For the first time, successful synthesis of an unknown class of compounds, 3-azido-2H-azirines, which are implicated as highly reactive intermediates in the thermolysis of the corresponding 1,1-diazidoethenes, has been performed. These elusive heterocycles have been detected and characterised by low-temperature NMR and in situ IR spectroscopy. Even the parent compound, 3-azido-2H-azirine, has been observed via low-temperature photolysis of 1,1-diazidoethene, as a highly reactive species with a half-life period of only 12 min at −40 °C. / Dieser Beitrag ist aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Tunicamycins are potent antimicrobial agents but are also toxic to mammalian cells, which render them clinically impractical to use to treat infectious diseases. Instead, they have been used extensively as biochemical tools to study the N-linked glycosylation of proteins. However, despite such a routine application, their inhibitory mechanisms are still not clear. The central objective of this thesis was to develop novel tunicamycin analogues that are non-toxic to eukaryotic cells that could serve as potential antimicrobial drug candidates. We hypothesised that if we retain the lipid character of tunicamycin structure and modify the GlcNAc moiety then the antimicrobial activity would be retained but the tunicamycins inhibitory action towards GPT would be abolished, thus diminishing tunicamycins cytotoxicity towards mammalian cells. <b>I - Semi-synthesis of the Tunicamycin Core Scaffolds and Lipid Analogues</b> Semi-synthetic strategies were devised for isolating tunicamycin core scaffolds and for the selective addition of lipid chains at the 10'-N and 2"-N positions of tunicamycin, yielding the first library of novel tunicamycin lipid analogues. <b>II - Biological Evaluations of the Tunicamycin Core Scaffolds and Lipid Analogues</b> For the first time, the antibacterial activity of tunicamycins was shown to be dependent on the presence of a lipid chain. The tunicamycin core scaffolds were shown to lack antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity. More importantly, the library of tunicamycin lipid analogues with lipid chain length from seven to twelve carbons showed titrated antibacterial activity profile. Furthermore, the tunicamycin lipid analogues were not only found to have potent antibacterial and anti-M. tuberculosis activities but were non-cytotoxic compared to tunicamycins. The relative therapeutic index calculated for the tunicamycin lipid analogues was up to several thousand folds more than tunicamycins. <b>III - Investigation of the tunB and tunF Knockout in the tun Gene Cluster</b> The tunB and tunF single knockout mutations were made in the tun gene cluster by PCR-targeting and then heterologously expressed in S. coelicolor. The tunB knockout successfully abolished tunicamycin biosynthesis and showed evidence by MS the first existence of exo-glycal intermediates in sugar biology, further supporting the discovery of TunA as a novel NDP-sugar 5,6-dehydrogenase. <b>IV - Investigation of the TunD and TunE Enzymatic Activities in Tunicamycin Biosynthetic Pathway</b> The recapitulation of TunD glycosyltransferase and TunE deacetylase activities in vitro were attempted. Recombinant TunD was refolded from insoluble TunD inclusion bodies, while TunE was isolated in small quantities. However, no TunD and TunE activities were found using proposed intermediates. The co-translation of the tun gene cluster and the formation of multi-protein complex are proposed to be involved in the tunicamycin biosynthesis.

