The Dielectric Permittivity of Crystals in the Reduced Hartree–Fock Approximation

In a recent article (Cancès et al. in Commun Math Phys 281:129–177, 2008), we have rigorously derived, by means of bulk limit arguments, a new variational model to describe the electronic ground state of insulating or semiconducting crystals in the presence of local defects. In this so-called reduced Hartree–Fock model, the ground state electronic density matrix is decomposed as ${\gamma = \gamma^0_{\rm per} + Q_{\nu,\varepsilon_{\rm F}}}$ , where ${\gamma^0_{\rm per}}$ is the ground state density matrix of the host crystal and ${Q_{\nu,\varepsilon_{\rm F}}}$ the modification of the electronic density matrix generated by a modification ν of the nuclear charge of the host crystal, the Fermi level ε _F being kept fixed. The purpose of the present article is twofold. First, we study in more detail the mathematical properties of the density matrix ${Q_{\nu,\varepsilon_{\rm F}}}$ (which is known to be a self-adjoint Hilbert–Schmidt operator on ${L^2(\mathbb{R}^3)}$ ). We show in particular that if ${\int_{\mathbb{R}^3}\,\nu \neq 0, Q_{\nu,\varepsilon_{\rm F}}}$ is not trace-class. Moreover, the associated density of charge is not in ${L^1(\mathbb{R}^3)}$ if the crystal exhibits anisotropic dielectric properties. These results are obtained by analyzing, for a small defect ν, the linear and nonlinear terms of the resolvent expansion of ${Q_{\nu,\varepsilon_{\rm F}}}$ . Second, we show that, after an appropriate rescaling, the potential generated by the microscopic total charge (nuclear plus electronic contributions) of the crystal in the presence of the defect converges to a homogenized electrostatic potential solution to a Poisson equation involving the macroscopic dielectric permittivity of the crystal. This provides an alternative (and rigorous) derivation of the Adler–Wiser formula.     

Concentrated Fe(III)–nitrilotriacetate solutions: study by Raman spectroscopy and ab initio calculations

Fe(III)–nitrilotriacetate(NTA) aqueous solutions are used in various redox desulfurization processes. The nature of stable Fe–NTA complexes depends highly on parameters such as [Fe(III)] concentration, NTA/Fe ratio and pH value. These complexes can be characterized by potentiometric measurements or UV‐vis spectroscopy, but only at rather low concentrations. Using synthesis of solids, Raman spectra of these solids and ab initio calculations, a rational determination of the nature of complexes stable in water at high iron concentrations was proposed from the position sensitivity of the main low wavenumber band to the coordination sphere of iron cations. This band was assigned to ν(Fe N) stretching vibrations from ab initio calculations. Depending on the pH and NTA/Fe ratio of the prepared solutions, different species were identified from the Raman spectra. The present methodology can be extended to other metal–ligand systems to elucidate the nature of stable complexes in aqueous solution. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Luminol anchors improve the electrochemical-tyrosine-click labelling of proteins

New methods for chemo-selective modifications of peptides and native proteins are important in chemical biology and for the development of therapeutic conjugates. Less abundant and uncharged amino-acid residues are interesting targets to form less heterogeneous conjugates and preserve biological functions. Phenylurazole (PhUr), N-methylphenylurazole (NMePhUr) and N-methylluminol (NMeLum) derivatives were described as tyrosine (Y) anchors after chemical or enzymatic oxidations. Recently, we developed the first electrochemical Y-bioconjugation method coined eY-click to activate PhUr in biocompatible media. In this work, we assessed the limitations, benefits and relative efficiencies of eY-click conjugations performed with a set of PhUr, NMePhUr and NMeLum derivatives. Results evidenced a high efficiency of NMeLum that showed a complete Y-chemoselectivity on polypeptides and biologically relevant proteins after soft electrochemical activation. Side reactions on nucleophilic or heteroaromatic amino-acids such as lysine or tryptophan were never observed during mass spectrometry analysis. Myoglobine, bovine serum albumin, a plant mannosidase, glucose oxidase and the therapeutically relevant antibody trastuzumab were efficiently labelled with a fluorescent probe in a two-step approach combining eY-click and strain-promoted azide–alkyne cyclization (SPAAC). The proteins conserved their structural integrity as observed by circular dichroism and the trastuzumab conjugate showed a similar binding affinity for the natural HER2 ligand as shown by bio-layer interferometry. Compared to our previously described protocol with PhUr, eY-click with NMeLum species showed faster reaction kinetics, higher (complete) Y-chemoselectivity and reactivity, and offers the interesting possibility of the double tagging of solvent-exposed Y.

