No description available.

[French below]TLRs are the sentinels of our cells, they are located at the cell surface and alert the whole immune system of the presence of viruses or bacteria. They detect pathogens by recognizing their molecular patterns; this recognition is specific in order to avoid self-recognition, but they need some degree of promiscuity to remedy to pathogen heterogeneity or mutations. Promiscuity is generally defined as an indiscriminate association with molecules regardless their structure and is the contrary of specificity proper of the classic paradigm of key-lock receptor activation. My thesis results demonstrate that TLR4 and TLR2 are more promiscuous than what was believed and that this promiscuity leads to the recognition of cationic lipids and cardiolipins.Cationic lipids lipopolyamines are synthetic molecules nucleic acid nanocarriers proposed to be used for gene therapy, which consists in replacing a gene that is functioning improperly. This thesis demonstrates that lipopolyamines activate TLR2 by forming conserved and/or alternative H-bonds with TLR residues, simulating the recognition of bacterial lipopeptides and inducing pro-inflammatory cytokines secretion; which is deleterious when we aim to use these nanocarriers in the context of gene therapy. We propose the use of unsaturated cationic lipids to avoid TLR2 recognition. TLR activation could be useful instead to prepare one-component vaccine adjuvants, for which both antigen carrier and TLR activation are needed to turn on the immune system and produce antibodies. The second chapter of this thesis investigates the pro-inflammatory properties of other cationic lipids and describes new lipopolyamines able to activate both TLR2 and TLR4. The study of their adjuvanticity properties showed that they are as efficient as the aluminium salts in stimulating antibodies production.The promiscuity of TLR2 and TLR4 raised questions about the presence of endogenous TLR modulators, often countered by contamination concerns. In the third chapter, we investigate the pro- and anti-inflammatory properties of cardiolipin (CL). CL is a tetra-acylated diphosphatidylglycerol located in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Its fatty acid chain length and degree of unsaturation vary depending on species, tissue and pathological conditions. Here we show that unsaturated cardiolipin acts as a competitive TLR4 antagonist by occupying the binding site of LPS and that unsaturations discriminate between TLR4 antagonistic and agonistic activity. Under physiological conditions, mammalian CL chains are unsaturated, whereas there is an increase of saturated CL in patients affected by the Barth Syndrome. Hence we suggest that unsaturated CL could negatively regulate the inflammation during cell damage or death, via TLR4 inhibition. By contrast, saturated CLs may be involved in the inflammatory state associated with the disease. Finally, our study provides new understandings of the mechanism of TLR4 regulation and extends the library of TLR4 agonists and antagonists to molecules of easier synthesis, lower price and higher biocompatibility compared to LPS-based structures. / Resumé en français Les récepteurs Toll-like (TLRs) sont des protéines transmembranaires qui constituent la première barrière de notre système immunitaire inné. Ils détectent la présence de bactéries et virus et alertent l’organisme via la sécrétion de molécules pro-inflammatoires appelés cytokines. Parmi les TLRs, TLR2 and TLR4 reconnaissent respectivement des lipides spécifiques aux bactéries, les lipopeptides et les lipopolysaccharides bactériens LPS. La reconnaissance de motifs moléculaires spécifiques aux pathogènes et absents dans notre organisme est essentiel afin d’éviter une réponse immunitaire venant du soi. Le but de notre thèse était de démontrer que les récepteurs Toll-like possèdent une certaine plasticité et peuvent reconnaître des ligands non identifiés jusqu’ici tels les lipides cationiques et la cardiolipine. Les lipides cationiques sont des molécules synthétiques utilisées comme agents de transfection. Notre travail démontre que les lipides cationiques dont la tête polaire est constituée par des polyamines peuvent mimer les propriétés des ligands naturels et induire la sécrétion de cytokines pro-inflammatoire via l’activation des TLRs. Cette interaction implique des interactions entre la chaine principale de la protéine et les lipides sans intervention des chaines latérales. Cette réaction inflammatoire est contre-indiquée en thérapie génique et nous proposons donc de remplacer les chaines acylées saturées par des chaines insaturées pour la synthèse des nouveaux agents de transfection non-immunogénique. D’autre part, l’activation des TLRs par des agents de transfections active le système immunitaire inné, ce qui permet l’activation du système adaptatif et la production d’anticorps. Nous avons étudié une large gamme des lipides cationiques et identifié des nouveaux activateurs á la fois de TLR2 et de TLR4. L’étude de leurs propriétés adjuvantes a démontré que les lipides cationiques sont des adjuvants comparables aux sels d’aluminium en terme de production d’anticorps. La cardiolipine est un lipide localisé dans la membrane des mitochondries et des bactéries. Le domaine hydrophobe est constitué de quatre chaines acylées qui chez les mammifères sont insaturées. Il a été démontré que la cardiolipine extracellulaire inhibe la sécrétion de cytokines induite par LPS. Notre travail de thèse démontre que cet effet inhibiteur est du à la capacité de la cardiolipine à bloquer le site de liaison du LPS. Le travail démontre aussi que lorsque les chaines acylées sont saturées, c’est le cas dans le Syndrome de Barth, la cardiolipine devient un activateur de TLR4 en interagissant avec TLR4 de façon similaire à LPS. Ce dernier résultat pourrait expliquer l’aspect inflammatoire du Syndrome de Barth et élargie la librairie de ligands de TLR4 á des molécules de structure plus simple et plus aisées à synthétiser que les dérivés de LPS et qui pourraient être utilisés comme adjuvants ou anti-inflammatoires. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