Le travail s’inscrit dans le cadre général de l’étude de la famille LAMOX, dont le prototype est La2Mo2O9, de structure monoclinique à température ambiante (phase ?), et qui présentent au dessus de 580°C une phase cubique (?) ayant une conduction anionique supérieure à la meilleure zircone stabilisée actuellement utilisé comme électrolyte de pile SOFC (Solid Oxid Fuel Cell), et ce à températures plus basses. L'analogie structurale de la forme ?-La2Mo2O9 avec le composé ?-SnWO4 a permis de proposer une explication à l’origine structurale de la conduction dans le molybdate de lanthane. Le remplacement de l’étain divalent par le lanthane trivalent implique un apport d’oxygène et la création de lacunes, qui viennent se substituer à la place de la paire libre E (5s2) de l’étain (Sn2W2O8E2 ? La2Mo2O8+1?). La migration de cet oxygène supplémentaire par la lacune créée engendre l’apparition d’une conduction anionique.Le travail de thèse comporte deux volets :- recherche de nouvelles compositions pouvant présenter la phase conductrice ? à plus basses températures par substitution du molybdène par du soufre et du phosphore, systèmes n’ayant pas jusqu’alors fait l’objet d’investigations avancées ;- étude des propriétés vibrationnelles et dynamiques de ce type structural afin de comprendre le mécanisme de conduction anionique, et notamment l’existence des changements de régimes de conduction observés en fonction de la température.Des phases pures La2Mo2-ySyO9 et La2Mo2-yPyO9-y/2 ont pu être élaborées jusqu’à des teneurs en soufre de 30% (y = 0.6) et de phosphore de 2.5% (y = 0.05). La forme ? recherchée est stabilisée à la température ambiante pour des taux de soufre supérieurs à 5% et de phosphore supérieurs à 1,5%. Des analyses thermogravimétriques ont révélé que la substitution du molybdène par le soufre diminuait fortement la stabilité thermique des phases rendant ainsi leurs caractérisations par diffraction des rayons X et spectroscopie d’impédance délicates. Pour la série La2Mo2-yPyO9-y/2, une ségrégation partielle du phosphore a été mise en évidence par spectroscopie RMN. Les mesures électriques réalisées sur les deux séries d’échantillons ont montré une conductivité significative, mais néanmoins moindre que celle observée à haute température pour le composé parent La2Mo2O9.Le second volet visant à comprendre le mécanisme de conduction repose sur l’étude des propriétés vibrationnelles. Il s’est appuyé sur des études expérimentales par spectrométrie Raman en liaison avec des calculs ab-initio des spectres de phonons. Malgré des raies Raman très larges en raison du désordre structural, il a été possible de mettre en lumière des signatures caractéristiques des différentes phases en lien avec le réarrangement structural. L’interprétation des spectres a été effectuée en s’appuyant sur la parenté structurale avec le composé modèle ordonné ?-SnWO4. Ce système a permis de démontrer un haut degré de fiabilité des calculs ab-initio sur la base de comparaisons à des études expérimentales par Raman polarisé. Ces calculs transposés au cas du sous-réseau ordonné de LaMoO4 ont amenés à une attribution des signaux Raman. Ceci a permis d’une part de démontrer que des structures observées sur des bandes vibrationnelles Raman devaient être attribuées à l’existence de différents environnements atomiques, et d’autre part l’existence de singularités dans les spectres de phonons, lesquelles soutiennent le modèle préalablement proposé de conduction anionique assistée par phonons. / A new ionic conductor of the solid solutions La2Mo2-yPyO9-y/2 (y ? 0.05) and La2Mo2-ySyO9 (y ? 0.6) has been prepared with conventional solid-state reaction method. The resultant oxide powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction. These two series of lanthanum molybdates, which belong to the LAMOX family of fast oxide-ion conductors, exhibits a different structural behavior depending on the substituting element. The effect of substituting P for Mo reveals that the phase transition which occurs in La2Mo2O9 around 560°C disappears when y > 0.02. Substituting P in some degree (y > 0.02) for Mo6+ can suppress the phase transition and stabilizing the cubic phase of ?- La2Mo2O9. The sulfur series (up to around 30 %) suppress the phase transition which occurs in La2Mo2O9 around 580°C from a low temperature ? form to a high temperature ?, and stabilize the ? form at room temperature.Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the substitution of molybdenum by sulfur greatly decreased the thermal stability of phases making their characterization by X-ray diffraction and impedance spectroscopy difficult. For the series La2Mo2-yPyO9-y/2, a partial segregation of phosphorus was demonstrated by NMR spectroscopy. Electrical measurements performed on the two sets of samples showed significant conductivity, but still less than that observed at high temperature for the parent compound La2Mo2O9.The infrared and Raman spectra of the low- and high-temperature phases of LAMOX were performed at ambient temperature. All theoretically predicted vibrations have been observed, and assignments have been given for the internal vibrations of the MoO42-, SO42- and PO43- ions as for the external vibrations. It is interesting to study the vibrational spectra of these two phases (? and ?) in order to obtain more conclusive data regarding the internal vibrations of the XO4 (X= Mo, P, S).

