Os hidrocarbonetos monoaromáticos BTEX (benzeno, tolueno, etilbenzeno e xilenos) têm sido utilizados como solventes e estão presentes no ambiente, incluindo o ar, solo e água. Entre os componentes mais tóxicos estão o benzeno e o tolueno. Para uma correta avaliação do efeito desses contaminantes em águas é imprescindível a realização de estudos ecotoxicológicos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a toxicidade aguda e crônica dos hidrocarbonetos monoaromáticos por BTEX sobre os organismos testes Daphnia magna, Vibrio fischeri, Desmodesmus subspicatus e comparar os resultados com os limites definidos pelas legislações. Foram preparadas soluções aquosas em presença de metanol empregando-se padrões de BTEX-Mix, benzeno e tolueno (isolados). Essas soluções foram empregadas nos testes de ecotoxicidade conduzidos de acordo com metodologias padronizadas pela ABNT. Os resultados mostraram que para os testes com Daphnia magna os valores de CE50(48h) para BTEX-Mix, benzeno e tolueno foram, respectivamente, 1.187,27 μg.L-1, 73,23 g.L-1, 81,58 μg.L-1. Os testes com Desmodesmus subspicatus não apresentaram sensibilidade para o BTEX-Mix até 1000 μg.L-1 e foram obtidos os valores de CI(96h) para benzeno e tolueno, respectivamente, 197,90 g.L-1, 7.270 g.L-1. Com relação à utilização de metodologias padronizadas foi verificado que os ensaios com Daphnia magna apresentaram maior reprodutibilidade. Os resultados dos ensaios com Vibrio fischeri não apresentaram reprodutibilidade principalmente devido à volatilização das amostras. Comparações realizadas entre os valores das legislações e os resultados obtidos nos testes permitiram afirmar que, na maioria dos casos, os valores máximos permitidos estão abaixo do CE50 encontrado no estudo. Para descarte de efluentes em corpo receptor são preocupantes os valores estipulados quando o corpo receptor não possui grande capacidade de assimilar as altas cargas dos monoaromáticos. Para a Portaria 2914/2011 de consumo de água, o valor de 170 μg.L-1 está acima do CE50 e do CE10 encontrado para Daphnia magna, enquanto para a dessendentação de animais conforme o CONAMA 396/08 está abaixo. Os valores internacionais ambientais coincidem e estão abaixo dos valores encontrados, já as referências no Brasil para avaliação de passivos estão acima. / The hidocarbonetos monoaromatic BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes) have been used as solvents and are present in the environment, including air, soil and water. Among the most toxic components are benzene and toluene. For a correct evaluation of the effect of these contaminants in water is essential to carry out ecotoxicological studies. The objective of this work was to study the acute and chronic toxicity of monoaromatic hydrocarbons BTEX represented by tests on organisms Daphnia magna, Vibrio fischeri, Desmodesmus subspicatus and compare with the current laws. Aqueous solutions were prepared in the presence of methanol from patterns of BTEX-Mix, benzene, and toluene (isolated). These solutions were used to ecotoxicity tests according to standard procedures by ABNT. The results showed that in tests with Daphnia magna EC50 values (48h) for BTEX (mix), benzene and toluene were respectively 1187.27 μgL-1, 73.23 μgL-1, 81.58 μgL-1. Tests with Desmodesmus subspicatus showed no sensitivity to the BTEX (mix) until 1000 μgL-1 were obtained and the values of CI (96h) for benzene and toluene, respectively, 197.90 μgL-1, 7,270 μgL-1. With respect to the use of standardized methodologies been found that Daphnia magna assays showed higher reproducibility. The results of tests with Vibrio fischeri showed no reproducibility principally due to volatilization of the samples. Comparisons between the values of laws and the results obtained in tests enabled state that in most cases the maximum allowed values are below the EC50 found in the study. For disposal of effluent in the receiving body are disturbing the values stipulated when the receiver does not have great body ability to absorb the high loads of monoaromatic. For Ordinance number 2914/2011 of water amounts to 170 μgL-1. It is above the EC50 and EC10 found for Daphnia magna, while for tooth loss of animals as CONAMA 396/08 is below. The international environmental values coincide and are below the values found in the references already in Brazil for evaluation of liabilities are above.

