CuCeO/CuO Catalyst Derived from the Layered Double Hydroxide Precursor: Catalytic Performance in NO Reduction with CO in the Presence of Water and Oxygen.

Valencies of metal species and lattice defects, such as oxygen vacancies, play a pivotal role in metal oxide-catalyzed reactions. Herein, we report a promising synthetic strategy for preparing CuO-supported CuCeO catalysts (CuCeO/CuO) by calcination of a hydrotalcite precursor [CuCe(OH)]CO·HO. The structural and chemical properties of catalysts were characterized by XRD, ICP-AES, TEM, TPR, NH-TPD, XPS, Raman spectroscopy, and N adsorption, which revealed that the thermal pretreatment in an oxidative atmosphere caused segregation and reconstitution processes of the precursor, resulting in a mesoporous catalyst consisting of well-dispersed CuO-supported CuCeO clusters of 1.

In-depth analysis of biocatalysts by microfluidics: An emerging source of data for machine learning.

Nowadays, the vastly increasing demand for novel biotechnological products is supported by the continuous development of biocatalytic applications that provide sustainable green alternatives to chemical processes. The success of a biocatalytic application is critically dependent on how quickly we can identify and characterize enzyme variants fitting the conditions of industrial processes. While miniaturization and parallelization have dramatically increased the throughput of next-generation sequencing systems, the subsequent characterization of the obtained candidates is still a limiting process in identifying the desired biocatalysts.

Tandem Hydroformylation-Aldol Condensation Reaction Enabled by Zn-MOF-74.

The tandem hydroformylation-aldol condensation (tandem HF-AC) reaction offers an efficient synthetic route to the synthesis of industrially relevant products. The addition of Zn-MOF-74 to the cobalt-catalyzed hydroformylation of 1-hexene enables tandem HF-AC under milder pressure and temperature conditions than the aldox process, where zinc salts are added to cobalt-catalyzed hydroformylation reactions to promote aldol condensation. The yield of the aldol condensation products increases by up to 17 times compared to that of the homogeneous reaction without MOF and up to 5 times compared to the aldox catalytic system.

Non-specificity as the sticky problem in therapeutic antibody development.

Antibodies are highly potent therapeutic scaffolds with more than a hundred different products approved on the market. Successful development of antibody-based drugs requires a trade-off between high target specificity and target binding affinity. In order to better understand this problem, we here review non-specific interactions and explore their fundamental physicochemical origins.

Targeted Large-Volume Lymphocyte Removal Using Magnetic Nanoparticles in Blood Samples of Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: A Proof-of-Concept Study.

In the past, our research group was able to successfully remove circulating tumor cells with magnetic nanoparticles. While these cancer cells are typically present in low numbers, we hypothesized that magnetic nanoparticles, besides catching single cells, are also capable of eliminating a large number of tumor cells from the blood ex vivo. This approach was tested in a small pilot study in blood samples of patients suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a mature B-cell neoplasm.

Absolute environmental sustainability assessment of renewable dimethyl ether fuelled heavy-duty trucks.

In recent years, liquid fuels from renewable carbon that can replace fossil ones with minimal infrastructure changes have attracted increasing interest in decarbonising the heavy-duty long-haul sector. Here we focus on dimethyl ether (DME), a promising alternative to diesel due to its high cetane number, oxygen content, and more efficient and cleaner propulsion that results in low particulate matter and sulphur oxide emissions. Going well beyond previous studies that quantified the environmental impact of DME, often in terms of global warming, here we evaluate DME use in heavy-duty trucks in the context of seven planetary boundaries, all essential for maintaining the Earth's stability.

Towards an active droplet-based microfluidic platform for programmable fluid handling.

Droplet-based microfluidic systems have emerged as powerful alternatives to conventional high throughput screening platforms, due to their operational flexibility, high-throughput nature and ability to efficiently process small fluid volumes. However, the challenges associated with performing bespoke operations on user-defined droplets often limit their utility in screening applications that involve complex workflows. To this end, the marriage of droplet- and valve-based microfluidic technologies offers the prospect of balancing the controllability of droplet manipulations and analytical throughput.

Challenges and Opportunities in Engineering the Electronic Structure of Single-Atom Catalysts.

Controlling the electronic structure of transition-metal single-atom heterogeneous catalysts (SACs) is crucial to unlocking their full potential. The ability to do this with increasing precision offers a rational strategy to optimize processes associated with the adsorption and activation of reactive intermediates, charge transfer dynamics, and light absorption. While several methods have been proposed to alter the electronic characteristics of SACs, such as the oxidation state, band structure, orbital occupancy, and associated spin, the lack of a systematic approach to their application makes it difficult to control their effects.

Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Hydrogen from Waste Polymers.

The rising demand for single-use polymers calls for alternative waste treatment pathways to ensure a circular economy. Here, we explore hydrogen production from waste polymer gasification (wPG) to reduce the environmental impacts of plastic incineration and landfilling while generating a valuable product. We assess the carbon footprint of 13 H production routes and their environmental sustainability relative to the planetary boundaries (PBs) defined for seven Earth-system processes, covering H from waste polymers (wP; polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene), and a set of benchmark technologies including H from natural gas, biomass, and water splitting.

Unraveling Radical and Oxygenate Routes in the Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Propane over Boron Nitride.

Oxidative dehydrogenation of propane (ODHP) is an emerging technology to meet the global propylene demand with boron nitride (BN) catalysts likely to play a pivotal role. It is widely accepted that gas-phase chemistry plays a fundamental role in the BN-catalyzed ODHP. However, the mechanism remains elusive because short-lived intermediates are difficult to capture.

Low-Valent Manganese Atoms Stabilized on Ceria for Nitrous Oxide Synthesis.

Nitrous oxide, N O, exhibits unique reactivity in oxidation catalysis, but the high manufacturing costs limit its prospective uses. Direct oxidation of ammonia, NH , to N O can ameliorate this issue but its implementation is thwarted by suboptimal catalyst selectivity and stability, and the lack of established structure-performance relationships. Systematic and controlled material nanostructuring offers an innovative approach for advancement in catalyst design.

Synthetic Microbial Surrogates Consisting of Lipid Nanoparticles Encapsulating DNA for the Validation of Surface Disinfection Procedures.

Effective cleaning and disinfection procedures are an integral part of good manufacturing practice and in maintaining hygiene standards in health-care facilities. In this study, a method to validate such cleaning and disinfection procedures of surfaces was established employing lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) encapsulating DNA. It was possible to determine and distinguish between the physical cleaning effect (dilution) and the chemical cleaning effect (disintegration) on the LNPs during the cleaning and disinfection procedure (wiping).

Economic and Environmental Performance of an Integrated CO Refinery.

The consequences of global warming call for a shift to circular manufacturing practices. In this context, carbon capture and utilization (CCU) has become a promising alternative toward a low-emitting chemical sector. This study addresses for the first time the design of an integrated CO refinery and compares it against the business-as-usual (BAU) counterpart.

Trade-offs between Sustainable Development Goals in carbon capture and utilisation.

Carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) provides an appealing framework to turn carbon emissions into valuable fuels and chemicals. However, given the vast energy required to activate the CO molecule, CCU may have implications on sustainable development that are still poorly understood due to the narrow scope of current carbon footprint-oriented assessments lacking absolute sustainability thresholds. To bridge this gap, we developed a power-chemicals nexus model to look into the future and understand how we could produce 22 net-zero bulk chemicals of crucial importance in a sustainable manner by integrating fossil, CCU routes and power technologies, often assessed separately.

Real-time, smartphone-based processing of lateral flow assays for early failure detection and rapid testing workflows.

Despite their simplicity, lateral flow immunoassays (LFIAs) remain a crucial weapon in the diagnostic arsenal, particularly at the point-of-need. However, methods for analysing LFIAs still rely heavily on sub-optimal human readout and rudimentary end-point analysis. This negatively impacts both testing accuracy and testing times, ultimately lowering diagnostic throughput.

