Although microbes competing for simple substrates are well-known to obey the ecological competitive exclusion principle, little is known regarding how complex substrates influence the ecology of microbial communities. The vast structural diversity of polysaccharides makes them ideal substrates for cooperative microbial degradation. Potential mechanisms for division of metabolic labor in microbial communities

Drug delivery to the central nervous system (CNS) is generally hindered by the selectivity of the blood–brain barrier (BBB). However, there is strong evidence that the integrity of the BBB is compromised under certain pathological conditions, potentially providing a window to deliver drugs to injured brain regions. Recent studies suggest that caveolae-mediated transcytosis, a transport pathway suppressed

We investigate recent advances in the Chemical Engineering aspects of food structuring agents and macronutrients: carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, and also the fate of food upon ingestion. Prebiotic effects on host-microbe interactions enable improved immune response and pathogen control. Formulation Engineering is an emerging area in the field of Chemical Engineering and requires detailed knowledge

The N-alkylation of amines constitutes one of the most widely applied transformations in synthetic chemistry, but established methods often utilise non-renewable feedstocks and must be adapted for a post fossil fuel world. This review is focused on emerging methodologies in which redox surrogate reagents to carbonyl compounds are used which may be more readily sourced from nature. The review considers

Development of brain therapeutics is significantly hampered by the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Classical transwell models are able to recapitulate many important aspects of drug transport across the BBB, but are not completely predictive of in vivo brain uptake. Species differences further complicate translation of experimental therapeutics from the benchtop to the clinic. Human BBB

This review will focus on advances in the development of such biosensor in tracking cellular events with a focus on their technical novelty.

Since the approval of the first biotherapeutic protein produced from CHO cells in 1987, researchers have been studying how to improve protein titer and product quality, mainly through cell line development and bioprocess optimization. With recent advances in genetic editing methods (CRISPR/Cas systems) together with large scale systems biology data, further improvements have been made. Here we outline

13C-MFA is currently the only technique capable of elucidating intracellular metabolic fluxes. Generally, in 13C-MFA studies the reactions that can carry flux are mostly pre-specified by only considering canonical pathways and ignoring alternate ones. This may bias flux elucidation and cause labeling data to erroneously confirm implied assumptions. By expanding the scope of the metabolic mapping models

The ability to utilize agricultural waste products is one of the many reasons why bioprocessing using Escherichia coli is an attractive alternative to unsustainable fossil fuel-based methods for chemical synthesis. However, mixed sugar co-utilization is a challenge for E. coli due to the effects of carbon catabolite repression (CCR), which dictates a preference for the consumption of glucose over secondary

As the interface between the vasculature and the central nervous system (CNS), the blood-brain barrier (BBB), composed of brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs), plays a crucial role in maintaining the health of the CNS but hinders drug delivery. Accordingly, in vitro modeling of the BBB has been and continues to be of great interest to scientists studying neurological diseases and developing

Energy is required to convert CO2 into useful products. Thermodynamic arguments can be made to show that, if the energy for the conversion of CO2 is provided by combustion of fossil feedstock, it is not possible to consume more CO2 than is produced. Renewable energy, specifically renewable power, is generally assumed to be the energy source for CO2 utilization. Various options are available for using

Flow chemistry has progressed considerably in recent years from basic laboratory techniques in organic synthetic chemistry to complex, multistep processes in practice. In this perspective review, missing links that represent opportunities for chemists and chemical engineers are examined. New avenues in reaction chemistry are expanding the molecular toolbox, which includes green and cascade catalysis

The review covers the hydrodynamic and physico-chemical aspects of a number of inter-related situations arising in relation to flows in the individual nanochannels and microchannels or in the interconnected networks of microscopic pores inside membranes formed by electrospun nanofibers. The applications of such flows or devices comprised of such elements are discussed too, having in mind reverse osmosis

Additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing has revolutionized the modern metal manufacturing industry. AM technology allows for fabrication of highly customized 3D objects where both shape and composition can be tailored. Compared to traditional methods, metal AM technology has advantages in saving time and cost. Recent developments in metal AM systems include upgrades in energy source and part resolution

