Control of the Platinum(II) ligating properties of rigid 1,2-diamines: the case of trans-2,3-diaminonorbornane.

Guided by a simple predictive model, a norbornane-based trans-1,2-diamine was identified as a potential bridging ligand for di-nuclear platinum complex formation; efficient synthesis and product characterization confirmed this hypothesis

2-Aminobenzothiazole degradation by free and Ca-alginate immobilized cells of Rhodococcus rhodochrous

International audience2-Aminobenzothiazole (ABT) degradation was investigated using free and immobilized systems during photodegradation under solar light in the presence of Fe(III)-nitrilotriacetic acid (FeNTA), biodegradation by Rhodococcus rhodochrous, and during combined conditions. Ca-alginate hydrogel was chosen as a model matrix and some complementary studies were required to characterize this new system. R. rhodochrous metabolism in this type of environment was monitored by NMR spectroscopy. Neither change in intracellular pH values nor in ATP concentrations was observed by in vivo 31P NMR, showing that no metabolic modification occurred between free and immobilized cells. 1H NMR demonstrated that alginate was not used as carbon source by R. rhodochrous. After establishing the pre-treatment protocol by SPE to eliminate solubilised alginate, ABT adsorption on beads and degradation were studied. The same pathways of transformation were observed in suspended and immobilized cell systems. Considering the ABT adsorption phenomenon on alginate beads (8%), the efficiency of the two systems was found to be comparable although the degradation rate was slightly lower with immobilized cells. The most important result was the finding that the positive effect of FeNTA on ABT degradation with immobilized cells was similar to that observed previously with free cells. All these results show that mechanisms observed with free cells can be extrapolated to entrapped cells, i.e. under conditions much closer to those usually encountered in the environment

Cloud Microorganisms, an Interesting Source of Biosurfactants

A new scientific hypothesis states that biosurfactants from cloud microorganism origin could change the surface tension of aerosols and thus the mode of precipitations. In order to check this hypothesis, our team has screened a collection of 480 microbial strains isolated from cloud waters for the production of biosurfactants and showed that 42% of these strains were producing such molecules. In the present work, we isolated and identified by LC-MS-MS lipopeptides produced from three strains issued from this screening. Viscosin and massetolide E (cyclic lipopeptides) were produced by Pseudomonas sp. PDD-14b-2, and syringafactins (linear lipopeptides) were produced by Xanthomonas campestris PDD-32b-52 and Pseudomonas syringae PDD-32b-74. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of these biosurfactants was determined using the pendant drop method. Finally, two approaches of molecular dynamics were used to model the conformation of viscosin and syringafactin A at the water-air interface: one is based on all-atoms simulation (CHARMM force field), while the other one on coarse-grain (CG) simulation (MARTINI force field). To conclude, this work shows how the biodiversity of the cloud microbiota can be explored to search and produce biosurfactants of interest both for atmospheric sciences and also for biotechnological applications

Control of actin polymerization via the coincidence of phosphoinositides and high membrane curvature

The conditional use of actin during clathrin-mediated endocytosis in mammalian cells suggests that the cell controls whether and how actin is used. Using a combination of biochemical reconstitution and mammalian cell culture, we elucidate a mechanism by which the coincidence of PI(4,5)P2 and PI(3)P in a curved vesicle triggers actin polymerization. At clathrin-coated pits, PI(3)P is produced by the INPP4A hydrolysis of PI(3,4)P2, and this is necessary for actin-driven endocytosis. Both Cdc42⋅guanosine triphosphate and SNX9 activate N-WASP–WIP- and Arp2/3-mediated actin nucleation. Membrane curvature, PI(4,5)P2, and PI(3)P signals are needed for SNX9 assembly via its PX–BAR domain, whereas signaling through Cdc42 is activated by PI(4,5)P2 alone. INPP4A activity is stimulated by high membrane curvature and synergizes with SNX9 BAR domain binding in a process we call curvature cascade amplification. We show that the SNX9-driven actin comets that arise on human disease–associated oculocerebrorenal syndrome of Lowe (OCRL) deficiencies are reduced by inhibiting PI(3)P production, suggesting PI(3)P kinase inhibitors as a therapeutic strategy in Lowe syndrome.J.L. Gallop is supported by a Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellowship (grant WT095829AIA). F.  Daste, A.  Walrant, J.R. Gadsby, and J. Mason are supported by an H2020 European Research Council Starting Grant (281971) awarded to J.L. Gallop. Gurdon Institute funding is provided by the Wellcome Trust (grant 092096) and Cancer Research UK (grant C6946/A14492). The Swedish Medical Research Council and the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research supported the work of M.R. Holst and R. Lundmark. S.F. Lee is funded by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship (grant UF120277). M. Mettlen is funded by grant MH73125 to Sandra L. Schmid (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center)

Artificial membranes for membrane protein purification, functionality and structure studies.