AF4 and PEG Precipitation as Predictive Assays for Antibody Self-Association.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are often formulated as high-protein-concentration solutions, which in some cases can exhibit physical stability issues such as high viscosity and opalescence. To ensure that mAb-based drugs can meet their manufacturing, stability, and delivery requirements, it is advantageous to screen for and select mAbs during discovery that are not prone to such behaviors. It has been recently shown that both these macroscopic properties can be predicted to a certain extent from the diffusion interaction parameter (), which is a measure of self-association under dilute conditions.

SAXS imaging reveals optimized osseointegration properties of bioengineered oriented 3D-PLGA/aCaP scaffolds in a critical size bone defect model.

Healing large bone defects remains challenging in orthopedic surgery and is often associated with poor outcomes and complications. A major issue with bioengineered constructs is achieving a continuous interface between host bone and graft to enhance biological processes and mechanical stability. In this study, we have developed a new bioengineering strategy to produce oriented biocompatible 3D PLGA/aCaP nanocomposites with enhanced osseointegration.

Navigating within the Safe Operating Space with Carbon Capture On-Board.

Despite the global pandemic that recently affected human and cargo transportation, the emissions of the maritime sector are projected to keep growing steadily. The International Maritime Organization focused on boosting the fleets' efficiency to improve their environmental performance, while more sustainable fuels are currently under investigation. Here, we assess the economic, technical, and environmental feasibility of an interim solution for low-carbon shipping using state-of-the-art CO capture technology, namely, chemical absorption, on-board cargo ships.

Identifying Descriptors for Promoted Rhodium-Based Catalysts for Higher Alcohol Synthesis Machine Learning.

Rhodium-based catalysts offer remarkable selectivities toward higher alcohols, specifically ethanol, syngas conversion. However, the addition of metal promoters is required to increase reactivity, augmenting the complexity of the system. Herein, we present an interpretable machine learning (ML) approach to predict and rationalize the performance of Rh-Mn-P/SiO catalysts ( = 19 promoters) using the open-source dataset on Rh-catalyzed higher alcohol synthesis (HAS) from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

Improving extracellular vesicles production through a Bayesian optimization-based experimental design.

With the growing demand and diversity of biological drugs, developing optimal processes for their accelerated production with minimal resource utilization is a pressing challenge. Typically, such optimization involves multiple target properties, such as production yield, biological activity, and product purity. Therefore, strategic experimental design techniques that can characterize the parameter space while simultaneously arriving at the optimal process satisfying multiple target properties are required.

Building block properties govern granular hydrogel mechanics through contact deformations.

Granular hydrogels have been increasingly exploited in biomedical applications, including wound healing and cardiac repair. Despite their utility, design guidelines for engineering their macroscale properties remain limited, as we do not understand how the properties of granular hydrogels emerge from collective interactions of their microgel building blocks. In this work, we related building block features (stiffness and size) to the macroscale properties of granular hydrogels using contact mechanics.

High-Yield Production of Extracellular Vesicle Subpopulations with Constant Quality Using Batch-Refeed Cultures.

The conventional manufacturing of extracellular vesicles (EVs) is characterized by low yields and batch-to-batch variability, hampering fundamental research on EVs and their practical applications. Perfusion operations have huge potential to address these limitations and increase the productivity and quality of EVs. In this study, perfusion cultures are simulated with batch-refeed systems and their productivity is compared with that achieved using batch cultures.

Online 3D Characterization of Micrometer-Sized Cuboidal Particles in Suspension.

Characterization of particle size and shape is central to the study of particulate matter in its broadest sense. Whilst 1D characterization defines the state of the art, the development of 2D and 3D characterization methods has attracted increasing attention, due to a common need to measure particle shape alongside size. Herein, ensembles of micrometer-sized cuboidal particles are studied, for which reliable sizing techniques are currently missing.

Novel short-term national strategies to promote the use of renewable hydrogen in road transport: A life cycle assessment of passenger car fleets partially fuelled with hydrogen.

This work presents an energy analysis combined with a comparative environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of eight different passenger car fleets that use renewable hydrogen and a conventional fuel (natural gas or gasoline) under the same total energy input and the same hydrogen-to-mixture energy ratio. The fleets under comparison involve vehicles that use the two fuels separately or in a mixture. Using Italy as an illustrative country, this research work aims to help policy-makers implement well-supported strategies to promote the use of hydrogen in road transport in the short term.