Les arthropodes hématophages tels que les moustiques, les tiques et les puces ont une importance significative en santé publique en raison de leur capacité à transmettre des maladies majeures aux humains et aux animaux. La lutte anti-vectorielle et la surveillance épidémiologique des vecteurs sont essentielles dans la stratégie de lutte contre ces maladies. Cette dernière n'est réussie que grâce à une identification correcte et précise des vecteurs. Ainsi dans ce travail nous avons mis au point les protocoles pour la préparation des échantillons pour l'identification des moustiques adultes et leur stades aquatiques ainsi que des tiques et des puces par MALDI-TOF MS. Cet outil s'est déjà distingué comme étant fiable pour l'identification des arthropodes. La deuxième partie de notre travail a consisté en l'application de ces protocoles sur des larves de moustiques collectées sur terrain durant une enquête entomologique menée dans la ville de Marseille. Lors de cette étude, la pertinence et la fiabilité du MALDI-TOF MS pour l'identification des larves de moustiques collectées sur terrain a été vérifiée. Enfin, nous avons réalisé l'inventaire des communautés virales de trois espèces de moustiques collectées à Marseille par métagénomique, qui a révélé la présence de nombreux nouveaux virus. L'ensemble des résultats présentés dans cette thèse souligne que l'utilisation d'outils innovants tels que le MALDI-TOF MS et la métagénomique pour étudier les vecteurs et les agents qu'ils portent est une stratégie prometteuse qui contribuera dans la connaissance des cycles de transmission zoonotique et des risques potentiels d'émergence des maladies vectorielles en population humaine. / Hematophagous arthropods such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas are of significant importance in public health because of their ability to transmit major diseases to humans and animals. Vector control and epidemiological vector surveillance are essential in the strategy of combating vector-borne diseases. The latter is successful only by a correct and precise identification of the vectors. Thus in this work, we have developed and improved the protocols of samples preparation for the identification of adult mosquitoes and their aquatic stages, ticks, and fleas by MALDI-TOF MS. This tool has been already distinguished as being reliable for the arthropods identification. The second part of our work consisted in the application of these protocols on mosquito larvae collected in the field during an entomological investigation carried out in the city of Marseille. In this study, the relevance and reliability of MALDI-TOF MS for the identification of mosquito larvae collected in the field were verified. Finally, we carried out the inventory of the viral communities of three mosquito species collected in Marseille by metagenomics, which revealed the presence of numerous new viruses. All the results presented in this thesis emphasize that the use of innovative tools such as MALDI-TOF MS and metagenomics to study vectors and the agents they carry is a promising strategy that will contribute to the knowledge of zoonotic transmission cycles and the potential risks of the emergence of vector-borne diseases in human populations.

Le passage des médicaments a travers la membrane cellulaire représente souvent une limitation majeur dans un grand nombre de thérapies (anti-cancéreuse, anti-virale par exemple). Des peptides vecteurs connus comme les CPPs (cell penetrating peptides) ont été utilises avec succès pour introduire a l’intérieur des cellules diverses molécules (protéines, peptides, siRNA, quantum dots) et présentent un fort potentiel dans l'adressage de médicaments. Parmi les différents CPPs décrits dans la littérature la plupart sont des peptides basiques ou amphiphiles.Nous nous sommes intéressés a l'utilisation d’oligomères non charges construits a partir de motifs contraints mimes de dipeptides comme vecteurs de pénétration cellulaire. L'internalisation cellulaire et leur localisation ont été établies a l'aide de dérivés fluorescents par microscopie confocale. L' étude de pénétration cellulaire par mesure de fluorescence a montre que des oligomères de (3S)-amino-5-carbonylmethyl-2,3-dihydro-1,5-benzothiazepine-4(5H)-one] (DBT) sont aussi puissants que les oligomères d'arginine (oligoArg), vecteurs de référence. Par microscopie confocale nous avons montré que ces composés sont internalisés dans les lysosomes. L’efficacité d'internalisation de nos composés a été confirmé par une méthode de quantification par spectrométrie de masse MALDI-TOF développée dans notre groupe. Cette méthode repose sur l'utilisation conjointe d'un marqueur UV-absorbant dérivé de l'acide alfa-cyano-4-hydoxycinnamique (HCCA) et d'une matrice MALDI adaptée. Un effet important de discrimination spectrale est obtenu, permettant une amplification du signal de la molécule d' intérêt dans un mélange complexe. Ainsi les faibles concentrations internalisées peuvent être détectées. Grâce a cette technique et l'utilisation d'un étalon deutéré, nous avons calculé la concentration intracellulaire de deux CPP de référence l'octa-arginine et la pénétratine. Nous avons aussi étudier l’internalisation de petits oligomères construits a partir d'acide 2-aminomethyl-phenyl-acetique (AMPA). Par microscopie confocal nous avons constaté que ces petits oligomères sont internalisés par voie endo-lysosomale.L’efficacité de la pénétration cellulaire de ces petits oligomères aromatiques (oligoAMPA et oligoDBT) offre une nouvelle classe de vecteurs qui ont la particularité d’être non-cationiques et hydrophobes. De tels composés pourraient être utilisés pour la délivrance de médicaments dans le traitement des maladies comme le cancer, les maladies lysosomales ou la maladie d'Alzheimer. Afin de montrer que cette nouvelle classe de vecteurs est capable d'internaliser des composés biologiquement actifs, nous les avons associés a un inhibiteur puissant de la Cathepsine D (CD) la pepstatine. CD est une endopeptidase lysosomale qui dans des conditions normales est localisée dans les endosomes et les lysosomes. Pour certains cancers, la CD est surexprimée et secrétée a l’extérieur de la cellule. La CD est probablement impliquée dans la prolifération des cellules cancéreuses par l'activation de certains facteurs de croissances dans les endosomes. La pepstatine est une inhibiteur puissant de la CD. Cependant son efficacité thérapeutique potentielle est limitée par une faible capacité de pénétration des membranes cellulaires et une faible solubilité nécessitant de fortes doses pour l'inactivation de la CD in vitro et in vivo. Afin d’améliorer son efficacité et sa biodisponibilité, des conjugues de la pepstatine avec nos vecteurs de pénétration cellulaire, oligo (AMPA)4 et (DBT)4, et une partie solubilisante ont été développés. Certains de ces bioconjugués ont montre une toxicité élevée (IC50 = 2.10-6) in vitro sur différentes lignées cellulaires tumorales. Des tests in vivo sur des souris sont prévus pour le futur. / As a part of a program for foldamer design two ¦Â-turn mimetics (3S)-amino-5-(carboxylmethyl)-2,3-dihydro-1,5-benzothiazepin-4(5H)-one or DBT and 2-aminomethyl-phenyl-acetic acid or AMPA were selected as frameworks from a molecular modeling study for their suitability to adopt helical structure. At first we developed a highly efficient scale up synthesis of the DBT moiety protected by 9-fluorenylmetoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) group. By standard solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) we synthesized DBT oligomers of different lenghts and modifications were introduced at their N-terminus. Our first task was to perform structural analysis of the oligomers by NMR and X-Ray. Numerous NOE interactions in the DBT pentamer and hexamer molecules were detected by NMR 2D NOESY experiments. These data strongly suggest the organization of these DBT oligomers. Small crystals were obtained from the same molecules in DMSO but at the time being their size is not importan t enough for X-Ray crystallography studies. In a parallel study we hypothesized that short oligomers constructed by DBT or AMPA frameworks could translocate the cellular membrane and could be used as new cell penetrating non-peptides - CPNP. Even though these compounds are not charged as most cell penetrating peptides (CPP)5 or CPNP, we considered that by virtue of their aromaticity, hydrophobicity and their well-organized structure they could have a non-specific interaction with the lipid bilayer and thus be internalized into the cell. Short oligomers were synthesized on Rink amide (RA) resin following SPPS methodology and labelled at their N-terminus with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). At first the cellular uptake of the (DBT)2-4 oligomers in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells was analyzed by fluorescence emission measurement and compared to the potent and well-studied CPP octa-arginine (Arg)8 as a positive control and carboxyfluorescein as a negative control. The highest intracellular fluorescence intensity was found for (DBT)4 with a drastic decrease (>4-times) for (DBT)3 and (DBT)2 oligomers. Thus, the cellular uptake appeared length-dependent with an increase of the internalization with the oligomer size. Moreover, the amount of (DBT)4 that was internalized was more significant than that of (Arg)8 despite the fact that it is uncharged. By confocal