Design and characterisation of surface chemistries that enable high performance downstream purification processes for cells and biomolecules

The advent of superparamagnetic nanotechnologies and microfluidic platforms have facilitated rapid bioseparation and downstream processing of biomolecules and cells directly from complex biological media at clinical and industrial scales. The surface chemistries of these platforms are the enabling interface which facilitate rapid capture of specific targets directly from a highly variable range of contaminants such as cells, viral particles, nucleic acids, and proteins. Towards this, the research in this thesis describes the design and synthesis of functional surface chemistries, specifically silica, streptavidin, protein A and biofunctionalized non-fouling polymer brush films which enable advanced capture, purification, and detection of a range of clinically and industrially relevant targets such as circulating tumor cells, nucleic acids, and monoclonal antibodies.