Synthesis of (1R,4R,7S)- and (1S,4S,7S)-2-(4-tolylsulfonyl)-5-phenyl-methyl-7-methyl-2,5-diazabicyclo[2.2.1]heptanes via regioselective opening of 3,4-epoxy-d-proline with lithium dimethyl cuprate

The synthesis of (1S,4S,7S)- and (1R,4R,7S)-2-(4-tolylsulfonyl>5-phenylmethyl-7-rnethyl-2,5-diazabicyclo-[2.2.1]heptanes ( 20 ) and ( 22 ) from trans 4-hydroxy-L-proline is described.     

Polyelectrolyte multilayers and degradable polymer layers as multicompartment films

Polyelectrolyte multilayers are now a well established concept with numerous potential applications in particular as biomaterial coatings. To timely control the biological activity of cells in contact with a substrate, multicompartment films made of different polyelectrolyte multilayers deposited sequentially on the solid substrate constitute a promising new approach. In a first paper (Langmuir 2004, 20, 7298) we showed that such multicompartment films can be designed by alternating exponentially growing polyelectrolyte multilayers acting as reservoirs and linearly growing ones acting as barriers. In the present study, we first demonstrate however that these barriers composed of synthetic polyelectrolytes are not degraded despite the presence of phagocytic cells. We propose an alternative approach where exponentially growing poly(L-lysine)/hyaluronic acid (PLL/HA) multilayers, used as reservoirs, are alternated with biodegradable polymer layers consisting in poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and acting as barriers for PLL chains that diffuse within the PLL/HA reservoirs. We first show that these PLGA layers can be deposited alternatively with PLL/HA multilayers leading to polyelectrolyte multilayer/hydrolyzable polymeric layer films and acting as a reservoirs/barriers system. Bone marrow cells seeded on these films ending by a PLL/HA reservoir rapidly degrade it and internalize the PLL chains confined in this reservoir. Then the cells degraded locally the PLGA barrier and internalize the PLL localized in a lower (PLL/HA) compartment after 5 days of seeding. By changing the thickness of the PLGA layer, we hope to be able to tune the time delay of degradation. Such mixed architectures made of polyelectrolyte multilayers and hydrolyzable polymeric layers could act as coatings allowing us to induce a time scheduled cascade of biological activities. We are currently working on the use of comparable films with compartments filled by proteins or peptides and in which the degradation of the barriers results from a hydrolysis over tunable time scales.     

Synthesis of models of metabolites: Oxidation of variously substituted chromenes including acronycine,by a porphyrin catalytic system

The influence of chemical neighbouring on oxidation of substituted 2,2‐dimethylchromenes derivatives 5‐8 by a biomimetic catalytic system was first studied. It was then applied to acronycine an anti‐cancer drug in order to obtain in one single step oxidized products resulting from the reactivity of the 1,2‐double bond in the pyranic D‐ring. These 2,2‐dimethylchromenes constitute the structural moiety responsible for the activity of acronycine. This oxidation showed the sensitivity of the ethylenic bond, leading to the formation of the corresponding epoxides, diols and/or ketoalcohol. In the case of 5‐dimethylamino‐2,2‐dimethylchromene 8 , the double bond was not sensitive to oxidation, but the N‐methyl groups reacted to lead to the formamide derivative 16 and an imino‐alcohol 17 . This methodology applied to acronycine molecule 1 , allowed to obtain in one step, two oxidized compounds, a trans‐diol 3 and a ketoalcohol 4 under preparative conditions.     

Layer by layer buildup of polysaccharide films: physical chemistry and cellular adhesion aspects

The formation ofpolysaccharide films based on the alternate deposition of chitosan (CHI) and hyaluronan (HA) was investigated by several techniques. The multilayer buildup takes place in two stages: during the first stage, the surface is covered by isolated islets that grow and coalesce as the construction goes on. After several deposition steps, a continuous film is formed and the second stage of the buildup process takes place. The whole process is characterized by an exponential increase of the mass and thickness of the film with the number of deposition steps. This exponential growth mechanism is related to the ability of the polycation to diffuse "in" and "out" of the whole film at each deposition step. Using confocal laser microscopy and fluorescently labeled CHI, we show that such a diffusion behavior, already observed with poly(L-lysine) as a polycation, is also found with CHI, a polycation presenting a large persistence length. We also analyze the effect of the molecular weight (MW) of the diffusing polyelectrolyte (CHI) on the buildup process and observe a faster growth for low MW chitosan. The influence of the salt concentration during buildup is also investigated. Whereas the CHI/HA films grow rapidly at high salt concentration (0.15 M NaCl) with the formation of a uniform film after only a few deposition steps, it is very difficult to build the film at 10(-4) M NaCl. In this latter case, the deposited mass increases linearly with the number of deposition steps and the first deposition stage, where the surface is covered by islets, lasts at least up to 50 bilayer deposition steps. However, even at these low salt concentrations and in the islet configuration, CHI chains seem to diffuse in and out of the CHI/HA complexes. The linear mass increase of the film with the number of deposition steps despite the CHI diffusion is explained by a partial redissolution of the CHI/HA complexes forming the film during different steps of the buildup process. Finally, the uniform films built at high salt concentrations were also found to be chondrocyte resistant and, more interestingly, bacterial resistant. Therefore, the (CHI/HA) films may be used as an antimicrobial coating.     

