No / Scytalidium catalase is a homotetramer including heme d in each subunit. Its primary function is the dismutation of H2O2 to water and oxygen, but it is also able to oxidase various small organic compounds including catechol and phenol. The crystal structure of Scytalidium catalase reveals the presence of three linked channels providing access to the exterior like other catalases reported so far. The function of these channels has been extensively studied, revealing the possible routes for substrate flow and product release. In this report, we have focussed on the semi-conserved residue Val228, located near to the vinyl groups of the heme at the opening of the lateral channel. Its replacement with Ala, Ser, Gly, Cys, Phe and Ile were tested. We observed a significant decrease in catalytic efficiency in all mutants with the exception of a remarkable increase in oxidase activity when Val228 was mutated to either Ala, Gly or Ser. The reduced catalytic efficiencies are characterized in terms of the restriction of hydrogen peroxide as electron acceptor in the active centre resulting from the opening of lateral channel inlet by introducing the smaller side chain residues. On the other hand, the increased oxidase activity is explained by allowing the suitable electron donor to approach more closely to the heme. The crystal structures of V228C and V228I were determined at 1.41 and 1.47 Å resolution, respectively. The lateral channels of the V228C and V228I presented a broadly identical chain of arranged waters to that observed for wild-type enzyme. / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 19 Apr 2022.

Dans le contexte des transports plus électriques, les parties mécaniques tendent à être remplacées par leurs équivalents électriques plus petits. Ainsi, le composant lui-même doit supporter un environnement plus sévère et de lourdes contraintes (haute tension, haute température). Les composants silicium deviennent alors inappropriés. Depuis la commercialisation des premières diodes Schottky en 2001, le carbure de silicium est le matériau reconnu mondialement pour la fabrication de dispositifs haute tension avec une forte intégration. Sa large bande d'énergie interdite et son fort champ électrique critique permettent la conception de transistors à effet de champ avec jonction (JFET) pour les hautes tensions ainsi que les diodes associées. Les structures étudiées dépendent de nombreux paramètres, et doivent ainsi être optimisées. L'influence d'un paramètre ne pouvant être isolée, des méthodes mathématiques ont été appelées pour trouver la valeur optimale. Ceci a conduit à la mise en place d'un critère d'optimisation. Ainsi, les deux grands types de structures de JFET verticaux ont pu être analysés finement. D'une part, la recherche d'une structure atteignant les tensions les plus élevées possible a conduit à l'élaboration d'un procédé de fabrication complexe. D'autre part, un souci de simplification et de stabilisation des procédés de fabrication a permis le développement d'un composant plus simple, mais avec une limite en tension un peu plus modeste. / In the context of more electrical transports, mechanical devices tend to be replaced by their smaller electrical counterparts. However the device itself must support harsher environment and electrical constraints (high voltage, high temperature) thus making existing silicon devices inappropriate. Since the first Schottky diode commercialization in 2001, Silicon Carbide (SiC) is the favorite candidate for the fabrication of devices able to sustain high voltage with a high integration level. Thanks to its wide band gap energy and its high critical field, 4H-SiC allows the design of high voltage Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET) with its antiparallel diode. Studied structures depends of many parameters, that need to be optimized. Since the influence of the variation of each parameter could not be isolated, we tried to find mathematical methods to emphase optimal values leading to set an optimization criterion. Thus, two main kinds of JFET structure were finely analyzed. In one hand, the aim of the structure that can sustain a voltage as high as possible leads to a complex fabrication process. In the other hand, the care of a simplification and a stabilization of manufacturing process leads to the design of simpler device, but with a bit less sustain capabilities.