The objectives of the doctoral thesis are following: (i) to design carbohydrate/oxygen enzymatic biofuel cells (EBFCs); (ii) to determine the factors limiting the performance of EBFCs; (iii) to characterise the bioelectrochemical properties of the enzymes adsorbed at conductive nanostructures and evaluate the viscoelasticity of these nanostructures. In this work 5-amino-1,10-phenanthroline (5AP) has been found to be the best redox mediator for glucose oxidase (GOx) enzyme among five studied phenanthroline derivatives with different functional groups. Later the 5AP cross-linked with GOx enzyme on a graphite rod electrode (GRE) was employed as an anode while GRE with co-immobilised horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and GOx was exploited as a cathode in order to design a glucose powered EBFC. A positively charged bi-functional thiol, N-(6-mercapto)hexylpyridinium (MHP), was exploited to electrostatically attach the cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) enzymes from Corynascus thermophilus (CtCDH) and Humicola insolens (HiCDH) to the gold nanoparticle (AuNP) surface. This coupling enabled a sufficient direct electron transfer between the enzymes and the AuNP-modified gold surface. Therefore, the HiCDH enzyme, showing better performance characteristics, was employed as an anodic biocatalyst in the designing of a mediatorless carbohydrate (glucose or lactose)/oxygen EBFC. The biocathode of the EBFC was based on bilirubin oxidase from Myrothecium verrucaria directly immobilised on the surface... [to full text] / Disertacinio darbo tikslai: (i) sukonstruoti fermentinius angliavandenių/deguonies biokuro elementus (FBKE); (ii) nustatyti FBKE veikimą ribojančius faktorius; (iii) apibūdinti fermentų, adsorbuotų laidžiose nanostruktūrose, bioelektrokatalizines charakteristikas ir įvertinti šių nanostruktūrų viskoelastines savybes. 5-amino-1,10-fenantrolino (5AF) junginys, iš penkių šiame darbe tirtų fenantrolinų junginių besiskiriančių funkcinėmis grupėmis, įvertintas kaip geriausias elektronų pernašos (EP) tarpininkas gliukozės oksidazės (GO) katalizuojamoje heterogeninėje reakcijoje. 5AF junginys kartu su GO fermentu (5AF/GO) buvo panaudotas anodinio elektrodo konstrukcijoje, o atitinkamai bifermentinė krienų peroksidazės (KP) ir GO sistema (KP/GO) – katodinio elektrodo konstrukcijoje. Šie elektrodai panaudoti gliukozės FBKE kūrimui. Teigiamą krūvį turintis bifunkcinis tiolinis N-(6-merkapto)heksilopiridinio (MHP) junginys panaudotas fermentų imobilizacijai aukso nanodalelių (AuND) paviršiuje elektrostatinės sąveikos būdu. AuND paviršiuje imobilizuoti celiobiozės dehidrogenazės (CDH) fermentai, išskirti iš Corynascus thermophilus (CtCDH) ir Humicola insolens (HiCDH) kamienų, sudarė fermentas-AuND sąsają įgalinančią tiesioginę EP. HiCDH fermentas kaip biokatalizatorius pritaikytas anodinio elektrodo konstrukcijoje AuND/MHP/HiCDH kuriant tiesiogine EP paremtus angliavandenių (gliukozės, laktozės)/deguonies FBKE. Bilirubino oksidazė (BO), tiesiogiai imobilizuota AuND paviršiuje (AuND/BO)... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Disertacinio darbo tikslai: (i) sukonstruoti fermentinius angliavandenių/deguonies biokuro elementus (FBKE); (ii) nustatyti FBKE veikimą ribojančius veiksnius; (iii) apibūdinti fermentų, adsorbuotų laidžiose nanostruktūrose, bioelektrokatalizines charakteristikas ir įvertinti šių nanostruktūrų viskoelastines savybes. 5-amino-1,10-fenantrolino (5AF) junginys, iš penkių šiame darbe tirtų fenantrolinų junginių besiskiriančių funkcinėmis grupėmis, įvertintas kaip geriausias elektronų pernašos (EP) tarpininkas gliukozės oksidazės (GO) katalizuojamoje heterogeninėje reakcijoje. 