Membrane proteins represent one of the most important targets for pharmaceutical companies. Unfortunately, technical limitations have long been a major hindrance in our understanding of the function and structure of such proteins. Recent years have seen the refinement of classical approaches and the emergence of new technologies that have resulted in a significant step forward in the field of membrane protein research. This review summarizes some of the current techniques used for studying membrane proteins, with overall advantages and drawbacks for each method

Solid-state NMR for the study of membrane systems: The use of anisotropic interactions

International audienc

Click glycoconjugation of per-azido- and alkynyl-functionalized beta-peptides built from aspartic acid

International audienceAzide- and alkynyl-containing homo-beta3-peptides, of up to six residues in length, were synthesised in solution from aspartic acid. Their subsequent conjugation with monosaccharides bearing an azide or a terminal alkyne function was efficiently achieved by copper-mediated cycloadditions leading to two novel families of small glycoclusters. These compounds represent ideal tools to explore carbohydrate-mediated multivalent interaction

Ionic association and interactions in aqueous methylsulfate alkyl-imidazolium-based ionic liquids

International audienceSeveral experimental techniques were used to study ionic association and interactions in aqueous [C1C2Im][MeSO4], 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium methylsulfate, and [C1C4Im][MeSO4], 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium methylsulfate. Two transport properties, viscosity and electrical conductivity, were determined for these two binary mixtures. For a better assessment of the ionic association and the perturbation of water into the molecular structure of the ionic liquid, diffusion coefficients of ions and water molecules were obtained by NMR spectroscopy while molecular interactions were probed by IR spectroscopy.The comparison of the two ionic liquids shows that for the shorter alkyl chain the viscosity was lower and the electrical conductivity was higher. While the viscosity of the mixture drops already with small additions of water, the electrical conductivity of the solution is only significantly increased for high water concentrations. A maximum is observed for compositions around xwater = (0.90 to 0.95). The SO3 asymmetric stretching band of the IR spectrum can be used as a probe to observe the evolution of the structure around the anion which was mainly occurring for high concentrations of water. Several experimental techniques show than the main change in the ionic association was only observed for high water contents (water mole fraction > 0.8)

Quantification of the impact of water as an impurity on standard physico-chemical properties of ionic liquids

International audienceThe objective of this work was to quantify the effect of the presence of water as impurity in ionic liquids. First, density and viscosity of five ionic liquids as well as their aqueous solutions were measured. For hydrophobic dried ionic liquids, traces of water (50 ppm) have measurable impact neither on the density nor on the viscosity values. In the concentration range studied (up to 5000 ppm), a linear evolution of the molar volume of the mixture with the mole fraction composition is observed. Practically, this allows to estimate the density of an neat ionic liquid provided (i) the water quantity and (ii) the density of the undried sample are known. This is particularly useful for hydrophilic ionic liquids that are difficult to dry. In the studied concentration range, a linear evolution of the relative viscosity was also depicted as a function of the mass fraction composition. It is thus possible to evaluate the viscosity of the pure ionic liquid knowing the water quantity and the viscosity of the undried sample. The comparison of the results obtained using two viscosimeters confirms that a Stabinger viscosimeter is appropriate to precisely measure ionic liquids viscosities. Second, NMR and IR spectroscopies were used to characterize the pure ionic liquids and their solutions with water. The sensitivity of IR spectroscopy does allow neither the quantification nor the detection of water below 1 mol%. With NMR spectroscopy, water can be quantified using either the intensity or the chemical shift of the water proton peak for mole fractions as low as 200 ppm. It is even possible to detect water in the dried hydrophobic ionic liquids, few ppm of water, as long as the water peak does not overlap the ionic liquid signal

L-Rhamnulose-1-phosphate and L-fuculose-1-phosphate aldolase mediated multi-enzyme cascade systems for nitrocyclitol synthesis

One-pot multistep stereoselective cascade reactions were implemented for the straightforward synthe-sis of various nitrocyclitols. Two kinases, an aldolase and a phosphatase were involved in this process,together with a spontaneous intramolecular Henry reaction to provide the nitrocyclitol moiety. The C Cbond formation catalysed by the aldolase and the nitroaldol reactions were key steps to build the carbocy-cle stereoselectively. The aldolase acceptor substrates were all 4-nitrobutanal structurally based, eitherhydroxylated or unsubstituted at the C2 and/or C3 positions. l-Fuculose-1-phosphate aldolase (FucA)catalysed the formation of the expected (R,R)- or d-erythro aldol, except in the case of 4-nitrobutanal,from which the epimeric (R,S)- or l-threo aldol was also formed. l-Rhamnulose-1-phosphate aldolase con-sistently formed the expected (R,S)- or l-threo aldol together with a minor amount of (R,R)- or d-erythroaldol. The intramolecular Henry reaction was also found to be stereoselective, occurring spontaneouslyonce the aldol was formed due to the presence of both ketone and a terminally positioned nitro group.The combination of this set of reactions successfully furnished 11 nitrocyclitols which have not beendescribed previously in the literature.CNRS International Relationship service is thanked for mobilityfinancial support to F. Camps Bres. This work was also supportedin part, by the CNRS GDR RDR2 “Aller vers une chimie éco-compatible” Grant (to F.C.B.). E G-J. has been supported by theSpanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Grants PI11/01436 andCTQ2010-19073/BQU).Peer reviewe