Phanerochaete chrysosporium est un champignon ligninolytique largement étudié pour ses capacités à dégrader la lignine et certains xénobiotiques grâce à un important système d'enzymes extracellulaires. Son génome est entièrement séquencé et constitue un inventaire de séquences protéiques prédites qui a permis la description de nombreuses superfamilles de protéines. Parmi elles, les Glutathion S-transférases sont essentiellement impliquées dans le métabolisme secondaire du champignon. Cependant, malgré les nombreux travaux montrant l'implication de ces enzymes dans la réponse aux stress, le développement cellulaire et plus globalement dans certaines fonctions métaboliques, leurs réelles fonctions restent inconnues à cause de leur grande diversité et le manque de données concernant leurs spécificités catalytiques. P. chrysosporium possède 27 isoformes de GSTs qui se regroupent en 7 classes. Parmi elles, 3 sont étendues chez les champignons saprophytes : les classes Omega, Ure2p et ethérase. Deux membres de la classe Omega ont été caractérisés au niveau biochimique et montrent desspécificités de substrat. En effet, PcGTO1 fait partie d'une nouvelle classe appelée S-glutathionyl-phydroquinone reductase, alors que PcGTO3 est plutôt active avec le phenylacetophenone. La structure tridimensionnelle de PcGTO1 suggère que l'enzyme appartient également à une nouvelle classe structurale que nous avons appelée xi. La deuxième classe majoritaire que nous avons étudiée est la classe des Ure2p qui est composée de 9 isoformes et se regroupent en 2 sous-classes. Trois isoformes ont été étudiées au niveau transcriptionnel, biochimique et physiologique. PcUre2p4 et PcUre2p6 appartenant à la première sous-classe sont spécifiquement exprimés dans des cultures fongiques en présence d'hydrocarbures aromatiques polycycliques et l'activité des protéines recombinantes correspondantes est classique des GSTs à savoir le transfert de glutathion sur un substrat hydrophobe. A l'inverse, PcUre2p1 qui appartient à la deuxième sous-classe est exprimé de manière constitutive au niveau transcriptionnel et la protéine présente une activité thiol transférase comparable aux protéines de la classe Omega. Les analyses physiologiques menées grâce à la complémentation de souche déficience de Saccharomyces cerevisiae ont montré que PcUre2p1, PcUre2p4 et PcUre2p6 n'avaient pas la même fonction que l'isoforme de la levure puisqu'aucune complémentation n'a été détectée en ce qui concerne la résistance au stress ou la régulation du métabolisme azoté. Ces résultats suggèrent que leschampignons, en particulier ceux qui présentent des propriétés saprophytes ont développé des spécificités de fonction de leur GSTs probablement en réponse à des contraintes environnementales. / Phanerochaete chrysosporium is a ligninolytic fungus widely studied because of its capacities to degrade wood and xenobiotics through an extracellular enzymatic system. Its genome has been sequenced and has provided researchers with a complete inventory of the predicted proteins produced by this organism. This has allowed the description of many protein superfamilies. Among them, Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) constitute a complex and widespread superfamily classified as enzymes of secondary metabolism. However, despite the numerous associations of GSTs with stress responses, cell development and metabolism in various organisms, the functions of these enzymes remain usually evasive mainly due to their high diversity and also to the lack of knowledge about their catalytic specificities. In P. chrysosporium 27 GST isoforms have been highlighted and clustered into seven classes. Among them three are extended in saprophytic fungi: the Omega, the Ure2p and the etherase classes. Two members of the Omega class have been characterized at the biochemical level showing difference in substrate specificities. Indeed, PcGTO1 is member of a new class of Sglutathionyl- p-hydroquinone reductase, while PcGTO3 is rather active with phenylacetophenone. The three-dimensional structure of PcGTO1 confirms the hypothesis not only of a new biological class, but also of a new structural class that we propose to name GST xi. The second extended class we have studied is the Ure2p one. It is composed of nine isoforms in P. chrysosporium and clusters into two subclasses. Three Ure2p class members have been studied in more details at transcriptional, biochemical and physiological levels. PcUre2p4 and PcUre2p6 of the first subclass are specifically expressed in cultures treated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the recombinant proteins are active as typical glutathione transferases. By contrast, PcUre2p1, which belongs to the second subclass is constitutively expressed whatever the condition tested and is active with small molecules as substrate, such as proteins from the Omega class. Physiological studies have revealed that these proteins do not have the same function than the Saccharomyce cerevisiae isoform, concerning both the response to oxidative stress and its involvement in the nitrogen catabolite repression. These results suggest that fungi, especially those with saprophytic capabilities, have developed specificities of GST function as an adaptation to environmental constraints

In this work, we describe the synthesis and characterization of three novel sulfur-doped nanographenes (NGs) (1–3) containing multiple subhelicenes, including carbo[4]helicenes, thieno[4]helicenes, carbo[5]helicenes, and thieno[5]helicenes. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the helicene substructures in 1–3 possess dihedral angles from 15° to 34°. The optical energy gaps of 1–3 are estimated to be 2.67, 2.45, and 2.30 eV, respectively. These three sulfur-doped NGs show enlarged energy gaps compared to those of their pristine carbon analogues.