L’objectif de cette étude est de synthétiser de nouveaux polymères aux propriétés spécifiques, en utilisant pour la première fois comme monomère un aldocétène : l’éthylcétène. La synthèse de l’éthylcétène a été entreprise en utilisant deux procédés distincts :d’une part la méthode de McCarney, qui a permis de le préparer dans un solvant par entraînement à la vapeur, et d’autre part le craquage de l’anhydride butyrique à 575°C sous 40mbar.La polymérisation ionique de l’éthylcétène a ensuite été réalisée, dans différentes conditions de solvant, de température et avec plusieurs amorceurs. La polymérisation anionique a abouti uniquement à la formation d’un polyester amorphe, tandis que la polymérisation cationique a conduit exclusivement à un polymère de structure polycétone,d’une grande stéréorégularité avec une cristallinité moyenne de 0,34. Une caractérisation fine de ces polymères a été effectuée par IRTF-ATR, RMN, TGA, DSC, GPC et diffraction desRX. / The aim of this study is to synthesize new polymers with specific properties, using for the first time an aldoketene as monomer, namely ethylketene.The synthesis of ethylketene was carried out by using two distinct processes: on the one hand the method of McCarney, which led to its synthesis in a solvent by co-distillation, and on the other hand the pyrolysis of butyric anhydride at 575°C under 40 mbar.The ionic polymerization of ethylketene was then carried out, using different solvents, temperatures and initiators. The anionic polymerization gave only amorphous polyesters,while the cationic polymerization led exclusively to a polyketonic polymer, highly stereoregular with an average cristallinity of 0.34. A precise characterization of thesepolymers was undertaken by FTIR-ATR, NMR, TGA, DSC, GPC and X-ray diffraction.

