Les propietats coordinants de les metal·lotioneïnes del C. elegans

Un equip d'investigadors, format per químics de la UAB i biòlegs de la UB, ha estudiat el sistema de metal·lotioneïnes del nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, un organisme model en estudis de biologia molecular. Malgrat que a les metal·lotioneïnes se'ls han atribuït diverses funcions biològiques com la detoxicació de metalls pesants, encara es treballa amb intensitat per determinar la seva funció específica. Aquest treball ha desvetllat les propietats coordinants dels dos tipus de metal·lotioneïnes presents en C. elegans.Un equipo de investigadores, formado por químicos de la UAB y biólogos de la UB, ha estudiado el sistema de metalotioneínas del nematodo Caenorhabditis elegans, un organismo modelo en estudios de biología molecular. Pese a que a las metalotioneínas se les han atribuido varias funciones biológicas, como la detoxificación de metales pesados, todavía se trabaja con intensidad para determinar su función específica. Este trabajo ha puesto a descubierto las propiedades coordinantes de los dos tipos de metalotioneínas presentes en C. elegans.A research team made up of chemists of the UAB and biologists of the UB has studied the metallothionein system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a model organism in molecular biology. Although metallothioneins have been related to different functions in the organism, such as heavy metal detoxification, intense work is still being caried out to determine their specific functionality. The research has discovered the binding properties of the two known metallothioneins in C. elegans

Chemical, electrochemical and photochemical molecular water oxidation catalysts

Hydrogen release from the splitting of water by simply using sunlight as the only energy source is an old human dream that could finally become a reality. This process involves both the reduction and oxidation of water into hydrogen and oxygen, respectively. While the first process has been fairly overcome, the conversion of water into oxygen has been traditionally the bottleneck process hampering the development of a sustainable hydrogen production based on water splitting. Fortunately, a revolution in this field has occurred during the past decade, since many research groups have been conducting an intense research in this area. Thus, while molecular, well-characterized catalysts able to oxidize water were scarce just five years ago, now a wide range of transition metal based compounds has been reported as active catalysts for this transformation. This review reports the most prominent key advances in the field, covering either examples where the catalysis is triggered chemically, electrochemically or photochemicall

Grup de Recerca Catàlisi d'Oxidació Selectiva (SelOxCat)

La demanda energètica de les societats actuals és cada vegada més elevada, mentre que les reserves de combustibles d'origen no renovable, les més utilitzades, van minvant. En aquesta situació, la recerca de fonts d'energia renovables adquireix una importància rellevant. El grup de recerca SelOxCat (Catàlisid'Oxidació Selectiva) utilitza una àmplia gamma de tècniques per tal d'estudiar, comprendre i desenvolupar les reaccions principals per a la producció de combustibles renovables a partir d'aigua i llum solar.La demanda energética de las sociedades actuales es cada vez más elevada, mientras que las reservas de combustibles de origen no renovable, las más utilizadas, van disminuyendo. En esta situación, la búsqueda de fuentes de energía renovables adquiere una importancia relevante. El grupo de investigación SelOxCat (Catálisis de Oxidación Selectiva) utiliza una amplia gama de técnicas para estudiar, comprender y desarrollar las reacciones principales para la producción de combustibles renovables a partir de agua y luz solar.The energy demand of modern societies is increasingly high, while the reserves of non-renewable fuel sources, the most common, are diminishing. In this situation, the search for renewable energy sources acquires considerable importance. The SelOxCat research group uses a range of techniques to study, understand and develop the reactions leading to the production of renewable fuels from water and sunlight