5AF junginys kartu su GO fermentu (5AF/GO) buvo panaudotas anodinio elektrodo konstrukcijoje, o atitinkamai bifermentinė krienų peroksidazės (KP) ir GO sistema (KP/GO) – katodinio elektrodo konstrukcijoje. Šie elektrodai panaudoti gliukozės FBKE kūrimui. Teigiamą krūvį turintis bifunkcinis tiolinis N-(6-merkapto)heksilopiridinio (MHP) junginys panaudotas fermentų imobilizacijai aukso nanodalelių (AuND) paviršiuje elektrostatinės sąveikos būdu. AuND paviršiuje imobilizuoti celiobiozės dehidrogenazės (CDH) fermentai, išskirti iš Corynascus thermophilus (CtCDH) ir Humicola insolens (HiCDH) kamienų, sudarė fermentas-AuND sąsają įgalinančią tiesioginę EP. HiCDH fermentas kaip biokatalizatorius pritaikytas anodinio elektrodo konstrukcijoje AuND/MHP/HiCDH kuriant tiesiogine EP paremtus angliavandenių (gliukozės, laktozės)/deguonies FBKE. Bilirubino oksidazė (BO, tiesiogiai imobilizuota AuND paviršiuje (AuND/BO)... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The objectives of the doctoral thesis are following: (i) to design carbohydrate/oxygen enzymatic biofuel cells (EBFCs); (ii) to determine the factors limiting the performance of EBFCs; (iii) to characterise the bioelectrochemical properties of the enzymes adsorbed at conductive nanostructures and evaluate the viscoelasticity of these nanostructures. In this work 5-amino-1,10-phenanthroline (5AP) has been found to be the best redox mediator for glucose oxidase (GOx) enzyme among five studied phenanthroline derivatives with different functional groups. Later the 5AP cross-linked with GOx enzyme on a graphite rod electrode (GRE) was employed as an anode while GRE with co-immobilised horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and GOx was exploited as a cathode in order to design a glucose powered EBFC. A positively charged bi-functional thiol, N-(6-mercapto)hexylpyridinium (MHP), was exploited to electrostatically attach the cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) enzymes from Corynascus thermophilus (CtCDH) and Humicola insolens (HiCDH) to the gold nanoparticle (AuNP) surface. This coupling enabled a sufficient direct electron transfer between the enzymes and the AuNP-modified gold surface. Therefore, the HiCDH enzyme, showing better performance characteristics, was employed as an anodic biocatalyst in the designing of a mediatorless carbohydrate (glucose or lactose)/oxygen EBFC. The biocathode of the EBFC was based on bilirubin oxidase from Myrothecium verrucaria directly immobilised on the surface... [to full text]

No description available.

La corrosion induite par les micro-organismes (CIM) génère des pertes économiques mondiales chiffrées en milliards d’euros par an. Il est communément admis que les bactéries sulfato-réductrices (BSR) jouent un rôle clé dans la CIM anaérobie des aciers. Malgré cette unanimité, les essais en laboratoire peinent à reproduire la corrosion des aciers observées en milieu naturel; bien plus, ils n’expliquent pas quel est l’élément qui déclenche la corrosion, puisque les BSR présentes dans de nombreux environnements naturels n’induisent pas systématiquement de corrosion. L’objectif de ce travail est d’évaluer la pertinence dans le domaine de la CIM de nouveaux mécanismes de transferts électroniques entre aciers et protéines ou cellules microbiennes. La première partie de la thèse évalue l’effet d’une [Fe]-hydrogénase sur les processus de corrosion anaérobie des aciers au carbone. L’hypothèse d’une catalyse directe de la réduction des protons par des hydrogénases adsorbées a souvent été suggérée dans la bibliographie, elle est ici clairement démontrée. L’hydrogénase de Clostridium acetobutylicum, qu’elle soit active, désactivée ou dénaturée accélère la corrosion de l’acier au carbone. La présence de phosphate dans le milieu rend les interprétations plus complexes mais ne