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Jackson HO, Taunt HN, Mordaka PM, Kumari S, Smith AG, Purton S. CpPosNeg: A positive-negative selection strategy allowing multiple cycles of marker-free engineering of the Chlamydomonas plastome. Biotechnol J 2022; 17:e2200088. [PMID: 35509114 DOI: 10.1002/biot.202200088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The chloroplast represents an attractive compartment for light-driven biosynthesis of recombinant products, and advanced synthetic biology tools are available for engineering the chloroplast genome ( = plastome) of several algal and plant species. However, producing commercial lines will likely require several plastome manipulations. This presents issues with respect to selectable markers, since there are a limited number available, they can be used only once in a serial engineering strategy, and it is undesirable to retain marker genes for antibiotic resistance in the final transplastome. To address these problems, we have designed a rapid iterative selection system, known as CpPosNeg, for the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii that allows creation of marker-free transformants starting from wild-type strains. The system employs a dual marker encoding a fusion protein of E. coli aminoglycoside adenyltransferase (AadA: conferring spectinomycin resistance) and a variant of E. coli cytosine deaminase (CodA: conferring sensitivity to 5-fluorocytosine). Initial selection on spectinomycin allows stable transformants to be established and driven to homoplasmy. Subsequent selection on 5-fluorocytosine results in rapid loss of the dual marker through intramolecular recombination between the 3'UTR of the marker and the 3'UTR of the introduced transgene. We demonstrate the versatility of the CpPosNeg system by serial introduction of reporter genes into the plastome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harry O Jackson
- Department of Structural and Molecular Biology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Henry N Taunt
- Department of Structural and Molecular Biology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Paweł M Mordaka
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Sujata Kumari
- DBT-ICT Centre for Energy Biosciences, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India
| | - Alison G Smith
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Saul Purton
- Department of Structural and Molecular Biology, University College London, London, UK
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Bolaños-Martínez OC, Mahendran G, Rosales-Mendoza S, Vimolmangkang S. Current Status and Perspective on the Use of Viral-Based Vectors in Eukaryotic Microalgae. Mar Drugs 2022; 20:md20070434. [PMID: 35877728 PMCID: PMC9318342 DOI: 10.3390/md20070434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Revised: 06/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
During the last two decades, microalgae have attracted increasing interest, both commercially and scientifically. Commercial potential involves utilizing valuable natural compounds, including carotenoids, polysaccharides, and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are widely applicable in food, biofuel, and pharmaceutical industries. Conversely, scientific potential focuses on bioreactors for producing recombinant proteins and developing viable technologies to significantly increase the yield and harvest periods. Here, viral-based vectors and transient expression strategies have significantly contributed to improving plant biotechnology. We present an updated outlook covering microalgal biotechnology for pharmaceutical application, transformation techniques for generating recombinant proteins, and genetic engineering tactics for viral-based vector construction. Challenges in industrial application are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omayra C. Bolaños-Martínez
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand; (O.C.B.-M.); (G.M.)
- Center of Excellence in Plant-Produced Pharmaceuticals, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Ganesan Mahendran
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand; (O.C.B.-M.); (G.M.)
- Center of Excellence in Plant-Produced Pharmaceuticals, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Sergio Rosales-Mendoza
- Laboratorio de Biofarmacéuticos Recombinantes, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Dr. Manuel Nava 6, San Luis Potosí 78210, Mexico;
- Sección de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación en Ciencias de la Salud y Biomedicina, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Sierra Leona 550, Lomas 2a Sección, San Luis Potosí 78210, Mexico
| | - Sornkanok Vimolmangkang
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand; (O.C.B.-M.); (G.M.)
