Graphene Inkjet Integrated Intelligent Sensors and Systems

Increasing awareness of personal health conditions has emerged as a key driver in point-of-care breath analysis for early diagnosis. This also demands real-time monitoring of air pollution based on internet of things (IoT) networks. Both systems rely on the development of scalable mobile-embeddable devices. Conventional devices face challenges like high power consumption, severe baseline drifts, and cross-analyte interferences, compromising the detection accuracies. Recently, 2D nanomaterials and their functionalization with metal oxides (MOx) have become attractive for high performing sensors. Solution processing of these materials coupled with inkjet printing can be promising for fabricating low-cost devices. I have addressed the abovementioned challenges from the perspectives of materials, device fabrication, and algorithmic approaches. I develop an inkjet-printed array of graphene-ZnO and graphene-WO$_{3}$ system integrated onto miniaturized CMOS platforms to detect NH$_{3}$ and acetone for potential diagnosis of diseases. I also develop a machine-intelligent classification system based on inkjet-integrated $\alpha$-Fe$_{2}$O$_{3}$-rGO CMOS devices to selectively measure NO$_{2}$ air pollutants. The ink formulation and the theoretical model I develop facilitate uniform printed morphology, achieving excellent device reproducibility. Coupled with temperature modulation (TM) algorithms I develop, the devices achieve high responsivity, eliminated baseline drift, reduced response/recovery time, high SNR, and extraordinary repeatability. Moreover, a sensor array is established for compensation of cross-analyte interference. The influences of interferents are addressed by machine learning (ML) approaches. The predictive system quantifies NO$_{2}$ concentrations under different humidity conditions, with excellent separation between classes. Furthermore, the fully inkjet-printed room temperature NO$_{2}$ sensors assembled within the developed multi-sensory hub have performed reliable measurements in a real-world environment. My strategy to combine the sensing material, inkjet printing onto the CMOS platform, and TM/ML algorithms promises a robust system that outperforms conventional devices. The versatile technologies enable reliable multi-material array for potential multi-disease diagnostics. The systems developed also pave the way for ubiquitous implementation of adaptive wireless-connected monitoring systems

Effect of the Side Effect Machines in Edit Metric Decoding

The development of general edit metric decoders is a challenging problem, especially with the inclusion of additional biological restrictions that can occur in DNA error correcting codes. Side effect machines (SEMs), an extension of finite state machines, can provide efficient decoding algorithms for such edit metric codes. However, finding a good machine poses its own set of challenges and is itself considered as an open problem with no general solution. Previous studies utilizing evolutionary computation techniques, such as genetic algorithms and evolutionary programming to search for good SEMs have found success in terms of decoding accuracy. However, they all worked with extremely constricted problem spaces i.e. a single code or codes of the same length. Therefore a general approach that works well across codes of different lengths is yet to be formalized. In this research, several codes of varying lengths are used to study the effectiveness of evolutionary programming (EP) as a general approach for finding efficient edit metric decoders. Two classification methods—direct and fuzzy—are compared while also changing some of the EP settings to observe how the decoding accuracy is affected. The final SEMs are verified against an additional dataset to test their general effectiveness. Regardless of the code length, the best results are found using the fuzzy classification methods. For codes of length 10, a maximum accuracy of up to 99.4% is achieved for distance 1 whereas distance 2 and 3 achieve up to 97.1% and 85.9%, respectively. Unsurprisingly, the accuracy suffers for longer codes, as the maximum accuracies achieved by codes of length 14 were 92.4%, 85.7% and 69.2% for distance 1, 2, and 3 respectively. Additionally, the machines are examined for potential bloat by comparing the number of visited states against the number of total states. The study has found some machines with at least one unvisited state. The bloat is seen more in larger machines than it is in smaller machines. Furthermore, the results are analyzed to find potential trends and relationships among the parameters. The trend that is most consistently noticed is that — when allowed, the longer codes generally show a propensity for larger machines

Bioinformatische Analyse des Humanen Leukozyten Antigens in Chronisch Entzündlichen Darmerkrankungen

