Polysaccharides are now popularly used in paper technology since they are able to improve mechanical properties of the paper. Xylan and pectin are two natural polymers that have a wide range of applications nowadays. These two polysaccharides can be used in their native forms as well as derivatives. In this study, xylan and pectin were modified to obtain cationic derivatives before adding into the paper for enhancement. The work was motivated by the fact that xylan and pectin share the same negative surface properties as cellulose. This leads to a slight repulsion effect between them once they are close. Their cationic derivatives, therefore, are believed to strengthen the paper due to electrostatic interactions between two oppositely charged objects beside hydrogen bonds. To fulfil the purposes, oat spelt xylan and apple pectin were chemically modified using different modification methods, including oxidation, amidation, and a combination of these two methods. A quantitative method to determine the adsorbed amount and relative retention capacity of xylan onto paper using high performance liquid chromatography was also developed. The results show that oat spelt and apple pectin, as well as their modified derivatives, can improve the paper mechanical properties. The oat spelt xylan significantly enhances the tensile strength, however, this contribution has a saturation level in correlation with the relative retention capacity of the xylan onto cellulose. The best retention capacity is achieved when 5% of xylan is added. This finding provides a practical approach to the application of xylan as a paper additive in consideration of economic issues. Although the application of apple pectin and its amidated derivatives in paper is rather rare, some interesting points have been discovered in this work. Among the apple pectin samples used, only the ones with low degree of esterification give a slight enhancement in tensile index at 5% dosage. The results also suggest that the dosage of the pectin added into the paper should not exceed 5% due to its viscous property at high concentrations.

Membrane technology has great potential to complement traditional energy-intensive molecular separation processes such as distillation, with the advantage of low footprint generation. However, this would only be achieved with the development of better membranes able to operate in challenging conditions, including combinations of organic solvents, high temperatures, extreme pHs, and oxidative environments. This dissertation aims to use high-performance polymeric materials that can withstand temperatures of 120 °C in polar aprotic solvents like N,N-dimethylformamide as separation membranes, using different crosslinking strategies and alternative routes for commercially available material processing. The thesis will be divided into two main approaches. The first approach will start from soluble polyimides as precursors, with designed functionalities that allow post-membrane modifications, such as chemical crosslinking, thermal crosslinking, and thermal rearrangement to enhance the material's chemical resistance. The focus will be on the polyimide synthesis by an alternative one-step room-temperature polyhydroxyalkylation reaction. The chemical and thermal crosslinking take place without involving the imide bond, by incorporating a highly tunable functional group (isatin) in the synthesis of the materials. Propargyl as a pendant group will be used for the thermal crosslinking, and hydroxyl group for the thermal rearrangement. In all cases, the obtained membranes were stable in common organic solvents at 120 °C. The second approach will start from intrinsically solvent-resistant and commercially available poly(aryl ether ketone)s, turned into membranes by a closed-loop modification-regeneration strategy, to address long-term separations in organic solvents at high temperatures. We present for the first time porous poly(aryl ether ketone) flat-sheet and hollow fiber membranes prepared without the use of strong acids or high temperatures. Two methodologies are proposed. The developed strategies shall contribute toward avoiding the regular consumption of new materials and waste generation since the polymer used does not require crosslinking for its stability under organic solvents.

Transparenta papper tillverkade av cellulosa nanofibriller (CNF), visar stor potential att kunna ersätta petroleumbaserade plaster inom många användningsområden, till exempel för mat- och varuförpackningar. CNF, även känt som nanocellulosa, kombinerar viktiga cellulosaegenskaper, med unika egenskaper hos nanomaterial. Denna kombination av egenskaper möjliggör tillverkning av ett pappers-liknande material som uppvisar både utmärkta mekaniska egenskaper och hög transparens. Användningen av nanocellulosa är dock förknippad med diverse utmaningar, för att materialet ska kunna bli kommersiellt slagkraftigt. En av de främsta utmaningarna är nanocellulosas höga affinitet för vatten och dess höga specifika yta som försvårar hanteringen av materialet. Avvattningen av nanocellulosadispersioner, för att tillverka transparenta papper, kan ta upp till flera timmar. För att övervinna detta hinder, har avdelningen för Fiberteknologi vid KTH tillsammans med BillerudKorsnäs