state of a battery cell, characterized by an increasing area between charge and discharge curve of the respective signal property vs. SoC plot. This non-equilibrium state relaxes in the rest period following the discharge after the cut-off voltage is reached. The relaxation in the rest period following the charge is much smaller and shows little C-rate dependency as the state is prepared by constant voltage charging at the end of charge voltage. For a purely statistical SoC estimation approach, as employed in this work, where only instantaneous measurements are taken into account and the historic course of the measurement is not utilized as a source of information, the presence of hysteresis and relaxation leads to a reduced estimation accuracy. Future research should address this issue or even utilize the relaxation to improve the estimation accuracy, by incorporating historic information, e.g., by using the derivative of a signal property as an additional feature. The signal properties were then tested for their correlation with SoC as a function of RCn frequency. This allowed identifying trends in the behavior of the signal properties as a function of RCn frequency and C-rate in a condensed fashion and thereby enabled to predict the frequency range, about 50 kHz to 125 kHz, in which the course of the signal properties is best suited for SoC estimation. The final section provided a proof of concept of the ultrasound-based SoC estimation, by applying a support vector regression (SVR) to before thoroughly studied ultrasonic signal properties, as well as current and battery cell voltage. The included case study was split into different parts that assessed the ability of an SVR to estimate the SoC in a variety of scenarios. Seven battery cells, prepared with sensor stacks attached to both faces, were used to generate 14 datasets. First, a comparison of self-tests, where a portion of a dataset is used for training and another for testing, and cross-tests, which use the dataset of one cell for training and the dataset of another for testing, was performed. A root mean square error (RMSE) of 3.9\% to 4.8\% SoC and 3.6\% to 10.0\% SoC was achieved, respectively. In general, it was observed that the SVR is prone to overestimation at low SoCs and underestimation at high SoCs, which was attributed to the pronounced hysteresis and relaxation of the ultrasonic signal properties in this SoC ranges. The fact that higher accuracy is achieved, if the exact cell is known to the model, indicates that a variation between cells exists. This variation between cells can originate from differences in mechanical properties as a result of production variations or from differences in manual sensor placement, mechanical coupling, or resonant behavior of the ultrasonic sensors. To mitigate the effect of the cell-to-cell variations, a test was performed, where the datasets of six out of the seven cells were combined as training data, and the dataset of the seventh cell was used for testing. This reduced the spread of the RMSE from (3.6 - 10.0)\% SoC to (5.9 - 8.5)\% SoC, respectively, once again stating that a databased approach for state estimation becomes more reliable with a large data basis. Utilizing self-tests on seven datasets, the effect of additional features on the state estimation result was tested. The involvement of an additional feature did not necessarily improve the estimation accuracy, but it was shown that a combination of ultrasonic and electrical features is superior to the training with these features alone. To test the ability of the model to estimate the SoC in unknown cycling conditions, a test was performed where the C-rate of the test dataset was not included in the training data. The result suggests that for practical applications it might be sufficient to perform training with the boundary of the use cases in a controlled laboratory environment to handle the estimation in a broad spectrum of use cases. In comparison with literature, this study stands out by utilizing and modifying off-the-shelf piezo elements to equip state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery cells with ultrasonic