The Human Leucocyte Antigen (HLA) has been identified as a genetic risk factor for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). The causative role of the HLA in IBD remains to be revealed. The aim of this thesis is to gain as much understanding as possible about the HLA alleles genetically associated with Ulcerative Colitis (UC), a subtype of IBD. This cumulative thesis includes two papers published in peer-reviewed journals and an additional manuscript which is in progress. In the first publication, presented in this thesis (Section 6.3), we built an imputation panel that enabled the analysis of IBD and the associated HLA alleles and their corresponding haplotypes across different ancestries. In the second publication (Section 7.3), I analyzed the interaction of peptides with a defined set of HLA alleles associated with UC. This study was the first to use ultra-high density microarray data for predicting the binding status of HLA alleles and peptides. In the final manuscript (Section 8.3), I studied the genetics of UC in Caucasian individuals. I analyzed, what the genetics, combined with prior knowledge about different genes and their protein function, can tell us about a hypothesized peptide that might be a key player in the pathogenesis of UC. Next to some improvements in the imputation of HLA genomes and the binding prediction, this thesis points out first concrete candidate peptides and suggests a path to continue to discover more about the contribution of the HLA in UC

Grafeno em papel para dispositivos flexíveis: sensores e OLEDs

The interest in flexible electronics has been growing considerably due to the possibility of products and devices with novel functionalities and improved comfort in their utilization. Graphene, with a combination of properties, is a natural candidate for these applications. Simultaneously, paper electronics is proving itself as a potentially significant branch of flexible electronics. Thus, it is particularly interesting to investigate the combination of these two materials for the development of novel and disruptive applications. This work covers the development of two types of flexible devices based on gra-phene and paper: physical and electrochemical sensors and organic light emit-ting diodes (OLEDs). In the context of sensors, one of the most recent additions to the family of graphene-based materials is explored: laser-induced graphene obtained from paper (paper-LIG), a graphene foam synthesized by a fast and low-cost process. The sensibility of paper-LIG to mechanical stimuli (strain and bending), as well as to humidity and temperature (in the latter case also shown for laser-induced graphene obtained from xylan, a biopolymer similar to cellulose) is demonstrated. The development of these devices is accompanied by a study of the influence of the synthesis parameters on the obtained material, comprising a sizeable contribution to the description of this material and its applications in the literature. Additionally, a non-enzymatic paper-LIG transductor for the electrochemical detection and quantification of uric acid is presented, demonstrating its response capability in real human urine samples, with a sensitivity of 0.363 μA cm⁻² μM⁻¹ and a linear range that covers the clinically relevant concentration range for this physiological parameter. In the scope of OLEDs, an optimized graphene synthesis process by chemical vapour deposition is presented, with the goal of using this single-layer graphene as a transparent electrode. The issue of high surface roughness typical of paper is addressed by the use of cellulose nanocrystal membranes and transparent rolling papers as flexible, biodegradable substrates, accompanied by the development of modified graphene film transfer and stacking approaches. The properties of this material are improved by thermal evaporation of MoO3, allowing the construction of OLEDs with 0.34% external quantum efficiency. The development of these devices not only contributes to reaffirm the vast potential of graphene, but also serves to introduce novel approaches in the context of low-cost and biodegradable flexible devices.O interesse na eletrónica flexível tem crescido consideravelmente devido ao de-senvolvimento de produtos e dispositivos com novas funcionalidades e maior conforto na utilização dos mesmos. O grafeno, com uma combinação única de propriedades, surge como um candidato natural para este tipo de aplicações. Simultaneamente, a eletrónica em papel tem-se revelado como uma vertente potencialmente significativa na área da eletrónica flexível. Assim, torna-se parti-cularmente interessante investigar a combinação destes dois materiais para o desenvolvimento de novas e disruptivas aplicações. Este trabalho explora o desenvolvimento de dois tipos de dispositivos flexíveis à base de grafeno em papel: sensores físicos e eletroquímicos e díodos orgânicos emissores de luz (OLEDs). No contexto dos sensores é abordada uma das mais recentes adições à família dos materiais à base de grafeno: o grafeno induzido por laser obtido a partir do papel (paper-LIG), uma espuma de grafeno sintetizada por um processo rápido e de baixo custo. É demonstrada pela primeira vez a sensibilidade do paper-LIG a estímulos mecânicos (distensão e flexão), bem como à humidade e tempera-tura (neste último caso também para o grafeno induzido por laser obtido a partir de xilana, um biopolímero semelhante à celulose). O desenvolvimento destes dispositivos é acompanhado por um estudo da influência dos parâmetros de sín-tese no material obtido, constituindo uma contribuição significativa para a des-crição deste material e das suas aplicações na literatura. É ainda apresentado um transdutor não-enzimático de paper-LIG, para a deteção e quantificação ele-troquímica de ácido úrico, demonstrando a sua capacidade de resposta em amostras reais de urina humana, com uma sensibilidade de 0.363 μA μA cm⁻² μM⁻¹ e uma gama linear que abrange o intervalo de concentrações clinicamente rele-vante para este parâmetro fisiológico. No âmbito dos OLEDs, é apresentado um processo otimizado de síntese de grafeno monocamada por deposição química em fase vapor, com vista à sua utilização como elétrodo transparente. A questão da elevada rugosidade tipica-mente associada ao papel é colmatada pelo uso de membranas de celulose nanocristalina e de mortalhas transparentes como substratos flexíveis e biode-gradáveis, acompanhado pelo desenvolvimento de técnicas modificadas de transferência e empilhamento de múltiplas camadas de grafeno. As proprieda-des deste material são melhoradas pela evaporação térmica de MoO3, permi-tindo a construção de OLEDs com 0.34% de eficiência quântica externa. O desenvolvimento destes dispositivos não só contribui para reafirmar o vasto potencial do grafeno em conjugação com o papel, como serve também para introduzir novas abordagens no contexto de dispositivos flexíveis de baixo custo e biodegradáveis.Programa Doutoral em Nanociências e Nanotecnologi

