Chemical modification of proteins is critical for many areas of biochemistry and medicine. Several methods for site-selective protein modification are reported in this Thesis that are useful in accessing both natural and artificial protein architectures. Multiple, complementary methods for the conversion of cysteine to dehydroalanine are described. Dehydroalanine is used as a general precursor to several post-translational modifications and glycosylation, polyprenylation, phosphorylation, and lysine methylation and acetylation are all accessible. These modifications and their mimics were explored on multiple proteins, including histone proteins. Unnatural modifications were also explored. The first examples of olefin metathesis and Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling on protein substrates are reported. Allyl sulfides were discovered to be remarkably reactive substrates in olefin metathesis, allowing use of this reaction in water and on proteins. For Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling, a new catalyst is described that is fully compatible with proteins. Both olefin metathesis and cross-coupling allow the formation of carbon-carbon bonds on proteins. The prospects of these transformations in chemical biology are discussed. Finally, a novel strategy is reported for the installation of natural, unnatural, and post-translationally modified amino acid residues on proteins. This technology relies on addition of carbon radicals to dehydroalanine. This method of "chemical mutagenesis" is anticipated to complement standard genetic manipulation of protein structure.

This thesis explores the capacity of sterically and electronically unsaturated boranes to bind substrates of biological and environmental interest, and transduce such binding events into a photo-physical and/or electrochemical response, hence reporting the presence of these substrates. Chapter three details the synthesis of a range of novel ferrocenyl boranes featuring either a proximal hydrogen-bond donor or a second Lewis acidic centre. These novel boranes were shown to be competent at binding both cyanide and fluoride anions, with the role played by a proximal hydrogen-bond donor or a second Lewis acidic centre in anion binding investigated by both NMR and crystallographic studies. Chapter four reports the synthesis of novel pyridinyl and related boronic esters, as well as unexpected mixed alkenyl/aryl boranes. The capacity of both types of system to bind fluoride or cyanide anions in solution was investigated by UV-Vis and NMR studies. The photo-physical responses to these anions were also probed, leading to the establishment of both switch-on and switch-off fluorescent responses. Chapter five extends the knowledge derived from selective anion receptor design and combines this with recent developments in the field of frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) to activate, bind and report the presence of nitrous oxide (N₂O) molecule. Thus, the syntheses of novel, highly Lewis acidic ferrocenyl boranes that incorporate a high degree of steric loading around the boron centre are reported. The electrochemical and photo-physical response of an FLP system to the presence of N₂O was investigated leading to the development of a novel N₂O reporting system.

Notre équipe de recherche a récemment développé les premiers inhibiteurs d’une enzyme à DDE, la transposase MOS1, une enzyme analogue à l’intégrase du VIH-1. Ces molécules, de type bisfurylmaléimides, ont également montré une efficacité contre les activités enzymatiques de l’intégrase du VIH. En se basant sur ces résultats, nous avons entrepris la synthèse de nouveaux bisfurylmaléimides dans le but d’identifier de nouveaux inhibiteurs de l’intégrase et de proposer de nouvelles molécules dans la lutte contre le virus responsable du SIDA. L’originalité de notre démarche est l’utilisation de la transposase MOS1 comme modèle pour concevoir nos molécules. Les méthodologies utilisées pour accéder à ces molécules font essentiellement appel à la chimie catalysée par des métaux de transition mais aussi à des réactions de chimie hétérocyclique telles que des réactions de Mitsunobu, de Knoevenagel ou encore de Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons. L’ensemble des molécules synthétisées a fait l’objet d’une évaluation de leurs activités inhibitrices sur la transposase MOS1 et l’intégrase du VIH-1. Leurs propriétés antivirales contre le VIH ont également été évaluées. Parallèlement à ces travaux, nous nous sommes intéressés à la réactivité du noyau maléimide dans des réactions de couplage pallado-catalysées et plus particulièrement dans des couplages de Sonogashira. / Our research team has recently developed the first inhibitors of a DDE enzyme, MOS1 transposase, an enzyme similar to the HIV-1 integrase. These molecules, having a bisfurylmaleimide structure, also showed efficacy against enzymatic activities of HIV integrase. Based on these results, we undertook the synthesis of new bisfurylmaleimides in order to identify new integrase inhibitors and propose new molecules in the fight against the virus that causes AIDS. The originality of our approach is the use of MOS1 transposase as a model for designing our molecules. Methodologies used to access these molecules are essentially involving chemistry catalyzed by transition metals but also reactions of heterocyclic chemistry such as Mitsunobu, Knoevenagel or Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reactions. All synthesized molecules has been evaluated for their inhibitory activities on the MOS1 transposase and HIV-1 integrase. Their antiviral properties against HIV were also evaluated. Parallel to this work, we investigated the reactivity of the maleimide core in palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions especially in Sonogashira couplings.