sensors, employing a range of center frequencies for the waveform, transmitted through the battery cell, instead of a fixed frequency and by allowing the SVR to choose the frequency that yields the best result. The characterization of the ultrasonic signal properties as a function of RCn frequency and SoC and the assignment of characteristic changes in the signal properties to electrochemical processes, such as phase transitions and staging, makes this work unique. By studying a range of use cases, it was demonstrated that an improved SoC estimation accuracy can be achieved with the aid of ultrasonic measurements - thanks to the correlation of the mechanical properties of the battery cells with the SoC.}, subject = {Lithium-Ionen-Akkumulator}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Grotz2013, author = {Grotz, Michael}, title = {Synthese und Charakterisierung abiotischer Foldamere und ihrer Bausteine f{\"u}r die Nutzung in biologischen Systemen}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96486}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Synthese, Charakterisierung und Untersuchung von Foldameren und ihren Untereinheiten im Rahmen des FOLDAPPI-Projekts (Foldamers against Protein-Protein Interaction). Des Weiteren wurden neuartig substituierte Chinoline dargestellt, um sie im Rahmen des SFB 630 auf ihre Hemmwirkung gegen Leishmanien und Trypanosomen zu untersuchen. Im ersten Projekt wurde ein neuartiges Monomer entwickelt, welches die Wasserl{\"o}slichkeit der Foldamere verbessern sollte. Zu diesem Zweck wurde eine zus{\"a}tzliche, hoch polare Seitenkette in den Chinolingrundk{\"o}rper eingef{\"u}hrt. Dieses modifizierte Monomer konnte erfolgreich synthetisiert werden. Um die Verbesserung der Wasserl{\"o}slichkeit gegen{\"u}ber dem zuvor verwendeten Monomer zu testen, wurde erfolgreich ein Tetramer daraus aufgebaut. Das entsch{\"u}tzte Tetramer konnte jedoch aufgrund seiner hohen Polarit{\"a}t nicht ausreichend gereinigt werden, um die abschließenden L{\"o}slichkeitsuntersuchungen durchzuf{\"u}hren. Um dieses Problem zu umgehen, wurde von der Umsetzung in L{\"o}sung auf Reaktionen an der Festphase gewechselt, was die Reinigung der Produkte wesentlich erleichtern sollte. Dabei wurde eine vom Arbeitskreis von I. Huc neu entwickelte mikrowellengest{\"u}tzte Methode verwendet. Das Referenzmolek{\"u}l mit den bisher verwendeten Seitenketten konnte so ohne Probleme synthetisiert und seine L{\"o}slichkeit in Wasser bestimmt werden. Beim neu entwickelten Monomer kam es allerdings beim Aufbau des Tetrameres zu einer Zersetzungsreaktion, weshalb das abschließende Ziel nicht erreicht werden konnte. Im zweiten Projekt wurden zwei Ziele angestrebt: Zun{\"a}chst sollte ein Weg gefunden werden, die Einf{\"u}hrung der Seitenketten an den Chinolinen erst an der festen Phase vorzunehmen, wodurch viele Syntheseschritte bei der Vorbereitung der Monomere gespart werden k{\"o}nnten. Zus{\"a}tzlich sollte eine neue Kupplungsreaktion entwickelt werden, wodurch der Entsch{\"u}tzungsschritt des zu kuppelnden Amins an der Festphase eingespart werden kann. Dadurch w{\"u}rde vor allem bei großen Foldameren das Harz geschont und die Gefahr einer Degenerierung wesentlich verringert. F{\"u}r die Kupplungsreaktion vorgesehen war ein azidfunktionalisiertes Monomer, das mittels Staudinger-Reaktion verkn{\"u}pft werden sollte. Das entsprechende Monomer konnte erfolgreich synthetisiert werden. Auch das erste Ziel, die Einf{\"u}hrung der Seitenkette an der Festphase, konnte erfolgreich durchgef{\"u}hrt werden. Leider war die Verwirklichung beider Ziele {\"u}ber die gleiche Syntheseroute nicht ohne weiteres m{\"o}glich. Da das Monomer ohne die Seitenkette deutlich hydrophiler wurde, w{\"a}re eine Trocknungsmethode bei erh{\"o}hter Temperatur von Vorteil gewesen, um gebundenes Wasser vollst{\"a}ndig zu entfernen. Da das Monomer allerdings auch eine Azidfunktion tr{\"a}gt und sich bei 130 °C explosionsartig zersetzt, war dies nicht m{\"o}glich. Allerdings gen{\"u}gen bereits geringe Spuren von Feuchtigkeit, um die Staudinger-Reaktion zu beeintr{\"a}chtigten. Deshalb konnte das zweite Projektziel nicht