Die Biosynthese von Chlorophyll ist komplex und umfasst mehr als ein Dutzend enzymatische Schritte. Es ist nur allzu selbstverständlich, dass eine Deregulation der Chlorophyllsynthese globale Effekte auf die Zelle hat. Um diese Konsequenzen näher zu beleuchten, wurden Arabidopsis thaliana Pflanzen mit chemisch induzierter Deaktivierung von zwei Chlorophyllbiosynthesegenen (CHLH bzw. CHL27) erzeugt sowie photoautotophe Zellsuspensionskulturen von Arabidopsis thaliana hinsichtlich kurzzeitig induzierter Signalprozesse untersucht. Die Resultate verdeutlichen, dass durch Fehlregulationen innerhalb der Chlorophyllbiosynthese erzeugte reaktive Sauerstoffspezies die Transkriptionskontrolle kernkodierter Gene beeinflussen. Die Untersuchung eines enzymatischen Schrittes der Chlorophyllbiosynthese trat in dieser Arbeit in den Hauptfokus: Die Bildung des fünften, isozyklischen Ringes im Chlorophyllmolekül, katalysiert durch das bisher unzureichend erforschte Enzym Mg-Protoporphyrin-IX-monomethylester-Cyclase (Cyclase). Anhand von transgenen Cyanobakterien und Pflanzen sollte das noch unbekannte Gen ycf54 hinsichtlich seiner physiologischen Funktion in dem Cyclase-Enzymschritt analysiert werden. Das Fehlen von Ycf54 in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 bzw. des homologen LCAA-Proteins in Nicotiana tabacum und Arabidopsis thaliana führt zu starken Cyclase-Substrat-Akkumulationen, verringerten Chlorophyllgehalten und reduzierten Ycf59- bzw. CHL27-Proteingehalten. Ein Mangel von Ycf54/LCAA beeinträchtigt daher die Funktionalität des Cyclase-Komplexes und scheint sich zudem interessanterweise auch auf die Stabilität photosynthetischer Antennenkomplexe auszuwirken. Mittels Pulldown-Assays konnte für Arabidopsis thaliana die direkte physikalische Interaktion zwischen LCAA und CHL27 bestätigt werden. Darüber hinaus sind erste Hinweise für die Ferredoxin-NADP-Reduktase als potenziellen Interaktionspartner gezeigt. / Synthesis of chlorophyll is a complex metabolic process and encompasses more than a dozen enzymatic reactions. It is self-evident that a deregulation of chlorophyll biosynthesis evokes global cellular impacts. To elucidate these consequences Arabidopsis thaliana plants with chemically inducible deactivation of two chlorophyll biosynthesis genes (CHLH and CHL27, respectively) were generated and photoautotrophic cell suspension cultures of Arabidopsis thaliana were used for short induced signal processes. The results illustrate that reactive oxygen species provoked by a deregulated chlorophyll synthesis affect the control of transcription of nuclear genes. The investigation of one enzymatic step of chlorophyll biosynthesis was placed as main focus: The formation of the isocyclic ring of the chlorophyll molecule catalyzed by the Mg protoporphyrin IX monomethyl ester cyclase (short: cyclase), an enzyme which is not fully investigated so far. The still unknown hypothetical chloroplast open reading frame (ycf) ycf54 should be analyzed concerning it’s physiological function in the enzymatic step of the cyclase using transgenic cyanobacteria and plants. Lack of Ycf54 in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 and the homologous LCAA protein in Nicotiana tabacum and Arabidopsis thaliana, respectively, leads to chlorophyll deficiency, a strong accumulation of the cyclase substrate and reduced protein contents of Ycf59 and CHL27, respectively. A deficit of Ycf54/LCAA impairs the functionality of the cyclase complex and also might compromise the stability of photosynthetic antenna complexes. Using pull-down assays a direct physical interaction between LCAA and CHL27 could be confirmed. Additionally, first evidences for ferredoxin NADP reductase as a potential interaction partner was given.