Les adduits exocycliques à l’ADN paraissent être la conséquence indirecte, sous la médiation de la peroxydation lipidique, du stress oxydant cellulaire induit par les composés aromatiques nitrés (CANs) de l’environnement. Ces derniers, formés le plus souvent in situ dans les environnements complexes sont un sujet de préoccupation croissante en santé environnementale. Le but étant de comprendre les mécanismes de formation et de dégradation de ces adduits afin d’en apprécier leur place dans la toxicité des CANs et leur intérêt en tant que biomarqueurs du stress oxydant induit par l’environnement.Nous avons réalisé la synthèse de deux adduits exocycliques : le 1,N²-éthéno-2’-déoxyguanosine (εdG) et le 1,N²-propano-2’-déoxyguanosine (pdG-HNE) et étudié leurstabilité en présence d’une oxydation radicalaire. Il est apparu que le pdG-HNE semble être lemeilleur candidat en tant que biomarqueur du stress oxydant.Pour approcher au mieux la chimie du vivant, nous nous sommes posés la question dela stabilité de ces adduits en milieu cellulaire. Une étude préliminaire de génotoxicité a étéréalisée et montre que seuls les hydrocarbures aromatiques polycycliques nitrés présententune potentialité mutagène significative. Nous avons donc étudié le pyrène et ses dérivés nitrés(1-Nitropyrène/1,3-Dinitropyrène/1,6-Dinitropyrène/1,8-Dinitropyrène) afin d’étudier leurcapacité à générer des adduits dans les lymphocytes humains.Nos résultats montrent que le 1-Nitropyrène génère in vitro des adduits stables dans letemps ; ce qui pose la question de leur réparabilité par les systèmes cellulaires et de leurspotentialités cancérogènes pour l’homme. / Exocyclic DNA adducts seem to be the indirect consequence, mediated by lipidperoxidation, of oxidative stress induced by nitro aromatic compounds (NACs). The latterusually formed in situ in environmental complex mixtures are a matter of concern inenvironmental health. The aim is to understand the mechanisms of formation and degradationof these adducts to assess their place in toxicity of NACs and their importance as oxidativestress biomarkers induced by the environment.We synthesized two exocylic adducts: 1, N²-etheno-2’-deoxyguanosine (εdG) and 1,N²-propano-2'-deoxyguanosine (pdG-HNE) and studied their stability when a radicaloxidation is present. It appeared that pdG-HNE seems a suitable biomarker of oxidative stress.To come close to life chemistry, we were wondering whether these adducts are stablein cellular environment. A preliminary study of genotoxicity was carried out and showed thatonly nitro polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have a significant mutagenic potency. Thereforewe studied pyrene and nitropyrenes (1-Nitropyrene/1,3-Dinitropyrene/1,6-Dinitropyrene/1,8-Dinitropyrene) to examine their ability to produce adducts in human lymphocytes.Our results show that 1-Nitropyrene give rise to stable adducts in vitro, which raisesthe question of their repairability by cellular systems and their potential carcinogenic tohumans.

