Palladium(II) pincer complexes of α-amino acids: towards the synthesis of catalytically active artificial peptides

NCN palladium(II) complexes have been covalently attached to the N- and C-terminus of the dipeptide L-Phe-L-Va-OMe. Remarkably, the hydrolysis of the NCN-Pd(II) L-Val-OMe afforded the corresponding, palladated free amino acid without affecting the metal site. This deprotected amino acid could be coupled to any protein, enzyme or peptidic chain by simple peptide chemistry. This bioorganometallic systems were active as catalysts in the aldol reaction between methyl isocianate and benzaldehyde.

Biodiesel production by transesterification of sludge in supercritical conditions

In this study wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) sludge was subjected to a reactive pyrolysis treatment to produce a high quality pyro-oil. Sludge was treated in supercritical conditions in the presence of methanol using hexane as cosolvent in a high pressure lab-autoclave. The variables affecting the pyro-oil yield and the product quality, such as mass ratio of alcohol to sludge, presence of cosolvent and temperature, were investigated. It was found that the use of a non-polar cosolvent (hexane) presents advantages in the production of high quality pyro-oil from sludge: increase of the non-polar pyro-oil yield and a considerable reduction of the amount of methanol needed to carry out the transesterification of fatty acids present in the sludge.