A non-reactive model system comprising a highly concentrated and unstable oil-in-water emulsion was used to investigate the retention of oil by the membrane in producing biodiesel with a membrane reactor. Critical flux was identified using the relationship between the permeate flux and transmembrane pressure along with the separation efficiency of the membrane. It was shown that separation efficiencies above 99.5% could be obtained at all operating conditions up to the critical flux. It was observed that the concentration of oil in all collected permeate samples using the oil-water system was below 0.2 wt% when operating at a flux below the critical flux. Studies to date have been limited to the characterization of low concentrated emulsions below 15 vol.%. The average oil droplet size in highly concentrated emulsions was measured as 3200 nm employing direct light scattering (DLS) measurement methods. It was observed that the estimated cake layer thickness of 20 to 80 mm was larger than external diameter of the membrane tube i.e. 6 mm based on a large particle size. Settling of the concentrated emulsion permitted the detection of a smaller particle size distribution (30-100 nm) within the larger particles averaging 3200 nm. It was identified that DLS methods could not efficiently give the droplet size distribution of the oil in the emulsion since large particles interfered with the detection of smaller particles. The content of the smaller particles represented 1% of the total weight of oil at 30°C and 5% at 70°C. This was too low to be detected using DLS measurements but was sufficient to affect ultrafiltration. In order to study the critical flux in the presence of transesterification reaction and the effect of cross flow velocity on separation, various oils were transesterified in another membrane reactor providing higher cross flow velocity. higher cross flow velocity provides better separation by reducing materials deposition on the surface of the membrane due to higher shearing. The oils tested were canola, corn, sunflower and unrefined soy oils (Free Fatty Acids (FFA< 1%)), and waste cooking oil (FFA= 9%). The quality of all biodiesel samples was studied in terms of glycerine, mono-glyceride, di-glyceride and tri-glyceride concentrations. The composition of all biodiesel samples were in the range required by ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 standards. A critical flux based on operating pressure in the reactor was reached for waste cooking and pre-treated corn oils. It was identified that the reaction residence time in the reactor was an extremely important design parameter affecting the operating pressure in the reactor. / Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)

A non-reactive model system comprising a highly concentrated and unstable oil-in-water emulsion was used to investigate the retention of oil by the membrane in producing biodiesel with a membrane reactor. Critical flux was identified using the relationship between the permeate flux and transmembrane pressure along with the separation efficiency of the membrane. It was shown that separation efficiencies above 99.5% could be obtained at all operating conditions up to the critical flux. It was observed that the concentration of oil in all collected permeate samples using the oil-water system was below 0.2 wt% when operating at a flux below the critical flux. Studies to date have been limited to the characterization of low concentrated emulsions below 15 vol.%. The average oil droplet size in highly concentrated emulsions was measured as 3200 nm employing direct light scattering (DLS) measurement methods. It was observed that the estimated cake layer thickness of 20 to 80 mm was larger than external diameter of the membrane tube i.e. 6 mm based on a large particle size. Settling of the concentrated emulsion permitted the detection of a smaller particle size distribution (30-100 nm) within the larger particles averaging 3200 nm. It was identified that DLS methods could not efficiently give the droplet size distribution of the oil in the emulsion since large particles interfered with the detection of smaller particles. The content of the smaller particles represented 1% of the total weight of oil at 30°C and 5% at 70°C. This was too low to be detected using DLS measurements but was sufficient to affect ultrafiltration. In order to study the critical flux in the presence of transesterification reaction and the effect of cross flow velocity on separation, various oils were transesterified in another membrane reactor providing higher cross flow velocity. higher cross flow velocity provides better separation by reducing materials deposition on the surface of the membrane due to higher shearing. The oils tested were canola, corn, sunflower and unrefined soy oils (Free Fatty Acids (FFA< 1%)), and waste cooking oil (FFA= 9%). The quality of all biodiesel samples was studied in terms of glycerine, mono-glyceride, di-glyceride and tri-glyceride concentrations. The composition of all biodiesel samples were in the range required by ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 standards. A critical flux based on operating pressure in the reactor was reached for waste cooking and pre-treated corn oils. It was identified that the reaction residence time in the reactor was an extremely important design parameter affecting the operating pressure in the reactor. / Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)

Die vorliegende Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit der Synthese, der Charakterisierung und der Anwendung neuartiger Phosphane in homogenkatalytischen Reaktionen. Dabei wurden die Ferrocenyl- und Ferrocenylethinylphosphan-Palladium und Ferrocenylethinylphosphan-Ruthenium Komplexe in der Palladium-vermittelten Mizoroki-Heck- und Suzuki-Miyaura-Reaktion sowie der Ruthenium-katalysierten Synthese von β-Oxopropylestern verwendet. Der Schwerpunkt lag dabei auf der Untersuchung des Einflusses der elektronischen und räumlichen Eigenschaften der Phosphanliganden auf die Aktivität und Produktivität der entsprechenden Katalysatoren in den homogenkatalytischen Reaktionen. Weiterhin beschäftigt sich die vorliegende Arbeit mit der Synthese und Charakterisierung von funktionalisierten (Phosphino)Imidazol und (Phosphino)Imidazolium Salzen und deren Anwendung in der Suzuki-Miyaura-Reaktion. Dabei wurde neben der Untersuchung des Einflusses der Position der Phosphanylgruppe und der unterschiedlichen Substituenten ebenfalls die Auswirkung von elektronenziehenden und -schiebenden Gruppen am Phosphanrest untersucht. Die neutralen Mono- und Diphosphane wurden außerdem in der Kreuzkupplung von Arylhalogeniden und in der Synthese räumlich anspruchsvoller Biaryle verwendet. Des Weiteren wurden die (Phosphino)Imidazolium-Salze als Liganden in der Suzuki-Miyaura-Reaktion in ionischen Flüssigkeiten als Reaktionsmedium angewendet, um die Möglichkeit des Recyclings der Katalysatorphase zu untersuchen.

No description available.