verwirklicht werden. Im dritten Projekt wurde die Herstellung einer großen Foldamer-Bibliothek f{\"u}r die Untersuchung der Bindungsaffinit{\"a}t gegen{\"u}ber IL-4 angestrebt. Sie sollte aus 48 Hexameren bestehen, wobei an drei Monomeren die Seitenketten variiert werden sollten, um ein breites Spektum an verschiedenen Kombinationen von Wechselwirkungen abzudecken. Dazu wurden zun{\"a}chst vier verschiedene Monomere synthetisiert, welche eine aromatisch, eine unpolare, eine anionische bzw. eine kationische Seitenkette enthielten. F{\"u}r die Kupplung der Foldamere wurde eine an die Synthese von Aminos{\"a}uresequenzen angelehnte Methode entwickelt und erfolgreich angewandt. So konnten alle 48 Foldamere erfolgreich synthetisiert und 46 von ihnen in ausreichenden Mengen f{\"u}r die Untersuchung an IL-4 gereinigt werden. Leider liegen f{\"u}r diese Bibliothek bisher keine abschließenden Ergebnisse {\"u}ber die Inhibitionseigenschaften gegen{\"u}ber IL-4 vor. Strukturell sehr {\"a}hnliche Foldamere zeigten jedoch in ersten Experimenten eine Inhibition von IL-4 was eine Wirksamkeit der neu erstellten Bibliothek vermuten l{\"a}sst. Das vierte Projekt wurde im Rahmen des SFB 630 durchgef{\"u}hrt. Hierzu wurden einige der urspr{\"u}nglich f{\"u}r andere Projekte hergestellten Foldamere ausgew{\"a}hlt, teilweise entsch{\"u}tzt bzw. an der Nitrogruppe reduziert und anschließend auf Ihre Aktivit{\"a}t gegen Leishmanien und Trypanosomen getestet. Es zeigte sich, dass das verwendete Substitutionsmuster, in den gestesteten Konzentrationen nicht gegen Leishmanien und Trypanosomen wirksam ist. Es eignet sich also nicht f{\"u}r die Erstellung einer neuen Leitstruktur gegen diese beiden Erreger. Allerdings trat im untersuchten Konzentrationsbereich auch keine Zytotoxizit{\"a}t auf, was eine interessante Information f{\"u}r die Verwendung der Foldamere und ihrer Bausteine in biologischen Systemen darstellt.}, subject = {Foldamere}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Hahn2022, author = {Hahn, Lukas}, title = {Novel Thermoresponsive Hydrogels Based on Poly(2-oxazoline)s and Poly(2-oxazine)s and their Application in Biofabrication}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-27129}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-271299}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2022}, abstract = {In this work, the influence of aromatic structures on drug encapsulation, self-assembly and hydrogel formation was investigated. The physically crosslinked gelling systems were characterized and optimized for the use in biofabrication and applied in initial (bio)printing experiments. Chapter I: The cytocompatible (first in vitro and in vivo studies) amphiphile PMeOx-b-PBzOx-b- PMeOx (A-PBzOx-A) was used for the solubilization of PTX, schizandrin A (SchA), curcumin (CUR), niraparib and HS-173. Chapter II: Compared to the polymers A-PPheOx-A, A-PBzOx-A and A-PBzOzi-A, only the polymer A-PPheOzi-A showed a reversible temperature- and concentration-dependent inverse thermogelation, which is accompanied by a morphology change from long wormlike micelles in the gel to small spherical micelles in solution. The worm formation results from novel interactions between the hydrophilic and hydrophobic aromatic polymer blocks. Changes in the hydrophilic block significantly alter the gel system. Rheological properties can be optimized by concentration and temperature, which is why the hydrogel was used to significantly improve the printability and stability of Alg in a blend system. Chapter III: By extending the side chain of the aromatic hydrophobic block, the inverse thermogelling polymer A-poly(2-phenethyl-2-oxazoline)-A (A-PPhenEtOx-A) is obtained. Rapid gelation upon cooling is achieved by inter-correlating spherical micelles. Based on ideal rheological properties, first cytocompatible bioprinting experiments were performed in combination with Alg. The polymers A- poly(2-benzhydryl-2-oxazoline)-A (A-PBhOx-A) and A-poly(2-benzhydryl-2-oxazine) (A-PBhOzi-A) are characterized by two aromatic benzyl units per hydrophobic repeating unit. Only the polymer A- PBhOzi-A exhibited inverse thermogelling behavior. Merging micelles could be observed by electron microscopy. The system was rheologically characterized and discussed with respect to an application in 3D printing. Chapter IV: The thermogelling POx/POzi system, in particular the block copolymer PMeOx-b- PnPrOzi, was used in different applications in the field of biofabrication. The introduction of maleimide and furan units along the hydrophilic polymer part ensured additional stabilization by Diels-Alder crosslinking after the printing process.