microscopy we determined that (DBT)4 is mainly localized in the endosomes after 3 hours of incubation and in the lysosomes after 16 hours of incubation. Altogether, these data indicate the ability of these oligomers to target the endolysosomal pathway. Although most of the initial drug delivery studies aimed to avoid lysosomal addressing to prevent subsequent drug degradation, more recent studies demonstrated the relevant clinical utility to target this compartment for drug delivery in the treatment of lysosomal storage diseases, Alzheimer¡¯s disease, and cancer.While analyzing the internalization efficiency of our CPNP we decided to straightforward evaluate their concentration inside the cells. We studied our compounds internalization by total fluorescence emission measurement and by confocal microscopy but none of these techniques gave us the possibility to determine the exact amount of compound internalized per cell. A study reported by Burlina et al. brought a great improvement in proposing a highly reproducible quantification method based on MALDI-TOF MS to measure the concentration of the internalized peptides. However, after cell lysis, this method requires the capture of the biotin-labelled CPP by streptavidin coated magnetic beads. This step is particularly critical for the accuracy of the quantification. This is the reason why we decided to develop a new general methodology based on MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS) which does not require any purification or separation steps. We studied the internalization of CPP/CPNP compou nds by using an UV light-absorbing tag alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (HCCA) and preparing the samples in a neutral matrix such as alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic methyl ester (HCCE). This combination (HCCA tag and HCCE matrix) enabled us to discriminate MS signals induced by peptides of interest that were present in low concentration from those of unlabelled more abundant peptides. By addition of a precise amount of deuterated-HCCA-tagged CPP/CPNP prior the MALDI TOF MS experiment, the internalized CPP/CPNP could be quantified on the basis of the ratio between the [M+H]+ peaks of the deuterated and nondeuterated HCCA-tagged CPP.Another direction for research was to synthesize bioconjugates between our newly discovered CPNP and some biologically active compounds that are unable to cross the cell membrane. We selected pepstatine which is a powerful transition state inhibitor of the Cathepsin D (CD). Pepstatine while a very potent inhibitor of the CD is unable to cross the cellular membrane. Moreover pepstatine activity in vitro or in vivo is hampered by its poor solubility in water. CD is a soluble lysosomal aspartic endopeptidase synthesized in rough endoplasmic reticulum as preprocathepsin D (pCD).12 Upon entering the acidic endosomal and lysosomal compartments proteolytic cleavages of the pCD result in the formation of the active enzymatic form of CD. Under normal physiological conditions pCD is sorted to the lysosomes and found intracellularly but in some pathological and physiological conditions like cancer pCD/CD escape the normal targeting mechanism and is secreted from the cell. Once secreted to the outside, pCD can be endocytosed via M6PR or yet unknown receptor by both cancer cells and fibroblasts. The endocytosed pCD undergoes maturation into the enzymatically active CD. An enzymatic activity of CD outside of the cell or inside the endosomes could be responsible for the activation of several growth factors and growth factor receptors. Several groups have proven that the tumour growth is not inhibited by the powerful CD inhibitor pepstatine. These results exclude the importance of the CD enzymatic activity outside of the cell but as already mentioned pepstatine is unable to penetrate into the cell thus CD activation of growth factors inside the endosomes or the lysosomes is still a possibility. Different CPNP-Pepstatine conjugates were synthesized and tested in vitro for their ability to inhibit MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells growth. Some of these conjugates showed high cytotoxicity, probably via a Cathepsin D inhibition in the endosomes or the lysosomes. One o f the most potent tested compounds was JMV4463. This compound was obtained by the conjugation of pepstatine with a CPNP as delivery system (AMPA4) and with solubilizing moiety composed of polyethylene glycol and D-Arginine residue. The good in vitro results obtained with the vectorized pepstatine encouraged us to perform in vivo tests. We performed scale up synthesis of JMV4463 in order to obtain enough product for anti-cancer activity on mice in the near future.