Cancer is a leading cause of death that affects millions of people across the globe each year. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a relatively new treatment approach for cancer in which anticancer drugs are activated by light at an appropriate wavelength to generate highly cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) and achieve tumor destruction. Compared with conventional chemo- and radiotherapy, PDT can be performed with minimal invasiveness, local targeting and reduced side effects. However, most of the currently available PDT drugs mainly absorb in the visible part of the spectrum, where light penetration depth into human tissues is very limited. Therefore, increasing the treatment depth of PDT has been considered to be an important approach to improve the effectiveness of PDT for treating larger and thicker tumor masses. In this thesis, we present our investigation into the potential of two-photon activated PDT (2-γ PDT), combination therapy of PDT and chemotherapy, and bioluminescence-activated PDT as a means to increase the treatment depth of this modality. In 2-γ PDT, the photosensitizing agents are activated through simultaneous absorption of two photons. This approach allows the use of near-infrared (NIR) light that can penetrate deeper into tissues and thus, has the potential of treating deep-seated tumors and reducing side effects, while the non-linear nature of two-photon excitation (TPE) may improve tumor targeting. We have evaluated the PDT efficacy of a second-generation photosensitizer derived from chlorophyll a, pyropheophorbide a methyl ester (MPPa), through both one- and two-photon activation. We observed that MPPa had high one-photon (1-γ PDT efficacy against both cisplatin-sensitive human cervical (HeLa) and cisplatin-resistant human lung (A549) and ovarian (NIH:OVCAR-3) cancer cells when activated by femtosecond (fs) laser pulses at 674 nm. At a low light dose of 0.06 J cm-2, the MPPa concentration required to produce a 50% cell killing effect (IC50) was determined to be 5.3 ± 0.3, 3.4 ± 0.3 and 3.6 ± 0.4 μM in HeLa, A549 and NIH:OVCAR-3 cells, respectively. More significantly, we also found that MPPa could be effectively activated at the optimal tissue-penetrating wavelength of 800 nm through TPE. At a light dose of 886 J cm-2, where no measurable photodamage was observed in the absence of MPPa, the IC50 values were measured to be 4.1 ± 0.3, 9.6 ± 1.0 and 1.6 ± 0.3 μM in HeLa, A549 and NIH:OVCAR-3 cells, respectively. We obtained corresponding LD50 (the light dose required to produce a 50% killing effect) values of 576 ± 13, 478 ± 18 and 360 ± 16 J cm-2 for 10 μM MPPa, which were approximately 3-5 times lower than the published 2-γ LD50 of Visudyne® and 20-30 times lower than that of Photofrin®. These results indicate that MPPa may serve as a photosensitizer for both 1- and 2-γ activated PDT treatment of difficult-to-treat tumors by conventional therapies. Indocyanine green (ICG), a dye having an absorption maximum near 800 nm, has been considered to be a potential NIR PDT agent. However, the PDT efficacy of ICG has been found to be very limited probably due to the low yield of cytotoxic ROS. In the present work, we have evaluated the combination effects of ICG-mediated PDT with conventional chemotherapy mediated by two types of chemotherapeutic drugs, namely the type II topoisomerase (TOPII) poisons etoposide (VP-16)/teniposide (VM-26) and the platinum-based drugs cisplatin (CDDP)/oxaliplatin (OXP). Synergistic enhancement of cytotoxicity and increased yields of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) were observed in HeLa, A549 and NIH:OVCAR-3 cancer cells treated with the combination of ICG-PDT and VP-16. The presence of VP-16 during the laser irradiation process was found to be critical for producing a synergistic effect. An electron-transfer-based mechanism, in which ICG could increase the yield of highly cytotoxic VP-16 metabolites, was proposed for the observed synergistic effects, although direct spectroscopic detection of the reaction products was found to be very challenging. Moreover, we observed a much lower degree of synergy in the human normal fibroblast GM05757 cells than that in the three cancer cell lines investigated. Synergistic effects were also observed in A549 cells treated with the combination of ICG-PDT and VM-26 (i.e. an analog of VP-16). Furthermore, the combination of low-dose CDDP/OXP and ICG-PDT was demonstrated to produce an additive or synergistic effect in selected cancer cell lines. These preliminary results suggest that the combination of ICG-PDT with VP-16/VM-26 or CDDP/OXP chemotherapy may offer the advantages of enhancing the therapeutic effectiveness of ICG-PDT and lowering the side effects associated with the chemotherapeutic drugs. Bioluminescence, the generation of light in living organisms through chemical reactions, has been explored as an internal light source for PDT in recent years. This approach, in principle, does not suffer from the limited tissue penetration depth of light. In the present project, we have evaluated the effectiveness of luminol bioluminescence in activating the porphyrin photosensitizers meso-tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphine dihydrochloride (TPPS4) and Fe(III) meso-tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphine chloride (FeTPPS). The combination treatment induced significant killing of HeLa cells, while additive effects were observed in two normal human fibroblast cell lines (GM05757 and MRC-5). Our observations indicate that bioluminescence of luminol may generate sufficient light for intracellular activation of PDT sensitizers. Furthermore, the combination treatment may have intrinsic selectivity towards cancerous tissues. In summary, we have demonstrated effective killing of cancer cells by MPPa-mediated 1- and 2-γ PDT, combination of ICG-PDT and VP-16/VM-26 or CDDP/OXP chemotherapy, and bioluminescence of luminol activated PDT mediated by TPPS4/FeTPPS. These positive preliminary results indicate that all these three approaches have the potential of increasing the treatment depth of PDT and facilitating the development of more effective PDT treatment strategies.