AB, nyligen utvecklat en metodik för att skapa så kallade själv-fibrillerande fibrer (SFFer). Dessa fibrer möjliggör en snabbavvattnad papperstillverkningsprocess med makroskopiska vedbaserade fibrer, som efter tillverkning av pappret omvandlas till ett nanocellulosapapper, det vill säga ett nanopapper. För att erhålla SFFer krävs det att höga koncentrationer av karboxyl- och aldehydgrupper introduceras i cellulosafibrerna. Införandet av dessa funktionella grupper, möjliggör självfibrilleringen då SFFerna utsätts för moderata alkali-koncentrationer. I den ursprungliga studien som utfördes av Gorur m.fl., introducerades de funktionella grupperna med hjälp av sekventiell TEMPO- och periodatoxidation. I detta examensarbete, har alternativa kemiska metoder för att introducera samma kemiska funktionalitet som TEMPO-periodatsystemet undersökts. Huvudsyftet med arbetet är att besvara frågan: Hur påverkar olika kemiska behandlingar vid SFF tillverkningen, de kemiska och fysikaliska egenskaperna hos de modifierade fibrerna, samt de slutgiltiga pappersegenskaperna? För att besvara frågan, preparerades fibrer med liknande karboxyl- och aldehydinnehåll med hjälp av följande tre kemiska metoder: 1) TEMPO- följd av periodatoxidation (detta kommer att användas som referenssystem); 2) periodat- följd av kloritoxidation; 3) karboxymetylering följd av periodatoxidation. Egenskaperna hos fibrerna undersöktes med avseende på aldehyd- och karboxylinnehåll, avvattningspotential och förmåga att självfibrillera. Papper tillverkades med hjälp av en vakuumfiltreringsuppställning och följande egenskaper undersöktes hos pappret: mekaniska egenskaper (dragstyrka, brottsyrka och Young’s modul); optiska (transparens och ytreflektion); samt syrgaspermeabilitet. De erhållna fibrerna från samtliga tre kemiska modifieringar visade på självfibrillerande egenskaper i alkaliska lösningar. Detta beteende styrker hypotesen att ett strategiskt införande av ett högt karboxyl- och aldehydinnehåll leder till självfibrillerande fibrer. Transparenta papper tillverkade av fibrer som utsatts för TEMPO-periodatoxidation samt klorit-periodatoxidation, visade på utmärkta mekaniska egenskaper, hög transparens och bra barriäregenskaper - jämförbara med vad som vanligen kan noteras hos papper tillverkat av nanocellulosa. Samtliga egenskaper förbättrades ytterligare efter fibrillering av fibrerna i papperen. De karboxymetylerade-periodatoxiderade materialet, å andra sidan, uppvisade andra egenskaper jämfört med de två, tidigare nämnda, metoderna. TEMPO-periodat- och periodat-klorit-pappersmassan var halvgenomskinlig och geléliknande, medan den karboxymetylerade-periodatoxiderade massan var mer lik det omodifierade materialet. Detsamma gällde det tillverkade pappret som liknade ett konventionellt papper. Det var inte heller möjligt att åstadkomma en fibrillering av det karboxymetylerade-periodatoxiderade-pappret som utsattes för behandling med alkaliska lösningar. Avvattningstiden vid papperstillverkningen varierad mellan 4 och 60 sekunder, och karboxymetylering-periodat oxidation visade på snabbast avvattningstid. Den förlängda avvattningstiden i jämförelse med studien utförd av Gorur m.fl., tros främst bero på att ett filtreringsmembran med mindre porer användes på vakuumfiltreringsuppställningen, istället för en avvattningsvira som tidigare använts. Sammanfattningsvis så har det visat sig möjligt att tillverka självfibrillerande fibrer med hjälp av samtliga tre undersökta kemiska modifieringar. SFFer möjliggör tillverkning av snabbavvattnade transparenta nanocellulosapapper och visar på så vis på hög potential att kunna ersätta olje-baserade plaster till många förpackningsapplikationer. / Transparent papers made from cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), derived from e.g. wood, show great potential to replace petroleum-based plastics in many application areas, such as packaging for foods and goods. CNF, also known as nanocellulose, combine important cellulose properties with the unique features of nanoscale materials, gaining paper-like materials with outstanding mechanical properties and high transparency. However, nanocellulose faces various challenges in order to make the products commercially competitive. One of the main challenges is accompanied with nanocelluloses’ high affinity for water, which makes processing difficult. Dewatering of a nanocellulose dispersion in order to produce transparent paper may take up to several hours. To overcome this obstacle, the Fibre technology division at KTH Royal Institute of technology and BillerudKorsnäs AB have recently developed a new concept of self-fibrillating fibres (SFFs). This material enables fast-dewatering papermaking using fibres of native dimensions and conversion into nanocellulose after the paper has been prepared. In order to obtain SFFs, proper amounts of charged groups and aldehyde groups need to be introduced into the cellulose backbone. When SFFs are exposed to high alkali concentration, i.e. > pH=10, the fibres self-fibrillates into CNFs. In the original study, the functional groups were introduced through sequential TEMPO oxidation and periodate oxidation. In this work, alternative chemical routes have been examined to prepare SFFs with the same functional groups as introduced