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a técnica de espectrometria de massas por ionização/dessorção a laser assistida por matriz tempo-de-vôo (MALDI-TOF) para a identificação direta em amostras de leite (sem cultivo microbiológico) de bactérias causadoras de mastite. Para tanto foram realizados dois experimentos (1 e 2). No experimento 1, o objetivo foi determinar a sensibilidade diagnóstica da técnica MALDI-TOF MS para a identificação direta em amostras de leite de Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus uberis, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus dysgalactiae e Escherichia coli. Foram realizadas contaminações experimentais de S. aureus, S. uberis, S. agalactiae, S. dysgalactiae e E. coli em amostras de leite, para a obtenção de contagens de 103 a 109 ufc/mL. As amostras de leite contaminadas foram processadas com o uso do kit Maldi Sepsityper® (Bruker Daltonics) e submetidas ao protocolo de lise bacteriana para posterior análise por MALDI-TOF MS. Espectros de massas foram coletados na faixa de massas de 2.000-20.000 m/z e foram analisados pelo programa MALDI Biotyper 3.0 (Bruker Daltonics) com as configurações padrão para obtenção da identificação bacteriana. A identificação direta de patógenos causadores de mastite a partir de amostras de leite foi possível em contagem ≥106 ufc/mL para S. aureus, ≥107 ufc/mL para E. coli, e ≥108 ufc/mL para S. agalactiae, S. dysgalactiae e S. uberis. No experimento 2, o objetivo foi avaliar o efeito da pré-incubação de amostras de leite de quartos mamários com mastite subclínica sobre a eficácia da identificação sem cultivo de patógenos causadores de mastite por MALDI-TOF MS. Foram selecionados 2 rebanhos leiteiros para coletas de leite de quartos mamários de todas as vacas em lactação. As amostras de leite foram submetidas às análises de: a) cultura microbiológica; b) pré-incubação seguida de identificação por espectrometria de massas diretamente do leite; c) contagem bacteriana total (CBT). Para a realização da CBT, as amostras de leite foram submetidas à citometria de fluxo; e para a identificação direta de patógenos causadores de mastite a partir do leite, as amostras foram submetidas ao desnate por centrifugação (10.000 Xg por 10 minutos), e pré-incubação a 37ºC por 12 horas. Posteriormente, as amostras foram processadas com o uso do kit Maldi Sepsityper® (Bruker Daltonics) e submetidas ao protocolo de lise bacteriana para posterior análise por MALDI-TOF MS. Do total de 810 amostras de leite analisadas por cultura microbiológica (método referência), 347 apresentaram crescimento bacteriano, sendo 305 identificadas como agentes de interesse na identificação direta pelo método MALDI-TOF MS: Staphylococcus coagulase negativa (n=191), S. aureus (n=31), S. agalactiae (n=42), S. uberis (n=37), S. dysgalactiae (n= 4). Sendo assim, 305 amostras foram analisadas pelo método de idenfificação direta MALDI-TOF MS, a qual apresentou baixa sensibilidade quando comparado com a cultura microbiológica (método referência): Staphylococcus coagulase negativa (14,08%), S. agalactiae (15,25%), S. uberis (1,69%) S. aureus (6,12%) e S. dysgalactiae (0%). A pré-incubação de amostras de leite não aumentou a sensibilidade de identificação direta de microrganismos causadores de mastite pelo método MALDI-TOF MS. / The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the technique of mass spectrometry by desorption / ionization assisted laser array time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF MS) for the direct identification in milk samples (no microbiological culture) of mastitis causing bacteria. Therefore, we carried out two experiments (1 and 2). In experiment 1, we determined the diagnostic sensitivity of MALDI-TOF MS technique for the direct identification in milk samples of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus uberis, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus dysgalactiae and Escherichia coli. Experimental contamination of S. aureus, S. uberis, S. agalactiae, S. dysgalactiae and E. coli in samples of milk to a concentration of 103-109 cfu/mL were performed. The contaminated milk samples were processed using kit Maldi Sepsityper® (Bruker Daltonics) and subjected to bacterial lysis protocol for analysis by MALDI-TOF MS. Mass spectra were collected in the mass range of 2000-20000 m/z and were analyzed by MALDI Biotyper 3.0 software (Bruker Daltonics) with default settings to obtain bacterial identification. Direct identification of mastitis causing pathogens from milk samples was possible at ≥106 cfu/mL for S. aureus, ≥107 cfu/mL for E. coli and ≥108 cfu/mL for S. agalactiae, S. dysgalactiae and S. uberis. In experiment 2, the objective was to evaluate the effect of pre-incubation of milk samples from mammary quarters with subclinical mastitis on the effectiveness of identification without cultivation, of mastitis-causing pathogens by MALDI-TOF MS. We selected mammary quarter milk samples from all lactating cows on two dairy herds. The milk samples were subjected to analyzes of: a) microbiological culture; b) pre-incubation followed by identification by mass spectrometry directly from milk; c) total bacterial count (TBC). Flow cytometry was used to determine TBC and; to directly identify the mastitis-causing pathogens from milk, fat was separated by centrifugation (10,000 Xg for 10 minutes) and; samples were pre-incubated at 37°C for 12 hours. Subsequently, the skim milk samples were submitted to kit Maldi Sepsityper® (Bruker Daltonics) and to the bacterial lysis protocol for analysis by MALDI-TOF MS. A total of 810 milk samples were analyzed by microbiological culture (reference method), of which 347 showed bacterial growth. Considering all culture positive samples 305 were identified as agents of interest in the direct identification by MALDI-TOF MS method: coagulase negative staphylococci (n = 191), S. aureus (n = 31), S. agalactiae (n = 42), S. uberis (n = 37) and S. dysgalactiae (n = 4). Therefore, 305 samples were directly identified by MALDI-TOF MS, which presented low sensitivity when compared to microbiological culture (Reference method): coagulase-negative staphylococci (14.08%), S. agalactiae (15.25 %), S. uberis (1.69%), S. aureus (6.12%) and S. dysgalactiae (0%). Pre-incubation of milk samples did not increase the sensitivity of the MALDI-TOF MS method directly identify mastitis-causing microorganisms.