A non-reactive model system comprising a highly concentrated and unstable oil-in-water emulsion was used to investigate the retention of oil by the membrane in producing biodiesel with a membrane reactor. Critical flux was identified using the relationship between the permeate flux and transmembrane pressure along with the separation efficiency of the membrane. It was shown that separation efficiencies above 99.5% could be obtained at all operating conditions up to the critical flux. It was observed that the concentration of oil in all collected permeate samples using the oil-water system was below 0.2 wt% when operating at a flux below the critical flux. Studies to date have been limited to the characterization of low concentrated emulsions below 15 vol.%. The average oil droplet size in highly concentrated emulsions was measured as 3200 nm employing direct light scattering (DLS) measurement methods. It was observed that the estimated cake layer thickness of 20 to 80 mm was larger than external diameter of the membrane tube i.e. 6 mm based on a large particle size. Settling of the concentrated emulsion permitted the detection of a smaller particle size distribution (30-100 nm) within the larger particles averaging 3200 nm. It was identified that DLS methods could not efficiently give the droplet size distribution of the oil in the emulsion since large particles interfered with the detection of smaller particles. The content of the smaller particles represented 1% of the total weight of oil at 30°C and 5% at 70°C. This was too low to be detected using DLS measurements but was sufficient to affect ultrafiltration. In order to study the critical flux in the presence of transesterification reaction and the effect of cross flow velocity on separation, various oils were transesterified in another membrane reactor providing higher cross flow velocity. higher cross flow velocity provides better separation by reducing materials deposition on the surface of the membrane due to higher shearing. The oils tested were canola, corn, sunflower and unrefined soy oils (Free Fatty Acids (FFA< 1%)), and waste cooking oil (FFA= 9%). The quality of all biodiesel samples was studied in terms of glycerine, mono-glyceride, di-glyceride and tri-glyceride concentrations. The composition of all biodiesel samples were in the range required by ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 standards. A critical flux based on operating pressure in the reactor was reached for waste cooking and pre-treated corn oils. It was identified that the reaction residence time in the reactor was an extremely important design parameter affecting the operating pressure in the reactor. / Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)

Für eine effiziente und nachhaltige Nutzung von Georeservoiren sind bestmögliche Reservoirmanagementverfahren erforderlich. Oft setzen diese Verfahren auf Tracer-Tests. Dabei enthalten die aufgezeichneten Tracersignale integrale Informationen der Reservoireigenschaften. Tracer-Tests bieten somit eine leistungsfähige Technik zur Charakterisierung und Überwachung der bewirtschafteten Georeservoire. Im Gegensatz zu Tracer-Tests mit konservativen Tracern, welche bereits etablierte Testroutinen zur Verfügung stellen, ist die Verwendung von reaktiven Tracern ein neuer Ansatz. Aufgrund unpassender physikalisch-chemischer Modelle und/oder falschen Annahmen ist die Analyse und Interpretation von reaktiven Tracersignalen jedoch oft verzerrt, fehlinterpretiert oder sogar unmöglich. Reaktive Tracer sind dennoch unersetzbar, da sie durch die gezielte Ausnutzung selektiver und spezifischer Reaktionen mögliche Metriken von Reservoirtestverfahren auf einzigartige Weise erweitern. So liefern reaktive Tracer für ein integriertes Reservoirmanagement geforderten Aussagen über Reservoirmetriken wie z.B. Wärmeaustauschflächen oder in-situ Temperaturen. Um Unsicherheiten bei der Auswertung von Tracerexperimenten zu reduzieren, werden theoretische und experimentelle Untersuchungen zu hydrolysierenden Tracern vorgestellt. Diese Tracer sind durch ihre Reaktion mit Wasser charakterisiert. Einerseits können sie als thermo-sensitive Tracer Informationen über Temperaturen und abgekühlte Anteile eines beprobten Reservoirs liefern. Für die Interpretation von thermo-sensitiven Tracerexperimenten sind die Kenntnis der zugrunde liegenden Reaktionsmechanismen sowie bekannte Arrhenius-Parameter Voraussetzung, um die verwendete Reaktion pseudo erster Ordnung nutzen zu können. Darüber hinaus ermöglichen die verwendeten Verbindungen durch ihre Fluoreszenzeigenschaften eine Online-Messung. Um die Empfindlichkeit und praktischen Grenzen thermo-sensitiver Tracer zu untersuchen, wurden kontrollierte Laborexperimente in einem eigens dafür entwickelten Versuchsaufbau durchgeführt. Dieser besteht aus zwei seriell geschalteten Säulen, die beide mit Sand gefüllt sind und jeweils auf eine eigene Temperatur eingestellt werden können. Somit ist es möglich, verschiedene thermische Einstellungen zu betrachten. Die untersuchten