with the TEMPO-periodate system. The aim of the thesis has been to answer: how does different chemical routes to prepare transparent nanopaper made from SFFs affect the chemical and physical properties of the modified fibres, as well as the final physical properties of the transparent papers? To answer the question, fibres with similar carboxyl and aldehyde contents were prepared using three chemical routes: 1) TEMPO oxidation followed by periodate oxidation (which was used as reference system); 2) periodate oxidation followed by chlorite oxidation; 3) carboxymethylation followed by periodate oxidation. The properties of the fibres were examined regarding aldehyde and carboxyl content, dewatering potential and self-fibrillating ability. Papers were produced using a vacuum filtration set-up and the properties investigated were the mechanical; tensile strength, strain at failure and Young’s modulus, the optical properties; transparency and haze, as well as the oxygen permeability. In order to investigate the impact of the fibrillation of the papers, the properties were measured for both unfibrillated and fibrillated samples. Furthermore, the gravimetric yield after each chemical modification procedure was examined, as well as the dewatering time during sheet making. Fibres obtained from all three chemistries demonstrated self-fibrillating properties in alkaline solutions. This strengthens the hypothesis that the strategical introduction of aldehydes and carboxyl groups is the main feature responsible for the self-fibrillating ability of the fibres. Transparent papers made from fibres treated through TEMPO-periodate oxidation and periodate-chlorite oxidation showed excellent mechanical, optical and barrier properties, comparable to those seen in nanocellulose papers. The properties were further increased after fibrillation. The carboxymethylated-periodate oxidized fibres, on the other hand, behaved differently from the others. While the TEMPO-periodate and periodate-chlorite pulp was semi-translucent and gel-like, the carboxymethylated-periodate oxidized fibres resembled more the unmodified material. Likewise, the properties of those papers resembled conventional paper and no fibrillationwas experienced after immersing the papers in alkaline solution, according to the same protocol developed for the other two chemistries. The dewatering time during sheet making ranged from 4–60 seconds (carboxymethylation-periodate oxidation showing the fastest dewatering rates). The increased dewatering time compared to earlier studies is believed to mainly be due to the use of a filtration membrane on the vacuum filtration set-up, instead of a metallic wire with larger pores. Overall, SFFs was successfully produced using three different chemical routes. SFFs enables production of fast-dewatering transparent nanocellulose papers that shows the potential to replace oil-based plastics in many packaging applications.

Del A: Polyetylentereftalat fibrer I detta arbete presenteras olika metoder för att framställa monofilament av polyetylentereftalat (PET) (diameter: 30-50 µm) med en radiell gradient. Nyutvecklad Raman-spektroskopiteknik har använts för att kartlägga dessa inducerade radiella gradienter i t.ex. kristallinitet. På liknande sätt har FTIR-ATR teknik modifierats och anpassats för att studera ytegenskaperna hos dessa filament. Industriella filamentprover och egna smältspunna PET-filament har framgångsrikt modifierats med användning av olika termiska och kemiska behandlingar för att erhålla fibrer med förbättrade mekaniska egenskaper och minskad fibrillering. De strukturella förändringar som uppträdde i filamenten på mikroskopisk nivå karakteriserades med bl a infraröd analys, termisk analys, Raman-mikroskopi och röntgenteknik (SAXS och WAXD). Tester av fibrilleringsegenskaper utfördes av industriella partners med egenutvecklad teknik följt av testning av masterbatch-fibrer på en vävningssimulator. Resultaten i laboratorieskala avslöjade fibrernas strukturella anisotropi och radiella gradienter, vilka visade en minskad fibrillering med en viss inverkan på de mekaniska egenskaperna.  Del B: Poly(3-hydroxybutyrat) fibrer Detta arbete presenterar studier av poly(3-hydroxybutyrat) (P3HB) fibrer med reversibla strukturförändringar. Tidigare studier har visat att kristallisationen hos P3HB fibrer i huvudsakligen sker i ortorombisk α-kristallform. Stress-anlöpning resulterar dock i en förändring i beteendet hos P3HB-materialet. Strukturen hos P3HB fibrer består av amorfa och kristallina regioner samt en mesofas. Mesofasen antas vara belägen mellan α-kristallerna och uppträder som starkt orienterade bindningskedjor, s k “tie-chains”. Denna studie syftar till att observera effekten av stress-anlöpning på mesofasen och dess beroende av anlöpningsförhållandena. Förändringarna i mesofasen observeras med en anpassad och polariserad Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) samt med Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Resultaten från ATR-FTIR visar att mesofasen är närvarande i spunna och högt stress-anlöpta fibrer, medan den är frånvarande i fibrer som är lågt stress-anlöpta. Mesofasen kan emellertid återupptas i lågt stress-anlöpta fibrer genom dragning. In situ ATR-FTIR användes för att studera