Abstract This thesis aims to increase our knowledge about the characteristics of chemical pulp process and wastewaters and how problematic substances, e.g. wood extractives, could be removed effectively and selectively by coagulation–flocculation with either internal or external water treatment. Characterization was performed by investigating kraft pulp bleaching filtrates, as well as wastewater, before (influent) and after (effluent) the activated sludge treatment by means of a range of chemical analyses and by carrying out size fractionation studies. Cationic polyelectrolytes were used to purify oxygen stage bleaching filtrate, and charge analyses (zeta potential, charge quantity) were carried out in order to understand the coagulation phenomenon. In activated sludge treatment, the enhancement of particle removal, either by filtration or using a chemical in the primary clarifier, would lead to savings in aeration costs and result in a more stable process. Microfiltration already with a large pore size (8 µm) removed 30–50% of the wood extractives from the influent. Separate treatment stages for certain wastewater fractions, e.g. debarking plant effluent, would ensure cost-efficiency. After the activated sludge process, the wood extractives were present as particles (18%) and < 3 kDa fraction (82%). β-sitosterol occurred only in particles in the effluent. The release of harmful components into the environment could be decreased by microfiltration (e.g. 0.45 µm) of the final effluent or using a chemical in the secondary clarifier. Interestingly a huge increase in BOD was realized in the 3 kDa fraction of both influent and effluent, which indicated the presence of toxic substances in the larger fractions. After passing the effluent into the water system, there might be a similar jump in the BOD because the effluent is diluted many-fold. This would contribute to the formation of areas with an oxygen deficit. In the coagulation–flocculation studies, effective and selective removal of wood extractives (92%) from the oxygen stage filtrate was obtained with a cationic polyelectrolyte of medium molecular weight and medium charge density at 72 °C and pH 5–6. The multimodal zeta potential distribution gave more information than the average zeta potential. Aggregation of colloidal particles occurred when only one zeta potential was observed. The number of different zeta potentials diminished with decreasing pH and after exceeding a certain polyelectrolyte dosage level.

L'objectif de ce travail est le développement et la caractérisation de matériaux magnétiques (magsorbants) qui pourraient être intégrés dans un procédé assisté magnétiquement dont la finalité est de compléter les procédés actuellement utilisés dans les filières de traitement des eaux. Pour s'inscrire dans une démarche d'écoconception, nos matériaux sont des billes millimétriques constituées d'une matrice biopolymère (alginate ou chitosane) dans laquelle sont encapsulées des nanoparticules magnétiques. Ces billes sont bifonctionnelles, elles possèdent des propriétés adsorbantes permettant l'extraction de polluants organiques. Mais leur originalité réside dans leurs propriétés magnétiques qui sont mises à profit pour les séparer magnétiquement de l'eau à dépolluer. Les propriétés d'adsorption des billes magnétiques vis-à-vis de polluants organiques modèles ont été étudiées en regardant l'effet de différents paramètres tels que le pH et la force ionique de la solution, la concentration initiale en polluant et le temps de contact. Dans un premier temps, les polluants modèles considérés sont des colorants chargés. Nous avons montré que les billes d'alginate sont efficaces pour adsorber le bleu de méthylène chargé positivement alors que les billes de chitosane adsorbent le méthylorange chargé négativement. Par contre, le p-nitrophénol est faiblement adsorbé par les billes d'alginate et de chitosane. Pour pallier ce problème, deux solutions ont été proposées dans le but d'augmenter l'hydrophobicité des billes. La première consiste à ajouter un tensioactif cationique aux billes d'alginate. La deuxième solution est d'encapsuler une organobentonite dans les billes. / The aim of this thesis is the development and characterization of multifunctional materials called magsorbents that could be integrated in a water-treatment process to improve current methods or to develop new methods. These materials are millimetric beads with a polymer matrix in which are encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles of maghemite; in order to develop an environment-friendly product, biopolymers such alginate and chitosan were selected for the matrix. Our materials possess adsorbing properties allowing the extraction of organic pollutants from water. The originality of these materials lies in their magnetic properties that could be exploited for their magnetic separation from the treated medium. The adsorption characteristics of the magnetics beads were assessed by using two dyes: methyl orange (negatively charged) and methylene blue (positively charged). We showed that alginate beads are efficient for the removal of positively charged pollutants while chitosan beads adsorb preferentially negatively charged pollutants. p-nitrophenol is weakly adsorbed by both, alginate and chitosan beads. To overcome this problem, two solutions have been proposed in order to increase the beads hydrophobicity. The first one is adding a cationic surfactant, cetylpyridinium chloride, into alginate beads. The second solution is to encapsulate pillared clay into alginate beads. Both solutions show their efficiency in improving p-nitrophenol adsorption by alginate beads.