This work describes the application of a variety of Lewis bases, encompassing predominantly N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), but also the use of imidazoles, aminopyridines, amidines and isothioureas, as effective catalysts in the dearomatisation of heterocyclic carbonates, predominantly the rearrangement of oxazolyl carbonates to their C-carboxyazlactone isomers by means of the Steglich rearrangement. This rearrangement reaction has been investigated extensively, with the development of simplified reaction procedures and the invention of domino cascade protocols incorporating this transformation. In an attempt to understand the mechanism of this O- to C-carboxylation process, a number of interesting observations have been made. Firstly, the class of NHC has an important factor in promoting the rearrangement, with triazolinylidenes being the most effective. Secondly, an interesting chemoselectivity has been delineated using triazolium-derived NHCs, prepared using weak bases (typically Et₃N) or strong metallated bases; both alkyl and aryl oxazolyl carbonates undergo smooth rearrangement with triazolinylidenes derived from strong metallated bases such as KHMDS, while only aryl oxazolyl carbonates undergo rearrangement using Et₃N. Extensive effort has focused towards the development of asymmetric variants of these protocols, primarily towards the design, synthesis and evaluation of chiral NHC precatalysts. To this end, a number of chiral azolium salts have been prepared, encompassing a number of different NHC classes, including C₁- and C₂-imidazolinium salts, C₂-imidazolium salts and a range of triazolium salts. Efforts towards the asymmetric catalysis of the Steglich rearrangement of oxazolyl carbonate substrates have given an optimal 66% ee. Similar rearrangements have been demonstrated with the related furanyl heterocyclic substrate class, producing a mixture of α- and γ-carboxybutenolides. In contrast to the analogous oxazolyl carbonates, the regioselectivity of this rearrangement is dependent upon the nature of the Lewis base employed. Amidines and aminopyridines give a mixture of the α- and γ- regioisomers with generally the α-regioisomer being preferred, while a triazolium-derived NHC gives rise to predominantly the thermodynamically more stable γ-carboxybutenolide. Using amidines or aminopyridines, this rearrangement has been shown to proceed via an irreversible C-C bond-forming process, but in contrast, the rearrangement using the NHC proceeds via an equilibrium process with an optimised regioselectivity of >98:2 for the γ-carboxybutenolide regioisomer over the α-regioisomer. Whilst the asymmetric variant using chiral NHCs has proven unfruitful, rearrangements using a chiral isothiourea have given high levels of regioselectivity towards the α- regioisomer and with excellent levels of enantiodiscrimination (77–95% ee).

Esta dissertação apresenta estudos visando à síntese de indanos oticamente ativos, através da contração de anel de 3-alquenóis promovida por tálio(III). Dois novos sais de tálio(III) foram preparados - o (S)-(-)-triacetoxipropionato de tálio (TTAP) e o tripropionato de tálio (TTP) - a partir do triacetato de tálio (TTA) e dos ácidos (S)-(-)-2-acetoxipropiônico e propiônico, respectivamente. A ciclização do isopulegol foi realizada com TTAP e com TTP, em rendimentos similares aos obtidos com TTA e com trinitrato de tálio (TTN). O rearranjo oxidativo do 2-(3,4-diidronaftalen-1-il)-etanol, que é um 3-alquenol, também pôde ser efetuado com o TTAP e com o TTP, embora rendimentos inferiores aos obtidos com TTN, com TTA, ou com trifluoroacetato de tálio (TTFA) tenham sido alcançados. Nestas contrações de anel, fica evidente que a ordem de reatividade segue a força elétron atraente dos ânions ligados ao tálio. Além disso, as melhores condições reacionais obtidas foram as que utilizam como solvente uma mistura de água e do ácido correspondente ao ligante do sal de tálio(III). Finalmente, na reação de contração de anel com o sal de tálio(III) quiral TTAP, o produto de contração de anel foi obtido como uma mistura racêmica. Os testes preliminares de resolução enzimática do 3-hidroxi-1-indan-1-il-propan-1-ona realizados com lipases mostraram-se promissores, abrindo novas perspectivas para a obtenção de indanos oticamente ativos com bom excesso enantiomérico. / This dissertation presents a study toward the synthesis of optically active indans by the thallium(III) promoted ring contraction of 3-alkenols. Two new thallium(III) salts were prepared - thalllium (S)-(-)-triacetoxypropionate (TTAP) and thallium tripropionate (TTP) - from thallium triacetate (TIA) and (S)-(-)-2-acetoxypropionic acid and propionic acid, respectively. The cyclization of isopulegol was performed using TTAP or TTP. The isolated yields for these reactions are similar to that obtained with TTA or with thallium trinitrate (TTN) The oxidative rearrangement of the 2-(3,4-dihydro-naphthalen-1-yl)-ethanol, which is a 3alkenol, could also be performed by TTAP or by TTP, although the isolated yields were lower from that in a similar reaction with TTN, TTA or thallium trifluoroacetate (TTFA). In these ring contractions, the reactivity c1early depends on the eletron-withdrawing ability of the anion bonded to the thallium atom. In addition, the best reaction conditions are those where the solvent is a mixture of H2O and the acid corresponding to the ligand of the thallium(III) salt. Finally, in the reaction using the chiral non-racemic TTAP, the ring contraction product was obtained as a racemic mixture. The preliminary results on the enzymatic resolution of 3-hydroxy-1-indan-1-yl-propan-1-one using lipases show that optically active indan might be obtained in good e.e. using this approach.

