Evaluation of Gas-to-Liquid Transfer with Ceramic Membrane Sparger for H and CO Fermentation.

Hydrogen and carbon dioxide fermentation to methane, called bio-methanation, is a promising way to provide renewable and easy-to-store energy. The main challenge of bio-methanation is the low gas-to-liquid transfer of hydrogen. Gas injection through a porous membrane can be used to obtain microbubbles and high gas-to-liquid transfer.

In-situ biogas upgrading by bio-methanation with an innovative membrane bioreactor combining sludge filtration and H injection.

A bioreactor using membrane technologies was used to demonstrate the feasibility of in-situ bio-methanation coupled to industrial wastewater treatment for biogas upgrading. High biogas productivity (1.7 Nm/m/day) with high CH content (97.

Development of pyrene-based fluorescent ether lipid as inhibitor of SK3 ion channels.

We report the synthesis of three bioactive pyrene-based fluorescent analogues of Ohmline which is the most efficient and selective inhibitor of SK3 ion channel. The interaction of these Ohmline-pyrene (OP1-3) with liposomes of different composition reveals that only OP2 and OP3 are readily integrated into liposomes. Fluorescence measurements indicate that, depending on their concentration, OP2 and OP3 exist either as monomer or as a mixture of monomer and excimers within the liposome bilayer.

Branched lipid chains to prepare cationic amphiphiles producing hexagonal aggregates: supramolecular behavior and application to gene delivery.

A ramified lipid alcohol, 2-hexyldecanol, was used as a hydrophobic moiety to prepare cationic amphiphiles on a gram scale in 3 to 4 steps, featuring either a trimethylammonium 5, dimethylhydroxyethylammonium 6 or N-methylimidazolium 7 polar head group. Compression isotherms at the air-water interface reveal that all these cationic amphiphiles collapse at a relatively low pressure indicating a weak stabilization of the monolayer via hydrophobic interactions. Ellipsometry measurements point out the presence of a thin monolayer at low lateral pressure whereas thickening of the monolayer occurs at higher pressure with a high percentage of variation of the thickness, thus demonstrating an adaptability to the constraints.

Bis-Thioether-Containing Lipid Chains in Cationic Amphiphiles: Physicochemical Properties and Applications in Gene Delivery.

Cationic amphiphiles featuring two thioether functions in each lipid chain of bicatenar cationic amphiphiles are reported here for the first time. The physicochemical properties and transfection abilities of these new amphiphiles were compared with those of already reported analogues featuring either (i) saturated, (ii) unsaturated or (iii) mono-thioether containing lipid chains. The homogeneity of the series of new compounds allowed to clearly underscore the effect of bis-thioether containing lipid chains.

Substitution of unsaturated lipid chains by thioether-containing lipid chains in cationic amphiphiles: physicochemical consequences and application for gene delivery.

The hydrophobic moiety of cationic amphiphiles plays an important role in the transfection process because its structure has an impact on both the type of the supramolecular assembly and the dynamic properties of these assemblies. The latter have to exhibit a compromise between stability and instability to efficiently compact then deliver DNA into target cells. In the present work, we report the synthesis of new cationic amphiphiles featuring a thioether function at different positions of two 18-atom length lipid chains and we study their physicochemical properties (anisotropy of fluorescence and compression isotherms) with analogues possessing either oleyl (C18:1) or stearyl (C18:0) chains.

Biophysical properties of cationic lipophosphoramidates: Vesicle morphology, bilayer hydration and dynamics.

Cationic lipids are used to deliver genetic material to living cells. Their proper biophysical characterization is needed in order to design and control this process. In the present work we characterize some properties of recently synthetized cationic lipophosphoramidates.

Bromodomain-Containing Protein 4: The Epigenetic Origin of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Rationale: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a vasculopathy characterized by enhanced pulmonary artery (PA) smooth muscle cell (PASMC) proliferation and suppressed apoptosis. Decreased expression of microRNA-204 has been associated to this phenotype. By a still elusive mechanism, microRNA-204 downregulation promotes the expression of oncogenes, including nuclear factor of activated T cells, B-cell lymphoma 2, and Survivin.

Physicochemical properties of cationic lipophosphoramidates with an arsonium head group and various lipid chains: A structure-activity approach.

We studied the physicochemical properties of some cationic lipophosphoramidates used as gene vectors in an attempt to better understand the link between the nature of the hydrophobic chain and both physico-chemical properties and transfection efficiency. These compounds have an arsonium head group and various chain lengths and unsaturation numbers. The synthesis of cationic phospholipids with oleic (Guenin et al.

Direct laser photo-induced fluorescence determination of bisphenol A.

Classical photo-induced fluorescence methods are conducted in two steps: a UV irradiation step in order to form a photo-induced compound followed by its fluorimetric determination. Automated flow injection methods are frequently used for these analyses. In this work, we propose a new method of direct laser photo-induced fluorescence analysis.

Imaging time-resolved electrothermal atomization laser-excited atomic fluorescence spectrometry for determination of mercury in seawater.

In this study, direct determination of mercury at the nanogram per liter level in the complex seawater matrix by imaging time-resolved electrothermal atomization laser-excited atomic fluorescence spectrometry (ITR-ETA-LEAFS) is described. In the case of mercury, the use of a nonresonant line for fluorescence detection with only one laser excitation is not possible. For measurements at the 253.

Spectroscopic properties and laser induced fluorescence determination of some endocrine disrupting compounds.

This work presents spectroscopic properties of some Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs), frequently found in food and in natural water. Studied molecules belong to the groups of phenolic and phthalate EDCs. In a first part, we have examined their absorption and fluorescence properties.