Enzymatically-synthesized xylo-oligosaccharides laurate esters as surfactants of interest.

Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of xylo-oligosaccharides esters from pure xylobiose, xylotriose and xylotetraose in the presence of vinyl laurate was investigated. The influence of different experimental parameters such as the loading of lipase, the reaction duration or the use of a co-solvent was studied and the reaction conditions were optimized with xylobiose. Under the best conditions, a regioselective esterification occurred to yield a monoester with the acyl chain at the OH-4 of the xylose unit at the non-reducing end. Surface-active properties of these pure xylo-oligosaccharides fatty esters have been evaluated. They display interesting surfactant activities that differ according to the degree of polymerization (DP) of the glycone moiety.

Exploring the aglycone subsite of a GH11 xylanase for the synthesis of xylosides by transglycosylation reactions.

Xylanases Tx-xyn10 and Tx-xyn11 were compared for their transxylosylation abilities in the presence of various acceptors. Tx-xyn10 exhibited a broad specificity for various acceptors, whereas xylanase Tx-xyn11 catalysed transxylosylation reactions only in presence of polyphenolic acceptors. A modelling approach was developed to study the molecular bottlenecks into the active site of the enzyme that could be responsible for this restricted specificity. The glycosyl-enzyme intermediate of Tx-xyn11 was modelled, and a rotamer of the Y78 residue was integrated. In silico mutations of some residues from the (+1) and (+2) subsites were tested for the deglycosylation step in the presence of non-polyphenolic acceptors. The results indicated that the mutant W126A was able to use aliphatic alcohols and benzyl alcohol as acceptors for transxylosylation. Experimental validation was tested by mutating the xylanase Tx-xyn11 at position W126 into alanine. The specific activity and catalytic efficiency of the W126A mutant during the hydrolysis of xylans decreased by 2-fold and 4-fold, respectively, compared to wild-type xylanase. Among tested acceptors, transxylosylation catalysed by mutant W126A was improved with benzyl alcohol leading to a 2-fold higher concentration of benzyl xylobioside, as predicted by in silico mutation. This improved transxylosylation in the presence of benzyl alcohol leading to higher synthesis of benzyl xylobioside could likely be explained by lowest steric hindrance in the aglycone subsite of the mutated xylanase. No secondary hydrolysis of benzyl xylobioside occurred for both wild-type and mutant xylanases. Finally, our results demonstrated that the modelling approach was limited and that accounting for protein dynamics can lead to improved models.

Preparation of new ß-D-xyloside- and ß-D-xylobioside-based ionic liquids through chemical and/or enzymatic reactions.

Several tetraalkylphosphonium and tetraalkylammonium salts containing xyloside- and xylobioside-based anionic moieties have been prepared. Two stereoselective routes have been developed: i) a chemical pathway in four steps from D-xylose, and ii) a chemoenzymatic pathway directly from biomass-derived xylans. These salts displayed interesting properties as ionic liquids. Their structures have been correlated to their thermal properties (melting, glass transition and decomposition temperatures).

Mode-locked 0.5 µJ fiber laser at 976 nm.

We report on high-energy femtosecond pulse generation from an ytterbium-doped rod-type fiber oscillator emitting around 976 nm. Self-starting and stable single-pulse operation are demonstrated with 4.2 W of average output power at a repetition rate of 8.4 MHz. The resulting energy level reaches 0.5 µJ. Because of the all-normal dispersion of the laser cavity, output pulses are naturally chirped with a duration of 14 ps. External compression using diffraction gratings shortens the pulse duration down to 460 fs.

Reactions of difluoroenoxysilanes with glycosyl donors: synthesis of difluoro-C-glycosides and difluoro-C-disaccharides.

Difluoroenoxysilanes, prepared from acylsilanes and trifluoromethyltrimethylsilane under fluoride activation, were glycosylated with some glycosyl donors (acylglycosides, glycals) to yield difluoro-C-glycosides with a difluoromethylene group in the place of the anomeric oxygen. This reaction strongly depends on the substituent in the 2-position of the glycosyl donor. Application of this methodology to a xylose-derived acylsilane led to the formation of difluoro-C-disaccharides as an isosteric O-glycosyl mimetic.

C-Difluoromethylene-containing, C-trifluoromethyl and C-perfluoroalkyl carbohydrates. Synthesis by carbohydrate transformation or building block methods.

The synthetic methods for preparing carbohydrates bearing a C-branched substituent of the type CF2-Y, with Y = F, Y = CnF(2n + 1) or Y = a carbon-attached or heteroatom-attached nonfluorinated residues, are reviewed. Both direct introduction of C-branched fluorinated substituents (direct trifluoromethylation, perfluoroalkylation or difluoromethylenation) and building block methods from fluorinated synthons are considered.