}, subject = {Polymer Science}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Halmen2021, author = {Halmen, Norbert}, title = {Vernetzungsgrad unter der Lupe : Zerst{\"o}rungsfreie Pr{\"u}fung mit unilateraler NMR}, publisher = {W{\"u}rzburg University Press}, address = {W{\"u}rzburg}, isbn = {978-3-95826-160-0}, doi = {10.25972/WUP-978-3-95826-161-7}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-233506}, school = {W{\"u}rzburg University Press}, pages = {xv, 182}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Der Vernetzungsgrad von Klebstoffen und strahlenvernetzter Kunststoffformteile beeinflusst zahlreiche Materialeigenschaften und ist von essenzieller Bedeutung f{\"u}r die Funktionalit{\"a}t von Klebeverbindungen und die Best{\"a}ndigkeit medizinischer Implantate. Die zerst{\"o}rungsfreie Pr{\"u}fung dieser Qualit{\"a}tsgr{\"o}ße ist von großem industriellem Interesse, aber noch nicht Stand der Technik. Die unilaterale Kernspinresonanz (uNMR) ist ein vielversprechendes Verfahren zur L{\"o}sung dieser Problematik. In diesem Buch wird die nicht-invasive Vernetzungsgradpr{\"u}fung von strahlenvernetztem UHMWPE und verschiedenen Klebstoffen mittels uNMR demonstriert. Auf Basis der guten Korrelation mit praxisrelevanten Referenzmethoden (thermisch, rheologisch, dielektrisch) wurden Vergleichsmodelle entwickelt, welche Anwendern von Klebstoffen und vernetzten Kunststoffformteilen den Einsatz der uNMR zur zerst{\"o}rungsfreien Qualit{\"a}tssicherung erm{\"o}glichen.}, subject = {Magnetische Kernresonanz}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{He2024, author = {He, Feng}, title = {Drug Discovery based on Oxidative Stress and HDAC6 for Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-25349}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-253497}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Most antioxidants reported so far only achieved limited success in AD clinical trials. Growing evidences suggest that merely targeting oxidative stress will not be sufficient to fight AD. While multi-target directed ligands could synergistically modulate different steps in the neurodegenerative process, offering a promising potential for treatment of this complex disease. Fifteen target compounds have been designed by merging melatonin and ferulic acid into the cap group of a tertiary amide HDAC6 inhibitor. Compound 10b was screened as the best hybrid molecule exhibit potent HDAC6 inhibition and potent antioxidant capacity. Compound 10b also alleviated LPS-induced microglia inflammation and led to a switch from neurotoxic M1 to the neuroprotective M2 microglial phenotype. Moreover, compound 10b show pronounced attenuation of spatial working memory and long-term memory damage in an in vivo AD mouse model. Compound 10b can be a potentially effective drug candidate for treatment of AD and its druggability worth to be further studied. We have designed ten novel neuroprotectants by hybridizing with several common antioxidants, including ferulic acid, melatonin, lipoic acid, and trolox. The trolox hybrid compound exhibited the most potent neuroprotective effects in multiple neuroprotection assays. Besides, we identified the synergistic effects between trolox and vitamin K derivative, and our trolox hybrid compound showed comparable neuroprotection with the mixture of trolox and vitamin K derivative. We have designed and synthesized 24 quinone derivatives based on five kinds of different quinones including ubiquinone, 2,3,5-trimethyl-1,4-benzoquinone, memoquin, thymoquinone, and anthraquinone. Trimethylbenzoquinone and thymoquinone derivatives showed more potent neuroprotection than