Aufgrund ihrer Eigenschaften und möglicher Anwendungen werden Siliciumkomplexe mit O,N,O´-Ligandsystemen in der Literatur beschrieben. Jedoch fehlen bisher Untersuchungen zur Strukturaufklärung. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurden zahlreiche Silicium-, Germanium- und Zinnkomplexe mit chiralen O,N,O´-Liganden synthetisiert und strukturanalytisch charakterisiert. Dazu wurden die Liganden durch Kondensationsreaktionen von enantiomerenreinen Aminosäuren mit aromatischen ortho-Hydroxyaldehyden bzw. Acetylaceton hergestellt. Die weitere Umsetzung der Liganden mit Elementhalogeniden der Gruppe 14 führte zu den angestrebten Komplexverbindungen. Alle hergestellten Verbindungen wurden umfassend charakterisiert (NMR-, UV/Vis-, IR-Spektroskopie, Elementaranalyse, Einkristallstrukturanalyse, Drehwert). Quantenchemische Berechnungen an einfachen Modellverbindungen sowie an hergestellten Silicium- und Zinnkomplexen führten zu einem grundlegenden Verständnis der Festkörper-NMR-Parameter dieser Verbindungsklasse.

Ziel der vorliegenden Promotionsarbeit war die Entwicklung einer Methode zur Quantifizierung saurer Zentren auf Festkörperoberflächen mittels 15N-Festkörper-NMR-Spektroskopie von adsorbierten Pyridinmolekülen. Die 15N-Festkörper-NMR von adsorbiertem Pyridin ermöglicht die Unterscheidung verschiedener Arten von sauren Zentren, wie Lewis- und Brønsted-Zentren. Die Bestimmung der Art und der Konzentration auftretender saurer Zentren ist entscheidend, um die katalytische Aktivität fester Katalysatoren in einer Reaktion zu verstehen. Da 15N-NMR-Messungen zumeist zeitaufwendig sind, wurde in dieser Arbeit eine zeitoptimierte Messroutine entwickelt, die auf der Messung von 15N-Einzelpuls-Spektren mit kurzen Pulswiederholzeiten beruht. Um diese Spektren quantitativ auswerten zu können, müssen die detektierten NMR-Signale bezüglich ihrer T1-Relaxation korrigiert werden. Zudem treten in 15N-Einzelpuls-NMR-Spektren oft starke Störungen der Basislinie auf. Zur Unterdrückung dieser Störsignale wurde die EASY-Methode entwickelt, die auf der Messung von zwei schnell aufeinander folgenden Spektren basiert. Mittels dieser Methode können auftretende Störsignale in quantitativen 15N-NMR-Spektren unterdrückt werden. Die entwickelte zeitoptimierte Quantifizierungsmethode wurde an zwei Probenserien von festen Säuren getestet; zum einen an Aluminiumhydroxidfluoriden, als Vertreter von Verbindungen mit stark sauren Zentren, und zum anderen an hydroxylierten Magnesiumfluoriden, als Vertreter schwach saurer Verbindungen. Der Vergleich mit anderen quantitativen Methoden zeigte, dass die 15N-Festkörper-NMR-Spektroskopie von adsorbiertem Pyridin hervorragend für die Quantifizierung saurer Zentren geeignet ist und Einblicke in die katalytische Aktivität fester Katalysatoren ermöglicht. / The aim of the present dissertation was to develop a method for the quantification of acidic sites on solid surfaces by 15N solid-state NMR with pyridine as probe molecule. 15N NMR of adsorbed pyridine allows to distinguish different types of acidic sites like Lewis and Brønsted sites. The determination of the kind and concentrations of occurring acidic sites is crucial to understand the catalytic activity of a solid catalyst in a reaction.15N NMR measurements are often time-consuming. Hence, a time-optimized NMR quantification procedure was developed which uses 15N single pulse spectra with short pulse repetition delays. For quantitative analysis of these spectra, occurring signals were corrected according to their T1 relaxation. Furthermore, often strong baseline disturbances are observed in single pulse spectra. For the suppression of these disturbances, the EASY method was developed. The EASY method uses two successive scans to obtain quantitative NMR spectra, in which baseline disturbances are suppressed. The developed time-optimized method for the quantification of acidic sites was applied on two series of samples. One series of aluminum hydroxide fluorides as representatives of catalysts with strong acid sites and one series of hydroxylated magnesium fluorides as representatives of weak acidic catalysts. The comparison with other quantitative methods shows that 15N solid-state NMR of adsorbed pyridine is an excellent method for the quantification of acidic sites, because insights in the catalytic activity of a catalyst can be gained.

Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit mechanistischen Untersuchungen der fluorolytischen Sol-Gel-Synthese von nano-Magnesiumfluorid, sowie verschiedenen Abwandlungen der bekannten Synthese zur gezielten Veränderung der Eigenschaften der erhaltenen Materialien. Es werden die drei im folgenden beschriebenen Themenbereiche behandelt: Der Verlauf der Fluorolyse von Magnesiummethoxid mit methanolischer HFLösung wird mit der 19F-NMR-Spektroskopie über sechs Monate untersucht. Es wird gezeigt, dass MgF2-Nanopartikel, Agglomerate von gestörten MgF2-Partikeln und nicht umgesetzte, adsorbierte HF-Spezies in den Solen nachweisbar sind. Erstmalig werden MAS-NMR-Experimente an Solen beschrieben. Zusätzlich wird die schrittweise Fluorolyse von MgCl2 mittels NMR-Spektroskopie und XRD untersucht. Es werden drei verschiedene Synthesewege vorgestellt, mit denen eine Veränderung von Partikel- oder Kristallitgrößen erreicht wird. Eine sequentielle Synthese ermöglicht die Vergrößerung der Agglomerate im Sol. Das Erhitzen eines Sols zum Sieden unter Rückflusskühlung führt zu einem geringfügigen Anwachsen der Kristallitgröße. Durch Solvothermal-Synthesen wird eine signifikante Vergrößerung der Kristallite erzielt. Der Einfluss verschiedener Reaktionsparameter wird untersucht. Der Einfluss von MgF2 auf die Kristallisation von amorphem TiO2 wird untersucht. Es wird gezeigt, dass die Sol-Gel-Synthese von TiO2 in Gegenwart eines MgF2-Sols (min. 5 mol%) zur Kristallisation von Rutil-TiO2 bei vergleichsweise niedrigen Temperaturen führt. Verschiedene alternative Synthesen werden vorgestellt, durch die bei vergleichbaren Bedingungen nur Anatas-TiO2 erhalten werden kann. Ein möglicher Mechanismus der Strukturinduktion wird vorgeschlagen. / The present Ph.D. thesis deals with mechanistic investigations of the fluorolytic sol-gel synthesis of nano magnesium fluoride. Furthermore, variations of the well known synthesis are introduced. The aim of these variations is to tailor the properties of the synthesized materials. The thesis covers three main chapters briefly introduced below: The course of the fluorolysis of magnesium methoxide with methanolic HF-solution will be monitored for six months using 19F NMR spectroscopy. The existence of MgF2 nanoparticles and agglomerates of disturbed MgF2 particles will be proven. It is demonstrated that hydrogen fluoride does not react immediately after the addition of HF-solution. For the first time MAS-NMR experiments of sols will be conducted. Furthermore, stepwise fluorolysis of magnesium chloride will be followed by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. In this case no intermediates will be detected. Three different synthetic approaches capable of tailoring the crystallite and particle sizes will be presented. Using a sequential synthesis leads to increased size of the agglomerates in the sols. It will be demonstrated that heating and refluxing of a sol increases the crystallite size slightly. Solvothermal synthesis will be the last method leading to significant increase in crystallite sizes. Several synthetic parameters will be varied to identify their influence on the received crystallites. The influence of nano MgF2 on the crystallisation of amorphous TiO2 is investigated. It will be shown, that the sol-gel synthesis of TiO2 in the presence of a MgF2 sol leads to the crystallisation of the rutile polymorph of TiO2. The temperature treatment for that is comparatively low and just 5 mol% MgF2 are necessary. Furthermore, a different alternative synthesis will be introduced, that gives the anatase polymorph at the same conditions. Eventually a possible mechanism for the structural induction is proposed.

