Flexible material formulations for 3D printing of ordered porous beds with applications in bioprocess engineering

Background3D printing is revolutioning many industrial sectors and has the potential to enhance also the biotechnology and bioprocessing fields. Here, we propose a new flexible material formulation to 3D print support matrices with complex, perfectly ordered morphology and with tuneable properties to suit a range of applications in bioprocess engineering.FindingsSupports were fabricated using functional monomers as the key ingredients, enabling matrices with bespoke chemistry, such as charged groups, chemical moieties for further functionalization, and hydrophobic/hydrophilic groups. Other ingredients, e.g. crosslinkers and porogens, can be employed to fabricate supports with diverse characteristics of their porous network, providing an opportunity to further regulate the mechanical and mass transfer properties of the supports. Through this approach, we fabricated and demonstrated the operation of Schoen gyroid columns with (I) positive and negative charges for ion exchange chromatography, (II) enzyme bioreactors with immobilized trypsin to catalyse hydrolysis, and (III) bacterial biofilm bioreactors for fuel desulphurization.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates a simple, cost-effective, and flexible fabrication of customized 3D printed supports for different biotechnology and bioengineering applications

New Nanostructured Carbon Coating Inhibits Bacterial Growth, but Does Not Influence on Animal Cells

An electrospark technology has been developed for obtaining a colloidal solution containing nanosized amorphous carbon. The advantages of the technology are its low cost and high performance. The colloidal solution of nanosized carbon is highly stable. The coatings on its basis are nanostructured. They are characterized by high adhesion and hydrophobicity. It was found that the propagation of microorganisms on nanosized carbon coatings is significantly hindered. At the same time, eukaryotic animal cells grow and develop on nanosized carbon coatings, as well as on the nitinol medical alloy. The use of a colloidal solution as available, cheap and non-toxic nanomaterial for the creation of antibacterial coatings to prevent biofilm formation seems to be very promising for modern medicine, pharmaceutical and food industries

Anaerobic biodegradation of linear alkylbenzenes

<p>2^nd European Biodegradation Conference, Chania, Crete.  30 June – 4 July 2003.</p

Toxicity testing of linear alkylbenzene cable oil using Caenorhabditis elegans

<p>Society for Experimental Biology Meeting, Edinburgh, Scotland. 29 March – 4 April 2004.</p

Potential for anaerobic biodegradation of linear alkylbenzene cable oils: Literature review and preliminary investigation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Linear alkylbenzene (LAB) cable oils are used for the electrical insulation of high-voltage underground power cables. Due to thermal movement of the cables, leaks can occur at the joints, resulting in cable oil leaking into the surrounding environment. A review of the literature indicates that relatively little is known about the fate of LAB as a bulk pollutant in soil. To investigate this, a physical model of a cable joint bay was constructed and contaminated with cable oil. Fluorometry confirmed that the cable oil became localised to the upper regions of the saturated zone where dissolved oxygen, pH, and oxidation-reduction measurements indicated that conditions were predominately anaerobic, with evidence for sulphate reduction. Mathematical modelling indicates that these conditions were not due solely to the geochemistry of the system. Mesocosm experiments suggest that LAB may be degraded naturally under anaerobic conditions at rates high enough to justify the use of monitored natural attenuation as a remediation strategy. The mechanisms involved in anaerobic degradation are not currently well understood and more research is required to clarify these and identify the microorganisms involved.</p> <p>Open access file available from: http://www.epppublications.com/home/land-contamination-reclamation/volume-9</p

Killing bacteria present on surfaces in films or in droplets using microwave UV lamps

The killing of bacteria on surfaces by two typesof UV sources generated by microwave radiation isdescribed. In both cases, UV radiation is produced by gasdischargeelectrodeless lamps (Ar/Hg) excited by microwavesgenerated by a power supply from a standarddomestic microwave oven. For UV lamp excitation, one ofthese sources makes use of a coaxial line with a truncatedouter electrode that allows the excitation of gases andgaseous mixtures over a wide range of pressures at acomparatively low microwave power. In the second source,UV lamps are placed inside a microwave oven. Ultravioletgenerated by the two sources was used to destroy vegetativeEscherichia coli bacteria dispersed in thin films and indroplets on surfaces. Two types of UV lamps were used inthe study. The first was constructed of quartz that filteredUV below 200 nm preventing the dissociation of oxygen inair and, hence, ozone production. The second type of tubewas transparent to UV below 200 nm facilitating ozoneproduction in air surrounding it. It was shown that bacterialcells dispersed in films on surfaces are killed more rapidlythan cells present in droplets when using the lamps producingozone and UV radiation. The UV sources describedcan effect rapid killing and constitute a cost-effectivetreatment of food and other surfaces, and, the destruction ofairborne viruses and bacteria. The lamps can also be utilisedfor the rapid eradication of microorganisms in liquid

Congruence in the performance of model nitrifying activated sludge plants located in Germany, Scotland and Spain

A laboratory model nitrifying activated sludge plant treating OECD synthetic sewage was designed and constructed by each of three laboratories in Germany, Scotland and Spain in order to produce a sludge inoculum for 5 rapid toxicity bioassays. The plants were run for 3 years and produced sludge for the microbially based bioassays Vibrio fischeri bioluminescence, ATP luminescence and respiration, and, nitrification and enzyme inhibition. Although the initial sludge inoculum for the plants differed, as did some of the running conditions such as temperature regime, the sludge produced within the different countries had similar characteristics with respect to sludge age, total suspended solids and volatile suspended solids. Nitrification was generally maintained over the 3-year period although there were occasions when the process was inconsistent. Nitrification recovery was afforded by reseeding with a nitrifying sludge from a local wastewater treatment works (WWTW) or imposition of starvation conditions for a period of time.The sludge produced was used to carry out toxicity testing and results compared well with those using sludge from a WWTW. Overall, the use of sludge generated in the laboratory could be used for toxicity testing negating the need to resort to the use of natural WWTW sludge, which may contain a range of toxic substances due to uncontrolled industrial and domestic inputs and an unbalanced microbial consortium