other quinones in oxytosis assay. Therefore, trimethylbenzoquinone and thymoquinone derivatives can be used as lead compounds for further mechanism study and drug discovery for treatment of neurodegenerative disease. We designed a series of photoswitchable HDAC inhibitors, which could be effective molecular tools due to the high spatial and temporal resolution. In total 23 target compounds were synthesized and photophysicochemically characterized. Azoquinoline-based compounds possess more thermally stable cis-isomers in buffer solution, which were further tested in enzyme-based HDAC inhibition assay. However, none of those tested compounds show significant differences in activities between trans-isomers and corresponding cis-isomers.}, subject = {Alzheimerkrankheit}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{HorvatCsotigebHorvat2021, author = {Horvat-Cs{\´o}ti [geb. Horvat], Sonja}, title = {Development of Nanocarriers for Treatment and Diagnostics of Aspergillosis}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-23821}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-238218}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2021}, abstract = {This thesis aimed to evaluate the possibility to use nanoparticles as antifungal drug carriers as well as their potential application in screening and diagnostics of invasive aspergillosis. The interaction of nanogels, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs) and gold nanoparticles (GNP) with fungal-specific polysaccharides, cells and biofilms was investigated. Firstly, it was evaluated how the charge of nanogels influence their interaction with fungal cells. Linear poly(glycidol)s (pG) and poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) (pMOx) polymers were synthesized and further functionalized with thiol groups for preparation of redox responsive nanogels. Results showed that negatively charged nanogels were internalized by the fungi to a much greater extent than positively charged ones. Furthermore, it was investigated how amphiphilicity of polymers used for preparation of nanogels influences nanogel-fungi interaction. It was concluded that nanogels prepared from polymers with degree of functionalization of 10\% had the strongest interaction, regardless the length of the alkyl chain. Moreover, amphotericin B-loaded nanogels had a higher antifungal effect and lower toxicity towards mammalian cells than the free drug. In addition, inverse nanoprecipitation of thiol functionalized pGs was shown to be successful for preparation of nanogels with narrow size distribution. It was also demonstrated that crosslinking of the polymeric coating in hydrogel-like network with thiol functionalized pGs improved the SPIOs imaging performance. Finally, it was investigated whether GNPs could be used as model particles for the assessment of targeting to fungi. Fc dectin-1 was conjugated covalently to GNPs decorated with pGs, and binding affinity towards β-glucans was tested by surface plasmon resonance. In summary, this thesis demonstrated evidence for the potential of pG nanogels and pG coated nanoparticles for antifungal therapy and diagnostics of fungal infections caused by A. fumigatus.}, subject = {Therapeutisches System}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Hoerl2014, author = {H{\"o}rl, Christian}, title = {Synthese und Reaktivit{\"a}t von heteroaromatisch-substituierten Borolen und Diborenen}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-94391}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit konnten erstmals die Eigenschaften von 1-heteroaromatisch-substituierten, freien Borolen des Typs R′BC4Ph4 untersucht werden. Der Rest R′ wurde unter Verwendung von bekannten Synthesemethoden (Zinn-Bor-Austausch, Salzeliminierung) variiert und die Borolderivate 45 (R′ = Thien-2-yl), 46 (R′ = 5-Methylfuran-2-yl), 47 (R′ = 5-Trimethylsilylthien-2-yl) und 49 (R′ = N-Methylpyrrol-3-yl) erfolgreich synthetisiert und vollst{\"a}ndig charakterisiert (Multikern-NMR-Spektroskopie, Elementaranalyse, R{\"o}ntgenstrukturanalyse am Einkristall). Des Weiteren ist es gelungen, die ersten Bis(borole) mit den heteroaromatischen