Diese Schrift faßt in zwei Abschnitten eigene Beiträge zur Einführung der lokalisierten Magnetresonanzspektroskopie (MRS) und der funktionellen Magnetresonanztomografie (fMRT) in die diagnostische Medizin zusammen. Im ersten Teil wird beschrieben, wie die biochemischen Metabolite N-Azetylaspartat, Kreatin und Phosphokreatin, cholin-enthaltende Verbindungen und Laktat durch die Einführung der stimulierten Echo-Akquisitionsmethode (STEAM) als Lokalisationstechnik in die diagnostische Magnetresonanzspektroskopie in definierten Hirnregionen gesunder Versuchspersonen nichtinvasiv zugänglich gemacht und erstmals in Form von In-vivo-Konzentrationen quantifiziert werden konnten. Daraufhin wird gezeigt, wie die Weiterentwicklung der robusten STEAM-Technik zu kurzen Echozeiten das Signal-zu-Rauschverhältnis und damit die Messung kleinerer Untersuchungsvolumina erheblich verbesserte. Zudem wurde dadurch die Erkennung und Quantifizierung weiterer Metabolite wie z. B. des myo- und scyllo-Inosits, des Glutamats und Glutamins, des N-Azetylaspartylglutamats und der Glukose ermöglicht. Diese Methode setzte damit zusammen mit der verwendeten linearen Kombinationsmethode (LCModel) zur Konzentrationsbestimmung den spektralen Qualitätsstandard des gesamten letzten Jahrzehnts. Ferner werden die parallelen Pionierarbeiten zu Hirnerkrankungen fokaler und generalisierter Art beleuchtet. Diese Anwendungen der lokalisierten STEAM-Protonenspektroskopie in Einzelvolumentechnik zur Messung umschriebener Prozesse umfassen zerebrale Tumore und Infarkte, Plaques der multiplen Sklerose sowie andere entzündliche und degenerative Läsionen. Auch die lokalisierte STEAM-Phosphorspektroskopie und nichtzerebrale Anwendungen wie die lokalisierte Protonenspektroskopie von Faserbündeln des Skelettmuskels und der Niere bauen weitgehend auf diesem Fortschritt in der Methode auf. Zusätzlich werden Anwendungen bei generalisierten Erkrankungen gestreift, speziell angeborenen Stoffwechselerkrankungen des Kindesalters wie mitochondrialen und lysosomalen Defekten, Stoffwechselentgleisungen bei Diabetes mellitus und Leberzirrhose, psychiatrischen Erkrankungen wie der Alzheimer-Demenz. Die weitere Verbreitung dieser Erkenntnisse in die klinische Diagnostik wird entscheidend von der Beachtung des hier eingeführten Qualitätsmaßstabs und der darauf aufbauenden absoluten Metabolitquantifizierung abhängen. Der zweite Teil dieser Arbeit faßt ausgehend von funktionellen protonenspektroskopischen Untersuchungen des visuellen Kortex bei photischer Aktivierung Fortschritte zusammen, die bei der Entwicklung und Anwendung der suszeptibilitätsempfindlichen MR-Tomografie zur Messung physiologischer Hirnaktivierung mit dem Modell der visuellen Stimulation erzielt wurden. Während die Belastung des Energiestoffwechsels im angeregten striatären Kortex anhand abgesunkener Gewebespiegel von Glukose und angestiegener Laktatkonzentrationen mithilfe der zeitaufgelösten Spektroskopie beobachtet werden konnte, gelang die Demarkierung der Ausdehnung der Hirngewebeaktivierung mithilfe der T2*-gewichteten FLASH-MRT, die begleitende Verminderungen des paramagnetischen Desoxyhämoglobins im funktionell aktiven Gewebe mit Anstiegen der Bildsignalintensität wiedergibt. Schließlich werden Untersuchungen beschrieben, die die Empfindlichkeit dieses endogenen, sauerstoffspiegelabhängigen Suszeptibilitätskontrastes für die Wirkung verschiedener Medikamente bzw. pharmakologischer Stimulantien zeigen, die direkt oder indirekt über bestimmte vaskuläre Rezeptoren wirken. Diese Untersuchungen befördern wiederum ein neues Gebiet der Bildgebung, die pharmakologische MRT. / This work has two main parts that summarize pioneering contributions to localized magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), functional magnetic resonance tomography (fMRI), and the introduction of these modalities into diagnostic medicine. First, it is described how biochemical metabolites such as the intracellular pools of N-acetylaspartate, creatine and phosphocreatine, choline-containing compounds, and lactate have been made accessible to noninvasive detection and to the quantification of their respective concentrations in vivo in defined cerebral regions of healthy subjects by utilizing the stimulated echo-acquisition mode (STEAM) localization technique. Then it is shown that further development of the robust STEAM technique to short echo times not only increased the signal-to-noise of the measurement, thereby providing access to smaller volumes-of-interest, but also allowed for the detection and