förändringarna i materialbeteendet under en dragningsprocess för att observera periodiciteten i förekomsten av mesofasen. Det visade sig att förekomsten av mesofasen är en starkt reversibel process som observeras som en funktion av topparnas intensitet i ATR-FTIR. / Part A: Poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibres In this work, various methods to produce Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) monofilaments (diameter: 30-50µm) with a radial gradient are presented along with a newly developed Raman spectroscopy technique to map these induced radial gradients in e.g. crystallinity. On similar lines, FTIR-ATR technique has been modified and adapted to study the surface properties of these fine filaments. Industrial filament samples and in-house melt-spun PET filaments have been successfully modified using various thermal and chemical treatments to obtain fibres with improved mechanical properties and reduced fibrillation. The structural changes occurring in the filaments on the microscopic level were characterized using infrared analysis, thermal analysis, Raman microscopy and X-ray techniques (SAXS and WAXD) among others. The fibrillation properties were tested by the industrial partners using a technique developed in-house followed by testing of masterbatch fibres on a weaving simulator. Lab-scale results revealed the structural anisotropy and radial gradient maps of the fibres which also demonstrated reduced fibrillation with some impact on mechanical properties also being observed. Part B: Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) fibres This work presents studies on poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB) fibres with reversible structural changes. Previously reported literature shows that crystallization of P3HB fibres takes place majorly in the orthorhombic α-crystal form. However, the stress-annealing results in a change of the material behaviour of P3HB. P3HB fibres compose of amorphous regions, crystalline regions and mesophase in their structure. The mesophase is supposed to be located in between the α-crystals of the material as highly oriented tie-chains. This study targets to observe the effect of stress-annealing of the mesophase present in the P3HB fibres and its dependence on the annealing conditions. The changes in the mesophase content are observed with the help of a highly adapted polarized Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The presented results from polarized ATR-FTIR show that the mesophase is present in as-spun and high stress annealed fibres while it is absent in fibres annealed with low stress. However, the mesophase can be re-obtained in low stress annealed fibres through tensile drawing. In-situ ATR-FTIR was utilized to study the changes in the material behaviour during a tensile drawing process to observe the cyclicity in the occurrence of the mesophase. It was found that the existence of mesophase is a highly reversible process observed as a function of the peak intensities of the polarized ATR-FTIR spectroscopy.

La Tomographie par émission de positons (TEP) constitue l’une des techniques d’imagerie médicale les plus novatrices pour la visualisation in vivo des processus biologiques. Elle intervient comme technique de choix pour le diagnostic dans de nombreux domaines notamment, en oncologie, cardiologie ou encore en neurologie. La conception et l’élaboration de nouveaux radiotraceurs sont en perpétuel développement. L’utilisationd’oligonucléotides (ODN) modifiés (aptamères) possédant une grande affinité et spécificité pour une cible (gène,protéine, principe actif), comme radiotraceur pour l’imagerie in vivo apparait comme une alternative intéressante. A ce jour, quelques rares exemples d’oligonucléotides marqués, par un radioisotope, ont été décrits dans la littérature.Dans ce contexte, il a été développé deux méthodologies d’introduction du radioisotope (11C ou 18F) en dernièreétape de synthèse par chimie ‘‘click’’ pour le marquage de nucléosides et d’oligonucléotides envisagés commeradiotraceurs pour la TEP. / Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a powerful molecular-imaging technique for physiological and biologicalinvestigations in various areas, such as oncology, cardiology, and neurosciences, as well as for drug development.Due to the increasing need of this technique for in vivo applications, there is always a demand for the developmentof new tracers and radiolabeling strategies. Furthermore, because of their excellent targeting capacities and easysynthesis along with a high level of diversity, oligonucleotides are already extensively used in vitro as ligands fornucleic acids (antisense oligonucleotides), proteins, and small related molecules (aptamer oligonucleotides). Theuse of aptamers for in vivo imaging appears especially promising, because of the wide range of possibilitiesavailable to introduce variations in their structure through defined chemical modifications. However, only fewexamples of oligonucleotide labeling for PET have been reported. In this context, we have developed twomethodological ways to introduce the radioisotope (11C, 18F), by ‘‘click’’ chemistry, at the last radiosynthesis stepin order to label nucleoside and oligonucleotide as potential radiotracers for PET.