Yes / The synthesis of metal–organic frameworks with large three-dimensional channels that are permanently porous and chemically stable offers new opportunities in areas such as catalysis and separation. Two linkers (L1=4,4′,4′′,4′′′-([1,1′-biphenyl]-3,3′,5,5′-tetrayltetrakis(ethyne-2,1-diyl)) tetrabenzoic acid, L2=4,4′,4′′,4′′′-(pyrene-1,3,6,8-tetrayltetrakis(ethyne-2,1-diyl))tetrabenzoic acid) were used that have equivalent connectivity and dimensions but quite distinct torsional flexibility. With these, a solid solution material, [Zr6O4(OH)4(L1)2.6(L2)0.4]⋅(solvent)x, was formed that has three-dimensional crystalline permanent porosity with a surface area of over 4000 m2 g−1 that persists after immersion in water. These properties are not accessible for the isostructural phases made from the separate single linkers. / Financial support from EPSRC under EP/H000925, access to the HPC service ARCHER via EP/L000202. S.N. thanks the EU for a Marie Curie fellowship (PIEF-GA-2010-274952). C.M.-G. thanks the Spanish MINECO for a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship (RYC-2012-10894).

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a relatively new class of porous materials, assembled from inorganic metal nodes and organic ligands. MOFs have garnered significant attention in the porous materials and adsorption fields in recent years due to their various attractive features such as high surface areas and pore volumes, tunable and uniform pore sizes, chemically functionalized adsorption sites, and potential for post-synthetic modification. These features give MOFs enormous potential for use in applications such as air purification, methane and hydrogen storage, separations, catalysis, sensing, and drug delivery. Therefore, synthesis and adsorption studies of MOFs have increased tremendously in recent years. Among the aforesaid applications, air purification and air quality control are important topics because existing porous media are ineffective at the adsorptive removal of toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) and chemical warfare agents. Thus, there is a critical need for radical improvements in these purification systems. MOFs have shown great potential to become next-generation filter media as they outperform the traditional porous materials such as activated carbons and zeolites in the air purification of TICs such as ammonia and sulfur dioxide. In spite of the numerous desirable attributes of MOFs, the practical use of these new materials in most applications hinges on their stability in humid or aqueous environments. The sensitivity of certain MOFs under humid conditions is well known, but systematic studies of the water stability properties of MOFs are lacking. This information is critical for identifying structural factors that are important for development of next-generation, water stable MOFs. In addition to the water stability issue, difficulty in the scale up of MOF synthesis has also plagued MOFs. Hence, the goal of this Ph.D. dissertation research is to design ammonia-selective, water stable MOFs that can be synthesized on a large scale. This work will have a direct impact on moving the MOF field forward to the commercial level. To achieve the aforementioned goal, this Ph.D. dissertation research has been divided into following three objectives: (1) Advance our understanding of the water stability of MOFs and develop design criteria for the construction of water stable MOFs. (2) Design water stable, ammonia-selective MOFs for next-generation chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) filter media. (3) Investigate the scale-up of the UiO-66 MOF scaffold. Through the research efforts over the past four years, it is discovered that it is possible to adjust the water stability of pillared MOFs in both positive and negative directions by proper shielding of the ligand via functional groups. This study is the first of its kind and is of high value for the MOF community. This shielding concept is further extended by synthesizing 4 novel isostructural MOFs with methyl functional groups at different positions on the ligand. For the first time, light is shed on the important distinction between kinetic and thermodynamic water stability and experimental evidence for a kinetically governed water stability mechanism in these MOFs is provided. It is also demonstrated that, using catenation in combination with a pillaring strategy, it is possible to obtain water stable MOFs even when the pillar ligand has lower basicity (pKa value). Ammonia breakthrough measurements have shown that a hydroxyl functionalized Zr-based UiO-66 material is promising as it could offer a method for targeting the removal of specific chemical threats in a chemically stable framework that does not degrade in the presence of water. Large scale synthesis of a water stable MOF, UiO-66, is studied using glass vials and Teflon lined autoclaves. UiO-66 synthesis methods have been refined such that it is now possible to produce more than 70 times the yield obtained from the original synthesis report using the same reaction volume. This would result in a significant reduction of the MOF production cost at the industrial scale. Methane and hydrogen are ‘clean fuels’ (less CO2 emissions than petroleum) and MOFs are being tested for their on-board storage in cars due to the extremely high storage capacities of MOFs being promising enough to meet the requirements. Hence, more broadly, this Ph.D. dissertation work will lead to commercial applications of MOFs, which can revolutionize a variety of gas separation and storage problems such as CO2 capture, natural gas upgrading, and methane and hydrogen storage for clean fuel technologies. This would greatly reduce the environmental concerns faced by our society today.