quantification of additional metabolites such as myo- and scyllo-inositol, glutamate, glutamine, N-acetylaspartylglutamate, and glucose. Thus, together with the adoption of the linear combination method (LCModel) for concentration calculation, this method has set the standard for spectroscopic state-of-the-art in the field well over the last decade. Moreover, pioneering achievements have been highlighted with regard to applications in brain diseases of focal and generalized nature. Pertinent applications of localized single-volume STEAM proton spectroscopy to circumscribed processes include cerebral tumors, cerebral infarction, multiple sclerosis plaques, and other inflammatory and degenerative lesions. Also localized STEAM phosphorus spectroscopy and non-cerebral applications including localized proton spectroscopy of skeletal muscle and kidney largely depend on the short-echo time STEAM technique. In addition, applications in generalized disorders have been explored, which include inborn errors of metabolism in childhood, such as mitochondrial and lysosomal defects, metabolic disturbances in diabetes mellitus and liver cirrhosis, and psychiatric diseases such as Alzheimer's dementia. The further utilization of these novel methods in clinical diagnostics will heavily depend on quality measures and the mastering of a true quantification procedure as demonstrated. Second, this work summarizes achievements made in developing and applying both proton MR spectroscopy and susceptibility-sensitized MR imaging to measure physiologic brain activation using visual stimulation as a model. Whereas metabolic stress, brought upon the bioenergetic steady state in the responding striate cortex, was detected by decreased parenchymal glucose and increased lactate using time-resolved spectroscopy, mapping the extent of parenchymal activation was found to be possible by increases of image intensity in T2*-weighted FLASH MRI made sensitive to concomitant decreases of paramagnetic deoxyhemoglobin in the functionally active tissue. Finally, studies are described, which show the sensitivity of this endogenous, susceptibility-sensitive contrast, now generally known as BOLD effect, to various drugs or pharmacologic stimuli acting either directly or indirectly on vascular receptors. These latter studies open up again a new field of imaging, dubbed pharmacologic MRI.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-20T12:40:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mariana_N_Levandowski.pdf: 3613595 bytes, checksum: 6d13f04a1872ade8572c9eae481770c6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-13 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study presents a theoretical and experimental analysis of the conformational equilibrium of phenylacetic acid and its derivatives, namely: o-fluorophenylacetic, ochlorophenylacetic, o-bromophenylacetic, o-nitrophenylacetic, hydroxyphenylacetic, m-fluorophenylacetic, p-fluorophenylacetic, p-nitrophenylacetic, p-hydroxyphenylacetic, p-mercaptophenylacetic and p-aminophenylacetic. Thetechniques used were computational calculations and nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy.The study made it possible to verify the conformational preference of each compound, determined by their energies and geometries, which were evaluated both for the isolated molecule, at distinct theory levels, and in different solvents, with the IEF-PCM solvation model. By using natural bond orbital calculations, it was possible to identify the main orbital interactions for each conformation. With the total deletion calculations, it was verified that there was a balance between the steric and hyperconjugative effects in the stabilization of the most stable structures. The majority conformers of halogenated compounds in ortho revealed the same spatial orientation between the carbonyl and the benzene ring, similar to that of the phenylacetic acid. In the derivatives, nitro and hydroxylated in ortho, there was the presence of an intramolecular hydrogen bond, but in none of these cases the interaction referred to one of the main conformers. The infrared experiments in solvents of different polarities, allowed the identification of more than one band, enabling the attribution of conformers present in the equilibrium as well as the observation of the same tendency as the one obtained theoretically. The coupling constant 1JCH was evaluated through nuclear magnetic resonance. No significant variation of this constant was observed, showing that the major contribution to the