Thesis presented November 06, 2018

Abstract:
A plethora of biologically relevant processes depends directly on the effective secretion of biomolecules, from regulatory molecules to structural components. Thus, the analysis of complex biological processes requires the development of novel biosensing tools. There- fore, the aim of this thesis is to provide versatile strategies for the generation of innovative biosensors and biochips based on Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR). As a result from this research, an indirect photofunctionalization method was developed. This procedure allowed the generation of protein microarrays in fully aqueous conditions while preserv- ing the functionality of the grafted proteins. Furthermore, we created and evaluated a novel microstructured SPR biochip for real-time monitoring of cellular secretions. This microstructured biochip presents two different optical phenomena which could be used for cell detection and the monitoring of their secretions. Finally, multiple functionaliza- tion strategies were evaluated for the conception of a nanostructured fiber-bundle SPR biochip. Among the approaches, the generation of photoreactive self-assembled monolay- ers was the most adapted to this system and are currently being optimized. Once achieved, this nanostructured biochip could pave the way for further development of promising in vivo biosensing systems.

Keywords:
Surface Plasmon Resonance, surface chemistry, microarray, biosensing

On-line thesis.