Microparticles produced from kafirin, the sorghum grain prolamin protein, by molecular selfassembly using coacervation with acetic acid solvent are vacuolated. They have shown considerable potential for encapsulation of antioxidants and for preparation of high quality free-standing bioplastic films. However, the functional quality of these kafirin microstructures needs to be improved to exploit their potential application, particularly as biomaterials. Wet heat, transglutaminase and glutaraldehyde treatments were used to modify the physical structure and chemical properties of the kafirin microstructures. Heat treatment (50–96°C) increased microparticle average size by up to four-fold to ≈20 μm, probably due to disulphide cross-linking of kafirin proteins. The vacuoles within these microparticles enlarged up to >10-fold, probably due to greater expansion of air within the microparticles with higher temperature, as the vacuoles are probably footprints of air bubbles. As with heat treatment, glutaraldehyde (10–30%) treatment resulted in oval microparticles, up to about four-fold larger than the control, probably due to covalent glutaraldehyde-polypeptide linkage. Transglutaminase (0.1–0.6%) treatment had only slight effect on the size and shape of microparticles, probably because kafirin has very low lysine content, inhibiting transglutaminase-catalysed cross-linking through ε-(-glutamyl)-lysine bonding. Surface morphology using atomic force microscopy indicated that the microparticles apparently comprised coalesced nanostructures. With heat and transglutaminase treatments, the microparticles seemed to be composed of round nanostructures that coalesced into random irregular shapes, indicative of non-linear protein aggregation. In contrast, with glutaraldehyde treatment, the nanostructures were spindle-shaped and had a unidirectional orientation, probably due to linear alignment of the nanostructures controlled by glutaraldehyde-polypeptide linkage. Thin (<50 μm) films prepared from kafirin microparticles and conventional cast kafirin films were compared in terms of their water stability and other related properties. Films cast from microparticles were more water-stable compared to conventional kafirin films, probably because the large vacuoles within the kafirin microparticles may have enhanced protein solubility in the casting solution, thereby improving the film matrix cohesion. The films prepared from microparticles treated with glutaraldehyde were more water-stable compared to the control, despite the loss of plasticizer, probably due to formation of the covalent glutaraldehyde-polypeptide linkages. The potential of modified kafirin microparticles to bind bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP- 2) was investigated. Compared to a collagen standard, the BMP-2 binding capacity of control, heat-treated, transglutaminase-treated and glutaraldehyde-treated kafirin microparticles were 7%, 18%, 34% and 22% higher, respectively, probably mainly due to the vacuoles within the microparticles creating greater binding surface area. The safety, biodegradability and effectiveness of kafirin microparticle film and kafirin microparticle film-BMP-2 system in inducing bone growth were determined by a subcutaneous bioassay using a rat model. Kafirin microparticle film and kafirin microparticle film-BMP-2 system was non-irritant to the animals, probably because kafirin is non-allergenic. The kafirin microparticle film implants showed signs of some degradation but a large proportion of these implants was still intact by Day 28 post implantation, probably because of the low susceptibility of kafirin to mammalian proteolytic enzymes. Kafirin microparticle film-BMP-2 system did not induce bone growth, probably mainly due to low BMP-2 dosage and short study duration. Modification of kafirin microparticles by wet heat or glutaraldehyde treatment both result in increased size of the microparticles with similar gross structure. However, it is apparent that with both treatments the proteins within the pre-formed kafirin microparticles undergo some form of further assisted-assembly through different mechanisms. It seems that heat-induced disulphide cross-linking reinforces a layer around the nanostructures, probably rich in γ- kafirin polypeptides, that stabilizes the structure of the nanostructures. In contrast, glutaraldehyde-treatment appears to destabilize this structure-stabilizing layer through formation of γ-kafirin polypeptide-glutaraldehyde covalent bonding. This probably offsets the balance of attractive and repulsive forces between the different kafirin subclasses within the nanostructures, thereby resulting in collapsed nanostructures and linear realignment. A deeper understanding of the mechanism of kafirin self-assembly will be important for further development of kafirin microstructures for different applications. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Food Science / unrestricted