Light-driven hydrogen evolution assisted by covalent organic frameworks

Altres ajuts: RSCCovalent organic frameworks (COFs) are crystalline porous organic polymers built from covalent organic blocks that can be photochemically active when incorporating organic semiconducting units, such as triazine rings or diacetylene bridges. The bandgap, charge separation capacity, porosity, wettability, and chemical stability of COFs can be tuned by properly choosing their constitutive building blocks, by extension of conjugation, by adjustment of the size and crystallinity of the pores, and by synthetic post-functionalization. This review focuses on the recent uses of COFs as photoactive platforms for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), in which usually metal nanoparticles (NPs) or metallic compounds (generally Pt-based) act as co-catalysts. The most promising COF-based photocatalytic HER systems will be discussed, and special emphasis will be placed on rationalizing their structure and light-harvesting properties in relation to their catalytic activity and stability under turnover conditions. Finally, the aspects that need to be improved in the coming years will be discussed, such as the degree of dispersibility in water, the global photocatalytic efficiency, and the robustness and stability of the hybrid systems, putting emphasis on both the COF and the metal co-catalyst

Catalitzadors químics, electroquímics i fotoquímics de l'oxidació molecular de l'aigua

L'alliberament d'hidrogen a partir del trencament de l'aigua pel simple ús de la llum solar com a única font d'energia és un vell somni de la humanitat que finalment podria convertir-se en una realitat. Un article del grup de recerca SelOxCat informa dels avenços més destacats en aquest procés, que abasta l'estudi de l'oxidació catalítica de l'aigua mitjançant l'ús de compostos moleculars que contenen ions de metalls de transició, considerant exemples en què la catàlisi s'inicia químicament, electroquímicament i/o fotoquímicament

Surface-Functionalized Nanoparticles as Catalysts for Artificial Photosynthesis

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UABAnalogously to enzymatic catalysis, where the active metal sites and their environment are controlled by protein residues, the catalytic properties of metal nanoparticles (NPs) can be tuned by carefully selecting their surface-coordinated species. In artificial photosynthesis, surface-functionalization emerged in the last decade, grounded on the development of reliable methods for tailored synthesis, advanced characterization and theoretical modeling of metal NPs, altogether with the aim of transferring to the nanoscale the mechanistic knowledge acquired from molecular complexes. Metal NPs surface-functionalization modulates the energetics of key catalytic intermediates, introduces second coordination sphere effects, influences the catalyst-electrolyte interface, and determines the metal NPs surface coverage and, accordingly, the number of accessible active sites. In photoactivated systems, metal NPs surface-functionalization may play a key role in modulating the charge transfers and recombination processes between the light absorber and the active sites and in the light absorber itself. Thus, after a presentation of the most relevant synthetic methods to produce well-defined surface-functionalized metal NPs, a critical analysis of why the above effects are the cornerstone in enhancing their catalytic performance in the key processes of artificial photosynthesis, namely the oxygen evolution reaction, the hydrogen evolution reaction, and the CO2 reduction reaction, is given

Síntesis y caracterización de complejos moleculares de rutenio que incorporan el ligando Py4lm en su estructura. Aplicación en catálisis de oxidación de agua y de epoxidación de olefinas

El ligando Py4Im contiene 4 grupos piridina y 1 grupo imidazol, y se puede considerar un miembro de la familia de ligandos Py5H2 y de sus derivados Py5R2. Este tipo de ligandos tienen la particularidad de aumentar la estabilidad de los estados de oxidación altos de los metales de la segunda y tercera serie de transición a los que se coordinan y a su vez favorecer cambios de estados de oxidación dielectrónicos. En este trabajo se pretende sintetizar complejos de rutenio que incorporen el ligando Py4Im en su estructura, con el objetivo de utilizar sus propiedades como catalizadores en los procesos de oxidación del agua, a partir de los cuales se produce oxígeno molecular, y también en los procesos de epoxidación de olefinas

El Paper estructural del zinc en el plegament de les metal·lotioneïnes de coure

Descripció del recurs: el 11 d'agost de 201

Notícia de la mort del poeta José Agustín Goytisolo

Telenotícies vespre i Telenotícies33.Notícia de la mort al 70 anys en desplomar-se des d'una finestra de casa seva