Au cours des dernières anneés, la taxonomie bactérienne a subi de profonds changements mais peu de consensus existent quant à la description précise des procaryotes. La diversité des procaryotes a été estimeé à 107 espèces, et la classification actuelle contient plus de 12 900 espèces officiellement reconnues. Ceci souligne l'absence d'un répertoire des procaryotes isolés chez l'homme. Nous avons constitué ce répertoire qui contient 2 156 espèces différentes réparties en 12 phyla,Notre second travail est la caractérisation du microbiote digestif par 5 approches varieés (cytométrie de flux, coloration de gram, TEM, qPCR, pyroséquençage). Nous avons analysé 16 selles de patients en comparant le taux de procaryotes de type gram positif/négatif. La moitié des procaryotes de type gram négatif n'est pas détecté par le pyroséquençage,alors qu'ils sont décrits comme les constituants majeurs de ce microbiote d'après les 1ères études réaliseés utilisant la culture.Dans notre 3ème travail, nous avons voulu montrer que l'utilisation de la culture bactérienne n'est pas inférieure aux techniques de séquençage pour étudier la diversité du microbiote digestif. Au total, depuis 4 ans, 685 échantillons ont été analysés et plus de 500 000 colonies ont été identifieés par MALDI-TOF. Ce travail a permis d'augmenter de 77,5 % le nombre d'espèces identifieés dans le tube digestif. Les nouvelles espèces sont décrites suivant le concept « taxonogenomics » incluant des donneés phénotypiques et le séquençage du génome. / Bacterial taxonomy has undergone tremendous changes over time, with little historical consensus regarding specific descriptions of prokaryotes. The prokaryotes have been estimated about 107 species, and the current classification contained more than 12,900 species. This highlights the absence of an exhaustive and specific database listing all prokaryotes associated with humans. We found than the human prokaryotic repertoire contained 2,156 species, divided among 12 different phyla.The second aim of our work was to characterize the human gut microbiota using 5 different techniques, including morphologic and molecular approaches (flow cytometry, gram staining, electron microscopy, qPCR and pyrosequencing). We analyzed 16 stools samples of patient and we copared the rate of gram-positive and gram-negative prokaryotes obtained with each technique. We found than by pyrosequencing only a half of gram-negative prokaryotes was detected.Our third goal was to demonstrate that bacterial culture was not inferior to pyrosequencing to describe the gut diversity. Culturomics concept created during the pioneer study has revolutionized the approach of the microbiota exploration. Since 4 years, we have performed the analyze of 685 different samples and identified more than 500,000 colonies using the MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. We have increased by 77.5% the number of species isolated in the gut. Each new species will be described following our new concept named "taxonogenomics", including phenotypic data and genome sequencing.