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo estudar o processo de plasticização do amido via mistura física e por reação química para a produção de novos materiais. A plasticização via mistura física foi realizada empregando-se como agentes plasticização diferentes compostos hidroxilados. Os amidos termoplásticos (TPS) foram processadas em misturador intensivo a 150°C, a partir de misturas contendo de 15 a 40% de agente plasticizante. A plasticização via reação química foi realizada com isocianatos monofuncionais e difuncionais, os quais levaram a obtenção de produtos de enxertia e entrecruzamento, respectivamente. Os produtos obtidos foram caracterizados por difração de Raios X, Calorimetria Exploratória Diferencial (DSC), Termogravimetria (TG), Análise Dinâmico-Mecânica (DMA), Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (SEM) e Cromatografia de Permeação em Gel (HPSEC). O estudo dos diferentes plasticizantes propiciou a determinação das características que estas substâncias devem possuir para a preparação de amidos termoplásticos. O cisalhamento desenvolvido durante o processamento em misturador intensivo levou à perda da estrutura cristalina e à desestruturação dos grânulos de amido. O processamento do TPS em misturador intensivo não provoca mudanças significativas na massa molar do amido termoplasticizado. Os amidos termoplasticizados com sorbitol foram aqueles que apresentaram menores valores de absorção de água. Os valores de módulo de Young das amostras plasticizadas com propilenoglicol aumentaram com o aumento do conteúdo de plasticizante. Para as amostras plasticizadas com etilenoglicol o módulo aumenta até 30% de conteúdo de plasticizante, quando ocorre uma diminuição do valor do módulo. Os TPS plasticizados com propilenoglicol, 1, 4-butanodiol, sorbitol e dietilenoglicol apresentaram um aumento da temperatura de transição vítrea com o aumento do tero de plasticizante. Os diferentes TPS obtidos via mistura física apresentaram estabilidade térmica similares à exibida pelo amido in natura. As propriedades mecânicas destes materiais variaram de acordo com o tipo e a quantidade de plasticizante empregado. A análise dos produtos obtidos via reação química (amidos enxertados e entrecruzados) revelou que estas reações promoveram a desestruturação dos grânulos de amido e, independentemente do regente empregado, a modificação produziu derivados mais hidrofóbicos que o amido in natura. A reação do amido com o oligômero de poli-óxido de propileno tolueno di-isocianato permitiu a obtenção de um derivado com propriedades de material elastomérico e elevada capacidade de intumescimento. Os derivados enxertados ou entrecruzados apresentaram perda de cristalinidade, redução do caráter hidrofílico e estabilidades térmicas semelhantes à apresentada pelo amido in natura. / This main of this work was to study of the cornstarch granules plasticization by means of physical or chemical treatments in order to prepare new materials. The plasticization by physical processing was performed in an intensive mixer at 150°C using ditferent hydroxylated compounds as plasticizers. The production of thermoplastic starch (TPS) by chemical reaction was carried out using mono and di-isocyanates to obtain grafted and cross linked derivatives, respectively. All the products were characterized by X Ray Diffraction, Ditferential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetry (TG), Dynamical Mechanical Analysis (DMA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), High Pressure Size Exclusion Chromatography (HPSEC). The utilization of ditferent plasticizer permitted determining which characteristics the substances must present to be used in the TPS preparation. The shear developed in the processing step lead to the loss of crystalline pattern and disruption of the starch granules. The utilization of intensive mixer does not produce significant changes in the molar mass of the thermoplastic starch. TPS produced using sorbitol as plasticizer presented the lowest level of water uptake. The valous of Young modulus for TPS produced with propylene glycol increased with the content of plasticizer. To samples produced with ethylene glycol the values of Young modulus increased until 30% and after the modulus decrease. TPS prepared with propylene glycol, 1, 4-butanediol, sorbitol and diethyleneglycol showed an increase in the glass transition temperature with the increase in the plasticizer content. The ditferent TPS produced by physical mixture shoed thermal stabilities similar to the one exhibited by in natura starch. The mechanical properties of these materials were dependent of the type and amount of plasticizer. The analysis of the derivatives obtained by chemical reaction (grafted and cross linked) revealed the occurrence of disruption of the starch granules and, independent1y of isocyanate, the products presented higher hydrophobic character than that one presented by in natura starch. By reaction starch with propylene toluene polyoxide oligomer, it was obtained a derivative with elastomeric properties and high swelling capability. The grafted or cross linked derivatives showed loss of crystallinity, decrease in hydrophilic character, and thermal stability similar to the one exhibited by in natura starch.