- Center of Excellence in Plant-Produced Pharmaceuticals, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +662-218-8358
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Overcoming Poor Transgene Expression in the Wild-Type Chlamydomonas Chloroplast: Creation of Highly Mosquitocidal Strains of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10061087. [PMID: 35744605 PMCID: PMC9229432 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10061087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Revised: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
High-level expression of transgenes in the chloroplast of wild-type Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (C. reinhardtii) remains challenging for many genes (e.g., the cry toxin genes from Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis). The bottleneck is presumed to be post-transcriptional and mediated by the 5′ element and the coding region. Using 5′ elements from highly expressed photosynthesis genes such as atpA did not improve the outcome with cry11A regardless of the promoter. However, when we employed the 5′ UTR from mature rps4 mRNA with clean fusions to promoters, production of the rCry11A protein became largely promoter-dependent. The best results were obtained with the native 16S rrn promoter (−91 to −1). When it was fused to the mature 5′ rps4 UTR, rCry11A protein levels were ~50% higher than was obtained with the inducible system, or ~0.6% of total protein. This level was sufficient to visualize the 73-kDa rCry11A protein on Coomassie-stained gels of total algal protein. In addition, analysis of the expression of these transgenes by RT-PCR indicated that RNA levels roughly correlated with protein production. Live cell bioassays using the best strains as food for 3rd instar Aedes aegypti larvae showed that most larvae were killed even when the cell concentration was as low as 2 × 104 cells/mL. Finally, the results indicate that these highly toxic strains are also quite stable, and thus represent a key milestone in using C. reinhardtii for mosquito control.
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Jakhwal P, Kumar Biswas J, Tiwari A, Kwon EE, Bhatnagar A. Genetic and non-genetic tailoring of microalgae for the enhanced production of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) - A review. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2022; 344:126250. [PMID: 34728356 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The myriad health benefits associated with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) laid the path for their application in the functional foods and nutraceutical industries. Fish being primarily exploited for extraction of EPA and DHA are unsustainable sources; thus, oleaginous microalgae turn out to be an alternative sustainable source. This review paper aims to provide the recent developments in the context of enhancing EPA and DHA production by utilising non-genetic tailoring and genetic tailoring methods. We have also summarized the legislation, public perception, and possible risks associated with the usage of genetically modified microalgae focusing on EPA and DHA production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parul Jakhwal
- Department of Separation Science, LUT School of Engineering Science, LUT University, Sammonkatu 12, FI-50130, Mikkeli, Finland
| | - Jayanta Kumar Biswas
- Enviromicrobiology, Ecotoxicology and Ecotechnology Research Laboratory, Department of Ecological Studies, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, Nadia 741235, West Bengal, India; International Centre for Ecological Engineering, University of Kalyani, Kalyani 741235, West Bengal, India
| | - Archana Tiwari
- Diatom Research Laboratory, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201301, India
| | - Eilhann E Kwon
- Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea
| | - Amit Bhatnagar
- Department of Separation Science, LUT School of Engineering Science, LUT University, Sammonkatu 12, FI-50130, Mikkeli, Finland.
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Cutolo E, Tosoni M, Barera S, Herrera-Estrella L, Dall'Osto L, Bassi R. A chimeric hydrolase-PTXD transgene enables chloroplast-based heterologous protein expression and non-sterile cultivation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. ALGAL RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2021.102429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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A Simple Technology for Generating Marker-Free Chloroplast Transformants of the Green Alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Methods Mol Biol 2021; 2317:293-304. [PMID: 34028777 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1472-3_17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The availability of routine methods for the genetic engineering of the chloroplast genome of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is allowing researchers to explore the use of this microalga as a phototrophic cell platform for synthesis of high value recombinant proteins and metabolites. However, the established method for delivering transforming DNA into the algal chloroplast involves microparticle bombardment using an expensive "gene gun". Furthermore, selection of transformant lines most commonly involves the use of a bacterial antibiotic resistance gene. In this chapter, we describe a simple and cheap delivery method in which cell-DNA suspensions are agitated with glass beads: a method that is more commonly used for nuclear transformation of Chlamydomonas. We also describe the use of plasmid expression vectors that target transgenes to a neutral site within the chloroplast genome between psbH and trnE2, and employ psbH as the selectable marker-thereby avoiding issues of unwanted antibiotic resistance genes in the resulting transgenic lines. Finally, we highlight a feature in our latest vectors in which the presence of a novel tRNA gene on the plasmid results in recognition within the chloroplast of UGA stop codons in transgenes as tryptophan codons. This feature simplifies the cloning of transgenes that are normally toxic to E. coli, serves as a biocontainment strategy restricting the functional escape of transgenes from the algal chloroplast to environmental microorganisms, and offers a simple system of temperature-regulated translation of transgenes.