experimentellen Szenarien imitieren größtenteils Feldanwendungen: Durchflussexperimente sowie auch Experimente mit einer Umkehr der Fließrichtung. Darüber hinaus wurde untersucht, ob thermo-sensitive Tracer auch sensitiv gegenüber der Position der Temperaturfront sind. Dabei wurden die Tracer kontinuierlich oder gepulst injiziert. Die Ergebnisse bestätigen die zugrunde liegende Theorie experimentell. Wenn die pH-Abhängigkeit der Hydrolyse bei der Analyse berücksichtigt wird, kann eine Temperaturschätzung mit einer Genauigkeit und Präzision von bis zu 1 K erreicht werden. Die Schätzungen sind von Verweilzeit und gemessenen Konzentrationen unabhängig. Weiterhin lässt sich eine Schätzung über den ausgekühlten Anteil des Systems erhalten. Durch die steuerbaren und definierten Laborbedingungen ist es erstmals möglich, die geforderte Anwendbarkeit von thermo-sensitiven Tracern belastbar nachzuweisen. Des Weiteren wird eine zweite Anwendung hydrolysierender Tracer vorgeschlagen. Beim Lösen von CO2 für „Carbon Capture and Storage“-Anwendungen hängt die Effizienz maßgeblich von der Grenzfläche zwischen CO2 und der Sole in tiefen Reservoiren ab. Somit ist diese Metrik wichtig, um die Effizienz der CO2 Auflösung in Wasser zu bewerten. Die gezielt entwickelten Kinetic-Interface-Senitive-Tracer (KIS-Tracer) nutzen, zusätzlich zur Hydrolyse an der Grenzfläche, die unterschiedlichen Lösungseigenschaften von Tracer und Reaktionsprodukt im entsprechenden Fluid. Somit lassen sich potentiell Aussagen über die Dynamik der Grenzfläche machen. Neben dem grundlegenden Konzept sowie den theoretischen Tracer-Anforderungen wird eine erste Anwendung im Laborexperiment vorgestellt. Diese zeigt das erfolgreiche, zielorientierte Moleküldesign und bietet eine experimentelle Basis für ein makroskopisches numerisches Modell, mit welchem numerische Simulationen verschiedener Testszenarien durchgeführt werden, um das Zusammenspiel von KIS-Tracer und dynamischer Grenzfläche zu untersuchen. Aufgrund der Temperaturabhängigkeit der Reaktionsgeschwindigkeit hydrolysierender Tracer werden in der Regel auch thermische Signale aufgezeichnet. Der letzte Teil prüft die Möglichkeit, Informationen aus den aufgezeichneten Temperaturen zu extrahieren. Für ein idealisiertes Einzelkluftsystem wird eine Reihe von analytischen Lösungen diskutiert. Aus thermischen Injektion-/Entzugsversuchen können damit räumliche und zeitliche Profile abgeleitet werden. Mit der Verwendung von mathematisch effizienten Inversionsverfahren wie der iterativen Laplace-Transformation lassen sich rechentechnisch effiziente Realraum-Lösungen ableiten. Durch die Einführung von drei dimensionslosen Kennzahlen können die berechneten Temperaturprofile auf Bruchbreite oder Wärmetransportrate, wechselnde Injektions-/ Pumpraten und/oder auf in der Nähe beobachtbare räumliche Informationen analysiert werden. Schließlich werden analytische Lösungen als Kernel-Funktionen für nichtlineare Optimierungsalgorithmen vorgestellt. Zusammenfassend bearbeitet die vorliegende Arbeit den Übergang zwischen Tracerauswahl und Traceranwendung. Die Ergebnisse helfen Planungs- und Analyseunsicherheiten zu reduzieren. Dies wird bezüglich der Empfindlichkeit gegenüber Temperaturen, Kühlungsanteilen, flüssig/flüssig-Grenzfläche, Kluftbreite und Wärmetransportrate gezeigt. Somit bieten die vorgestellten Tracerkonzepte neue Metriken zur Verbesserung von Reservoirmanagementverfahren. Die experimentellen Ergebnisse und die neuen analytischen Modelle ermöglichen einen tiefen Einblick in die kollektive Rolle der Parameter, welche die Hydrolyse und den Wärmetransport in Georeservoiren kontrollieren.

Τις τελευταίες δεκαετίες η συνεχώς αυξανόμενη παγκόσμια δραστηριότητα, λόγω της έντονης αστικοποίησης και βιομηχανοποίησης, έχει σαν αποτέλεσμα την παραγωγή σημαντικών ποσοτήτων αποβλήτων. Μεταξύ αυτών είναι και η ιλύς, δηλαδή το ημιστερεό υπόλειμμα που παράγεται από τις μονάδες επεξεργασίας αστικών και βιομηχανικών αποβλήτων. Μολονότι η ιλύς αντιμετωπίζεται ως απόβλητο που πρέπει να διατεθεί, είναι στην πραγματικότητα ένας σοβαρά υποτιμημένος πόρος. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, η ιλύς διαθέτει πολύτιμα θρεπτικά συστατικά, ενώ παράλληλα έχει και υψηλή θερμική αξία, ιδιότητες που την καθιστούν κατάλληλη για ένα μεγάλο εύρος χρήσεων. Ωστόσο, η ιλύς είναι φορέας ρύπων, όπως οι παθογόνοι μικροοργανισμοί και οι ξενοβιοτικές ουσίες, η ύπαρξη των οποίων βρίσκεται στο επίκεντρο των ενδιαφερόντων των ερευνητών. Ανάμεσα στις διάφορες διεργασίες που έχουν εφαρμοσθεί μέχρι σήμερα τόσο για την επεξεργασία της ιλύος, όσο και για την απομάκρυνση των ξενοβιοτικών παραγόντων από το περιβάλλον, οι βιολογικές διεργασίες φαίνεται να υπερτερούν αισθητά έναντι των άλλων. Στόχος της παρούσας διατριβής ήταν η εφαρμογή μιας βιολογικής μεθόδου, της βιοσταθεροποίησης, για την επεξεργασία της ιλύος. Η ολοκλήρωση της μελέτης της βιοσταθεροποίησης έγινε με την ανάπτυξη ενός μαθηματικού μοντέλου ικανό να περιγράφει τη διεργασία. Παράλληλα, ερευνήθηκε η δυναμικότητα της διεργασίας αυτής στη βιοαποκατάσταση της ιλύος από το ξενοβιοτικό περιεχόμενό της. Επιπρόσθετα, μελετήθηκε η απομάκρυνση των ξενοβιοτικών ουσιών, μέσω της βιοαποδόμησής τους από αυτόχθονες μικροβιακούς πληθυσμούς της ιλύος, σε άλλα αερόβια περιβάλλοντα. Η εφαρμογή της διεργασίας της βιοσταθεροποίησης πραγματοποιήθηκε σε κατάλληλη πειραματική διάταξη που σχεδιάστηκε και υλοποιήθηκε για το σκοπό αυτό. Η διάταξη αυτή επέτρεπε τον πλήρη έλεγχο και τη σωστή ρύθμιση της διεργασίας. Η ολοκλήρωση των πειραμάτων της λιπασματοποίησης έδειξε ότι η διεργασία αυτή μπορεί να εφαρμοσθεί ως μέθοδος επεξεργασίας και σταθεροποίησης της ιλύος, αρκεί να ρυθμιστούν κατάλληλα καθοριστικές φυσικές και χημικές παράμετροι. Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν, επίσης, ότι η διεργασία δεν παρεμποδίζεται από την παρουσία υψηλών αρχικών συγκεντρώσεων ξενοβιοτικών ουσιών στην ιλύ, ενώ αντίθετα οδηγεί στην απομάκρυνσή τους. Τα ποσοστά απομάκρυνσης ήταν ιδιαίτερα υψηλά προκειμένου για τις επιφανειοδραστικές ενώσεις και αρκετά σημαντικά για το φθαλικό εστέρα και τους πολυκυκλικούς αρωματικούς υδρογονάνθρακες. Φαίνεται, λοιπόν, ο πολυποίκιλος μικροβιακός πληθυσμός της βιοσταθεροποίησης να συμβάλλει στην ουσιαστική, αν όχι πλήρη, απομάκρυνση των ξενοβιοτικών ουσιών κατά τη διάρκεια της διεργασίας και να οδηγεί στην παραγωγή σταθερού και ασφαλούς τελικού προϊόντος. Ωστόσο, υψηλά ποσοστά απομάκρυνσης των παραπάνω ξενοβιοτικών ουσιών κατέδειξαν και τα πειράματα που πραγματοποιήθηκαν σε αερόβιες υγρές μικτές καλλιέργειες. Ενδεχομένως, η μικροβιακή συνεργασία να παίζει τον καθοριστικό ρόλο στη βιοαποδόμηση αυτών των ουσιών. Η παρούσα μελέτη θα μπορούσε να συνεισφέρει αποτελεσματικά στην ανάπτυξη μιας αξιόπιστης μεθόδου για τη διαχείριση της ιλύος. Συνολικά, η λιπασματοποίηση μπορεί να αποδειχθεί ένα χρήσιμο εργαλείο για την επιθυμητή βιώσιμη ανάπτυξη της κοινωνίας μας, αφού αφ’ ενός μπορεί να συμβάλλει στη λύση του περιβαλλοντικού προβλήματος της διαχείρισης της ιλύος που παράγεται από τις εγκαταστάσεις επεξεργασίας λυμάτων, που την απασχολεί έντονα, και αφ’ ετέρου μπορεί να εξουδετερώσει το παθογόνο περιεχόμενο και να εξαλείψει τις τοξικές ξενοβιοτικές ουσίες. / The continuously increased human activity of the last few decades, because of the intense urbanization and industrialization, has resulted in the production of a serious amount of wastes. Among these is sewage sludge, which is the semi-solid residue produced by municipal and industrial waste treatment plants. Although sludge is considered as a waste product which must be disposed, it is actually an underestimated resource. Specifically, sludge contains valuable nutrients and high thermal value making sludge appropriate for a wide range of uses. Nevertheless, the existence of pathogens and xenobiotics in sludge has attracted the interest of scientific community. Among various methods that have been used for sludge treatment, as well as the removal of xenobiotics from environmental systems, biological methods are advantageous. The aim of the present work was to assess the sewage sludge treatment by a biological process, which is closed-vessel composting. This study involved also the development of a mathematical model capable of describing the composting process. The efficiency of bioremediation of xenobiotics content during sludge composting was also studied. Finally, the xenobiotics removal was investigated through biodegradation using sludge indigenous microbial populations in other aerobic environments. A suitable experimental configuration was designed and constructed in order to study the composting process. The composting system was designed for complete control and regulation of the process. Based on the results of the composting experiments, it can be concluded that composting is an efficient method allowing for treating and stabilization of sewage sludge, provided that critical physicochemical parameters are adjusted. Results revealed also that composting process is not inhibited by the presence of high initial concentration of xenobiotics. On the contrary, composting results in removal of xenobiotics. With reference to surfactants (LAS.NP and NPEO), the removal percentages were particularly high, while the relevant percentages for phthalate ester and polycyclic aromatics hydrocarbons were also significant. It seems, then, that the variable microbial population of the composting mixture contributes to the elimination of xenobiotic compounds and results in a safe and stable final product. The experiments which were conducted in aerobic mixed liquid cultures showed also high xenobiotic removal percentages. Probably, the microbial consortium could play a significant part in biodegradation of xenobiotic compounds. The present study contributes to the development of a reliable method of sewage sludge treatment. The composting process, totally complies with the desirable sustainable growth for our society by the treatment of sludge produced in waste water treatment plants and by the elimination of the xenobiotic compounds that limit its valorisation.