La chimie de clic est devenue indispensable dans les nombreux domaines de chimie associée à la conception de médicament. Dans ce contexte, comme nous savons(connaissons) l'étude concernant l'impact d'insertion triazole sur la conformation de peptaibol est limitée, nous avons conduit l'étude pour examiner l'impact et l'adaptabilité de 1, 1 4-disubstituted, 2, l'insertion 3-triazole dans peptaibols différent. Selon le résultat de cette expérience touchant à l'activité réduite et la conformation perturbée de l'analogue peptaibol, le substitut dipeptide décoré du fragment triazole portant substituents hydrophobe divers a été inséré à très N-ter la partie du peptaibol. L'amélioration du bioactivity et de la restauration de la conformation pour les analogues peptaibol a été observée et le fait a été aussi soutenu par les résultats obtenus de l'étude biophysique des analogues choisis d'ALM F50/5. Nous avons plus loin prolongé notre étude pour employer notre stratégie à être appliqué sur le peptide P42 thérapeutique qui souffre de la limitation de manque de perméabilité et de stabilité. Le peptide P42 est impliqué dans le pathophysiology de la maladie d'Huntington neurodégénératif. Un total de 12 analogues de peptide de P42-camelote a été synthétisé par SPPS par notre protocole optimize. Dans la deuxième partie, nous avons développé une stratégie pour synthétiser lipopeptide cyclique produit de l'espèce cynaobacterial marine. Notre objectif principal était de synthétiser Hormothamnin A, undecapeptide cyclique consistant de plusieurs acides aminés artificiels incluant dehydroamino acide (Dhaa) qui fait la synthèse de ce peptide compliqué. En raison de cette raison, premièrement, nous avons voulu appliquer notre stratégie de synthétiser Trichormamide A, une sorte relativement plus simple de cylic lipopeptide. Après l'accomplissement de cette tâche, une première tentative a été faite pour synthétiser Hormothamnin A. Le résultat préliminaire de ceci est présenté dans cette section. Enfin, nous avons essayé de développer une méthodologie robuste pour synthétiser Fmoc-Dhaa dans la phase de solution et son insertion dans l'ordre peptaibol par une norme(un standard) SPPS le protocole. Les résultats préliminaires que nous avons concernant la synthèse Dhaa et son insertion dans peptaibol sont aussi discutés ici de plus avec la synthèse de phase solide de Bergofungin naturel D. / The click chemistry has become indispensible in the many areas of chemistry associated with drug design. In this context, as we know the study concerning the impact of triazole insertion on the conformation of peptaibol is limited, we have conducted the study to investigate the impact and adaptability of the 1, 4-disubstituted 1, 2, 3-triazole insertion into different peptaibols. Depending on the outcome of this experiment relating to reduced activity and perturbed conformation of the peptaibol analogue, the dipeptide surrogate decorated with the triazole moiety bearing various hydrophobic substituents was inserted at the very N-ter part of the peptaibol. The improvement of the bioactivity and restoration of the conformation for the peptaibol analogues was observed and the fact was also supported by the results obtained from the biophysical study of the selected analogues of ALM F50/5. We have further extended our study to employ our strategy to be applied on the therapeutic P42 peptide which suffers from the limitation of lack of permeability and stability. P42 peptide is involved in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative Huntington’s disease. A total of 12 analogues of P42-TAT peptide were synthesized through SPPS by our optimized protocol. In the second part, we have developed a strategy for synthesizing the cyclic lipopeptide originated from marine cynaobacterial species. Our main objective was to synthesize Hormothamnin A, a cyclic undecapeptide consisting of several unnatural amino acids including dehydroamino acid (Dhaa) which makes the synthesis of this peptide complicated. Due to this reason, firstly, we have chosen to apply our strategy to synthesize Trichormamide A, a relatively simpler kind of cylic lipopeptide. After accomplishing this task, a first attempt was made to synthesize Hormothamnin A. The preliminary result of this is presented in this section. At last, we have tried to develop a robust methodology to synthesize Fmoc-Dhaa in solution phase and its insertion into the peptaibol sequence through a standard SPPS protocol. The preliminary results we have got concerning the Dhaa synthesis and its insertion into peptaibol are also discussed here in addition with the solid phase synthesis of natural Bergofungin D

The activity of protein kinases is heavily dependent on the phosphorylation state of the protein. Kinase phosphorylation states have been prepared through biological or enzymatic means for biochemical evaluation, but the use of protein chemical modification as an investigative tool has not been addressed. By chemically reacting a genetically encoded cysteine, phosphocysteine was installed via dehydroalanine as a reactive intermediate. The installed phosphocysteine was intended as a surrogate to the naturally occurring phosphothreonine or phosphoserine of a phosphorylated protein kinase. Two model protein kinases were investigated on: MEK1 and p38α. The development of suitable protein variants and suitable reaction conditions on these two proteins is discussed in turn and in detail, resulting in p38α-pCys180 and MEK1-pCys222. Designed to be mimics of the naturally occurring p38α-pThr180 and MEK1-pSer222, these two chemically modified proteins were studied for their biological function. The core biological studies entailed the determination of enzymatic activity of both modified proteins, and included the necessary controls against their active counterparts. In addition, the studies on p38α-pCys180 also included a more detailed quantification of enzymatic activity, and the behaviour of this modified protein against known inhibitors of p38α was also investigated. Both modified proteins were shown to be enzymatically active and behave similarly to corresponding active species. The adaptation of mass spectrometry methods to handle the majority of project's analytical requirements, from monitoring chemical transformations to following enzyme kinetics was instrumental in making these studies feasible. The details of these technical developments are interwoven into the scientific discussion. Also included in this thesis is an introduction to the mechanism and function of protein kinases, and on the protein chemistry methods employed. The work is concluded with a projection of implications that this protein chemical modification technique has on kinase biomedical research.