Die klassische Identifizierung von obligat anaeroben Bakterien ist mit einem hohen Labor- und Zeitaufwand verbunden. Um festzustellen, ob die Identifizierung mittels Matrix-unterstützter Laser-Desorption/Ionisation und Massenspektrometrie mit Flugzeitanalysator (Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry; MALDI-TOF MS) ein Verfahren ist, um obligate Anaerobier eindeutig zu identifizieren, wurde mit der vorliegenden Arbeit die Identifizierung von unterschiedlichen Spezies der B. fragilis Gruppe mittels MALDI-TOF MS untersucht. Hierfür wurden 105 obligate Anaerobier der B. fragilis Gruppe aus der Stammsammlung des Institutes für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Infektionsepidemiologie der Universität Leipzig untersucht. Es fanden sich für die untersuchten Erreger Spektren mit sehr guter Auflösung. Eine Identifizierung und Differenzierung war eindeutig möglich. Unter Verwendung dieser Daten wurde eine Referenzdatenbank erstellt. Die erhaltenen Ergebnisse wurden mittels einer verblindeten Studie überprüft, wobei 52 von 53 (98,1%) der untersuchten Stämme eindeutig identifiziert werden konnten. Dies schließt ebenfalls die Identifizierung und Differenzierung von 15 Metronidazol-sensiblen/ Enterotoxin-negativen, 8 Metronidazol-resistenten/ Enterotoxin-negativen und 8 Metronidazol-sensiblen/ Enterotoxin-positiven B. fragilis Stämmen ein. Die Identifizierung mittels MALDI-TOF MS ist somit eine zuverlässige Methode zur Identifizierung von obligaten Anaerobiern der B. fragilis Gruppe. Weiterhin finden sich Hinweise, dass ein Nachweis von Resistenz-, Virulenz- und Pathogenitätsfaktoren mittels MALDI-TOF MS bei diesen Erregern möglich ist.

Die klassische Identifizierung von obligat anaeroben Bakterien ist mit einem hohen Labor- und Zeitaufwand verbunden. Um festzustellen, ob die Identifizierung mittels Matrix-unterstützter Laser-Desorption/Ionisation und Massenspektrometrie mit Flugzeitanalysator (Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry; MALDI-TOF MS) ein Verfahren ist, um obligate Anaerobier eindeutig zu identifizieren, wurde mit der vorliegenden Arbeit die Identifizierung von unterschiedlichen Spezies der B. fragilis Gruppe mittels MALDI-TOF MS untersucht. Hierfür wurden 105 obligate Anaerobier der B. fragilis Gruppe aus der Stammsammlung des Institutes für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Infektionsepidemiologie der Universität Leipzig untersucht. Es fanden sich für die untersuchten Erreger Spektren mit sehr guter Auflösung. Eine Identifizierung und Differenzierung war eindeutig möglich. Unter Verwendung dieser Daten wurde eine Referenzdatenbank erstellt. Die erhaltenen Ergebnisse wurden mittels einer verblindeten Studie überprüft, wobei 52 von 53 (98,1%) der untersuchten Stämme eindeutig identifiziert werden konnten. Dies schließt ebenfalls die Identifizierung und Differenzierung von 15 Metronidazol-sensiblen/ Enterotoxin-negativen, 8 Metronidazol-resistenten/ Enterotoxin-negativen und 8 Metronidazol-sensiblen/ Enterotoxin-positiven B. fragilis Stämmen ein. Die Identifizierung mittels MALDI-TOF MS ist somit eine zuverlässige Methode zur Identifizierung von obligaten Anaerobiern der B. fragilis Gruppe. Weiterhin finden sich Hinweise, dass ein Nachweis von Resistenz-, Virulenz- und Pathogenitätsfaktoren mittels MALDI-TOF MS bei diesen Erregern möglich ist.

