Machine learning-informed and synthetic biology-enabled semi-continuous algal cultivation to unleash renewable fuel productivity

Algal biofuel is regarded as one of the ultimate solutions for renewable energy, but its commercialization is hindered by growth limitations caused by mutual shading and high harvest costs. We overcome these challenges by advancing machine learning to inform the design of a semi-continuous algal cultivation (SAC) to sustain optimal cell growth and minimize mutual shading. An aggregation-based sedimentation (ABS) strategy is then designed to achieve low-cost biomass harvesting and economical SAC. The ABS is achieved by engineering a fast-growing strain, Synechococcus elongatus UTEX 2973, to produce limonene, which increases cyanobacterial cell surface hydrophobicity and enables efficient cell aggregation and sedimentation. SAC unleashes cyanobacterial growth potential with 0.1 g/L/hour biomass productivity and 0.2 mg/L/hour limonene productivity over a sustained period in photobioreactors. Scaling-up the SAC with an outdoor pond system achieves a biomass yield of 43.3 g/m²/day, bringing the minimum biomass selling price down to approximately $281 per ton.

Growth limitation caused by mutual shading and the high harvest cost hamper algal biofuel production. Here, the authors overcome these two problems by designing a semi-continuous algal cultivation system and an aggregation-based sedimentation strategy to achieve high levels production of biomass and limonene.

Selective Oxidation of Polysulfide Latexes to Produce Polysulfoxide and Polysulfone in a Waterborne Environment

Polymers containing sulfur centers with high oxidation states in the main chain, polysulfoxide and polysulfone, display desirable properties such as thermomechanical and chemical stability. To circumvent their challenging direct synthesis, methods based on the oxidation of a parent polysulfide have been developed but are plagued by uncontrolled reactions, leading either to ill-defined mixtures of polysulfoxides and polysulfones or to polysulfones with reduced degrees of polymerization due to overoxidation of the polymer. We developed an alternative method to produce well-defined polysulfoxide and polysulfone in a waterborne colloidal emulsion using different oxidants to control the oxidation state of sulfur in the final materials. The direct oxidation of water-based polysulfide latexes avoided the use of volatile organic solvents and allowed for the control of the oxidation state of the sulfur atoms. Oxidation of parent polysulfides by tert-butyl hydroperoxide led to the production of pure polysulfoxides, even after 70 days of reaction time. Additionally, hydrogen peroxide produced both species through the course of the reaction but yielded fully converted polysulfones after 24 h. By employing mild oxidants, our approach controlled the oxidation state of the sulfur atoms in the final sulfur-containing polymer and prevented any overoxidation, thus ensuring the integrity of the polymer chains and colloidal stability of the system. We also verified the selectivity, versatility, and robustness of the method by applying it to polysulfides of different chemical compositions and structures. The universality demonstrated by this method makes it a powerful yet simple platform for the design of sulfur-containing polymers and nanoparticles.

The effect of THF and the chelating modifier DTHFP on the copolymerisation of β-myrcene and styrene: kinetics, microstructures, morphologies, and mechanical properties

Polar modifiers strongly affect the statistical anionic copolymerization of biobased β-myrcene with styrene, leading to a variety of morphologies.

Development, Processing and Applications of a UV-Curable Polymer with Surface Active Thiol Groups

We present here a novel resist formulation with active thiol groups at the surface. The material is UV curable, and can be patterned at the micro- and nanoscale by UV nanoimprint lithography. The resist formulation development, its processing, patterning and surface characterization are presented here. In addition, a possible application, including its use to modify the electrical properties of graphene devices is shown. The cured material is highly transparent, intrinsically hydrophilic and can be made more hydrophilic following a UV-ozone or an O₂ plasma activation. We evaluated the hydrophilicity of the polymer for different polymer formulations and curing conditions. In addition, a protocol for patterning of the polymer in the micro and nanoscale by nanoimprinting is given and preliminary etching rates together with the polymer selectivity are measured. The main characteristic and unique advantage of the polymer is that it has thiol functional groups at the surface and in the bulk after curing. These groups allow for direct surface modifications with thiol-based chemistry e.g., thiol-ene reactions. We prove the presence of the thiol groups by Raman spectroscopy and perform a thiol-ene reaction to show the potential of the easy “click chemistry”. This opens the way for very straightforward surface chemistry on nanoimprinted polymer samples. Furthermore, we show how the polymer improves the electrical properties of a graphene field effect transistor, allowing for optimal performance at ambient conditions.

Active quinine-based films able to release antimicrobial compounds via melt quaternization at low temperature

The fabrication of antibacterial films based on renewable materials (e.g., chitosan) has attracted significant interest in fields such as food packaging, health care and medicine. However, exploiting the antibacterial properties of cinchona alkaloids to design active nanostructured films able to release quinine-based antimicrobial compounds has not been considered previously. Herein, we develop two different routes to produce active quinine-based nanostructured cross-linked films by exploiting the multiple reactive sites of quinine and, specifically, both the nitrogen atom and the vinyl group of the quinuclidine portion of the molecule, as well as their corresponding orthogonal quaternization and thiol-ene coupling reactions. The first synthetic strategy produces stiff and brittle nanostructured quinine-based films of limited utility for practical applications. Conversely, the second approach produces active, flexible and nanostructured quinine-based films (T_g = -14 °C, Young's modulus = 1.3 GPa), which are able to release antimicrobial compounds against E. coli that, remarkably, are noncytotoxic against mouse macrophage and human dermal fibroblast cells. These kinds of active cinchona alkaloid-based coatings are easy to prepare by means of simple, solvent-free, melt quaternization/spreading procedures at a relatively low temperature (120 °C), making this second approach one of the most facile reported procedures to date to produce active nanostructured bio-based films.

Bio-derived polymers for coating applications: comparing poly(limonene carbonate) and poly(cyclohexadiene carbonate)

Two fully bio-based polycarbonates, poly(limonene carbonate) and poly(cylcohexadiene carbonate), were post-functionalized via thiol–ene reactions and tested as future coating materials.

Biocomposites from Natural Rubber: Synergistic Effects of Functionalized Cellulose Nanocrystals as Both Reinforcing and Cross-Linking Agents via Free-Radical Thiol-ene Chemistry

Natural rubber/cellulose nanocrystals (NR/CNCs) form true biocomposites from renewable resources and are demonstrated to show significantly improved thermo-mechanical properties and reduced stress-softening. The nanocomposites were prepared from chemically functionalized CNCs bearing thiols. CNCs served as both reinforcing and cross-linking agents in the NR matrix, and the study was designed to prove the cross-linking function of modified CNCs. CNCs were prepared from cotton, and the cross-linkable mercapto-groups were introduced onto the surface of CNCs by esterification. Nanocomposite films were prepared by dispersing the modified CNCs (m-CNCs) in NR matrix by solution casting. The cross-links at the filler-matrix (m-CNCs-NR) interface were generated by photochemically initiated thiol-ene reactions as monitored by real-time FTIR analysis. The synergistic effects of reinforcement and chemical cross-linking at the m-CNCs-NR interface on structure, thermo-mechanical, and stress-softening behavior were investigated. Methods included field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), swelling tests, dynamic mechanical analysis, and tensile tests. Compared to biocomposites from NR with unmodified CNCs, the NR/m-CNCs nanocomposites showed 2.4-fold increase in tensile strength, 1.6-fold increase in strain-to-failure, and 2.9-fold increase in work-of-fracture at 10 wt % of m-CNCs in NR.