siRNA therapy is an emerging technique that reduces protein expression in cells by degrading their mRNAs via the RNA interference pathway (RNAi). Diseases such as cancer often proliferate due to increased protein expression and siRNA therapy offers a new method of treatment for those diseases. Although siRNA therapy has shown success in vitro, it often fails in vivo due to instability in the blood stream. To overcome this limitation, delivery vehicles are necessary for successful transfection of siRNA into target cells and cationic polymers have been widely studied for this purpose. However, complexes between siRNA and delivery vehicles made from cationic polymers exhibit stability issues in the blood stream which results in toxicity and low transfection. This work hypothesizes that improvement of vehicle/siRNA complex stability will improve siRNA transfection efficiency. To test this, the contributions and outcomes of poly(ethylene glycol) [PEG] shell and hydrophobic core modification to a polyethylenimine (PEI) based tethered nanoassemblies (TNAs) were examined. Initially, hydrophobic modification of palmitate (PAL) to the core of the TNA yielded improved transfection efficiency due to an enhanced endosomal escape capability. However, this modification also reduced the TNA/siRNA complex stability. This indicated that the core hydrophobicity must be balanced in order increase stability while increasing transfection efficiency. Additionally, TNAs made from PEG and PEI did not cause transfection in our initial study. The PEG shell density was found to be too great and thereby reduced transfection efficiency. Reducing the PEG density by lowering PEG molecular weight, reducing attachment percentage, and removing small PEI impurities from the synthesis stock increased overall transfection efficiency and unimolecularity of the TNA complexes. This indicated that the shell composition of the TNA must be tuned in order to improve particle design. Further study of the hydrophobically modification to TNAs yielded unintended effects on the transfection efficiency evaluation assay. These particles exhibited an siRNA independent reduction in the reporter protein used to observe transfection, or a false positive effect, that was not previously observed. It was found that this false positive was influence mainly by the hydrophobic group rather than the cationic polymer backbone. Cellular stress was observed in cells dosed with the hydrophobically modified TNAs which lead to over ubiquitination and rapid degradation of the luciferase protein. This demonstrated that core components of TNAs could cause cellular stress and influence interaction outside of the TNA. Overall, this work demonstrates that hydrophobic core and PEG shell modification require balancing and consideration to improve properties of future cationic polymer based siRNA delivery vehicle design.

Gene therapy involves the use of nucleic acids, either DNA or RNA for the treatment, cure, or prevention of human diseases. Synthetic cationic polymers are promising as a tool for gene delivery because of their high level of design flexibility for biomaterial construction and are capable of binding and condensing DNA through electrostatic interactions. Our lab has developed a novel polymer (poly (polyethylene glycol-dodecanoate) (PEGD), a polyester of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and dodecanedioic acid (DDA). PEGD is a linear viscous polymer that self-assembles into a vesicle upon immersion in an aqueous solution. A copolymer of dodecanedioc acid and polyethylene glycol (PEG) was synthesized at a 1:1 ratio. Furmaric (FA) or itaconic acid (IA) was used to suppress DDA in the PEGD copolymer at an 80:20 ratio (DDA: furmaric/itaconic acid) to form the PEGDF/I variant. PEGDF/I are then modified through the Michael addition of Protamine Sulfate (PEGDF/I-PS) and Cys-Arg8 (PEGDF/I-CA) peptide to the carbon-carbon double bond on the polymer backbone to introduce a positive charge. The modified PEGDF/I polymers were capable of binding and condensing DNA. Transfection of HEK 293 cells with pTurboGFP plasmid using modified PEGDF/I polymers was successful but showed varied efficiency. The PEGDF/I-CA polymer had around 30% transfection efficiency and was shown to be non-cytotoxic.

No description available.