modifie pas le mécanisme. Une nouvelle hypothèse est avancée qui donne un rôle essentiel aux centres fer-soufre de la protéine. La catalyse de la corrosion par les hydrogénases pourrait donc être rapprochée des mécanismes bien connus de catalyse par le sulfure de fer. Dans ce cas l’état redox des centres fer-soufre serait une clé essentielle de l’apparition ou non de la corrosion. La deuxième partie élucide le rôle de Geobacter sulfurreducens sur la corrosion anaérobie de trois types de matériaux : aciers au carbone (1145), ferritique (403) et austénitiques (304L et 316L). Les résultats mettent en évidence pour la première fois que des cellules bactériennes adhérées induisent un anoblissement du potentiel libre des aciers et accélèrent la corrosion des aciers faiblement alliés par un mécanisme de transfert direct d’électrons. Suivant les concentrations d’accepteurs et de donneurs d’électrons en solution, G. sulfurreducens peut accentuer la propagation de la corrosion en catalysant directement la réduction cathodique ou, au contraire, en absence d’accepteurs et en excès de donneurs, protéger contre la corrosion. L’apparition de la corrosion ne peut donc être induite que par la conjonction défavorable de plusieurs paramètres. Ces résultats obtenus en laboratoire apportent de nouvelles voies d’investigations des phénomènes de CIM qui doivent maintenant être confrontées aux milieux naturels. / Microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) costs billions of euros per year. It is commonly agreed that sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) play a key role in anaerobic MIC of steels. In spite of this, laboratory experiments have difficulty in reproducing the corrosion of steels that is observed in natural environments. Moreover, they do not explain what triggers corrosion since SRB, ubiquitous in natural environments, do not systematically induce corrosion. The aim of this work was to evaluate the relevance of new electron transfer mechanisms between steels and proteins or microbial cells in the domain of MIC. The first part of the thesis evaluates the impact of [Fe]-hydrogenase on the anaerobic corrosion of mild steels. The direct catalysis of proton reduction by hydrogenases has often been suggested in the literature; here, it is clearly demonstrated. Hydrogenase from Clostridium acetobutylicum, whether it is active, deactivated on denatured, can accelerate the corrosion of mild steel. The presence of a phosphate medium makes the interpretations more complex without modifying the mechanism. A new hypothesis implying the crucial role of iron-sulphur clusters contained in the protein is brought to light. Corrosion catalysis by hydrogenases could be compared with well-known mechanisms of corrosion catalysis by iron sulphide. In this case, the redox state of iron-sulphur clusters would play a key role in the occurrence of corrosion. The second part elucidates the role of Geobacter sulfurreducens in anaerobic corrosion of three types of steels: mild steel (1145), ferritic (403) and austenitic steels (304L and 316L). Results show, for the first time, that adherent bacterial cells induce open circuit potential ennoblement of steels and accelerate the corrosion of slightly alloyed steels by a direct electron transfer mechanism. Depending on the concentrations of the electron acceptors and donors in the medium, G. sulfurreducens could either enhance corrosion propagation by direct catalysis of proton reduction or, in the absence of acceptors and with an excess of donors, protect against corrosion. Thus the occurrence of corrosion relies on the unfavourable conjunction of many parameters. These results obtained in laboratory conditions open new paths for investigating MIC in natural environments.