The efficiency of wastewater treatment systems is commonly measured by the reductions of parameters such as biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total suspended solids (TSS) and/or reductions in levels of selected macro compounds (e.g. long-chained hydrocarbons and inorganic compounds). Less attention has generally been paid to micropollutants with high potential toxic effects, such as polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs), including unsubstituted and alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and dibenzothiophenes, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), human pharmaceuticals and by-products formed during the treatment process. These organic micropollutants occur in wastewaters at trace and ultra-trace levels, therefore their detection requires advanced, costly analyses and large sample volumes. Furthermore, concentrations of micropollutants can fluctuate widely both diurnally and between days. Thus, in order to understand the fate of micropollutants in wastewaters there is a need to develop sampling techniques that allow representative samples to be readily collected. In the work underlying this thesis two types of diffusive passive samplers, semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) and polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCISs), were used to monitor non-polar and polar organic micropollutants in wastewaters subjected to various treatment processes. The pollutants sequestered in these samplers represent micropollutants in the dissolved phase that are available for aquatic organisms. Further, since they collect pollutants in an integrative manner, i.e. they sample continuously during the selected exposure time (usually approx. one to ca. three weeks), the results provide time-weighted average (TWA) concentrations. In addition, the effects of various environmental factors on the uptake of analyzed micropollutants in POCISs and SPMDs were investigated using laboratory calibration and in situ calibration with performance reference compounds (PRCs). The results confirm that SPMDs are good sampling tools for investigating the efficacy of wastewater treatment processes for removing non-polar PACs and PCBs, and the effects of varying the process settings. In addition, analyses of process streams in municipal sewage treatment plants demonstrated that conventional sewage treatment processes are not optimized for removing dissolved four-ringed PAHs, some of the five-ringed PAHs, and tri- to hexa-chlorinated biphenyls. The removal of bioavailable PACs was enhanced by adding sorbents with high sorption capacities to the sludge used in the activated sludge treatment step, and a biologically activated carbon system was designed that robustly removed bioavailable PACs, with removal efficiencies of 96.9-99.7 percent across the tested ranges of five varied process parameters. In situ SPMD calibration data acquired show that uptake of PACs, described by SPMD sampling rates (Rs), were four to eight times higher than published laboratory calibrated Rs values, mainly due to strong (bio)fouling and turbulence effects. In addition, the laboratory calibration study demonstrated that temperature affects the POCIS uptake of pharmaceuticals. The uptake of four pharmaceuticals was higher, by 10-56 percent, at 18 °C compared to 5 °C. For two of the pharmaceuticals our data indicate that the uptake was lower by 18-25 percent at 18 °C. Our results also indicate that uptake of the studied pharmaceuticals was in the linear phase throughout the 35 day exposure period at both temperatures. Finally, calibration studies enabled aqueous concentrations of micropollutants to be more accurately estimated from amounts collected in the passive samplers.

Floodplain lakes are strongly regulated by river connectivity because floodwaters exert strong influence on the water balance, the physical, chemical and biological limnological conditions, and the influx of contaminants. The Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD) in northern Alberta (Canada) is a hydrologically complex landscape and is an important node in the upper Mackenzie River Drainage Basin. The ecological integrity of the PAD is potentially threatened by multiple environmental stressors, yet our understanding of the hydroecology of this large floodplain remains underdeveloped. Indeed, ever since the planning and construction of the WAC Bennett Dam (1960s), concerns have grown over the effects of upstream human activities on the lakes of the PAD. More recently, concerns over the health of the PAD have intensified and come to the fore of national and international dialogue due to water abstraction and mining and processing activities by the rapidly expanding oil sands industry centred in Fort McMurray Alberta. Currently, widespread perception is that upstream human activities have reduced water levels and frequency of flooding at the PAD, which have lowered nutrient availability and productivity of perched basin lakes, and have increased supply of pollutants from oil sands. However, these perceptions remain based on insufficient knowledge of pre-impact conditions and natural variability. Current and past relations between hydrology and limnology of PAD lakes are mostly undocumented, particularly during the important spring freshet period when the effects of river flood waters are strongest. Similarly, knowledge of the deposition of oil-sands- related contaminants in the PAD remains insufficient to determine whether anthropogenic activities have increased the deposition of important oil-sands-related contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) relative to natural processes. Such knowledge gaps must be filled to achieve effective monitoring, policy and governance concerning impacts of industrial development and the protection of human and environmental health within the PAD and Mackenzie drainage basin. This thesis examines the effects of river flooding (and the lack of) on water clarity, nutrients, chemistry, phytoplankton abundance, epiphyton community composition and the deposition of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) in lakes of the Peace-Athabasca Delta. To determine the role of flooding on contemporary epiphytic diatom communities (an abundant and diverse guild of primary producers in PAD lakes), a field experiment was conducted examining the community composition and abundance of epiphytic diatoms in four PAD lakes. Two of these four lakes had received floodwaters that spring and two had not. Epiphytic diatom communities in each lake were sampled during the peak macrophyte biomass period (summer) from two macrophyte taxa (Potamogeton zosteriformis, P. perfoliatus var. richardsonii) and from polypropylene artificial substrates previously deployed that spring. A two-way analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) test