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CRISPR/Cas technology promotes the various application of Dunaliella salina system. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 104:8621-8630. [PMID: 32918585 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-020-10892-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Revised: 09/01/2020] [Accepted: 09/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Dunaliella salina (D. salina) has been widely applied in various fields because of its inherent advantages, such as the study of halotolerant mechanism, wastewater treatment, recombinant proteins expression, biofuel production, preparation of natural materials, and others. However, owing to the existence of low yield or in the laboratory exploration stage, D. salina system has been greatly restricted for practical production of various components. In past decade, significant progresses have been achieved for research of D. salina in these fields. Among them, D. salina as a novel expression system demonstrated a bright prospect, especially for large-scale production of foreign proteins, like the vaccines, antibodies, and other therapeutic proteins. Due to the low efficiency, application of traditional regulation tools is also greatly limited for exploration of D. salina system. The emergence of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas system offers a precise editing tool to overcome the obstacles of D. salina system. This review not only comprehensively summarizes the recent progresses of D. salina in domain of gene engineering but also gives a deep analysis of problems and deficiencies in different fields of D. salina. Moreover, further prospects of CRISPR/Cas system and its significant challenges have been discussed in various aspects of D. salina. It provides a great referencing value for speeding up the maturity of D. salina system, and also supplies practical guiding significance to expand the new application fields for D. salina. KEY POINTS: • The review provides recent research progresses of various applications of D. salina. • The problems and deficiencies in different fields of D. salina were deeply analyzed. • The further prospects of CRISPR/Cas technology in D. salina system were predicted. • CRISPR/Cas system will promote the new application fields and maturity for D. salina.
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Teng SY, Yew GY, Sukačová K, Show PL, Máša V, Chang JS. Microalgae with artificial intelligence: A digitalized perspective on genetics, systems and products. Biotechnol Adv 2020; 44:107631. [PMID: 32931875 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2020.107631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2020] [Revised: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
With recent advances in novel gene-editing tools such as RNAi, ZFNs, TALENs, and CRISPR-Cas9, the possibility of altering microalgae toward designed properties for various application is becoming a reality. Alteration of microalgae genomes can modify metabolic pathways to give elevated yields in lipids, biomass, and other components. The potential of such genetically optimized microalgae can give a "domino effect" in further providing optimization leverages down the supply chain, in aspects such as cultivation, processing, system design, process integration, and revolutionary products. However, the current level of understanding the functional information of various microalgae gene sequences is still primitive and insufficient as microalgae genome sequences are long and complex. From this perspective, this work proposes to link up this knowledge gap between microalgae genetic information and optimized bioproducts using Artificial Intelligence (AI). With the recent acceleration of AI research, large and complex data from microalgae research can be properly analyzed by combining the cutting-edge of both fields. In this work, the most suitable class of AI algorithms (such as active learning, semi-supervised learning, and meta-learning) are discussed for different cases of microalgae applications. This work concisely reviews the current state of the research milestones and highlight some of the state-of-art that has been carried out, providing insightful future pathways. The utilization of AI algorithms in microalgae cultivation, system optimization, and other aspects of the supply chain is also discussed. This work opens the pathway to a digitalized future for microalgae research and applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sin Yong Teng
- Brno University of Technology, Institute of Process Engineering, Technická 2896/2, 616 69, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Guo Yong Yew
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia.
| | - Kateřina Sukačová
- Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Bělidla 986/4a, Brno 603 00, Czech Republic.
| | - Pau Loke Show
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia.
| | - Vítězslav Máša
- Brno University of Technology, Institute of Process Engineering, Technická 2896/2, 616 69, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Jo-Shu Chang
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, Tunghai University, Taichung 407, Taiwan; Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan; Research Center for Smart Sustainable Circular Economy, Tunghai University, Taichung 407, Taiwan.
