The appropriate lipid environment is crucial for the proper function of membrane proteins. There is a tremendous variety of lipid molecules in the membrane and so far it is often unclear which component of the lipid matrix is essential for the function of a respective protein. Lipid molecules and proteins mutually influence each other; parameters such as acyl chain order, membrane thickness, membrane elasticity, permeability, lipid-domain and annulus formation are strongly modulated by proteins. More recent data also indicates that the influence of proteins goes beyond a single annulus of next-neighbor boundary lipids. Therefore, a mesoscopic approach to membrane lipid-protein interactions in terms of elastic membrane deformations has been developed. Solid-state NMR has greatly contributed to the understanding of lipid-protein interactions and the modern view of biological membranes. Methods that detect the influence of proteins on the membrane as well as direct lipid-protein interactions have been developed and are reviewed here. Examples for solid-state NMR studies on the interaction of Ras proteins, the antimicrobial peptide protegrin-1, the G protein-coupled receptor rhodopsin, and the K+ channel KcsA are discussed.

Certain types of porphyrins can be used as achiral agent for determination of enantiomeric excess (ee) of chiral molecules. Particular organic chiral molecule (guest) and porphyrin (host) form host-guest complex while inducing nonequiv- alency of particular proton resonances in symmetrical host. It causes splitting of NMR signals linearly dependent on ee of guest. In this work we investigated com- plexation of di-brombenzylated oxoporphyrin with chiral camphorsulfonic acid. NMR titration revealed that they form complex with 1:1 stoichiometry with as- sociation constant K ≈ 5 × 104 l/mol. We confirmed linear dependence of split- ting of host β-protons on ee of guest. Low temperature measurements revealed two conformations of host-guest complex with population around 0.7:0.3 (at −60 ◦ C). DFT quantum mechanical computations at BLYP/3-21G* level revealed also two conformations with population 0.79:0.21. NMR shifts were computed on this geometries with method GIAO/PBE1PBE/6-31G(2df,2pd) and compared to experimental values. 1

Half-metallic ferromagnets (HMFs), with fully spin-polarized conduction electrons, are prime candidates for optimizing spintronic devices. Many Heusler compounds (a class of ternary and quaternary intermetallics) are predicted to be HMFs, in particular Co$_{2}YZ$ (where $Y$ is usually another transition metal, and $Z$ is an s-p element). Crystal structure is controlled by thermodynamics to a large extent. Ideally, one should be able to control and optimize properties which are of interest by appropriately "tuning" the structure (e.g. annealing), but first one must understand the structure and its relation to observed physical properties. A local structural probe technique such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is an essential tool for identifying and quantifying the various atomic-scale orderings. Different Heusler structure types and antisite disorders affect the material's physical properties. In this thesis, order-disorder phenomena in both bulk and thin film samples of Co$_2$Mn$_{1-x}$Si$_x$ and Co$_2$Mn$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$Si have been systematically studied using NMR. Though it is the films which are directly implemented in actual devices, studying bulk samples as model systems provides invaluable information regarding the material properties. The evolution of local atomic structure in numerous thin films has been shown to depend greatly on preparation parameters, including post-deposition annealing temperature, and specific stoichiometry. For Co$_2$MnSi films, the ideal post-annealing temperature for promoting the $L2_1$ atomic structure was found; the threshold temperature above which structure continues to become higher-ordered in the bulk, but where too much interdiffusion at the buffer interface occurs, degrading the smooth interfaces necessary for high magnetoresistance ratios. NMR also adds evidence that Co$_2$Mn$_x$Si$_{0.88}$ ($x>$1) electrodes in magnetic tunnel junctions have highest tunneling magneto-resistance because the excess Mn suppresses the formation of detrimental Co$_{Mn}$ antisites. A systematic investigation of several thermal and magnetic properties, including Sommerfeld coefficients, Debye temperatures, saturation magnetic moments, spin-wave stiffness, and magnon specific heat coefficient, were measured for selected Co$_2$-based ternary and quaternary Heusler compounds. Obtained values were compared with theoretical ones calculated using electronic band structure methods. It has been systematically shown that adding a magnon term to the specific heat has a negligible effect on the electronic contribution in all cases.

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Molecular recognition, defined as the specific interactions between two or more molecules, is at the center of many biological processes including catalysis, signal transduction, gene regulation and allostery. Allosteric regulation is the modification of function caused by an intermolecular interaction. Allosteric proteins modify their activity in response to a biological signal that is often transmitted through the interaction with a small effector molecule. Therefore, determination of the origins of intermolecular interactions involved in molecular recognition and allostery are essential for understanding biological processes. Classically, molecular recognition and allosteric regulation have been associated to structural changes of the system. NMR spectroscopic methods have indicated that changes in protein dynamics may also contribute to molecular recognition and allostery. This thesis is an investigation of the contributions of both structure and dynamics in molecular binding phenomena. In chapter I, I describe molecular recognition, allostery and examples of allostery and cooperativity. Then I discuss the contribution of protein dynamics to function with a special focus on allosteric regulation. Lastly I introduce the hemoglobin homodimer, HbI of Scapharca inaequivalvis and the mRNA binding protein TIS11d. Chapter II is the primary focus of this thesis on the contribution of protein dynamics to allostery in the dimeric hemoglobin of scapharca inaequivalvis, HbI. Thereafter I concentrate on the mechanism of adenine recognition of the Tristetraprolin-like (TTP) protein TIS11d; this study is detailed in Chapter III. In Chapter IV I discuss broader impacts and future directions of my research. This thesis presents an example of the use of protein NMR spectroscopy to probe ligand binding. The studies presented in this thesis emphasize the importance of dynamics in understanding protein function. Measurements of protein motions will be an element of future studies to understand protein function in health and disease.