identified that epiphytic diatom community composition differed between lakes that flooded and those that did not flood. From the use of similarity percentage (SIMPER) analysis, diatom taxa were identified that discriminate between flooded and non-flooded lakes. The relative abundance of ‘strong flood indicator taxa’ was used to construct an event-scale flood record spanning the past ~180 years using analyses of sedimentary diatom assemblages from a closed-drainage lake (PAD 5). Results were verified by close agreement with an independent paleo-flood record from a nearby flood-prone oxbow lake (PAD 54) and historical records. Comparison of epiphytic diatoms in flooded and non-flooded lakes in this study provides a promising approach to detect changes in flood frequency, and may have applications for reconstructing other pulse-type disturbances such as hurricanes and pollutant spills. Additionally, this study demonstrates that artificial substrates can provide an effective bio-monitoring tool for lakes of the PAD and elsewhere. To improve our understanding of the hydrolimnological responses of lake in the PAD to flooding, repeated measurements over three years (2003-05) were made on a series of lakes along a hydrological gradient. This allowed the role of river flooding to be characterized on limnological conditions of lakes and to identify the patterns and timescales of limnological change after flooding. River floodwaters elevate lake water concentrations of suspended sediment, total phosphorus (TP), SO4 and dissolved Si (DSi), and reduce concentrations of total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), DOC and most ions. River flooding increases limnological homogeneity among lakes, because post-flood conditions are strongly affected by the river water properties. After floodwaters recede, limnological conditions become more heterogeneous among lakes in response to diversity of local basin influences (geology, slope, vegetation, depth, fetch, and biological communities and processes), and limnological changes occur at two distinct timescales. In the weeks to months after flooding, water clarity increases as suspended sediments and TP settle out of the water column. In the absence of flooding for many years to decades, evaporative concentration leads to an increase in most nutrients (TKN, inorganic N, and dissolved P), DOC and ions. Contrary to a prevailing paradigm, these results suggest that regular flooding is not required to maintain high nutrient concentrations. In light of anticipated declines in river discharge, limnological conditions in the southern Athabasca sector will become increasingly less dominated by the short-term effects of flooding, and resemble nutrient- and solute-rich lakes in the northern Peace sector that are infrequently flooded. To determine the roles of the Athabasca River and atmospheric transport as vectors for the deposition of PACs in the PAD, sediment cores spanning the last ~200 years were collected from three lakes within the delta. A closed-drainage basin elevated well above the floodplain (PAD 18) was selected to determine temporal patterns of change in PAC concentration due to atmospheric deposition and within-basin production of PACs. Known patterns of paleohydrological changes at the other two lakes (PAD 23 and 31) were used to assess the role of the Athabasca River in delivering PACs to the Athabasca Delta during the ~200 year. Well- dated sediment core samples were analysed for 52 alkylated and non-alkylated PACs (method EPA 3540/8270-GC/MS). Sediments deposited in the non-flood prone lake (PAD 18) contained lower concentrations of total PACs compared to sediments deposited during flood-prone periods in the other study lakes, and were dominated by PACs of a pyrogenic rather than bitumen origin. Multivariate analysis of similarity tests identified that the composition of PACs differs between sediments deposited during not flood-prone and flood-prone periods. Subsequent Similarities Percentage (SIMPER) analysis was used and identified seven PACs that are preferentially deposited during flood-prone periods. These seven PACs are bitumen-associated, river-transported and account for 51% of the total PACs found in oil-sands sediment. At PAD 31, which has been flood-prone both before and since onset of Athabasca oil sands development, identified no measureable differences in both the proportion and concentration of the river-transported indicator PACs in sediments deposited pre-1940s versus post-1982. Our findings suggest that natural erosion of exposed bitumen along the banks of the Athabasca River and its tributaries is the main process delivering PACs to the Athabasca Delta, and that the spring freshet is a key period for contaminant mobilization and transport. Such key baseline environmental information is essential for informed management of natural resources and human-health concerns by provincial and federal regulatory agencies and industry, and for designing effective long-term monitoring and surveillance programs for the lower Athabasca River watershed in the face of future oil sands development. Further monitoring activities and additional paleolimnological studies of the depositional history of PACs and other oil-sands- and non-oil-sands-related contaminants is strongly recommended. Overall, results of this research identify that river flooding exerts strong control on physical, chemical and biological conditions of lakes within the PAD. However, contrary to prevailing paradigms, the PAD is not a landscape that has been adversely and permanently affected by regulation of the Peace River and industrial development of the oil sands along the Athabasca River. Instead, data from contemporary and paleolimnological studies identify that natural processes continue to dominate the delivery of water and contaminants to the delta. Regular and frequent flooding is not essential to maintain the supply of nutrients and productivity of delta lakes, which has been a widespread paradigm that developed in the absence of objective scientific data. Instead, nutrient concentrations rise over years to decades after flooding and lake productivity increases. During the thesis research, novel approaches were developed and demonstrated to be effective. Namely, new artificial substrate samplers were designed for aquatic biomonitoring that accrue periphyton and can identify the occurrence of flood events. Also, paleolimnological methods were employed to characterize the composition and concentration of PACs supplied by natural processes prior to oil sands industrial activity, which serves as an important benchmark for assessing industrial impacts. These are effective methods that can be employed to improve monitoring programs and scientific understanding of the factors affecting this world-renowned landscape, as well as floodplains elsewhere.