Sodium diffusion through amorphous silica surfaces: a molecular dynamics study

We have studied the diffusion inside the silica network of sodium atoms initially located outside the surfaces of an amorphous silica film. We have focused our attention on structural and dynamical quantities, and we have found that the local environment of the sodium atoms is close to the local environment of the sodium atoms inside bulk sodo-silicate glasses obtained by quench. This is in agreement with recent experimental results.     

Agglomération contrôlée de latex par formation de complexes tensioactifs anioniques : copolymères à blocs à base de poly(oxyde d’éthylène)

For polystyrene–poly(ethylene oxide) (PS–PEO) diblock copolymers, as micellar dispersions in aqueous medium, the formation of complexes with anionic surfactants, such as sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) could be confirmed. The number of SDS molecules fixed per EO unit is close to the values reported for the SDS–PEO homopolymer interaction. Advantage of this type of complexation was taken to develop a controlled agglomeration process for SDS stabilized PS and PVC latexes by using as agglomerants ‘hairy’ latexes of PS and PVC that have been synthesized in the presence of PS–PEO block copolymers and that carry therefore a fringe of PEO sequences on their surface. The complexation of SDS by these surface-anchored PEO chains leads to the destabilization of the anionic latex, which has a tendency to precipitate onto the surface of the agglomerant latex. The average particle size and the size distribution of the agglomerated particles were studied as a function of the weight and number ratio of the two types of latexes involved in the agglomeration process, as well as in function of the surface coverage by SDS and PEO respectively. By adjusting these parameters, it was possible to obtain, with an efficiency of almost 100%, latex agglomerates with a monomodal distribution in the size range of 1 to 40 μm. An agglomeration mechanism could be outlined taking into account the complexation capacity and the specific surface of the agglomerating ‘hairy’ latex. To cite this article: P. Peter et al., C. R. Chimie 6 (2003).     

Gravity-induced convective flow in microfluidic systems: electrochemical characterization and application to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay tests

A way of using gravity flow to induce a linear convection within a microfluidic system is presented. It is shown and mathematically supported that tilting a 1 cm long covered microchannel is enough to generate flow rates up to 1000 nL.min(-1), which represents a linear velocity of 2.4 mm.s(-1). This paper also presents a method to monitor the microfluidic events occurring in a covered microchannel when a difference of pressure is applied to force a solution to flow in said covered microchannel, thanks to electrodes inserted in the microfluidic device. Gravity-induced flow monitored electrochemically is applied to the performance of a parallel-microchannel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) with electrochemical detection. A simple method for generating and monitoring fluid flows is described, which can, for instance, be used for controlling parallel assays in microsystems.     

Determination of cisplatin and related platinum complexes in plasma ultrafiltrate and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography with on-line radioactivity detection

A reversed-phase ion-pair chromatographic method with on-line radioactivity detection for the simultaneous determination of 195mPt-labelled cisplatin and related platinum complexes has been developed. With this system a good resolution of various radiolabelled platinum complexes can be achieved. The detection limit of the radioactivity detector is 10 ng of cisplatin (specific activity of 15 MBq/mg cisplatin) per millilitre of urine or plasma ultrafiltrate. The detector response is independent of both the chemical structure of the platinum complexes and the matrix composition of the samples. This method may serve as a reference system for other high-performance liquid chromatographic systems with less specific and sensitive detectors.     

Synthesis, characterization and crystal structures of two polyphilic mesogenic compounds

Three homologous series of semi-perfluorinated liquid crystals: 4-(2,2,3,3,4,4,4-heptafluoro-butyloxycarbonyl)phenyl, 4-(2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5-octafluoropentyloxycarbonyl)phenyl and 4-(3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-tridecafluorooctyloxycarbonyl)phenyl 4-[(n-perfluoroalkyl)alkyloxy]benzoates have been synthesized. Their mesomorphic properties were studied by DSC, microscopic observation and X-ray diffraction. Their layer spacings are smaller than the molecular length (L). The ratio d_SA/L is about 0.7. The crystal structure of two derivatives of the first family have also been investigated. In both structures the molecules pack in smectic C-like sheets where neighbouring molecules are antiparallel, interacting through dipolar and van der Waals forces. The interactions between contiguous sheets, through the ends of perfluorinated chains are very weak. The X-ray diffraction results on the mesophases and on the crystalline structures of two compounds of the first family are compared. From this, we propose a model of the smectic phases with a zig-zag structure.     

Measurement of long-range cross-correlation rates using a combination of single- and multiple-quantum NMR spectroscopy in one experiment

A method is described to determine long-range cross-correlations between the modulations of an anisotropic chemical shift (e.g., of a C' carbonyl carbon in a protein) and the fluctuations of a weak long-range dipolar interaction (e.g., in cross-correlation between the same C' carbonyl and the H(N) proton of the neighboring amide group). Such long-range correlations are difficult to measure because the corresponding long-range scalar couplings are so small that Redfield's secular approximation is often violated. The method, which combines features of single- and double-quantum NMR spectroscopy, allows one to cancel the effects of dominant short-range dipolar interactions (e.g., between the CSA of the amide nitrogen N and the dipolar coupling to its attached proton H(N)) and is designed so that the secular approximation is rescued even if the scalar coupling between the long-range dipolar coupling partners is very small. The cross-correlation rates thus determined in ubiquitin cover a wide range because of local motions and variations of the CSA tensors.