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Engineering Principles (engineering + principle)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Polymers and Materials Science50%

Selected Abstracts

Will humans swim faster or slower in syrup?

AICHE JOURNAL, Issue 11 2004
Brian Gettelfinger
Abstract Foreword The scientific and engineering principles that underlie chemical engineering can also be used to understand a wide variety of other phenomena, including in areas not thought of as being central to our profession. As such applications might be of interest to our readers, we will consider brief submissions for publication in this category as R&D notes. These submissions will undergo review, and novelty will be an important factor in reaching an editorial decision. The first such article, "Will Humans Swim Faster or Slower in Syrup?" by Brian Gettelfinger and associate editor Ed Cussler, appears in this issue. Stanley I. Sandler Editor [source]

Design and Implementation of a Novel Quench Flow Reactor for the Study of Nascent Olefin Polymerisation

MACROMOLECULAR REACTION ENGINEERING, Issue 2 2007
Audrey Di Martino
Abstract A novel stopped flow reactor system is described in the current work, along with the underlying design philosophy. While the concept of stopped flow technology is not recent, this system is the first to be designed with the objective of studying particle morphology, and to work at extremely short (40 ms) residence times. It is shown that traditional chemical engineering principles are required to properly design and operate this type of reactor, and that when correctly design, it is a very flexible tool for the study of nascent polymerisation of olefins. [source]

Biodegradable polymers applied in tissue engineering research: a review

POLYMER INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2007
Monique Martina
Abstract Typical applications and research areas of polymeric biomaterials include tissue replacement, tissue augmentation, tissue support, and drug delivery. In many cases the body needs only the temporary presence of a device/biomaterial, in which instance biodegradable and certain partially biodegradable polymeric materials are better alternatives than biostable ones. Recent treatment concepts based on scaffold-based tissue engineering principles differ from standard tissue replacement and drug therapies as the engineered tissue aims not only to repair but also regenerate the target tissue. Cells have been cultured outside the body for many years; however, it has only recently become possible for scientists and engineers to grow complex three-dimensional tissue grafts to meet clinical needs. New generations of scaffolds based on synthetic and natural polymers are being developed and evaluated at a rapid pace, aimed at mimicking the structural characteristics of natural extracellular matrix. This review focuses on scaffolds made of more recently developed synthetic polymers for tissue engineering applications. Currently, the design and fabrication of biodegradable synthetic scaffolds is driven by four material categories: (i) common clinically established polymers, including polyglycolide, polylactides, polycaprolactone; (ii) novel di- and tri-block polymers; (iii) newly synthesized or studied polymeric biomaterials, such as polyorthoester, polyanhydrides, polyhydroxyalkanoate, polypyrroles, poly(ether ester amide)s, elastic shape-memory polymers; and (iv) biomimetic materials, supramolecular polymers formed by self-assembly, and matrices presenting distinctive or a variety of biochemical cues. This paper aims to review the latest developments from a scaffold material perspective, mainly pertaining to categories (ii) and (iii) listed above. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry [source]

Characterization of electrochemically active bacteria utilizing a high-throughput voltage-based screening assay

BIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING, Issue 2 2009
Justin Biffinger
Abstract Metal reduction assays are traditionally used to select and characterize electrochemically active bacteria (EAB) for use in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). However, correlating the ability of a microbe to generate current from an MFC to the reduction of metal oxides has not been definitively established in the literature. As these metal reduction assays may not be generally reliable, here we describe a four- to nine-well prototype high throughput voltage-based screening assay (VBSA) designed using MFC engineering principles and a universal cathode. Bacterial growth curves for Shewanella oneidensis strains DSP10 and MR-1 were generated directly from changes in open circuit voltage and current with five percent deviation calculated between each well. These growth curves exhibited a strong correlation with literature doubling times for Shewanella indicating that the VBSA can be used to monitor distinct fundamental properties of EAB life cycles. In addition, eight different organic electron donors (acetate, lactate, citrate, fructose, glucose, sucrose, soluble starch, and agar) were tested with S. oneidensis MR-1 in anode chambers exposed to air. Under oxygen exposure, we found that current was generated in direct response to additions of acetate, lactate, and glucose. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009;102: 436,444. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]