De nombreux sites pollués par des hydrocarbures aromatiques polycycliques (HAP) sont recensés dans les pays industrialisés. Associés aux 16 HAP US-EPA réglementaires, d’autres composés aromatiques polycycliques (CAP), notamment les CAP polaires (oxygénés et azotés) sont présents. Ils proviennent des mêmes sources que les HAP et peuvent être également formés par des processus biotiques ou abiotiques de transformation des HAP (atténuation naturelle ou procédés de dépollution). Ces CAP, plus polaires que les 16 HAP US EPA, sont plus solubles dans l’eau, induisant potentiellement une mobilité accrue dans les sols et de ce fait un risque pour l’Homme et l’environnement. Il est donc indispensable d’enrichir nos connaissances sur la mobilité des CAP polaires dans les sols et leur transfert vers les eaux souterraines. Ainsi l’objectif de ce projet était d’identifier les mécanismes contrôlant la mobilisation des CAP polaires dans les sols en relation avec les 16 HAP US EPA, et leurs modes de transfert en combinant approches laboratoire et in situ. Nos travaux confirment une mobilisation préférentielle des CAP polaires par rapport aux HAP. La mobilisation dans les sols des CAP polaires ainsi que celle des HAP de faible poids moléculaire est essentiellement pilotée par des processus de dissolution des goudrons (loi de Raoult). Néanmoins, alors que les prédictions de mobilisation des CAP polaires sont satisfaisantes dans le cadre de pollutions « fraiches », un paramètre fondamental doit être pris en compte pour les pollutions historiques ayant subi un effet d’aging : la disponibilité. En effet, quelles que soient les conditions de mobilisation (statique-batch ou dynamique-colonne) la teneur en CAP dans les eaux est fortement dépendante de la disponibilité de la pollution. De plus, pour une forte disponibilité des CAP, les autres paramètres testés (force ionique, température) ont une influence limitée sur la mobilisation alors que pour une faible disponibilité, ils peuvent avoir une influence notable. Par ailleurs, la mobilisation des CAP polaires par les colloïdes semble limitée alors qu’elle est prépondérante pour les HAP de hauts poids moléculaires notamment dans le cas d’une eau présentant une force ionique faible. Les essais réalisés sur une colonne lysimétrique (2 m3) remplie avec une terre de cokerie contaminée au 2/3 supérieure et avec une terre prélevée sur le même site mais non contaminée pour le 1/3 inferieur confirment une mobilisation des CAP selon un mécanisme de dissolution des goudrons avec toutefois des concentrations largement inférieures à celles prédites par la loi de Raoult. Aux différentes échelles expérimentales utilisées (batch, colonnes de laboratoire et lysimétrique), il a été clairement mis en évidence que la composante biologique a une influence très forte. Ainsi, une fois sous forme dissoute, les HAP mais également les CAP polaires sont fortement biodégradés sans que des sous-produits (notamment CAP oxygénés) n’aient pu être détectés / In industrial countries, many sites have been diagnosed polluted by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In addition to the regulated 16 US-EPA PAHs, other polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs), especially polar PACs (oxygenated and nitrogenated) occur. They come from the same sources as PAHs but they may also be formed due to PAH degradation under biotic or abiotic processes (natural attenuation or remediation treatment). These PACs, more polar than the 16 US-EPA PAHs, are more soluble in water, resulting in a potentially increased mobility in soils and a higher risk for Humans and Environment. Thus, there is a need to increase our knowledge on polar PAC mobility in soils and their transfer to the groundwater. Combining laboratory and in situ works, this project aimed at identifying the mechanisms involved in the release and transfer mode of polar PACs in soils compared to the 16 US-EPA PAHs. Our works confirm a preferential release of polar PACs compared with PAHs. Polar PACs and low molecular weight PAHs (LMW-PAHs) are mainly released according to a coal tar dissolution mechanism (Raoult law). While satisfactory predictions are obtained for polar PAC release when the pollution is “fresh”, availability is a major