Br{\"u}ckeneinheiten 2,5-Thienyl (54) und 5,5′-Bithiophen (55) mittels Zinn-Bor-Austausch-Reaktion darzustellen. Die Molek{\"u}lstruktur von 54 best{\"a}tigt dabei nicht nur die erfolgreiche Synthese, sondern auch die coplanare Ausrichtung der drei Ringsysteme zueinander. Anhand von cyclovoltammetrischen Messungen konnte gezeigt werden, dass in diesem -konjugierten Akzeptor-Donor-Akzeptor-System (54) eine ausgepr{\"a}gte Kommunikation zwischen den beiden Borzentren vorliegt. Dadurch ergeben sich vier irreversible Reduktionsereignisse, die ausgehend von 54, dem Monoanion [54]•-, dem Dianion [54]2-, dem Trianion [54]3- und dem Tetraanion [54]4- zugewiesen werden k{\"o}nnen. Das Verhalten von 54 gegen{\"u}ber Reduktion wurde außerdem nicht nur elektrochemisch, sondern auch mithilfe unterschiedlicher Reduktionsmittel analysiert. Die Reduktion mit einem halben {\"A}quivalent des Zwei-Elektronen-Reduktionsmittels Magnesiumanthracen f{\"u}hrte dabei zu dem vollst{\"a}ndig delokalisierten Monoanion Mg0.5[54], welches ESR-spektroskopisch charakterisiert werden konnte. Die Reduktion mit einem {\"A}quivalent Magnesiumanthracen bzw. zwei {\"A}quivalenten des Ein-Elektronen-Reduktionsmittels CoCp*2 lieferte das Dianion [54]2-, das f{\"u}r den Fall von [CoCp*2]2[54] im Festk{\"o}rper studiert werden konnte. Die Molek{\"u}lstruktur belegt, dass es sich bei Dianion [54]2- nicht um ein diradikalisches, sondern ein diamagnetisches, chinoides System handelt, welches auch als Bipolaron beschrieben werden kann. Der Einfluss von heteroaromatischen Substituenten wurde außerdem im Hinblick auf die Synthese neuartiger Basen-stabilisierter Diborene untersucht. Durch reduktive Kupplung geeigneter NHC-stabilisierter Dihalogenborane 77 und 78 (NHC = IMe) konnten die beiden Thienyl-substituierten Diborene 81 und 82 in sehr guten Ausbeuten (81: 82\%; 82: 89\%) dargestellt werden. UV-Vis-spektroskopische Untersuchungen und quantenchemische Rechnungen belegen, dass das HOMO der Diborene durch die -Bindung der BB-Bindung repr{\"a}sentiert wird. Im Gegensatz zu den bekannten Aryl-substituierten Diborenen (73, 74) zeigt die Festk{\"o}rperstruktur von 82 eine coplanare Ausrichtung der Heterocyclen relativ zur BB-Bindungsebene. Dadurch wird die sterische Abschirmung der reaktiven BB-Doppelbindung vermindert und weitere Reaktivit{\"a}tsuntersuchungen in Analogie zur Reaktivit{\"a}t von CC-Doppelbindungen k{\"o}nnen durchgef{\"u}hrt werden.}, subject = {Borole}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Jarzina2022, author = {Jarzina, Sebastian Oskar}, title = {Assessment of systemic toxicity in vitro using the Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) concept: nephrotoxicity due to receptor-mediated endocytosis and lysosomal overload and inhibition of mtDNA polymerase-ɣ as case studies}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-26484}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-264842}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The US National Research Council (NRC) report "Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Vision and a strategy (Tox21)", published in 2007, calls for a complete paradigm shift in tox-icity testing. A central aspect of the proposed strategy includes the transition from apical end-points in in vivo studies to more mechanistically based in vitro tests. To support and facilitate the transition and paradigm shift in toxicity testing, the Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) concept is widely recognized as a pragmatic tool. As case studies, the AOP concept was ap-plied in this work to develop AOPs for proximal tubule injuries initiated by Receptor-mediated endocytosis and lysosomal overload and Inhibition of mtDNA polymerase-. These AOPs were used as a mechanistic basis for the development of in vitro assays for each key event (KE). To experimentally support the developed in vitro assays, proximal tubule cells from rat (NRK-52E) and human (RPTEC/TERT1) were treated with model compounds. To measure the dis-turbance of lysosomal function in the AOP - Receptor-mediated endocytosis and lysosomal overload, polymyxin antibiotics (polymyxin