abstract: How water behaves at interfaces is relevant to many scientific and technological applications; however, many subtle phenomena are unknown in aqueous solutions. In this work, interfacial structural transition in hydration shells of a polarizable solute at critical polarizabilities is discovered. The transition is manifested in maximum water response, the reorientation of the water dipoles at the interface, and an increase in the density of dangling OH bonds. This work also addresses the role of polarizability of the active site of proteins in biological catalytic reactions. For proteins, the hydration shell becomes very heterogeneous and involves a relatively large number of water molecules. The molecular dynamics simulations show that the polarizability, along with the atomic charge distribution, needs to be a part of the picture describing how enzymes work. Non Gaussian dynamics in time-resolved linear and nonlinear (correlation) 2D spectra are also analyzed. Additionally, a theoretical formalism is presented to show that when preferential orientations of water dipoles exist at the interface, electrophoretic charges can be produced without free charge carriers, i.e., neutral solutes can move in a constant electric field due to the divergence of polarization at the interface. Furthermore, the concept of interface susceptibility is introduced. It involves the fluctuations of the surface charge density caused by thermal motion and its correlation over the characteristic correlation length with the fluctuations of the solvent charge density. Solvation free energy and interface dielectric constant are formulated accordingly. Unlike previous approaches, the solvation free energy scales quite well in a broad range of ion sizes, namely in the range of 2-14 A° . Interface dielectric constant is defined such that the boundary conditions in the Laplace equation describing a micro- or mesoscopic interface are satisfied. The effective dielectric constant of interfacial water is found to be significantly lower than its bulk value. Molecular dynamics simulation results show that the interface dielectric constant for a TIP3P water model changes from nine to four when the effective solute radius is increased from 5 A° to 18 A° . The small value of the interface dielectric constant of water has potentially dramatic consequences for hydration. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Chemistry 2016

Interligand electron transfer (ILET) may be an essential parameter for the injection ofan electron from the dye into the semiconductor surface of a dye sensitized solar cell(DSSC). Without an efficient injection, competing recombination paths may become apparent. For the future development and design of DSSCs, with the hope of increased energy conversion efficiencies, the ILET dynamics is of great importance. For a long time, the most impressive DSSCs were sensitized with polypyridyl ruthenium dyes for which injection has shown to vary from sub-ps to ns duration. It may therefore be crucial to find means of studying the underlying reasons for the slow injection and in this thesis such an attempt has been made. ILET dynamics has been examined using fs Transient Absorption Anisotropy Spectroscopy in both the IR and Visible. This was done for two ruthenium dye complexes: N712 (cis-diisothiocyanato-bis(2,2’-bipyridyl-4,4’-dicarboxylate)ruthenium(II)) and RuL3 (tris(2,2’-bipyridyl-4,4’-dicarboxylate) ruthenium(II)) which are among the best performing dyes in DSSCs. The initial anisotropy was used to determine whether the excitation is localized on the photoselected ligand or delocalized over the available bipyridyl ligands. The depolarization dynamics of the anisotropy decay showed that the ILET must occur on the sub-ps time scale, resulting in rapid loss of the memory of which ligand was photoselected in the absorption process. This means formation of a metal-to-ligand-charge-transfer state that is randomized over the bipyridyl ligands. These results indicate that ILET dynamics should not limit the injection in DSSCs.

No description available.

This thesis deals with single-electron transfer (SET) radical processes mediated by ferrocenium hexafluorophosphate and TEMPO and their application in the total synthesis of natural products. Asymmetric aminooxygenation methodology for the synthesis of anti-β-amino-α-hydroxy acid derivatives has been developed by utilizing a highly diastereoselective aza-Michael addition of chiral lithium amides to various α,β-unsaturated esters or amides/SET oxidation/radical α-oxygenation. The potential of this methodology was demonstrated in short total syntheses of the anti-β-amino-α-hydroxy acid fragments of the macrocyclic (depsi)peptides perthamide C and largamide H, and (-)-cytoxazone, which is a selective modulator of TH2 cytokine secretion. The SET-catalyzed asymmetric tandem lithium amide conjugate addition/5-exo radical cyclization/oxygenation reactions were applied in the synthesis of highly substituted pyrrolidines, azabicyclo[n.3.0]alkanes and spiropyrrolidines. An enantioselective total synthesis of the pyrrolidine alkaloid (-)-α-kainic acid was accomplished by employing the SET-catalyzed 5-exo radical cyclization/oxygenation.

