This thesis describes the design of polypeptides, unordered in the monomeric state but capable of folding into helix-loop-helix motifs and dimerise to form four-helix bundles. The goal of the design was to encode them with the capacity to form dimers highly selectively and the ability to carry out molecular functions in the folded state but not in the unordered state, and thus to establish a molecular link between recognition and function. The 42-residue sequences JR2E and JR2K were both shown by CD spectroscopy to adopt unordered conformations under single solute conditions at pH 7 but to form helical conformations in a 1:1 mixture. Analytical ultracentrifugation showed that JR2E and JR2K formed a clean heterodimer and the dissociation constant Kd, measured by CD spectroscopy, was found to be 5 ± 1 μM. Discrimination was enabled by the incorporation of charged residues at the dimer interface in the helical segments of the helix-loop-helix motif. Glutamic acids were incorporated in JR2E and lysines in JR2K, and charge repulsion prevented the monomeric subunits from forming homodimers. In mixtures, however, highly helical heterodimers were formed. The cooperative transition from unordered conformation to heterodimeric four-helix bundle was exploited in the design of a signal response system by incorporating a reactive site, capable of catalysing the hydrolysis of a m-nitrophenyl ester, into the negatively charged polypeptide. In the unfolded state the functionalised polypeptide was virtually inactive but in the folded state, induced by the interaction with JR2K, the substrate was hydrolysed approximately an order of magnitude more efficiently. Interactions between the designed polypeptides and a functionalised polythiophene polymer were studied and it was found that the conformation of the polymer was controlled by the polypeptides, largely by electrostatic interactions. The negatively charged JR2E forced the polymer to adopt a planar conformation while the positively charged JR2K induced a more twisted conformation of the polymer. The spectral changes coupled to the conformational transitions of the polymer were used to measure the binding of human Carbonic anhydrase II by JR2E functionalised with a benzenesulphonamide ligand, in demonstration of its use as a tool for high-throughput screening. JR2E immobilised on gold nanoparticles was shown to form homodimers reversibly under pH control, with affinities large enough to determine the state of aggregation of the gold nanoparticles.

In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden die Synthese und die Charakterisierung neuer Titan-oxo-Monomere beschrieben. Ein weiterer Teil beschäftigt sich mit dem kationischen Polymerisationsverhalten dieser Verbindungen, welche dem Typ der „Zwillingspolymerisationen“ zugeordnet werden kann. Die Charakterisierung der dabei entstehenden nanostrukturierten Hybridmaterialien aus Titandioxid und organischen Polymeren wird beschrieben. Als Vergleich dienen Simultanpolymerisationen von Titanalkoxiden und polymerisierbaren organischen Alkoholen.

Cette thèse est consacrée à la synthèse de peptides hybrides possédant un ou plusieurs groupements silanes et à leurs utilisations pour la conception de matériaux hybrides. Deux types de peptides hybrides silylés ont été mis au point : les peptides triethoxysilanes et chloro diméthylsilanes.La première partie de ce manuscrit présente la synthèse de peptides triethoxysilanes, ligands de récepteurs surexprimés dans certains types de cancer. Ils ont été utilisés pour la multi fonctionnalisation de nanoparticules de silice fluorescentes obtenues par voie sol-gel. Une méthode originale de caractérisation par RMN du fluor a permis de vérifier l'efficacité du greffage. L'évaluation des propriétés de ciblage des ces nanoparticules multifonctionelles sur différentes lignées cellulaires a été réalisée par cytométrie de flux. Enfin, dans le but de recouvrir d'une coque hybride des nanoparticules poreuses permettant la libération d'un principe actif, un peptide sensible aux protéases a été greffé en surface ; la libération d'un fluorophore a été étudiée.La dernière partie de ce manuscrit concerne les peptides hybrides fonctionnalisés par un ou deux groupements chlorodiméthylsilanes. Ces derniers ont été utilisés pour la synthèse de dimères et de polymères peptidiques de différentes architectures.Au contraire des stratégies de post-fonctionnalisation reposant sur des synthèses multi étapes délicates et difficiles à contrôler, l'utilisation de ces peptides a permis l'obtention de nouveaux biomatériaux dans des conditions très douces avec une grande flexibilité. / This thesis is dedicated to the synthesis of hybrid peptides functionalized with one or more silane groups and their use for the preparation of hybrid materials. Two precursors were developed: triethoxysilane and chlorodimethylsilane peptides.The first part of the manuscript deals with the synthesis of triethoxysilylated peptides as ligands of receptors over-expressed in tumor cells. They were used for the multi-functionalization of fluorescent silica nanoparticles prepared by sol-gel process. An original fluorine-NMR method was developped to demonstrate and quantify the efficiency of the grafting. To investigate the tumor targeting ability, the nanoparticles were assayed against different cell lines by flow cytometry. At last, in order to use mesoporous silica nanoparticles as a delivery system, a shell of hybrid peptides, which sequence was chosen as substrate of peptidases, was anchored to the surface. The release of a fluorescent cargo was studied.The last part of the manuscript describes a new class of silicone-containing peptide dimers or polymers obtained by a straightforward polymerization in water using tailored chlorodimethylsilyl peptide blocks as monomeric units. Different architectures were obtained including linear and comb-like polymers.On the contrary of post-functionalization strategies relying on multi-step synthesis, the use of hybrid peptide and sol gel process allows an easy and controlled access to tunable new biomaterials, in soft conditions, with a high versatility.

Nano-structured materials are widely applied for various applications like photovoltaics, electrochromics and sensors. A challenging task in all these fields is the functionalization of these materials with a molecule of interest for the desired application. This work demonstrate the post grafting of the most important and commonly used nano-structured material, mesoporous TiO2, with different bifunctional molecular linkers. These compounds basically have two functional groups, the phosphonic acid group which coordinates to the TiO2 surface and a positive and negative head group which controls the surface charge and the potential interaction of the surface with species in solution. These two groups are systematically separated by alkyl group of different chain length which controls the hydrophobicity of the surface. It is shown that the new surface modification technique simplifies the molecular requirements for functional surface modifiers considerably. Using a limited set of organic anchors with adjustable head group charge and hydrophobicity, broad range of molecules can be adsorbed onto TiO2. Different applications based on such modified surfaces were explored and demonstrated. The modified surfaces can be used to incorporate different charged guest molecules, electrochromophores and dyes which enable to probe their electrochemistry and photovoltaic properties on the surface. Supra-molecular self assembly inside the modified pores is possible which can be monitored by different methods. The study includes the prepartaion of the modified surfaces and their characterization using different electrochemical methods, FTIR spectroscopy, Quartz Crystal Microbalance, Contact angle and Scanning Electron Microscopy measurements.

In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden die Synthese und die Charakterisierung neuer Titan-oxo-Monomere beschrieben. Ein weiterer Teil beschäftigt sich mit dem kationischen Polymerisationsverhalten dieser Verbindungen, welche dem Typ der „Zwillingspolymerisationen“ zugeordnet werden kann. Die Charakterisierung der dabei entstehenden nanostrukturierten Hybridmaterialien aus Titandioxid und organischen Polymeren wird beschrieben. Als Vergleich dienen Simultanpolymerisationen von Titanalkoxiden und polymerisierbaren organischen Alkoholen.