We assessed the relative efficiencies of tyrosine anchors in the electrochemical conjugation of peptides and proteins. Luminol derivatives showed faster reaction kinetics, complete tyrosine-chemoselectivity, and possible double modification.     

Specific Versus Non-specific Response in Exponential Molecular Amplification from Cross-Catalysis: Modeling the Influence of Background Amplifications on the Analytical Performances

Molecule based signal amplifications relying on an autocatalytic process may represent an ideal strategy for the development of ultrasensitive analytical or bioanalytical assays, the main reason being the exponential nature of the amplification. However, to take full advantage of such amplification rates, high stability of the starting co-reactants is required in order to avoid any undesirable background amplification. Here, on the basis of a simple kinetic model of cross-catalysis including a certain degree of intrinsic instability of co-reactants, we highlight the key parameters governing the analytical response of the system and discuss the analytical performances that are expected from a given kinetic set. In particular, we show how the detection limit is directly related to the relative instability of reactants within each catalytic loop. The model is validated with an experimental dataset and is intended to serve as a guide in the design and optimization of autocatalytic molecular-based amplification systems with improved analytical performances.     

Moisture uptake in nanocellulose: the effects of relative humidity,temperature and degree of crystallinity

Cellulose - Foams made from cellulose nanomaterials are highly porous and possess excellent mechanical and thermal insulation properties. However, the moisture uptake and hygroscopic properties of...     

MCH-R1 Antagonist GPS18169, a Pseudopeptide,Is a Peripheral Anti-Obesity Agent in Mice

Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is a 19 amino acid long peptide found in the brain of animals, including fishes, batrachians, and mammals. MCH is implicated in appetite and/or energy homeostasis. Antagonists at its receptor (MCH-R1) could be major tools (or ultimately drugs) to understand the mechanism of MCH action and to fight the obesity syndrome that is a worldwide societal health problem. Ever since the deorphanisation of the MCH receptor, we cloned, expressed, and characterized the receptor MCH-R1 and started a vast medicinal chemistry program aiming at the discovery of such usable compounds. In the present final work, we describe GPS18169, a pseudopeptide antagonist at the MCH-R1 receptor with an affinity in the nanomolar range and a Ki for its antagonistic effect in the 20 picomolar range. Its metabolic stability is rather ameliorated compared to its initial parent compound, the antagonist S38151. We tested it in an in vivo experiment using high diet mice. GPS18169 was found to be active in limiting the accumulation of adipose tissues and, correlatively, we observed a normalization of the insulin level in the treated animals, while no change in food or water consumption was observed.     

Tuning the Organogelating and Spectroscopic Properties of a C3-Symmetric Pyrene-Based Gelator through Charge Transfer

Two-component organogels and xerogels based on a C₃-symmetric pyrene-containing gelator have been deeply characterized through a wide range of techniques. Based on the formation of charge transfer complexes, the gelation phenomenon proved to be highly dependent on the nature of the electron poor dopant. This parameter significantly influenced the corresponding gelation domains, the critical gelation concentrations of acceptor dopants, the gel-to-sol transition temperatures, the microstructures formed in the xerogel state and their spectroscopic properties. In particular, titrations and variable-temperature UV–visible absorption spectroscopy demonstrated the key role of donor–acceptor interactions with a remarkable correlation between the phase transition temperatures and the disappearance of the characteristic charge transfer bands. The assignment of these electronic transitions was confirmed through time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations. Eventually, it was shown that the luminescent properties of these materials can be tuned with the temperature, either in intensity or emission wavelength.     

Batch and Continuous-Flow Iron(II)-Catalyzed Synthesis of Sulfilimines and Sulfoximines using N-Mesyloxycarbamates

The synthesis of sulfilimines and sulfoximines with N-mesyloxycarbamates in presence of catalytic iron(II) chloride hydrate is described. The use of 1-butylimidazole as a base proved instrumental in enabling a homogeneous reaction mixture compatible with continuous flow processes. The amination is applicable to a wide range of substrates, and affords the desired product in good to excellent yields within 1 to 60 minutes.