Die vorliegende Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit der Synthese, der Charakterisierung und der Anwendung neuartiger Phosphane in homogenkatalytischen Reaktionen. Dabei wurden die Ferrocenyl- und Ferrocenylethinylphosphan-Palladium und Ferrocenylethinylphosphan-Ruthenium Komplexe in der Palladium-vermittelten Mizoroki-Heck- und Suzuki-Miyaura-Reaktion sowie der Ruthenium-katalysierten Synthese von β-Oxopropylestern verwendet. Der Schwerpunkt lag dabei auf der Untersuchung des Einflusses der elektronischen und räumlichen Eigenschaften der Phosphanliganden auf die Aktivität und Produktivität der entsprechenden Katalysatoren in den homogenkatalytischen Reaktionen. Weiterhin beschäftigt sich die vorliegende Arbeit mit der Synthese und Charakterisierung von funktionalisierten (Phosphino)Imidazol und (Phosphino)Imidazolium Salzen und deren Anwendung in der Suzuki-Miyaura-Reaktion. Dabei wurde neben der Untersuchung des Einflusses der Position der Phosphanylgruppe und der unterschiedlichen Substituenten ebenfalls die Auswirkung von elektronenziehenden und -schiebenden Gruppen am Phosphanrest untersucht. Die neutralen Mono- und Diphosphane wurden außerdem in der Kreuzkupplung von Arylhalogeniden und in der Synthese räumlich anspruchsvoller Biaryle verwendet. Des Weiteren wurden die (Phosphino)Imidazolium-Salze als Liganden in der Suzuki-Miyaura-Reaktion in ionischen Flüssigkeiten als Reaktionsmedium angewendet, um die Möglichkeit des Recyclings der Katalysatorphase zu untersuchen.:Table of Contents Bibliographische Beschreibung und Referat ii Präambel iii Table of Contents 1 List of Abbreviations 5 A Introduction 9 1 Homogeneous Catalysis 9 2 References 11 B State of Knowledge 13 1 Transition Metal-Catalyzed C,C Cross-Coupling Reactions 13 2 Mizoroki-Heck Reaction 16 3 Suzuki-Miyaura Reaction 23 4 β-Oxopropyl Ester Synthesis 29 5 Ferrocenyl Phosphines in C,C Cross-Coupling Reactions 33 6 Phosphino Imidazoles and their Application in C,C Cross-Coupling Reactions 35 7 Motivation 36 8 References 37 C Metallocenyl Phosphine Palladium Dichlorides: Synthesis, Electrochemistry and their Application in C,C Coupling Reactions 44 1 Introduction 44 2 Results and Discussion 45 2.1 Ligand Synthesis and Properties 45 2.2 Electrochemistry 47 2.3 Single Crystal X-ray Structure Determination 51 2.4 Catalytic Investigations 55 2.4.1 Mizoroki-Heck Catalysis 55 2.4.2 Suzuki-Miyaura Catalysis 56 3 Conclusions 58 4 Experimental Section 60 4.1 General Data 60 4.2 Instruments 60 4.3 Electrochemistry 60 4.4 Spectro-electrochemistry 61 4.5 Materials 61 4.6 General Procedure for the Synthesis of Phosphines 3 and 6 61 4.7 General Procedure for the Synthesis of the Seleno Phosphines 4 and 7 65 4.8 General Procedure for the Synthesis of the Palladium Complexes 9a – e and 10a – d 69 4.9 General Procedure for the Mizoroki-Heck Reaction 72 4.10 General Procedure for the Suzuki-Miyaura Reaction 73 4.11 Crystal Data for 4b 73 5 Supporting Information 73 6 Acknowledgement 77 7 References 77 D Fundamental Study of (Ferrocenylethynyl)phosphines: Correlation of Steric and Electronic Effects in C,C Cross-Coupling Reactions 81 1 Introduction 81 2 Results and Discussion 82 2.1 Synthesis, Reaction Chemistry and Characterization 82 2.2 C,C Cross-Coupling Reactions 95 2.2.1 Suzuki-Miyaura Reaction 95 2.2.2 Mizoroki-Heck Reaction 96 3 Conclusions 97 4 Experimental Section 99 4.1 General Data and Materials 99 4.2 Instruments 99 4.3 Electrochemistry 100 4.4 Spectro-electrochemistry 100 4.5 General Procedure for the Synthesis of Phosphines 3b – f 101 4.6 General Procedure for the Synthesis of Seleno Phosphines 4b – f 104 4.7 General Procedure for the Synthesis of Palladium Complexes 6e, 6f and 7a – f 106 4.8 Synthesis