Digital Commons Network^™

Machine Learning Applications In Malware Classification: A Metaanalysis Literature Review, Tjada Nelson, Austin O'Brien, Cherie Noteboom

Research & Publications

With a text mining and bibliometrics approach, this study reviews the literature on the evolution of malware classification using machine learning. This work takes literature from 2008 to 2022 on the subject of using machine learning for malware classification to understand the impact of this technology on malware classification. Throughout this study, we seek to answer three main research questions: RQ1: Is the application of machine learning for malware classification growing? RQ2: What is the most common machine-learning application for malware classification? RQ3: What are the outcomes of the most common machine learning applications? The analysis of 2186 articles resulting …

Process Intensification Strategies For Green Solvent Mediated Biomass Pretreatment, Ahamed Ullah, Yuxuan Zhang, Can Liu, Qi Qiao, Qing Shao, Jian Shi

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Demonstrated to be highly effective for lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment, deep eutectic solvent (DES) has attracted increasing attention owing to its advantages of simple synthesis, relatively low chemical cost, and better biocompatibility as compared to certain ionic liquids. Here we provide a critical review of the status of the design/selection of DES for the pretreatment of biomass feedstocks with an emphasis on the process intensification strategies: 1) integration of microwave, ultrasound, and high solid extrusion for pretreating biomass, 2) one-pot DES pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation, 3) strategies for DES recycling and product recovery; and 4) recent progress on molecular simulations …

Natural Organic Materials Based Memristors And Transistors For Artificial Synaptic Devices In Sustainable Neuromorphic Computing Systems, Md Mehedi Hasan Tanim, Zoe Templin, Feng Zhao

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Natural organic materials such as protein and carbohydrates are abundant in nature, renewable, and biodegradable, desirable for the construction of artificial synaptic devices for emerging neuromorphic computing systems with energy efficient operation and environmentally friendly disposal. These artificial synaptic devices are based on memristors or transistors with the memristive layer or gate dielectric formed by natural organic materials. The fundamental requirement for these synaptic devices is the ability to mimic the memory and learning behaviors of biological synapses. This paper reviews the synaptic functions emulated by a variety of artificial synaptic devices based on natural organic materials and provides a …

Design And Applications Of Fmoc-Histidine And Aspartic Acid Tripeptides As Proton Conductive Materials, Shejla S. Pollozi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The increasing demand for clean and sustainable energy has driven forward rapid improvements in polymer-electrolyte fuel cells and the use of ion-conducting polymers (ionomers) as proton exchange membranes and catalyst binders. While perfluorinated electrolytes have been commercially used as conductive membranes for nearly four decades, a new class of sustainable, conductive materials has emerged, inspired by the efficiency of charge transport processes in biological systems. These molecules, knows as peptide amphiphiles (PAs), have gained popularity as building blocks for the bottom-up fabrication of nanomaterials through supramolecular self-assembly. Supramolecular nanostructures, often in the form of hydrogels, are held together via non-covalent …

Curcumin Release From Biomaterials For Enhanced Tissue Regeneration Following Injury Or Disease, Adelle E. Hamilton, Ryan J. Gilbert

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Curcumin, a bioactive phenol derived from turmeric, is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial molecule. Although curcumin exhibits beneficial effects in its innate form, it is highly hydrophobic, which leads to poor water solubility and, consequently, low bioavailability. The lack of bioavailability limits curcumin's effectiveness as a treatment and restricts its use in clinical applications. Furthermore, to achieve beneficial, clinically relevant results, high doses of curcumin are required for systemic administration. Many researchers have utilized biomaterial carriers, including electrospun fibers, nanoparticles, hydrogels, and composite scaffolds, to overcome curcumin's principle therapeutic limitation of low bioavailability. By using biomaterials to deliver curcumin directly …

Mathematical Modeling Of Microscale Biology: Ion Pairing, Spatially Varying Permittivity, And Born Energy In Glycosaminoglycan Brushes, William J. Ceely, Marina Chugunova, Ali Nadim, James D. Sterling