La catalyse de polycondensation des silicones, et notamment des élastomères vulcanisables à froid bicomposants, constitue un enjeu scientifique, environnemental et économique. Le dilaurate de dibutyl étain (DLDBE), classé CMR2, très largement utilisé dans l'industrie du silicone sera prochainement interdit par la nouvelle réglementation REACH. L'objectif de cette étude est donc d'étudier de nouveaux systèmes catalytiques des réactions de polycondensation. L'effet des différents constituants de la formulation (masse molaire du PDMS réactif, concentration en réticulant, concentration en catalyseur) sur la cinétique de réticulation et sur les propriétés finales a été étudié par combinaison des techniques de rhéologie, RMN et taux de gonflement. Principalement, ce travail consiste en l'étude approfondie de deux catalyseurs : une guanidine et un complexe de zinc et les résultats montrent que la construction des réseaux est plus ou moins différente selon la catalyse. En effet, un dérivé de l'étain conduit à une construction en deux étapes d'hydrolyse et de condensation, dont l'hydrolyse est d'abord favorisée. En comparaison, les complexes de zinc tendent à se comporter d'une façon très similaire, bien que l'hydrolyse des alcoxysilanes soit plus importante. Au contraire, une catalyse basique favorise très largement la condensation par rapport à l'hydrolyse. La guanidine réagit très rapidement avec les fonctions silanols. Ensuite, l'hydrolyse des alcoxysilanes se produisant dans une moindre proportion, le réseau tridimensionnel se construit. Ces travaux ont donc montré que le complexe de zinc étudié est un bon remplaçant du DLDBE / Silicones condensation catalysis, and more especially room temperature vulcanizable compounds, is a very important scientific, environmental and economic issue. The catalysis species, derivated from tin dilaurate, which are now classified as a CMR2 compound (toxic for reproduction), have been widely used in the silicone industry. The new REACH regulation is going to forbid its use very soon. This study aims to work on new catalytic systems. The influence of the components of the formulation on the kinetics and mechanical properties has been study by different methods: rheology, NMR and swelling measurements. More precisely, this work focuses on two catalysts: one guanidine and zinc complexes. Results have shown that the network construction depends on the catalysis. In fact, while using a tin compound, the construction occurs in two steps, in which hydrolysis is the most important. As a comparison, zinc complexes present the same behaviour as tin compounds even though the hydrolysis step is much more important. On the contrary, it’s known that basic catalysis enhances the condensation step. Then, the guanidine quickly reacts with the silanol functions. Then, in a second step, the alkoxysilanes hydrolysis occurs in a smaller proportion. The tridimensional network is getting built. This work mainly showed that zinc complexes can easily replace tin compounds

Inflammatory bowel disease is a serious condition with an incomplete etiology and pathogenesis. In this thesis, a mouse model of sodium dextran sulfate-induced inflammation was used to study different changes in the metabolism of germ-free and conventionally raised mice due to the development of the inflammatory process. NMR metabolomics of fecal, urine and serum samples, combined with uni- and multivariate statistical analysis, were used to characterize the changes. It was shown that the metabolic signature differs between germ-free and conventional mice. In germ-free mice, significant amounts of carbohydrates were found in feces. Their levels decreased during inflammation as they were excreted in urine. In contrast to conventional mice, germ-free mice also excreted large amounts of amino acids in feces during the developing inflammation. Disorders of sugar and protein metabolism found in germ-free mice indicate severe malnutrition caused by inflammation. The results show that the presence of a microbiome represents a protective mechanism against significant disruption in the body. A stability study of fecal extracts of healthy conventionally colonized mice confirmed that none of the identified and quantified metabolites showed significant systemic changes in several consecutively collected...

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Höchste Magnetfelder haben sich zu einem unverzichtbaren Werkzeug der Festkörperphysik entwickelt. Sie werden insbesondere verwendet, um die elektronischen Eigenschaften von modernen Materialien zu erforschen. Da Magnetfelder oberhalb von 45 Tesla nicht mehr mit statischen (z.B. supraleitenden) Feldern zu erreichen sind, haben sich weltweit verschiedene Labore auf die Erzeugung gepulster Magnetfelder mit angestrebten Maximalwerten von 100 Tesla spezialisiert. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden Anwendungsmöglichkeiten der kernmagnetischen Resonanz (NMR) in gepulsten Magnetfeldern aufgezeigt. Es ist gelungen, die starke Zeitabhängigkeit der gepulsten Magnetfelder mittels NMR präzise zu vermessen. Die genaue Kenntnis des Magnetfelds nach dem Puls ermöglicht, die Zeitabhängigkeit aus den Daten zu entfernen, sodass auch eine kohärente Signal-Mittelung möglich ist. Davon ausgehend werden erstmalig Messungen der chemischen Verschiebung, der Knight Shift, der Spin-Gitter-Relaxationsrate 1/T1 und der Spin-Spin-Relaxationsrate 1/T2 diskutiert. Schließlich werden die im Zusammenhang mit gepulsten Magnetfeldern erarbeiteten Gleichungen in vereinfachter Form zur genauen Messung und Analyse des freien Induktions-Zerfalls von 19F Kernspins in Calciumfluorid verwendet. Durch Messung des Zerfalls über sechs Größenordnungen wird eine genaue Analyse bezüglich einer neuartigen Theorie ermöglicht, welche den Zerfall basierend auf der Annahme mikroskopischen Chaos\'' erklärt. Diese Theorie hat das Potenzial, zu einem tieferen Verständnis von Quantenchaos in makroskopischen Vielteilchensystemen zu führen.