Microscale electrokinetic systems have offer attractive characteristics for the analysis of proteins; in particular, systems that rely on both, linear and nonlinear electrokinetic effects, have proven to be effective platforms for sensing, sorting and purifying protein particles. The present contribution is focused on the assessment of protein samples (protein solutions, exosomes, protein nanocrystals)

In recent years, several new methods have been developed to precisely manipulate small particles using optical, electric, acoustic, magnetic, or fluidic fields. Automated fluidic trapping has emerged as a particularly powerful method to control colloidal particles, cells, or single polymers using only fluid flow. Here, we discuss recent advances in the automation of particle manipulation, focusing

Polymer membranes are widely utilized in industrial separation processes. Along with numerous experiments conducted for gas and liquid separations, molecular simulations have also been performed to fundamentally elucidate separation mechanisms in polymer membranes. However, the simulation studies are mostly limited to gas and aqueous mixtures, and non-aqueous separations such as pervaporation and organic

Nowadays most membrane separation processes utilize membranes made from organic polymers because shape and structure can be tailored to the needs of a specific application with scalable fabrication processes such as solution casting and phase separation, coating and interfacial polymerization. This short review discusses recent progress for membranes suited for molecular separation in aqueous and organic

The increase in demand and high product diversification range with reduced unit quantities leads to the innovation of flexible and digitized production. The emerging concept, like Additive Manufacturing (AM), is extensively used to make a prototype with insufficient mechanical strength. For addressing this problem, advancement in the production of Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) composites is introduced

Ion selective separations are becoming increasingly important in many water and energy applications. Ion exchange membranes could address these separation challenges, but advanced understanding of the structure-property relationships that connect polymer chemistry and membrane morphology to selectivity properties is needed. Membrane-based ion separations can be driven by concentration or electric field

The melt pool dimensions and pool-shapes that are possible with directed beam-heating are explored with a collapsed parameter model, and compared with experimental results. The peak temperatures, temperature gradients and fluid flow velocities/cells are calculated for various beam parameters. The key solidification parameters including the interface velocity are discussed for various beam powers, beam

Additive manufacturing (AM) of metals and alloys opens tremendous opportunities in production of parts with complex shapes and geometries. One of the main challenges is formation of residual stress during fabrication processes which substantially affects service life of engineering components. This paper provides a brief introduction to different types, formation mechanisms, and measurement techniques

Additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing is an ideal technology for building flexible, complex, monolithic devices. Organs-on-chips (OOCs) are biomimetic microsystems that recapitulate the crucial structures and functions of human organs. Organ-level activities, mechanics and physiological response can be stimulated and investigated in OOCs. Convergence of AM technology along with OOCs offers a more

Understanding the chemical risk to environment and human health is an important issue when a waste management strategy and a control risk system is analyzed and selected. This is even more important at the end-of-life (recycling, recovery and disposal) scenario for a chemical due to the uncertainty in respect of the most susceptible receptors (e.g., workers), pathways (e.g., groundwater), routes (e

The chemical industry makes extensive use of solvents, especially for chemical reactions and separations. When considering the large number of existing solvents and the necessity for finding new and alternative ones, systematic methods for the optimal selection and molecular design of solvents become significant for efficient and sustainable chemical manufacturing. During the past decade, a substantial

Chemical industry is continuously looking for opportunities to manufacture the necessary commodity chemicals as well as to convert them into higher value-added chemicals-based products. Development of these chemicals-based products involves not only their design and/or selection but also their sustainable manufacturing through an appropriate chemical process, its marketing and its disposal as waste

This review paper presents some of the topics discussed at the 2018 ‘Chemical process development trends’ seminar organized by the Swiss Process and Chemical Engineers Society in Basel, Switzerland. The first subject covers the use of computer aided tools for systematic reaction route selection, the second one addresses the recent development in the field of process intensification with a focus on

Process intensification (PI) has been gaining increasing momentum in the chemical engineering research community and the chemical/energy industry. While many PI alternative technologies and their conventional counterparts exist, systematic approaches and tools to decide on the most promising intensified process solutions are currently rather lacking. Process Systems Engineering (PSE) can contribute

Process intensification (PI) is a branch of process synthesis that encompasses and impacts a number of process technologies. Research in PI has recently gained considerable attention due to challenges related to energy and the environment, alongside risks in capital investment decisions. These challenges necessitate the development of optimization-based computational tools for process synthesis and

Process Intensification promises novel solutions to current challenges in the chemical process industry, leading to a rapid growth in interest. There are different approaches to synthesize an intensified process, yet most are based on methods from Process Synthesis and Process Optimization. In this paper, we review those methods and provide an overview of their application in Process Intensification

Process systems engineering (PSE) tools can be utilized to enable the optimal operation and control of intensified processes. In this work, the challenges in the control of intensified processes are summarized, including the difficulties in modelling and performing online optimization of these highly complex dynamic systems. Nevertheless, PSE progress in the areas of nonlinear programming, reduced-order

Process intensification can afford considerable benefits with respect to economics, sustainability and/or safety but also presents increased decision making challenges with respect to computational efficiency and flexibility across multiple temporal and spatial scales. Distributed decision making, that is, localized yet coordinated decision making among constituent subsystems, is a promising approach

Product Design & Engineering (PDE) aims to define new and/or improved products based on customer needs and/or new technologies. A comprehensive discussion of PDE as a building block for chemical engineering education, research and practice seems still lacking, preventing a broader impact on academic and industry realities more and more concerned with the ‘knowledge economy’. The purpose of the present

In this work we provide an overview of the current trend in process and product design as a multidisciplinary area within process system engineering. This problem shows a strong link between different fields including economics, marketing, molecular chemistry, physico-chemistry as well as process design and all the way up to ingredients and final products supply chain. While the different stages in

In this minireview, electro-catalytic activation of some representative alcohols and greenhouse gases CO2 are taken as examples to comprehensively analyze the state of the art of electrocatalysis, and then recent research progress in the characterization techniques for electrocatalysis are also summarized, and several viewpoints on the further development of electrocatalysis are promoted in the end

Over the last couple of decades, the scientific community has made large efforts to process and store experimental and computational chemical data and information on the world wide web. This review summarizes several databases and ontologies available on the web for researchers to use. We also discuss briefly the categories of chemistry data that are stored, its main usage and how it can be accessed

Clathrate hydrates of natural gases show promise for energy in regions traditionally poor of fossil fuels, suggest the possibility of mitigating the atmospheric impact of hydrocarbon consumption via CO 2 sequestration, could advance high-tech applications to address global challenges, including the water-energy nexus, and can lead to significant economic loss and potential safety hazards when they

The control of microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is of great significance in many industrial applications. Attention has been devoted to emerging nanomaterials as ‘green’ biocides for their remarkable antimicrobial function and relatively low environmental risk. Understanding the antimicrobial inhibition mechanisms is the key to increase the efficiency of nanoparticles and enhance the feasibility

Direct absorption-based solar collectors, which rely on volumetric absorption of sunlight by optical nanofluids, have emerged as a superior way to conventional surface absorption-based collectors for harvesting solar-thermal energy. In this short review, we summarize the recent progress on preparing medium-to-high-temperature solar-thermal nanofluids that can be potentially used in direct absorption-based

Ionic liquid (IL) including polymeric ionic liquid (PIL) is a rapidly growing and widely research area due to its unique properties such as non-volatility, high ionic conductivity, electrochemical stability, and solvation potential. This focused review covers the advancement of thermally responsive ILs/PILs for applications, in which their osmotic potential and reversible interactions are exploited

Recent advances in the development of advanced solar evaporation have opened up new possibilities for the revived explorations of solar thermal utilization. Among them, microstructure-enabled solar evaporation received the most attention due to its unique capability of solar energy harvesting and localized heating effects, which are beneficial for an enhanced vapor production rate, a fast-responsive

Seawater and brackish water desalination provides a viable alternative to clean water supply for regions lacking fresh water sources or facing severe droughts. Current desalination technologies, however, are energy-expensive and environmentally unfriendly. Mimicking the natural transpiration process of mangrove trees that are able to survive in high-salinity environment, an artificial tree is conceived