Les porphyrines sont des composés macrocycliques naturels étudiés de manière approfondie en tant que mimétiques enzymatiques ou catalyseurs d'oxydation en milieu homogène. L'incorporation de porphyrines dans des réseaux de polymères de coordination métal-organique (MOFs), qui constituent une famille de composés cristallins poreux connus pour leur diversité structurelle, pourrait conduire à des matériaux constitués de réseaux étendus présentant les mêmes propriétés que les systèmes homogènes. Toutefois de nombreux travaux ont montré que la limitation majeure pour des applications à grande échelle des MOFs est leur stabilité.La stabilité de ces matériaux peut être accrue en employant des cations métalliques de valence élevée dans l'unité de construction inorganique (tels que Fe3+, Al3+, Zr4+) et / ou en modifiant la fonction coordinante du ligand organique.Ce travail est relatif à l'étude de la réactivité de ligands porphyriniques portant diverses fonctions coordinantes, avec des ions métalliques de valence élevée. L'influence des paramètres de synthèse et la caractérisation approfondie de ces MOFs ont été réalisées par une combinaison de techniques expérimentales (diffraction des rayons X, analyse thermogravimétrique, spectroscopie UV-vis, spectroscopie infrarouge, études de sorption, etc.). Dans un premier temps, l'étude s'est focalisée sur des MOFs porphyriniques à base de groupements carboxylates stables connus, ce qui a conduit à de nouvelles variantes de ces matériaux. Dans un second temps il est démontré que les topologies des réseaux observées sur un ligand porphyrinique à base carboxylate peuvent être étendues à d'autres fonctionnalités avec la synthèse d'un nouveau MOF à base de tétrazolate. L'amélioration de la stabilité a également été explorée avec des ligands portant des fonctions phénol qui ont abouti à l'élaboration de nouveaux réseaux de coordination. La synthèse et l'étude de stabilité d'un MOF porphyrinique à base de gallate est rapportée. L'évaluation préliminaire de l'activité catalytique de certains des MOFs élaborés est également décrite / Porphyrins are important macrocyclic compounds which are prevalent in nature and have been extensively studied by chemists in homogeneous catalysis as enzyme mimics. Incorporating porphyrins in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offer an ideal opportunity to obtain material with extended frameworks possessing the same properties as the homogenous systems. Much work has been done on porphyrinic MOFs but their stability remains a problem and a major limitation for possible wide scale applications. In literature, more stable MOFs have been realised using high valent metal ions in the inorganic building unit (such as Fe3+, Al3+, Zr4+) and/or by using more basic functionalities in the organic linker. However, regarding porphyrinic MOFs, little work is reported with ligands based on functionalities other than carboxylic acid groups. Therefore, our work focused on investigating the reactivity of porphyrinic ligands carrying various functionalities with high valent metal ions. More precisely, we focused on the design, synthesis optimisation and characterisation of such materials. This included studying existing stable carboxylate porphyrinic frameworks with a goal of incorporating new functionalities, which led to new variations of these materials. Our work also demonstrated that the framework topologies observed with carboxylate based porphyrinic ligand can be expanded to other functionalities with the synthesis of a new tetrazolate based porphyrinic MOF. MOF synthesis was also investigated with phenolate functionalised ligands and resulted in the first gallate based porphyrinic MOF reported. The stability of this new material was assessed. This manuscript discusses the synthesis and the characterisation of these MOFs via a combination of experimental techniques (X-ray diffraction, TGA analysis, UV-vis spectroscopy, IR-spectroscopy, sorption studies etc.). The preliminary evaluation of the catalytic activity of some of the MOFs is also described