B, colistin, polymyxin B nonapeptide) were used as model compounds. Altered expression of lysosomal associated membrane protein 1/2 (LAMP-1/2) (KE1) and cathepsin D release from lysosomes (KE2) were determined by im-munofluorescence, while cytotoxicity (KE3) was measured using the CellTiter-Glo® cell via-bility assay. Importantly, significant differences in polymyxin uptake and susceptibility be-tween cell lines were observed, underlining the importance of in vitro biokinetics to determine an appropriate in vitro point of departure (PoD) for risk assessment. Compared to the in vivo situation, distinct expression of relevant transporters such as megalin and cubilin on mRNA and protein level in the used cell lines (RPTEC/TERT1 and NRK-52E) could not be con-firmed, making integration of quantitative in vitro to in vivo extrapolations (QIVIVE) neces-sary. Integration of QIVIVE by project partners of the University of Utrecht showed an im-provement in the modelled biokinetic data for polymyxin B. To assess the first key event, (KE1) Depletion of mitochondrial DNA, in the AOP - Inhibition of mtDNA polymerase-, a RT-qPCR method was used to determine the mtDNA copy number in cells treated with mod-el compounds (adefovir, cidofovir, tenofovir, adefovir dipivoxil, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate). Mitochondrial toxicity (KE2) was measured by project partners using the high-content imaging technique and MitoTracker® whereas cytotoxicity (KE3) was determined by CellTiter-Glo® cell viability assay. In contrast to the mechanistic hypothesis underlying the AOP - Inhibition of mtDNA polymerase-, treatment with model compounds for 24 h resulted in an increase rather than a decrease in mtDNA copy number (KE1). Only minor effects on mitochondrial toxicity (KE2) and cytotoxicity (KE3) were observed. Treatment of RPT-EC/TERT1 cells for 14 days showed only a slight decrease in mtDNA copy number after treatment with adefovir dipivoxil and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, underscoring some of the limitations of short-term in vitro systems. To obtain a first estimation for risk assessment based on in vitro data, potential points of departure (PoD) for each KE were calculated from the obtained in vitro data. The most common PoDs were calculated such as the effect concentra-tion at which 10 \% or 20_\% effect was measured (EC10, EC20), the highest no observed effect concentration (NOEC), the lowest observed effect concentration (LOEC), the benchmark 10 \% (lower / upper) concentrations (BMC10, BMCL10, BMCU10) and a modelled non-toxic con-centration (NtC). These PoDs were then compared with serum and tissue concentrations de-termined from in vivo studies after treatment with therapeutic / supratherapeutic doses of the respective drugs in order to obtain a first estimate of risk based on in vitro data. In addition, AOPs were used to test whether the quantitative key event relationships between key events allow prediction of downstream effects and effects on the adverse outcome (AO) based on measurements of an early key event. Predictions of cytotoxicity from the mathematical rela-tionships showed good concordance with measured cytotoxicity after treatment with colistin and polymyxin b nonapeptide. The work also revealed uncertainties and limitations of the ap-plied strategy, which have a significant impact on the prediction and on a risk assessment based on in vitro results.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Junold2014, author = {Junold, Konstantin}, title = {Synthese, Struktur und Eigenschaften neuer h{\"o}herkoordinierter Silicium(II)- und Silicium(IV)-Komplexe}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-104848}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Die vorliegende Arbeit stellt einen Beitrag zur Chemie des h{\"o}herkoordinierten Siliciums dar. Im Vordergrund standen die Synthese und Charakterisierung neuer neutraler penta- und hexakoordinierter Silicium(IV)-Komplexe sowie die Synthese, Charakterisierung und Untersuchung der Reaktivit{\"a}t eines neuartigen Donor-stabilisierten Silylens.}, subject = {Siliciumkomplexe}, language = {de} }