Depuis plusieurs années, IFPEN développe des adsorbants à base de zéolithe faujasite pour le procédé de séparation des xylènes. Dans ce cadre, cette thèse a permis de rationaliser les origines de la sélectivité des isomères du xylène dans les zéolithes faujasites. Pour ce faire, une nouvelle approche est proposée. L'objectif est d'établir un modèle à la fois explicatif et prédictif qui permet de relier la sélectivité à un certain nombre de paramètres caractéristiques du système, appelés descripteurs. Après la proposition d'un plan d'expériences contenant une soixantaine d'adsorbants, leur préparation et leur test étaient effectués en utilisant des outils adéquats automatisés et parallélisés. L'analyse statistique descriptive faite sur l'ensemble des 43 propriétés d'adsorption évaluées a révélé l'existence de 4 différentes classes d'adsorbants. L'étape de construction du modèle était précédée par l'identification et le calcul des descripteurs. Ceux qui sont retenus caractérisent, essentiellement, l'état de confinement responsable de la sélectivité au sein de la zéolithe. On cite la taille des cations des sites II, l'occupation des sites III ou encore la saturation des sites II. Deux méthodes statistiques étaient utilisées pour construire les relations structures-propriétés. Tout d'abord, la régression linéaire multiple avec comme variables explicatives les 3 descripteurs cités. Le modèle explicatif retenu prédit avec un coefficient de corrélation R² de 0,78. Aussi, l'analyse discriminante était utilisée. Ces mêmes 3 descripteurs ont servi à prédire l'affectation des adsorbants dans les 4 classes identifiées avec un pourcentage de prédiction total de 76% / For several years, IFPEN develops based faujasite adsorbents for the xylene separation process. In this context, this thesis allowed to streamline the selectivity origins of xylene isomers in faujasite zeolites. To do it, a new approach is proposed. The objective is to establish, at the same time, an explanatory and predictive model which allows to relate the selectivity to a number of characteristic parameters of the system, called descriptors. After the proposal of an experimental design containing about sixty adsorbents, their preparation and their test were made by using automated and paralleled adequate tools. A descriptive statistical analysis made on 43 evaluated adsorption properties revealed the existence of 4 various classes of adsorbents. The stage of the model construction was preceded by the identification and the calculation of descriptors. Those who are retained characterize, essentially, the confinement state responsible for the selectivity within the zeolite. We quote the sites II cations size, the sites III occupation or still the sites II saturation. Two statistical methods were used to build the structures-properties relationship. First, a multiple linear regression with, as predictive variables, the 3 quoted descriptors. The retained explanatory model predicts with a correlation coefficient R² = 0,78. So, the discriminant analysis was used. The same 3 descriptors served to predict the affectation of adsorbents in the 4 identified classes with a total prediction percentage of 76 %

Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are an attractive way to convert light into electricity. Its development requires a detailed understanding and kinetic optimization of various electronic processes, especially those occurring at the mesoporous TiO2/dye/electrolyte interface. This dissertation work is focused on the exploration of the various electronic processes at the sensitized-electrode/electrolyte interface by using various electrochemical and photochemical methods. Firstly, an alternative redox couple—TEMPO/TEMPO·+ with a relatively high positive redox potential—is explored, aiming to reduce the energy loss during the dye regeneration process. Despite the fast dye regeneration, the charge recombination between the electrons in the conduction band of mesoporous TiO2 and the oxidized redox species is found to be the limiting factor of the device. Further, a more efficient tandem-electrolyte system is developed, leading to DSSCs with the power conversion efficiency of 10.5 % and 11.7 % at 1 sun and 0.5-sun illumination, respectively. An electron-transfer cascade process during dye regeneration by the redox mediators is discovered to be beneficial. Further stability studies on the device suggest the crucial role of TiO2/dye/electrolyte interfaces in the long-term stability of cobalt bipyridyl electrolyte-based DSSCs. On the fundamental level, the local electric field and Stark effects at the TiO2/dye/electrolyte interface are investigated in various aspects—including the charge compensation mechanism, the factors affecting the electric field strength, as well as its impact on charge transfer kinetics. These results give further insights about the TiO2/dye/electrolyte interface, and contribute to the further development and understanding of DSSCs.