Syftet med detta masterprojekt var att undersöka möjligheten att använda biobaserat, mjukgjort natriumalginat (NaAlg) som enzymbärare. Alginaterna görs traditionellt bearbetbara genom att tillsätta olika mjukgörare, såsom polyoler (glycerol, sorbitol, etc.), i detta arbete användes glycerol. Den experimentella aspekten av projektet involverade beredning i laboratorieskala av prover, som omfattade blandning, varmpressning, potentiell behandling med nedsänkning i kalciumbad och efterföljande torkning. Förlusten av kemikalier under bearbetningen kvantifierades med hjälp av termogravimetrisk analys (TGA) och ultraviolett-synlig spektroskopi (UV-Vis). De preparerade bearbetade proverna karakteriserades genom extraktionsexperiment. Under den första halvan av projektet undersöktes färgämnesladdningen av proverna för enkelhets skull. Senare byttes den laddade föreningen ut mot enzymer. UV-Vis-mätningar användes i båda fallen för att effektivt karakterisera proverna. De initialt preparerade mjukgjorda natriumalginatproverna var för känsliga och löstes lätt i vatten. Följaktligen utfördes experiment för att förbättra stabiliteten hos matrisen till en tillräcklig nivå genom jonbyte av natriumjoner till kalciumjoner. Denna process förbättrade avsevärt vattenstabiliteten hos proverna. Av resultaten verkar det som om frisättningen av den laddade föreningen kan kontrolleras genom jonbytesbehandlingen. När väl förbättrad vattenstabilitet hos matrisen upptäcktes, undersöktes effekten av mjukningsmedlet genom att ändra blandningsförhållandet för glycerol. Det visade sig att nivån av glycerol i provet är omvänt proportionell mot den laddade föreningens återhållbarhet. De enzymladdade proverna implementerades först med användning av lipasenzymer på grund av att de var lättillgängliga i laboratoriet. Inom kort visade det sig att analysen för att kvantifiera lipasaktivitet utförs i 2-metyl-2-butanol (2M2B), vilket inte orsakade någon svullnad i proverna som observerats tidigare. Därför byttes det laddade enzymet till Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP). Det visade sig att HRP-laddade prover hade aktivitet efter bearbetning. De vattenstabiliserade HRP-laddade proverna hade mätbar aktivitet under fyra timmars exponering för analysen. Förutom enzymatisk analys övervakades frisättningsprofilen för protein också med användning av Bradford-analysen. Man såg att efter en initial måttlig frisättning av enzymerna, planade frisättningen ut och upphörde efter fyra timmar. Resultaten av Bradford-analysen överensstämde med de enzymatiska aktivitetsmätningarna. Det bör noteras att den ursprungliga formuleringen av projektet var starkt baserad på en nyligen utvecklad bearbetningsmetod, extrudering för alginatkompositer. Tyvärr gjordes inga tester med extrudering på grund av tekniska svårigheter med instrumentet. / The aim of this master project was to investigate the possibility to use bio-based, plasticized sodium alginate (NaAlg) as enzyme carrier. The alginates are traditionally made processable by adding various plasticizers, such as polyols (glycerol, sorbitol, etc.), in this work glycerol was used. The experimental aspect of the project involved the lab-scale preparation of samples, which encompassed compounding, hot pressing, potential treatment with a calcium bath immersion, and subsequent drying. The loss of chemicals during processing was quantified using Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis). The prepared processed samples were characterized by extraction experiments. In the first half of the project, the colorant loading of the samples was investigated for simplicity. Later the loaded compound was exchanged for enzymes. UV-Vis measurements were employed in both cases to characterize the samples effectively. The initially prepared plasticized sodium alginate samples were too sensitive and readily dissolved in water. Consequently, experiments were performed to improve the stability of the matrix to a sufficient level by ion exchange of sodium ions to calcium ions. This process significantly improved the water stability of the samples. From the results, it seems the release of the loaded compound can be controlled by the ion exchange treatment. Once enhanced water stability of the matrix was found, the effect of the plasticizer was investigated by changing the mixing ratio of