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo estudar o processo de plasticização do amido via mistura física e por reação química para a produção de novos materiais. A plasticização via mistura física foi realizada empregando-se como agentes plasticização diferentes compostos hidroxilados. Os amidos termoplásticos (TPS) foram processadas em misturador intensivo a 150°C, a partir de misturas contendo de 15 a 40% de agente plasticizante. A plasticização via reação química foi realizada com isocianatos monofuncionais e difuncionais, os quais levaram a obtenção de produtos de enxertia e entrecruzamento, respectivamente. Os produtos obtidos foram caracterizados por difração de Raios X, Calorimetria Exploratória Diferencial (DSC), Termogravimetria (TG), Análise Dinâmico-Mecânica (DMA), Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (SEM) e Cromatografia de Permeação em Gel (HPSEC). O estudo dos diferentes plasticizantes propiciou a determinação das características que estas substâncias devem possuir para a preparação de amidos termoplásticos. O cisalhamento desenvolvido durante o processamento em misturador intensivo levou à perda da estrutura cristalina e à desestruturação dos grânulos de amido. O processamento do TPS em misturador intensivo não provoca mudanças significativas na massa molar do amido termoplasticizado. Os amidos termoplasticizados com sorbitol foram aqueles que apresentaram menores valores de absorção de água. Os valores de módulo de Young das amostras plasticizadas com propilenoglicol aumentaram com o aumento do conteúdo de plasticizante. Para as amostras plasticizadas com etilenoglicol o módulo aumenta até 30% de conteúdo de plasticizante, quando ocorre uma diminuição do valor do módulo. Os TPS plasticizados com propilenoglicol, 1, 4-butanodiol, sorbitol e dietilenoglicol apresentaram um aumento da temperatura de transição vítrea com o aumento do tero de plasticizante. Os diferentes TPS obtidos via mistura física apresentaram estabilidade térmica similares à exibida pelo amido in natura. As propriedades mecânicas destes materiais variaram de acordo com o tipo e a quantidade de plasticizante empregado. A análise dos produtos obtidos via reação química (amidos enxertados e entrecruzados) revelou que estas reações promoveram a desestruturação dos grânulos de amido e, independentemente do regente empregado, a modificação produziu derivados mais hidrofóbicos que o amido in natura. A reação do amido com o oligômero de poli-óxido de propileno tolueno di-isocianato permitiu a obtenção de um derivado com propriedades de material elastomérico e elevada capacidade de intumescimento. Os derivados enxertados ou entrecruzados apresentaram perda de cristalinidade, redução do caráter hidrofílico e estabilidades térmicas semelhantes à apresentada pelo amido in natura. / This main of this work was to study of the cornstarch granules plasticization by means of physical or chemical treatments in order to prepare new materials. The plasticization by physical processing was performed in an intensive mixer at 150°C using ditferent hydroxylated compounds as plasticizers. The production of thermoplastic starch (TPS) by chemical reaction was carried out using mono and di-isocyanates to obtain grafted and cross linked derivatives, respectively. All the products were characterized by X Ray Diffraction, Ditferential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetry (TG), Dynamical Mechanical Analysis (DMA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), High Pressure Size Exclusion Chromatography (HPSEC). The utilization of ditferent plasticizer permitted determining which characteristics the substances must present to be used in the TPS preparation. The shear developed in the processing step lead to the loss of crystalline pattern and disruption of the starch granules. The utilization of intensive mixer does not produce significant changes in the molar mass of the thermoplastic starch. TPS produced using sorbitol as plasticizer presented the lowest level of water uptake. The valous of Young modulus for TPS produced with propylene glycol increased with the content of plasticizer. To samples produced with ethylene glycol the values of Young modulus increased until 30% and after the modulus decrease. TPS prepared with propylene glycol, 1, 4-butanediol, sorbitol and diethyleneglycol showed an increase in the glass transition temperature with the increase in the plasticizer content. The ditferent TPS produced by physical mixture shoed thermal stabilities similar to the one exhibited by in natura starch. The mechanical properties of these materials were dependent of the type and amount of plasticizer. The analysis of the derivatives obtained by chemical reaction (grafted and cross linked) revealed the occurrence of disruption of the starch granules and, independent1y of isocyanate, the products presented higher hydrophobic character than that one presented by in natura starch. By reaction starch with propylene toluene polyoxide oligomer, it was obtained a derivative with elastomeric properties and high swelling capability. The grafted or cross linked derivatives showed loss of crystallinity, decrease in hydrophilic character, and thermal stability similar to the one exhibited by in natura starch.