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde der ATP-gekoppelte uphill Elektronentransfer von reduziertem RACo auf Kobalt(II)-CoFeSP untersucht. Dazu wurden zunächst die Bedingungen der rekombinanten Genexpression in Escherichia coli und die Reinigungsstrategie der Proteine verbessert, um einen Cofaktorgehalt beider Proteine von annähernd 100 % zu erreichen. Anschließend wurden die Reaktionsbedingungen des Elektronentransfers optimiert, um eine tiefergehende Analyse zu ermöglichen. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit deuten darauf hin, dass durch die Bindung von ATP ein bidirektionaler Elektronentransfer induziert wird. Der Elektronentransfer konnte mit nicht-hydrolysierbaren ATP-Analoga und mit ADP induziert werden. Weder für die nicht-hydrolysierbaren ATP-Analoga noch für ADP konnten anschließend Hydrolyseprodukte nachgewiesen werden. Zusätzlich konnte für die limitierende Rate der ATP-Hydrolyse ein mehr als 100-fach kleinerer Wert bestimmt werden als für den Elektronentransfer. Beide Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der Elektronentransfer unabhängig von der ATP-Hydrolyse ist. Kobalt(I)-CoFeSP kann jedoch auch ein Elektron auf oxidiertes RACo übertragen, was auf einen bidirektionalen Elektronentransfer hindeutet. Diese These wurde mit der Beobachtung untermauert, dass sich durch Zugabe von ADP und der Erhöhung der ADP-Konzentration die Anzahl der transferierten Elektronen pro CoFeSP zunimmt und sich somit die Lage des entstehenden Gleichgewichts verschieben lässt. Auf dieser Datengrundlage konnten drei mögliche Modelle für den Reaktionsmechanismus erstellt werden, von welchen ein Modell als am wahrscheinlichsten erscheint. In diesem Reaktionsmechanismus gleichen sich die Redox-Potentiale beider Redox-Zentren durch die ATP-Bindung an. Dies ermöglicht den Elektronentransfer vom [2Fe2S]-Cluster von RACo auf das Kobalt-Ion des Cobalamins. Die Rückreaktion wird durch eine erneute Reduktion des [2Fe2S]-Clusters verhindert und durch die anschließende ATP-Hydrolyse dissoziiert der Komplex. / In the present work, ATP-coupled uphill electron transfer from reduced RACo to cobalt(II)-CoFeSP was investigated. For this purpose, the conditions of recombinant gene expression in Escherichia coli and the purification strategy of the proteins were improved to achieve a cofactor content of both proteins close to 100%. Subsequently, the electron transfer reaction conditions were optimized to enable a more in-depth analysis. The results of this work indicate that a bidirectional electron transfer is induced by the binding of ATP. Electron transfer could be induced with non-hydrolysable ATP analogues and with ADP. Neither for the nonhydrolyzable ATP analogues nor for ADP hydrolysis products could subsequently be detected. In addition, a value more than 100-fold smaller could be determined for the limiting rate of ATP hydrolysis than for electron transfer. Both results indicate that electron transfer is independent of ATP hydrolysis. However, cobalt(I)-CoFeSP can also transfer an electron to oxidized RACo, suggesting bidirectional electron transfer. This hypothesis was supported with the observation that adding ADP and increasing the ADP concentration increases the number of transferred electrons per CoFeSP by shifting the position of the emerging equilibrium. Based on these data, three possible models for the reaction mechanism are suggested, of which one model appears to be the most plausible. In this reaction mechanism, the redox potentials of both redox centers equalize due to ATP binding. This allows electron transfer from the [2Fe2S] cluster of RACo to the cobalt ion of cobalamin. The back reaction is prevented by a further reduction of the [2Fe2S] cluster, and subsequent ATP hydrolysis dissociates the complex

The mechanism of ion channel (mimetic) sensors (ICSs) consisting of (poly)electrolyte type alkane thiol, protein or dendrimer self assembled monolayers (SAMs) at gold electrodes as a sensing layer and highly charged redox-active marker ions in solution was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and rotating disk voltammetry (RDV) in the presence of a series of analytes, i.e, suppressor and enhancer ions, leading to the following general statements: (i) electrostatic binding of marker ions to the sensing layer is a prerequisite for an electrochemical current and (ii) charge propagation through the layer consists of electron hopping between surface-confined marker ions and solution born marker ions. It is further shown that there exists (iii) competition between equally charged ions for coordination sites at the oppositely charged sensing layer. An apparent charge inversion (iv) by surface confinement of multiple charged counter ions occurs. Thereby an existing electron transfer (ET) path can be cut or a new one can be induced. Build up of a second layer of multiple charged electroactive ions (v) can take place on top of the charge inverted layer. Competing ET (vi) through the inner and outer redox layer can take place. In addition to fundamental insight into the mechanism of charge propagation, valuable information for the design, optimization, and tailoring of new biosensors based on the ICS concept, the possibilities of exploiting layer-by-layer electrostatic SAMs and dendrimer-DNA interaction for bioanalytical applications are demonstrated by the current findings.