glycerol. It was found that the level of glycerol in the sample is inversely proportional to the restrainability of the loaded compound. The enzyme loaded samples first were implemented by the use of lipase enzymes due to being readily available in the laboratory. Shortly, it was found that the assay to quantify lipase activity is performed in 2-methyl-2-butanol (2M2B), which did not cause any swelling in the samples as observed before. Therefore, the loaded enzyme was switched to Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP). It was found that HRP loaded samples possessed activity after processing. The water stabilized HRP loaded samples possessed measurable activity over four hours of exposure to the assay. In addition to enzymatic assay, the release profile of protein was also monitored using Bradford assay. It was seen that after an initial moderate release of the enzymes, the release leveled off and stopped after four hours. The results of the Bradford assay aligned with the enzymatic activity measurements. It should be noted, that the original formulation of the project was heavily based on arecently developed processing method, extrusion for alginate composites. Unfortunately,no tests were performed with extrusion due to technical difficulties with the instrument.

Le nombre croissant de sites affectés par la présence de matériaux technogéniques rend nécessaire l’étude du (bio)fonctionnement des Technosols, qui s’y développent. Un matériau technogénique, issu d’une ancienne friche industrielle de cokerie et présentant une multipollution en HAP et en métaux a été disposé dans des parcelles lysimétriques pour une étude in situ (site d’Homécourt, www.gisfi.fr). La caractérisation morphologique et analytique à différentes échelles du matériau initial nous a permis d’y définir, en analogie avec la classification pédologique standard, la présence (1) de constituants primaires tels que quartz, oxydes de fer, gypse et matières organiques anthropiques, (2) de pseudo-sables technogéniques, soit des laitiers, (3) d’agrégats technogéniques stables à l’eau (12% de la masse du sol) néoformés grâce au rôle agrégeant de la fraction fine (0-20µm). Matières organiques anthropiques et ETM (Zn Pb, Ba) contribuent à la formation de ces associations organo-minérales. Ce matériau d’origine anthropique, tout spécifique qu’il soit, contient des constituants minéraux et organiques capables de s’associer et donc susceptibles, au même titre que ceux des sols naturels, d’évoluer sous l’effet des facteurs pédogénétiques et former ainsi un technosol. Si les deux années d’expérimentation n’ont pas été suffisantes pour mettre en évidence une modification de la stabilité structurale de ce jeune Technosol, les résultats y soulignent l’impact des plantes colonisatrices et de la microflore rhizosphérique sur la formation d’associations organo-minérales. L’activité biologique est donc un facteur clef d’évolution de ces sols / The increasing number of sites affected by the presence of technogenic materials makes necessary the study of (bio)functioning of Technosols, developed there. A technogenic material, resulting from an old industrial coking plant and presenting a multipollution of HAP and metals was laid out in lysimetric pieces for an “in situ” study (site of Homécourt, www.gisfi.fr). The morphological and analytical characterization at different scales of initial material enabled us to define, in analogy with standard pedological classification, the presence (1) of primary constituents such as quartz, iron oxides, gypsum and anthropic organic matters, (2) of technogenic pseudo-sands, like slags, (3) of water-stable technogenic aggregates (12% of the soil mass), generated through the aggregating role of the fine fraction (0-20 µm). Anthropic organic matter and ETM (Zn Pb, Ba) contribute to the formation of these organo-mineral associations. This material of anthropic origin, while it is specific, contains mineral and organic components able to aggregate and is thus, as well as natural soils, able to develop under the influence of pedogenic factors to form a Technosol. If the two years of experimentation were not sufficient to highlight a modification of the structural stability of this young Technosol, the results underline there the impact of the colonizing plants and the rhizospheric microflora on the formation of organo-mineral associations. The biological activity is thus a key factor of evolution of these soils