The anti-cancer agent 4, 4-dihydroxybenzophenone-2, 4- dinitrophenylhydrazone (A007) forms complexes with pdelocalized lymphangitic dyes that allow its penetration through the skin effectively delivering it to a meta-stable type cancerous site. Previous in vitro studies, combined with gas phase mass spectrometry studies, have shown that a stronger binding affinity equates to a greater efficacy of the drug. For the determination of drug:dye complex binding strength coefficients in solution, two methods have been developed by affinity capillary electrophoresis (ACE), and cation exchange liquid chromatography (CELC). The methods demonstrated that A007 non-covalent binding strength was greatest for methylene green, followed by methylene blue, and lastly toluidine blue. Bond dissociation energies and apparent reaction enthalpies for the fragmentation pathways of lithiated acylglycerols were experimentally determined by collision activation in a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. A developed novel derived effective path length approach for predicting bond dissociation energies (BDE) for electrostatic complex's alkali metal adducts (Li+), and halide adducts (Cl-) of acylglycerols was applied to the major fragmentation product ions of a lithiated mono-acylglycerol, a 1, 2-diacylglycerol, and a 1, 3-diacylglycerol, to predict the covalent bond dissociation energies involved in fragmentation pathways. The model's calculated apparent reaction enthalpies are used in conjunction with the energy-resolved mass spectrometry method of breakdown graphs to give a more complete quantitative aspect to the interpretation of the fragmentation processes. The dry eye condition affects millions of individuals world wide. The symptoms can be a result of simple irritation to the eye or a serious disease state. A dry eye model was developed using rabbits in order to study the compositional makeup of the tear components in hopes of identifying an underlying cause, or expressed effect of the dry eye condition. The major non-polar lipids of the tear were identified by mass spectrometry as mono and diacylglycerols, with a smaller extent of triacylglycerols. The major polar phosphorylated lipids were identified in the tear extract revealing that sphingomyelin based species were being expressed in the dry eye condition. The major proteins were determined to be the lower molecular weight lipid binding proteins where two specific species were found to increase in expression for the dry eye condition.

The possibilities of differentiating linkage positions and anomeric configurations of small oligosaccharides by negative ion mode MALDI using anion attachment followed by PSD are investigated. By careful initial adjustment of the focusing mirror ratios allowing acquisition of the peaks of interest within the same PSD segment, it is possible to obtain highly reproducible relative ion abundances. Discrimination of different linkage types is achieved by analysis of structurally-informative diagnostic peaks offered by PSD spectra of chloride adducts of oligosaccharides, whereas the relative peak intensities of selected diagnostic fragment pairs make differentiation of anomeric configuration possible. F- and Ac- cannot form anionic adducts with the oligosaccharides in significant yields. However, Br-, I- and NO3- anionic adducts consistently appear in higher abundances relative to [M - H]-, just like Cl-. Mildly acidic saccharides form both deprotonated molecules and anionic adducts, making it possible to simultaneously detect neutral and acidic oligosaccharides via anion attachment. PSD of [oligosaccharide + Cl]- yields structurally-informative fragment ions that retain the charge on the sugar molecule rather than solely forming Cl-, whereas PSD of Br-, I- and NO3- adducts of oligosaccharides yield the respective anions as the main product ions without offering structural information concerning the sugar. PSD of the chloride adduct of saccharides containing 1-2 linkages also yields chlorine-containing fragment ions. MALDI-TOF-MS and LDI-TOF-MS are shown to be useful for characterization of ultra-small titania nanoparticles. Peak maxima in MALDI-TOF mass spectra are found to correlate with nanoparticle size. The size distributions of TiO2 nanoparticles, obtained from MALDI- and LDI-TOF-MS are in good agreement with parallel TEM observations. PSD analysis of inorganic x nanomaterials is performed and valuable information about the structure of analytes has been obtained. A group of inorganic nitrate and perchlorate salts of forensic and health interest are investigated by LDI- and MALDI-TOF MS. In each case, a series of characteristic cluster ions are predominant in the negative-ion mode. The number and identity of metal atoms and anions in the recorded cluster ions can be positively identified by their m/z values, distinctive isotopic patterns and characteristic PSD fragmentation patterns.