of [PdCl2(P(C≡CFc)(Cy)2)2][B(C6F5)4]2 ([7f][(B(C6F5)4)]2) 110 4.9 General Procedure for the Suzuki-Miyaura Reaction 110 4.10 General Procedure for the Mizoroki-Heck Reaction 110 4.11 Crystal Structure Determination 111 5 Supporting Information 112 6 Acknowledgement 114 7 References 114 E (Ethynylferrocenyl)phosphine Ruthenium Complexes in Catalytic β-Oxopropyl Benzoate Formation 119 1 Introduction 119 2 Experimental Section 120 2.1 General Procedure and Materials 120 2.2 General Procedure for the Synthesis of Ruthenium Complexes 3a – 3e and 10 121 2.3 Synthesis of (Et2N)P(C≡C-PPh2)2 (6) 124 2.4 Synthesis of P(C≡CFc)(C≡CPPh2)2 (9) 124 2.5 Synthesis of (RuCl2(η6-p-cymene))(FcC≡C)P(C≡CPPh2(RuCl2(η6-p-cymene)))2 (10) 125 2.6 General Procedure for the Catalytic Reactions 125 2.7 Crystal Structure Determination 126 3 Results and Discussion 127 4 Conclusions 135 5 Supporting Information 135 6 Acknowledgement 135 7 References 136 F Phosphino Imidazoles and Imidazolium Salts for Suzuki-Miyaura C,C Coupling Reactions 138 1 Introduction 138 2 Results and Discussion 139 2.1 Synthesis 139 2.2 Characterization 143 2.3 Catalysis 148 3 Conclusions 152 4 Experimental Section 154 4.1 General Procedures 154 4.2 Synthesis of 1-(4-iodophenyl)-4,5-dimethyl-1H-imidazole (3b) 155 4.3 Synthesis of 1-(4-ferrocenylphenyl)-1H-imidazole (5) 156 4.4 Synthesis of 1-(4-(ethynylferrocenyl)phenyl)-1H-imidazole (7) 156 4.5 Synthesis of 1-(4-(1,1’-biphenyl))-4,5-dimethyl-1H-imidazole (9) 157 4.6 General Synthesis Procedure for Phosphines 11a – f 157 4.7 General Procedure for the Synthesis of Seleno Phosphines 11a-Se – f-Se 165 4.8 General Procedure for the Synthesis of Imidazolium Salts 16a – 16d 169 4.9 Synthesis of 1-phenyl-2-(diphenylphosphino)-3-n-octyl-4,5-dimethyl-1H-imidazolium hexafluorophosphate (17a) 171 4.10 Synthesis of 1-phenyl-2-(dicyclohexylphosphino)-3-n-octyl-4,5-dimethyl-1H-imidazolium hexafluorophosphate (17b) 172 4.11 Synthesis of [(1-(4-Br-C6H4)-cC3H2N2-3-n-Bu)2PdI2] (19) 173 4.12 Synthesis of 1-(4-(diphenylphosphino)phenyl)-3-n-octyl-4,5-dimethyl-1H-imidazolium hexafluorophosphate (20) 173 4.13 General Procedure for the Suzuki-Miyaura Reaction 174 4.14 General Procedure for the Suzuki-Miyaura Reaction in Ionic Liquids 175 4.16 General Procedure for the Synthesis of Sterically Hindered Biaryls 175 4.17 Crystal Structure Determination 176 5 Supporting Information 177 6 Acknowledgement 180 7 References 180 G Imidazole Phosphines: Synthesis, Reaction Chemistry and Their Use in Suzuki-Miyaura C,C Cross-Coupling Reactions 184 1 Introduction 184 2 Results and Discussion 185 2.1 Synthesis and Characterization of Phosphino Imidazoles and Metallamacrocycles 185 2.2 Suzuki-Miyaura C,C Cross-Coupling Reactions 193 3 Conclusions 196 4 Experimental Section 197 4.1 General Procedures 197 4.2 Synthesis of 1-(4-(diphenylphosphino)phenyl)-4,5-dimethyl-1H-imidazole (4a) 198 4.3 Synthesis of 1-(4-(dicyclohexylphosphino)phenyl)-4,5-dimethyl-1H-imidazole (4b) 199 4.4 General Synthesis Procedure for Phosphines 6a – f 199 4.5 Synthesis of [Pd(1-(4-PPh2-C6H4)-2-PFur2-4,5-Me2-1H-C3N2)Cl2]2 (8) 204 4.6 Synthesis of [Pt(dppf)(C≡C-C6H4-4-PPh2)2] (11) 204 4.7 Synthesis of [Pt(dppf)(C≡C-C6H4-4-PPh2)2PtCl2)]2 (13) 205 4.8 General Procedure for the Suzuki-Miyaura Reaction 205 4.9 General Procedure for the Suzuki-Miyaura Coupling of Aryl Chlorides 206 4.10 General Procedure for the Synthesis of Sterically Hindered Biaryls 206 4.11 Crystal Structure Determination 206 5 Acknowledgement 207 6 Supporting Information 208 7 References 208 H Summary 211 Acknowledgement/Dank 219 Publications, Oral Presentations, Poster 220 Publications 220 Oral Presentations 221 Posters 221 Curriculum Vitae 223 Selbstständigkeitserklärung 224 Appendix 225