equilibrium is related to the majoritarian conformer, which prevails even with the change in the polarity of the medium, for each compound under evaluation. / Neste trabalho foi apresentado uma análise teórica e experimental do equilíbrio conformacional do ácido fenilacético e seus derivados, sendo eles: ofluorofenilacético, o-clorofenilacético, o-bromofenilacético, o-nitrofenilacético, ohidróxifenilacético, m-fluorofenilacético, p-fluorofenilacético, p-nitrofenilacético, phidróxifenilacético,p-mercaptofenilacético e p-aminofenilacético. As técnicas utilizadas foram os cálculos computacionais e as espectroscopias de ressonância magnética nuclear e infravermelho. Com este estudo foi possível verificar a preferência conformacional de cada composto, determinadas pelas suas energias e geometrias, as quais foram avaliadas tanto para a molécula isolada, em distintos níveis de teoria, quanto em diferentes solventes, com o modelo de solvatação IEFPCM. Através dos cálculos dos orbitais naturais de ligação foi possível identificar as principais interações orbitais para cada conformação. Com os cálculos de deleção total, verificou-se que houve um balanço entre os efeitos estérico e hiperconjugativo na estabilização das estruturas mais estáveis. Os confôrmeros majoritários dos compostos halogenados em orto mostraram a mesma orientação espacial entre a carbonila e o anel benzênico, semelhante ao ácido fenilacético. Nos derivados,nitrado e hidroxilado em orto, houve a presença de uma ligação de hidrogênio intramolecular, em nenhum dos casos esta interação era referente a um dos confôrmeros principais. Utilizando a técnica de infravermelho na região do fundamental da carbonila, em solventes de diferentes polaridades, permitiram identificar a presença de mais de uma banda, sendo possível a atribuição dos confôrmeros presentes no equilíbrio, bem como observar a mesma tendência obtida teoricamente. Com a espectroscopia de ressonância magnética nuclear foi avaliada a constante de acoplamento 1JCH. Não houve uma variação significativa desta constante, mostrando que a maior contribuição no equilíbrio está relacionada com o confôrmero majoritário, que prevalece mesmo com a mudança da polaridade do meio, de cada composto avaliado.

Proteins that recognise the sugar surface structures on cells have an enormous potential to be used as tools in the characterisation of these structures. A group of proteins, called lectins, have been identified that can bind to carbohydrate complexes on the receptors of cells. The crude extract from Grevillea robusta seeds was found to contain lectin-like proteins that were different from most other lectins, as they would specifically target the receptors of white blood cells and not those found on red blood cells. Therefore, the lectin isolated from G.robusta could be used as a tool to identify the specific surface structures on white blood cells. The lectin was isolated using affinity chromatography where a complex (oligosaccharide) matrix was used. Agglutination, binding and sugar inhibition assays confirmed the isolated protein was a lectin. The lectin was found in low amounts (up to 5% of the total protein content) within the seeds of G.robusta. As a result of this low yield, the identification of the lectin by PAGE was difficult because the levels of protein were beyond the detection limit of the commercial staining reagents. The lectin was called the GR2 protein and was characterised as a monocot mannose binding lectin based on its sugar specificity for only mannose. A serine protease inhibitor was isolated from the seeds of G.robusta using two different chromatography methods, reverse phase HPLC (GR1.HPLC) and gel filtration chromatography (GR1.GF). Ion exchange chromatography was used to initially separate the proteins in the crude extract and the fraction containing the GR1 protein was further purified using reverse phase HPLC (GR1.HPLC). N-terminal sequencing results of the GR1.HPLC protein, showed evidence of proteolytic cleavage during the extraction process, which lead to the second purification method being established. Protease inhibitors were added to the buffers prior to being purified by gel filtration chromatography, which resulted in the GR1 protein being isolated from the crude extract without the presence of the contaminating protein. Mass spectroscopy identified the molecular weight of the GR1 protein to be 6669Da and the full amino acid sequence was derived by cDNA techniques. Sequence alignment studies of the GR1 protein showed significant similarities with