parameter that needs to be taken into account for historical contamination impacted by aging. Indeed, whatever the leaching conditions (static-batch and dynamic-column), the PAC concentration in water is highly dependent on the availability level of the pollution. In addition, for a high level of PAC availability, the other parameters studied in the project (ionic strength and temperature) have a limited impact on the PAC release whereas at low availability level, these parameters can show a greater influence. Moreover, the PAC release in association with colloids seems limited for polar PACs but dominating for high molecular weight PAHs (HMW-PAHs), especially under low ionic strength conditions. Leaching tests performed on a lysimeter column (2 m3) filled with a contaminated soil in the 2/3 upper part and with a non-contaminated soil in the 1/3 lower part, both soils being sampled on a former coking plant site, confirm a release of PACs according to a coal tar dissolution mechanism although PAC concentrations are widely lower compared to those predicted by the Raoult law. Whatever the experimental scale studied (batch, laboratory or lysimeter column), a clear influence of the biological compartment has been evidenced. Once the PAHs and polar PACs are dissolved into water, they are highly biodegraded. No by-products - especially oxygenated PACs - were detected

Esta dissertação apresenta estudos visando à síntese de indanos oticamente ativos, através da contração de anel de 3-alquenóis promovida por tálio(III). Dois novos sais de tálio(III) foram preparados - o (S)-(-)-triacetoxipropionato de tálio (TTAP) e o tripropionato de tálio (TTP) - a partir do triacetato de tálio (TTA) e dos ácidos (S)-(-)-2-acetoxipropiônico e propiônico, respectivamente. A ciclização do isopulegol foi realizada com TTAP e com TTP, em rendimentos similares aos obtidos com TTA e com trinitrato de tálio (TTN). O rearranjo oxidativo do 2-(3,4-diidronaftalen-1-il)-etanol, que é um 3-alquenol, também pôde ser efetuado com o TTAP e com o TTP, embora rendimentos inferiores aos obtidos com TTN, com TTA, ou com trifluoroacetato de tálio (TTFA) tenham sido alcançados. Nestas contrações de anel, fica evidente que a ordem de reatividade segue a força elétron atraente dos ânions ligados ao tálio. Além disso, as melhores condições reacionais obtidas foram as que utilizam como solvente uma mistura de água e do ácido correspondente ao ligante do sal de tálio(III). Finalmente, na reação de contração de anel com o sal de tálio(III) quiral TTAP, o produto de contração de anel foi obtido como uma mistura racêmica. Os testes preliminares de resolução enzimática do 3-hidroxi-1-indan-1-il-propan-1-ona realizados com lipases mostraram-se promissores, abrindo novas perspectivas para a obtenção de indanos oticamente ativos com bom excesso enantiomérico. / This dissertation presents a study toward the synthesis of optically active indans by the thallium(III) promoted ring contraction of 3-alkenols. Two new thallium(III) salts were prepared - thalllium (S)-(-)-triacetoxypropionate (TTAP) and thallium tripropionate (TTP) - from thallium triacetate (TIA) and (S)-(-)-2-acetoxypropionic acid and propionic acid, respectively. The cyclization of isopulegol was performed using TTAP or TTP. The isolated yields for these reactions are similar to that obtained with TTA or with thallium trinitrate (TTN) The oxidative rearrangement of the 2-(3,4-dihydro-naphthalen-1-yl)-ethanol, which is a 3alkenol, could also be performed by TTAP or by TTP, although the isolated yields were lower from that in a similar reaction with TTN, TTA or thallium trifluoroacetate (TTFA). In these ring contractions, the reactivity c1early depends on the eletron-withdrawing ability of the anion bonded to the thallium atom. In addition, the best reaction conditions are those where the solvent is a mixture of H2O and the acid corresponding to the ligand of the thallium(III) salt. Finally, in the reaction using the chiral non-racemic TTAP, the ring contraction product was obtained as a racemic mixture. The preliminary results on the enzymatic resolution of 3-hydroxy-1-indan-1-yl-propan-1-one using lipases show that optically active indan might be obtained in good e.e. using this approach.