Living cells and their components play a key role within biotechnology industry. Cell cultures and their products of interest are used for the design of vaccines as well as in the agro-alimentary field. In order to ensure optimal working of such bioprocesses, the understanding of the complex mechanisms which rule them is fundamental. Mathematical models may be helpful to grasp the biological phenomena which intervene in a bioprocess. Moreover, they allow prediction of system behaviour and are frequently used within engineering tools to ensure, for instance, product quality and reproducibility.<p> <p>Mathematical models of cell cultures may come in various shapes and be phrased with varying degrees of mathematical formalism. Typically, three main model classes are available to describe the nonlinear dynamic behaviour of such biological systems. They consist of macroscopic models which only describe the main phenomena appearing in a culture. Indeed, a high model complexity may lead to long numerical computation time incompatible with engineering tools like software sensors or controllers. The first model class is composed of the first principles or white box models. They consist of the system of mass balances for the main species (biomass, substrates, and products of interest) involved in a reaction scheme, i.e. a set of irreversible reactions which represent the main biological phenomena occurring in the considered culture. Whereas transport phenomena inside and outside the cell culture are often well known, the reaction scheme and associated kinetics are usually a priori unknown, and require special care for their modelling and identification. The second kind of commonly used models belongs to black box modelling. Black boxes consider the system to be modelled in terms of its input and output characteristics. They consist of mathematical function combinations which do not allow any physical interpretation. They are usually used when no a priori information about the system is available. Finally, hybrid or grey box modelling combines the principles of white and black box models. Typically, a hybrid model uses the available prior knowledge while the reaction scheme and/or the kinetics are replaced by a black box, an Artificial Neural Network for instance.<p><p>Among these numerous models, which one has to be used to obtain the best possible representation of a bioprocess? We attempt to answer this question in the first part of this work. On the basis of two simulated bioprocesses and a real experimental one, two model kinds are analysed. First principles models whose reaction scheme and kinetics can be determined thanks to systematic procedures are compared with hybrid model structures where neural networks are used to describe the kinetics or the whole reaction term (i.e. kinetics and reaction scheme). The most common artificial neural networks, the MultiLayer Perceptron and the Radial Basis Function network, are tested. In this work, pure black box modelling is however not considered. Indeed, numerous papers already compare different neural networks with hybrid models. The results of these previous studies converge to the same conclusion: hybrid models, which combine the available prior knowledge with the neural network nonlinear mapping capabilities, provide better results.<p><p>From this model comparison and the fact that a physical kinetic model structure may be viewed as a combination of basis functions such as a neural network, kinetic model structures allowing biological interpretation should be preferred. This is why the second part of this work is dedicated to the improvement of the general kinetic model structure used in the previous study. Indeed, in spite of its good performance (largely due to the associated systematic identification procedure), this kinetic model which represents activation and/or inhibition effects by every culture component suffers from some limitations: it does not explicitely address saturation by a culture component. The structure models this kind of behaviour by an inhibition which compensates a strong activation. Note that the generalization of this kinetic model is a challenging task as physical interpretation has to be improved while a systematic identification procedure has to be maintained.<p><p>The last part of this work is devoted to another kind of biological systems: proteins. Such macromolecules, which are essential parts of all living organisms and consist of combinations of only 20 different basis molecules called amino acids, are currently used in the industrial world. In order to allow their functioning in non-physiological conditions, industrials are open to modify protein amino acid sequence. However, substitutions of an amino acid by another involve thermodynamic stability changes which may lead to the loss of the biological protein functionality. Among several theoretical methods predicting stability changes caused by mutations, the PoPMuSiC (Prediction Of Proteins Mutations Stability Changes) program has been developed within the Genomic and Structural Bioinformatics Group of the Université Libre de Bruxelles. This software allows to predict, in silico, changes in thermodynamic stability of a given protein under all possible single-site mutations, either in the whole sequence or in a region specified by the user. However, PoPMuSiC suffers from limitations and should be improved thanks to recently developed techniques of protein stability evaluation like the statistical mean force potentials of Dehouck et al. (2006). Our work proposes to enhance the performances of PoPMuSiC by the combination of the new energy functions of Dehouck et al. (2006) and the well known artificial neural networks, MultiLayer Perceptron or Radial Basis Function network. This time, we attempt to obtain models physically interpretable thanks to an appropriate use of the neural networks.<p> / Doctorat en sciences appliquées / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished