Biocatalytic process intensification via efficient biocatalyst immobilization,miniaturization, and process integration

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Wetting for self-healing and electrowetting for additive manufacturing

Advanced additive manufacturing actively widens its tool box of wettability-related phenomena to be used in production of new items. Novel self-healing engineering materials incorporate vascular networks with two types of nanochannels: the one containing a resin monomer, whereas another one — a curing agent. If such nanocomposites are damaged locally, both types of channels are locally broken, and they release resin monomer and curing agent droplets. These droplets spread by wettability over the nanotextured matrix, touch each other, and coalesce, which triggers polymerization reaction and crack stitching. Wettability-facilitated droplet spreading is accompanied by liquid imbibition in the pores in the nanofiber network. Such process peculiarities are in focus in the present review. An additional process relevant in direct writing and 3D printing is electrowetting (EW). It stems from the change in the contact angle in response to the electric polarization of dielectric substrates. EW allows movement of droplets on horizontal, vertical, and inverse surfaces, which can significantly facilitate the existing direct writing and 3D printing technologies. Accordingly, EW is also in focus in the present review.     

How to Obtain the Maximum Properties Flexibility of 3D Printed Ketoprofen Tablets Using Only One Drug-Loaded Filament?

The flexibility of dose and dosage forms makes 3D printing a very interesting tool for personalized medicine, with fused deposition modeling being the most promising and intensively developed method. In our research, we analyzed how various types of disintegrants and drug loading in poly(vinyl alcohol)-based filaments affect their mechanical properties and printability. We also assessed the effect of drug dosage and tablet spatial structure on the dissolution profiles. Given that the development of a method that allows the production of dosage forms with different properties from a single drug-loaded filament is desirable, we developed a method of printing ketoprofen tablets with different dose and dissolution profiles from a single feedstock filament. We optimized the filament preparation by hot-melt extrusion and characterized them. Then, we printed single, bi-, and tri-layer tablets varying with dose, infill density, internal structure, and composition. We analyzed the reproducibility of a spatial structure, phase, and degree of molecular order of ketoprofen in the tablets, and the dissolution profiles. We have printed tablets with immediate- and sustained-release characteristics using one drug-loaded filament, which demonstrates that a single filament can serve as a versatile source for the manufacturing of tablets exhibiting various release characteristics.     

Performance Improvement of Acid Pretreated 3D-printing Composite for the Heavy Metal Ions Analysis

The performance enhancement of 3D-printed electrode comprised of polylactic acid (PLA) and graphite (Gr) doped with graphene oxide (GO) was studied to detect five heavy metal ions in trace level. The pretreatment of PLA/Gr/GO electrode with potential cycling in H₂SO₄ solution achieved the most sensitive response. The characteristics of the composite electrodes were verified using XPS, FE-SEM, EDXS, Raman, and impedance spectroscopy. The experimental variables affecting the response current were optimized with respect to pH, deposition time, ratio of PLA/Gr/GO, and supporting electrolytes. The pretreated 3D-PLA/Gr/GO electrode showed a wide dynamic range from 0.5 ppb to 1.0 ppm with low detection limits of 0.039–0.13 ppb. The reliability of the PLA/Gr/GO electrode was evaluated by analyzing the reference samples of European Reference Materials.     

The influence of grafted cellulose nanofibers and postextrusion annealing treatment on selected properties of poly(lactic acid) filaments for 3D printing

l ‐lactide monomers were grafted onto cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) via ring‐opening polymerization, forming poly(lactic acid) grafted cellulose nanofibers (PLA‐g‐CNFs). PLA‐g‐CNFs and pristine PLA were then blended in chloroform and dried to prepare a master batch. PLA‐g‐CNFs/PLA composite filaments targeted for 3D printing were produced by compounding the master batch in PLA matrix and melt extrusion. The as‐extruded composite filaments were subsequently thermal annealed in a conventional oven, and their morphological, thermal, and mechanical properties were evaluated. PLA was successfully grafted on the surface of CNFs as demonstrated by elemental analysis, and the concentration of grafted PLA was estimated to be 33 wt %. The grafted PLA were highly crystallized, contributing to the growth of crystalline regions of PLA matrix. The incorporation of PLA‐g‐CNFs improved storage modulus of the composite filaments in both low temperature glassy state and high temperature rubbery state. Postextrusion annealing treatment led to 28 and 63% increases for tensile modulus and strength of the filaments, respectively. Simulated Young's moduli from the Halpin‐Tsai and Krenchel models were found comparable with the experimental values. The formed composite filaments are suitable for use in 3D printing. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 847–855     