the Bowman-Birk inhibitor. The positioning of the cysteine residues were conserved throughout the Bowman-Birk superfamily, however these residues were not conserved within the GR1 protein. Competitive inhibition assays on the GR1 protein revealed the protein could inhibit both trypsin and chymotrypsin at similar levels to that seen for the Bowman-Birk inhibitor. Therefore, the GR1 protein was characterised as a member of the Bowman-Birk superfamily of serine protease inhibitors. The three-dimensional structure of the GR1 protein was determined using two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. Computer programs such as XEASY, DYANA and SYBYL® were used to tabulate the information taken from the 2D experiments, generate structures and minimise these structures respectively. The solution structure of the GR1 protein was found to contain a region of antiparallel β-sheet structure that corresponded to the trypsin binding site and the remainder of the protein consisted of loops and turns that were held together by disulfide bridges (the chymotrypsin-binding region). Structural similarities between the GR1 protein and the Bowman-Birk inhibitor existed only in the trypsin-binding site of the Bowman-Birk inhibitor. The GR1 protein is the first member of the Proteaceae family to be characterised as a Bowman-Birk inhibitor. This thesis outlines the isolation and biochemical characterisation of the two proteins found within Grevillea robusta and also describes the steps involved and results obtained in determining the three-dimensional structure of the GR1 protein.

Dipolar couplings are one of the major source of structural information. Due to their dependence on the distance between the nuclei and the angle of orientation of the dipolar vector with respect to the magnetic field, they provide significant insight into the geometry and topology of molecules. As the dipolar interactions are in general present in the solid phase of the compounds, solid state NMR experiments have gained significant popularity and is widely used. Separated Local Field NMR spectroscopy based on cross-polarization technique has been used to measure the heteronuclear dipolar couplings in solid state. However, the technique undergoes many experimental challenges and requires further development. This thesis is concerned mainly with the development of techniques to measure the dipolar couplings accurately in oriented molecules. In this regard, a method for fast data acquisition is also proposed. The first chapter briefly introduces the basics of NMR spectroscopy, methodologies applied for obtaining a high resolution NMR spectrum in the solid state. An introduction to liquid crystals is presented and the nature of NMR interaction in the liquid crystalline phases is described. In chapter-2, a new pulse scheme has been proposed that includes the X-nucleus polarization in the SLF experiments and is shown to provide better sensitivity and resolution. A quantitative analysis with simulation and experimental results are also presented. In chapter-3, the performance of various homonuclear decoupling pulse schemes incorporated into SLF experiments tested on oriented systems are compared. The proposed pulse schemes are shown to provide high resolution spectrum with accurate dipolar coupling measurement for natural abundant samples and for uniformly labeled compounds as well. Theoretical description with simulation and experimental results shown here are found to provide optimum results under several technical complications seen with respect to the conventional methods used for SLF experiments. Chapter-4, an attempt is made to reconstruct 2D J-resolved and 2D- SLF spectra from several 1D experimental data. This is achieved with the help of projection reconstruction method and is shown to provide high resolution 2D spectrum with saving of experimental time by an order of two. Chapter-5, high resolution spectra from SLF experiments under phase alternating pulses and using amplitude and time averaged nutation techniques are shown for accurate dipolar coupling measurement with a dramatic reduction in rf power. This is important as the use of low rf power leads to low sample heating and can be applied suitably for the study of liquid crystals and salty biomolecules. Chapter-6, attempts are made to characterize two novel thiophene based liquid crystals using both solution and solid state NMR spectroscopy. C-H dipolar couplings measured from SLF experiments are mainly used to find the order parameters and geometry of the molecules.