Hydrogenolysis of lignin over Ru-based catalysts: The role of the ruthenium in a lignin fragmentation process

peer reviewedThe catalytic performances of two different classes of catalysts containing nickel or/and ruthenium as the active sites were studied in the depolymerisation of lignin isolated from Miscanthus × giganteus. The catalysts were prepared either by coprecipitation (ie, (RuNiMgAlO)x, (RuNiAlO)x, (NiAlO)x, (NiMgAlO)x) or by wet impregnation (ie, Ru/Al2O3) and characterized by nitrogen physisorption (BET), XRD, XPS, NH3-TPD, Raman and H2-TPR techniques. The experimental results indicate that the presence of ruthenium led to dimers as dominant products. © 2018 Elsevier B.V

Structure activity characterization of Bordetella petrii lipid A, from environment to human isolates.

International audienceBordetella petrii, a facultative anaerobic species, is the only known member of the Bordetella genus with environmental origin. However it was also recently isolated from humans. The structures of the B. petrii lipid A moieties of the endotoxins were characterized here for the first time for an environmental strain and compared to that of human isolates. Characterization was achieved using chemical analyses, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation mass spectrometry. The analyses revealed that the different lipid A structures contain a common bisphosphorylated β-(1→6)-linked d-glucosamine disaccharide with hydroxytetradecanoic acid in amide as well at the C-3' in ester linkages. Similar to Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella bronchiseptica lipids A, the hydroxytetradecanoic acid at the C-2' position was substituted by tetradecanoic acid. Unlike B. pertussis, the hydroxytetradecanoic acid at the C-2 position was substituted with either 12:0 or 14:0 and/or their 2-OH forms. Depending on the environmental or human origin the structures differed in the length and degree of fatty acid acylation and impacted the IL-6 and TNF-α inflammatory responses tested. In one isolate we showed the presence at the C-3 position of the short-chain 10:0(3-OH), which according to our previous analyses is more characteristic of the human pathogens in the genus like B. pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis

Highly Efficient, Easily Recoverable, and Recyclable Re–SiO₂–Fe₃O₄ Catalyst for the Fragmentation of Lignin

A series of Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@Re catalysts were prepared by deposition of rhenium by means of the precipitation–deposition and impregnation procedures. Characterization of the catalysts confirmed that the deposition of silica protected the magnetite nanoparticles, resulting in a stable SiO₂@Fe₃O₄ composite, which was not affected by the treatments during the further deposition of rhenium. Rhenium was silent in XRD over the range of concentrations, at which it was deposited. Furthermore, XPS detected rhenium, only in the impregnation series; this may confirm that dispersion was high. As expected, rhenium was not reduced to the metallic state and generated weakly acidic Brønsted-type centers as detected by NH₃-TPD. H₂-TPD and chemisorption experiments demonstrate the capacity of these catalysts to chemisorb hydrogen. In line with these properties, rhenium catalyzed both C–C hydrogenolysis and C–O hydrolysis in successive steps. The performance of these catalysts was checked for a series of lignins of different origin and by means of different separation procedures. A very important finding is that these catalysts were highly stable and easy to recover

Role of pagL and lpxO in Bordetella bronchiseptica Lipid A Biosynthesis ▿

PagL and LpxO are enzymes that modify lipid A. PagL is a 3-O deacylase that removes the primary acyl chain from the 3 position, and LpxO is an oxygenase that 2-hydroxylates specific acyl chains in the lipid A. pagL and lpxO homologues have been identified in the genome of Bordetella bronchiseptica, but in the current structure for B. bronchiseptica lipid A the 3 position is acylated and 2-OH acylation is not reported. We have investigated the role of B. bronchiseptica pagL and lpxO in lipid A biosynthesis. We report a different structure for wild-type (WT) B. bronchiseptica lipid A, including the presence of 2-OH-myristate, the presence of which is dependent on lpxO. We also demonstrate that the 3 position is not acylated in the major WT lipid A structures but that mutation of pagL results in the presence of 3-OH-decanoic acid at this position, suggesting that lipid A containing this acylation is synthesized but that PagL removes most of it from the mature lipid A. These data refine the structure of B. bronchiseptica lipid A and demonstrate that pagL and lpxO are involved in its biosynthesis