A Disposable Homemade Screen Printed Electrochemical Sensor for Vitamin B1 Determination in Multivitamin Ampoules: Potentiometric and Surface Morphology Studies

Thiamine chloride hydrochloride (TCH) is one of the B‐complex vitamins which resemble a very biologically important group of biomolecules. The first screen‐printed graphite ion‐selective sensor for the determination of TCH was prepared and characterized. The sensor is based on TCH‐tetraphenylborate as electrode material. A number of parameters such as the type of solvent mediator, weight percent of the ion‐exchanger, test solution temperature and possible interferences were extensively studied. Moreover, the surface morphology of the prepared sensor was studied using scanning electron microscopy. The sensor shows a Nernstian slope of 30.60±0.07 mV/decade, a low LOD of 5.08×10⁻⁶ mol/L and a wide applicability range of 5.96×10⁻⁶‐1.00×10⁻² mol/L. The sensing graphite ink remains usable for at least one month. Fast potentiometric response was obtained within 5 s and remains stable for at least 60 s. The sensor was applied to the analysis of TCH in pure solutions and multivitamin ampoules from the Egyptian market using the standard addition method and high recovery values of 97–102 % were obtained. Low %RSD values (0.27‐1.30) indicate high precision of the proposed sensor. Our sensor provides the advantages of disposability, simple preparation procedures, sensitivity and easy storage and transportation.     

三维氮掺杂碳纳米带的制备及其在锂硫电池中的应用

锂硫电池凭借其高的理论能量密度（2600 W·h·kg^-1）、丰富廉价的材料来源、且对环境友好等优势,而引起了人们的广泛关注.然而,锂硫电池活性物质导电性差、多硫化物易溶于有机电解液等问题所导致的硫正极倍率性能和循环稳定性差,仍然是困扰锂硫电池发展的挑战性难题.我们设计并以廉价易得的小分子化合物对苯二酚和甲醛为原料,通过缩聚反应、与氧化石墨烯原位复合、高温氮化制备了一类新型氮掺杂的碳纳米带固硫载体材料（NCNB-NG）.通过NCNB-NG复合纳米硫进一步得到的碳-硫复合正极材料（S@NCNB-NG）表现出更优异的倍率性能和循环稳定性,这主要得益于该碳质载体独特的微结构以及改善的导电性.     

Bioprinting of Collagen: Considerations,Potentials, and Applications

Collagen is the most abundant extracellular matrix protein that is widely used in tissue engineering (TE). There is little research done on printing pure collagen. To understand the bottlenecks in printing pure collagen, it is imperative to understand collagen from a bottom‐up approach. Here it is aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of collagen printing, where collagen assembly in vivo and the various sources of collagen available for TE application are first understood. Next, the current printing technologies and strategy for printing collagen‐based materials are highlighted. Considerations and key challenges faced in collagen printing are identified. Finally, the key research areas that would enhance the functionality of printed collagen are presented.     

3D Printing of Capacitive Pressure Sensors with Tuned Wide Detection Range and High Sensitivity Inspired by Bio-Inspired Kapok Structures

Flexible pressure sensors have drawn considerable attention for their potential applications as electronic skins with both sensitivity and pressure response range. Although the introduction of surface microstructures effectively enhances sensitivity, the confined volume of their compressible structures results in a limited pressure response range. To address this issue, a biomimetic kapok structure is proposed and implemented for constructing the dielectric layer of flexible capacitive pressure sensors employing 3D printing technology. The structure is designed with easily deformable concave and rotational structures, enabling continuous deformation under pressure. This design results in a significant expansion of the pressure response range and improvement in sensitivity. Further, the study purposively analyses crucial parameters of the devised structure that affect its compressibility and stability. These include the concave angle θ, height ratio d₁/d₂, rotation angle α, and width k. As a result, the ultimate pressure sensors demonstrate remarkable features such as high sensitivity (≈2.38 kPa⁻¹ in the range of 0–10 kPa), broad detection range (734 kPa), fast response time (23 ms), and outstanding pressure resolution (0.4% at 500 kPa). This study confirms the viability of bionic structures for flexible sensors, and their potential to expand the scope of wearable electronic devices.