Book of abstracts of the 10th International Chemical and Biological Engineering Conference: CHEMPOR 2008

This book contains the extended abstracts presented at the 10th International Chemical and Biological Engineering Conference - CHEMPOR 2008, held in Braga, Portugal, over 3 days, from the 4th to the 6th of September, 2008. Previous editions took place in Lisboa (1975, 1889, 1998), Braga (1978), Póvoa de Varzim (1981), Coimbra (1985, 2005), Porto (1993), and Aveiro (2001). The conference was jointly organized by the University of Minho, “Ordem dos Engenheiros”, and the IBB - Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering with the usual support of the “Sociedade Portuguesa de Química” and, by the first time, of the “Sociedade Portuguesa de Biotecnologia”. Thirty years elapsed since CHEMPOR was held at the University of Minho, organized by T.R. Bott, D. Allen, A. Bridgwater, J.J.B. Romero, L.J.S. Soares and J.D.R.S. Pinheiro. We are fortunate to have Profs. Bott, Soares and Pinheiro in the Honor Committee of this 10th edition, under the high Patronage of his Excellency the President of the Portuguese Republic, Prof. Aníbal Cavaco Silva. The opening ceremony will confer Prof. Bott with a “Long Term Achievement” award acknowledging the important contribution Prof. Bott brought along more than 30 years to the development of the Chemical Engineering science, to the launch of CHEMPOR series and specially to the University of Minho. Prof. Bott’s inaugural lecture will address the importance of effective energy management in processing operations, particularly in the effectiveness of heat recovery and the associated reduction in greenhouse gas emission from combustion processes. The CHEMPOR series traditionally brings together both young and established researchers and end users to discuss recent developments in different areas of Chemical Engineering. The scope of this edition is broadening out by including the Biological Engineering research. One of the major core areas of the conference program is life quality, due to the importance that Chemical and Biological Engineering plays in this area. “Integration of Life Sciences & Engineering” and “Sustainable Process-Product Development through Green Chemistry” are two of the leading themes with papers addressing such important issues. This is complemented with additional leading themes including “Advancing the Chemical and Biological Engineering Fundamentals”, “Multi-Scale and/or Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Process-Product Innovation”, “Systematic Methods and Tools for Managing the Complexity”, and “Educating Chemical and Biological Engineers for Coming Challenges” which define the extended abstracts arrangements along this book. A total of 516 extended abstracts are included in the book, consisting of 7 invited lecturers, 15 keynote, 105 short oral presentations given in 5 parallel sessions, along with 6 slots for viewing 389 poster presentations. Full papers are jointly included in the companion Proceedings in CD-ROM. All papers have been reviewed and we are grateful to the members of scientific and organizing committees for their evaluations. It was an intensive task since 610 submitted abstracts from 45 countries were received. It has been an honor for us to contribute to setting up CHEMPOR 2008 during almost two years. We wish to thank the authors who have contributed to yield a high scientific standard to the program. We are thankful to the sponsors who have contributed decisively to this event. We also extend our gratefulness to all those who, through their dedicated efforts, have assisted us in this task. On behalf of the Scientific and Organizing Committees we wish you that together with an interesting reading, the scientific program and the social moments organized will be memorable for all.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Proceedings of the 10th International Chemical and Biological Engineering Conference - CHEMPOR 2008

This volume contains full papers presented at the 10th International Chemical and Biological Engineering Conference - CHEMPOR 2008, held in Braga, Portugal, between September 4th and 6th, 2008.FC