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Gutiérrez CL, Muñoz C, San Martín M, Cadoret JP, Henríquez V. Chloroplast Dual Divergent Promoter Plasmid for Heterologous Protein Expression in Tetraselmis suecica (Chlorophyceae, Chlorodendrales). JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2020; 56:1066-1076. [PMID: 32359200 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.13013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2019] [Revised: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The eukaryotic green microalga Tetraselmis suecica is commonly used for aquaculture purposes because of its high stress tolerance and ease of culture in a wide spectrum of environments; they are therefore suitable candidates for biotechnology applications. To date, no data are available regarding chloroplast transformation vectors based on specific endogenous promoters and homologous targeting regions. We report on the identification of Tetraselmis suecica genes encoding the ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase large subunit protein, the photosystem II D1 protein and the ATP synthase CF1-beta subunit protein together with their untranslated regions (5'UTR, 3'UTR). The full-length ORFs of the putative genes with their regulatory sequences were obtained. We were also able to identify the downstream 3' end of the large subunit ribosomal RNA gene (23S) along with the 5S RNA end-to-end with the psbA gene on the complementary strand. The intergenic region between these genes appears to be a good target site for the integration of target proteins. Moreover, we identified a back-to-back promoter region among the rbcL and atpB genes. To assess the bidirectionality activities of both promoters, a dual reporter vector was constructed for Tetraselmis suecica transformation containing the cat and TurboGFP genes driven by the 5'rbcL/5'atpB divergent promoter. The vector included the 23S-5S and psbA nucleotide sequences as flanking regions. These flanking regions provided suitable insertion sites within the chloroplast genome for cassette integration via homologous recombination. Simultaneous expression of the chloramphenicol-resistant conferring gene and the gene coding for TurboGFP driven by 5'rbcL/5'atpB showed a potent natural bidirectional promoter as a reliable genetic tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla L Gutiérrez
- Laboratorio de Genética e Inmunología Molecular, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Carla Muñoz
- Laboratorio de Genética e Inmunología Molecular, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Margarita San Martín
- Laboratorio de Genética e Inmunología Molecular, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | | | - Vitalia Henríquez
- Laboratorio de Genética e Inmunología Molecular, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
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Kim SY, Kim KW, Kwon YM, Kim JYH. mCherry Protein as an In Vivo Quantitative Reporter of Gene Expression in the Chloroplast of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Mol Biotechnol 2020; 62:297-305. [PMID: 32185599 DOI: 10.1007/s12033-020-00249-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Microalgal chloroplasts have a substantial potential as a sustainable alternative to conventional hosts for recombinant protein production, due to their photosynthetic ability. However, realization of microalgal chloroplast as a platform for the production of recombinant proteins has suffered from difficulties in genetic manipulation and development of molecular tools, including reporter proteins. Here, we investigated the suitability of a fluorescent protein, mCherry, as a reporter for quantitative in vivo monitoring of gene expression in the chloroplast of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. By analyzing cell growth, the fluorescence intensity of a mCherry-expressing strain, as well as auto-fluorescence, under different photoautotrophic culture conditions, we demonstrated a strong correlation between the fluorescence intensity of mCherry expressed in the chloroplast and its protein expression level. In addition, we found that the supply of CO2 and light energy can be an important factor for the synthesis of recombinant proteins in the microalgal chloroplast. Our results identified mCherry as a reliable and quantitative reporter for the study of gene expression in chloroplasts, which is essential for the biotechnological application of microalgal chloroplasts and for improved production of valuable recombinant proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sun Young Kim
- Department of Applied Research, National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea, Jangsan-ro 101-75, Seocheon-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, 33662, South Korea
| | - Kyung Woo Kim
- Department of Applied Research, National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea, Jangsan-ro 101-75, Seocheon-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, 33662, South Korea
| | - Yong Min Kwon
- Department of Applied Research, National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea, Jangsan-ro 101-75, Seocheon-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, 33662, South Korea
| | - Jaoon Young Hwan Kim
- Department of Applied Research, National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea, Jangsan-ro 101-75, Seocheon-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, 33662, South Korea.
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Ng I, Keskin BB, Tan S. A Critical Review of Genome Editing and Synthetic Biology Applications in Metabolic Engineering of Microalgae and Cyanobacteria. Biotechnol J 2020; 15:e1900228. [DOI: 10.1002/biot.201900228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2019] [Revised: 02/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- I‐Son Ng
- Department of Chemical EngineeringNational Cheng Kung University Tainan 701 Taiwan
| | - Batuhan Birol Keskin
- Department of Chemical EngineeringNational Cheng Kung University Tainan 701 Taiwan
| | - Shih‐I Tan
- Department of Chemical EngineeringNational Cheng Kung University Tainan 701 Taiwan
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