Sialic acids are involved in many biological processes. In glycoproteins and glycolipids they are essential for signalling and mediate molecular interactions as well as being targets for many pathogens such as influenza virus. The synthesis of sialylated glycoconjugates is of great importance. The incorporation of sialic acid through chemical synthesis carries several difficulties, enzymatic strategies using glycosyltransferases are very attractive alternative strategy, and have been used on a broad range of substrates forming glycosidic linkages with regio-and stereo-specificity. The work presented herein shows the study and application of two enzymes, Photobacteriumdamselae alpha2,6-sialyltransferase (Pd2,6ST) and Trypanosoma cruzi trans-sialidase (TcTS) which are used in the synthesis of sialyloligosaccharides. Both enzymes were expressed in E.coli and purified for biotransformations. In the first application new sialylated chromogenic compounds were generated through this enzymatically by using TcTS and a Pd2,6ST. These compounds were used for the detection of neuraminidase activity in a number of biological samples and led to the discovery of neuraminidase activity from Bacillus pumilus and Arthrobacter aurescens, two different bacteria in which the presence of neuraminidases had never been described. Secondly, TcTS was used to study lipid glycosylations. Glycans in biological systems can be associated to complex lipidic microdomains and the presence of these microdomains can affect the activity of some enzymes. In case of Trypanosoma cruzi trans-sialidase, a decreased activity was detected when the acceptor substrate was part of the aggregated lipid rafts compared to activity observed when the reaction was performed using fully dispersed substrate. Thirdly, the sialylation of glycoarrays using Pd2,6ST was studied. For the first time, sialylated glycans with alpha2,6- glycosidic linkages were successfully incorporated into a gold glycoarray platform, which had been previously developed for the label-free detection of carbohydrate-protein interactions. Successful enzymatic incorporation of sialic acids onto the arrays was confirmed with commercial available lectins. Finally, by using the gold glycoarray platform containing both 2,3 and 2,6 linked sialic acids as well as other common glycans, the carbohydrate-binding properties of the surface proteins of the bacterium Lactobacillus reuteri was studied using MALDI-ToF MS techniques. For first time, strong interactions were observed between a mucus binding protein and Neu5Ac alpha2,6-linked glycans, with much weaker binding to 2,3-linked analogues. Such glycan structures have been identified in abundant manner in colon mucins and this study contributes to the understanding of complex interactions between mucins and probiotic organisms as well as pathogenic bacteria. These studies show that glycan arrays can contribute both to the understanding of probiotics as well as to the identification of glycan binding proteins as targets for new drugs.

Cellulosic biomass is the major organic matter produced in the biosphere. The biodegradation of this cellulosic material is achieved by enzymatic activities of the cellulose degrading microorganisms. These organisms usually express a complex extracellular or a membrane bound cellulolytic system comprising combination of several cellulase enzymes. Cellulases are the group of hydrolytic enzymes capable of hydrolysing insoluble cellulose to glucose. Phlebia gigantea is an aggressive white rot basidiomycete with ability to tolerate resinous extracts on freshly cut wood and higher growth rate. This helps the fungus to colonise the sapwood preventing other fungi from becoming established. Early research on the cellulase system of this organism reported the presence of a cellulase system composed of P-glucosidase, endoglucanase and a cellobiohydrolase. Based on these unpublished studies, our aim was to obtain a complete sequence of putative cellobiohydrolase I (CbhI) from this organism. Attempts to identify and isolate the cellulase gene resulted in an incomplete cDNA sequence of I 154 bp. To understand the cellulase system, expression and regulation of the cellulase enzymatic activity was examined for incubation of P. gigantea on substrates glucose, xylose, Avicel, carboxymethyl cellulose and cellobiose. The pH, total protein and biomass production results indicated that the capacity of P. gigantea to degrade cellulose is dependent upon the nature of the carbon source and the regulation of the cellulase synthesis is repressed in the presence of simple sugars like glucose and xylose. The study employed the highly effective method of purification by affinity adsorption and purified cellulase complex in large quantity. Characterisation of the kinetic properties of this cellulase complex revealed that the rate of cellulase catalysis were optimum at pH 5.0 and temperature 50GC. The purified complex was comprised of multiple proteins and demonstrated significant CMCase and CBHase activity on zymogram analysis. The purified cellulase complex was characterised by 2D gel electrophoresis and by peptide mass finger printing using MALDI-TOF massspectrometry analysis. The 2D gel analysis of the purified cellulase complex showed 15 spots within the range of pI 3.5 to pI 7 and the molecular weight between 20KDa to 100KDa. Three protein spots were selected based on the IEF and SDS zymogram and identified using MALDI-TOF MS analysis. These proteins were identified based on the peptide mass data belonging to the 6-phospho-a-glucosidase, p-glucosidase and glycosyl hydrolase family 13 a-amylase or pullulanases, suggesting the divergent evolution of specific cellulase proteins. This study showed P. gigantea as a potential cellulase source and the cellulase complex secreted by the induction of substrate, comprises a variety of enzymes related to hydrolysis of cellulose biomass. It is evident from this and previous studies that P. gigantea cellulase complex comprises of a specific set of enzymes that possess the ability to degrade crystalline cellulose and is one of the first organisms to colonise freshly cut wood. Further studies on the cellulase system of this primary colonist may open up the prospects to utilise this organism as the potential onsite bioreactor agent, pre-treating the biomass and increasing the economic feasibility of the industrial bioenergy processes.