The removal of ultrathin amorphous polymer films in contact with nonsolvent/solvent binary mixtures is addressed by means of neutron reflectometry and atomic force microscopy. The high resolution of neutron scattering makes it possible to resolve the distribution profiles of heavy water and benzyl alcohol inside Laropal (R) A81, often employed as a protective varnish layer for Culture Heritage in restoration of easel paintings. The swelling kinetics and distribution profiles were recorded as a function of time and increasing benzyl alcohol concentration in water. The varnish film swells by penetration of the good solvent. At higher concentrations water-filled cavities appear inside the varnish and grow with time. Contrary to homogeneous dissolution dewetting is observed at late stages of exposure to the liquid which leads to the Breakup of the film. The high resolution measurements are compared to bulk behaviour characterized by the ternary phase diagram and the Flory-Huggins interaction parameters are calculated and used to predict the swelling and solvent partition in the films. Distinct differences of the thin film to bulk behaviour are found. The expectations made previously for the behaviour of solvent/non-solvent mixtures on the removal of thin layers in the restoration of easel paintings should be revised in view of surface interactions.

We present the principle of a fast magnetic field
enhanced colloidal agglutination assay, which is based on the
acceleration of the recognition rate between ligands and
receptors induced by magnetic forces. By applying a
homogeneous magnetic field of 20 mT for only 7 s, we detect
CRP (C-reactive protein) in human serum at a concentration as
low as 1 pM for a total cycle time of about 1 min in a prototype
analyzer. Such a short measurement time does not impair the
performances of the assay when compared to longer experiments.
The concentration range dynamic is shown to cover 3 orders of
magnitude. An analytical model of agglutination is also successfully fitting our data obtained with a short magnetic pulse.

Colloids are used in many applications such as contrast agents in MRI or magnetic immuno-agglutination in diagnosis. To improve their performance, the interaction between particles and biological media – in particular proteins – has been studied for more than 150 years; nevertheless this phenomenon is still not well described.
The first part of this thesis is dedicated to an application of colloids: detection of target proteins. Based on orientation of anisotropic magnetic aggregates, a new method has been developed, which generates a signal of aggregation, directly proportional to the amount of protein in the sample: lowering the detection limit. This technique has been validated on a real system: C-reactive protein.
The second part is dedicated to protein adsorption on colloids. The first objective was the development of a protocol to obtain reliable measurements; adsorption could then be characterized in a model system: bovine serum albumin and silica. Results obtained were thus able to dismiss certain paradoxes and to propose a new model.
Ultimately the studies reveal how proteins, by adsorbing between two particles, aggregate colloids. In sufficient quantities, they can also protect against aggregation, enabling a new method of particle stabilization.

We discuss the theory of ligand receptor reactions between two freely rotating colloids in close proximity to one other. Such reactions, limited by rotational diffusion, arise in magnetic bead suspensions where the beads are driven into close contact by an applied magnetic field as they align in chainlike structures. By a combination of reaction-diffusion theory, numerical simulations, and heuristic arguments, we compute the time required for a reaction to occur in a number of experimentally relevant situations. We find in all cases that the time required for a reaction to occur is larger than the characteristic rotation time of the diffusion motion tau_rot. When the colloids carry one ligand only and a number n of receptors, we find that the reaction time is, in units of tau_rot, a function simply of n and of the relative surface alpha occupied by one reaction patch alpha = pi r_C²/(4pi r²), where r_C is the ligand receptor capture radius and r is the radius of the colloid.

We introduce a general methodology based on magnetic colloids to study the recognition kinetics of tethered biomolecules. Access to the full kinetics of the reaction is provided by an explicit measure of the time evolution of the reactant densities. Binding between a single ligand and its complementary receptor is here limited by the colloidal rotational diffusion. It occurs within a binding distance that can be extracted by a reaction-diffusion theory that properly accounts for the rotational Brownian dynamics. Our reaction geometry allows us to probe a large diversity of bioadhesive molecules and tethers, thus providing a quantitative guidance for designing more efficient reactive biomimetic surfaces, as required for diagnostic, therapeutic, and tissue engineering techniques.

When ligands and receptors are both attached on surfaces, because of the restriction of configurational freedom, their recognition kinetics may be substantially reduced as compared with freely diffusing species. In nature, this reduction may influence the efficiency of the capture and adhesion of circulating cells. Here we show that similar consequences are observed for colloids grafted with biomolecules that are used as probes for diagnostics. We exploit Brownian magnetic colloids that self-assemble into linear chains to show also that the resulting one-dimensional confinement considerably accelerates the recognition rate between grafted receptors and their ligands. We propose that because confinement significantly augments the colliding frequency, it also causes a large increase in the attempt frequency of the recognition. This work gives the basis of a rapid, homogeneous, and highly sensitive bioanalysis method.

We present a new technique to measure the mechanical properties of small biomolecules. This technique uses long range repulsive colloidal forces together with magnetic attraction as a force probing tool. The biomolecules are grafted between superparamagnetic particles, which are regularly spaced within long chains maintained by an external magnetic field. Varying the magnetic field results in compression or extension of the molecules between the particles. In order to demonstrate this technique we use, as a size controlled model molecule, a short double stranded DNA (151 base pairs) for which the force-extension law is determined and found in agreement with existing predictions.