Biomedical subjects

Christel Gervais

Publications and source records attributed to Christel Gervais.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Combined first-principles computational and experimental multinuclear solid-state NMR investigation of amino acids.

13C, 14N, 15N, 17O, and 35Cl NMR parameters, including chemical shift tensors and quadrupolar tensors for 14N, 17O, and 35Cl, are calculated for the crystalline forms of various amino acids under periodic boundary conditions and complemented by experiment where necessary. The 13C shift tensors and 14N electric field gradient (EFG) tensors are in excellent agreement with experiment. Similarly, static 17O NMR spectra could be precisely simulated using the calculation of the full chemical shift (CS) tensors and their relative orientation with the EFG tensors. This study allows correlations to be found between hydrogen bonding in the crystal structures and the 17O NMR shielding parameters and the 35Cl quadrupolar parameters, respectively. Calculations using the two experimental structures for L-alanine have shown that, while the calculated isotropic chemical shift values of 13C and 15N are relatively insensitive to small differences in the experimental structure, the 17O shift is markedly affected.

Amino Acids↗

PubMed2004

Structure of a surfactant-templated silicate framework in the absence of 3d crystallinity.

The structure of a novel molecularly ordered two-dimensional (2D) silicate framework in a surfactant-templated mesophase has been established by using a combination of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and quantum chemical and empirical force-field modeling. These materials are unusual in their combination of headgroup-directed 2D crystalline framework ordering, zeolite-like ring structures within the layers, and long-range mesoscopic organization without three-dimensional (3D) atomic periodicity. The absence of registry between the silicate sheets, resulting from the liquidlike disorder of the alkyl surfactant chains, has presented significant challenges to the determination of framework structures in these and similar materials lacking 3D crystalline order. Double-quantum (29)Si NMR correlation experiments establish the interactions and connectivities between distinct intra-sheet silicon sites from which the structure of the molecularly ordered inorganic framework is determined.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Combined ab initio computational and experimental multinuclear solid-state magnetic resonance study of phenylphosphonic acid.

1H, 13C, 17O and 31P NMR parameters, including chemical shift tensors and quadrupolar parameters for 17O, were calculated for phenylphosphonic acid, C6H5PO(OH)2, under periodic boundary conditions. The results are in very good agreement with experimental data and permit the unambiguous assignment of all the sites present in the structure. In particular, the 17O NMR parameters of the P=O and P-OH environments were precisely determined, which should help in the characterization of the bonding mode of phosphonate molecules in hybrid solids. Moreover, the effect of intermolecular interactions on the NMR parameters were investigated by comparing the results of the calculations in the crystal and in an isolated molecule of phenylphosphonic acid.

Algorithms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Solid state (47,49)Ti, (87)Sr and (137)Ba NMR characterisation of mixed barium/strontium titanate perovskites.

Solid state (47,49)Ti, (137)Ba, (87)Sr NMR spectra have been recorded on BaxSrl-xTiO3 (0 </= x </=1) perovskite samples prepared by the powder sintering method. Multinuclear solid state NMR shows great potential for characterising such systems since the quadrupolar parameters are very sensitive to any geometric deformation around the studied nucleus. (47,49)Ti NMR powder lineshapes appear strongly influenced by the presence of even a small amount of barium (or strontium) in the coordination second sphere of the probed titanium site: substitution of strontium by barium induces the broadening of the peaks, due to quadrupolar effects, while the isotropic chemical shift increases. (137)Ba NMR spectra exhibit a distribution of the quadrupolar interaction, that could be tentatively quantified, CQ increasing with the amount of strontium. Preliminary results were also obtained on (87)Sr NMR showing behaviour comparable to (137)Ba NMR, i.e. a broadening of the peaks due to an increasing quadrupolar interaction with the amount of barium distorting the environment of the strontium sites.

Journal Article↗