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Biological macromolecules including nucleic acids, proteins, and glycosaminoglycans are typically anionic and can span domains of up to hundreds of nanometers and even micron length scales. The structures exist in crowded environments that are dominated by multivalent electrostatic interactions that can be modeled using mean-field continuum approaches that represent underlying molecular nanoscale biophysics. We develop such models for glycosaminoglycan brushes using steady state modified Poisson-Boltzmann models that incorporate important ion-specific (Hofmeister) effects. The results quantify how electroneutrality is attained through ion electrophoresis, spatially varying permittivity hydration forces, and ion-specific pairing. Brush-salt interfacial profiles of the electrostatic potential as well as …

Gasdermin D Deficiency In Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Ameliorates Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Through Reducing Putrescine Synthesis, Jianing Gao, Yanghui Chen, Huiqing Wang, Xin Li, Ke Li, Yangkai Xu, Xianwei Xie, Yansong Guo, Nana Yang, Xinhua Zhang, Dong Ma, Hong S. Lu, Ying H. Shen, Yong Liu, Jifeng Zhang, Y. Eugene Chen, Alan Daugherty, Dao Wen Wang, Lemin Zheng

Saha Cardiovascular Research Center Faculty Publications

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a common vascular disease associated with significant phenotypic alterations in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Gasdermin D (GSDMD) is a pore-forming effector of pyroptosis. In this study, the role of VSMC-specific GSDMD in the phenotypic alteration of VSMCs and AAA formation is determined. Single-cell transcriptome analyses reveal Gsdmd upregulation in aortic VSMCs in angiotensin (Ang) II-induced AAA. VSMC-specific Gsdmd deletion ameliorates Ang II-induced AAA in apolipoprotein E (ApoE)−/− mice. Using untargeted metabolomic analysis, it is found that putrescine is significantly reduced in the plasma and aortic tissues of VSMC-specific GSDMD deficient mice. High putrescine levels …

Salt Doping Of Hyaluronic Acid Glycopolymer Biocondensates, James D. Sterling, Lu Fu, Kenisha Pudun, Shenda Baker, Megan Lord, Henry E. Riggs

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Biocondensates are largely studied with regard to intracellular components, while recognition of the formation of extracellular biocondensates are emerging, such as for cell surface heparan sulfate binding with basic fibroblast growth factor. This study analyzed the formation of biocondensates in vitro between the ubiquitous extracellular component, hyaluronan an anionic glycosaminoglycan, and cationic derivitized polyglucosamines known to bind to mucosal interfaces. The effect of molecular weight and net charge ratio was studied using a combination of microscopy, turbidity, laser diffraction particle sizing and zeta potential measurements. These analyses revealed that molecular weight affected the ability to form biocondensates while the surface …

Steering Particles Via Micro-Actuation Of Chemical Gradients Using Model Predictive Control, Mark N. Mcdonald, Cameron K. Peterson, Douglas R. Tree

Faculty Publications

Biological systems rely on chemical gradients to direct motion through both chemotaxis and signaling, but synthetic approaches for doing the same are still relatively naïve. Consequently, we present a novel method for using chemical gradients to manipulate the position and velocity of colloidal particles in a microfluidic device. Specifically, we show that a set of spatially localized chemical reactions that are sufficiently controllable can be used to steer colloidal particles via diffusiophoresis along an arbitrary trajectory. To accomplish this, we develop a control method for steering colloidal particles with chemical gradients using nonlinear model predictive control with a model based …

Using Nanomaterials As Excellent Immobilisation Layer For Biosensor Design, Azeez Olayiwola Idris, Seyi Philemon Akanji, Benjamin O. Orimolade, Foluke Omobola Grace Olorundare, Shohreh Azizi, Bhekie Mamba, Malik Maaza

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The endless development in nanotechnology has introduced new vitality in device fabrication including biosensor design for biomedical applications. With outstanding features like suitable biocompatibility, good electrical and thermal conductivity, wide surface area and catalytic activity, nanomaterials have been considered excellent and promising immobilisation candidates for the development of high-impact biosensors after they emerged. Owing to these reasons, the present review deals with the efficient use of nanomaterials as immobilisation candidates for biosensor fabrication. These include the implementation of carbon nanomaterials—graphene and its derivatives, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanoparticles, carbon nanodots—and MXenes, likewise their synergistic impact when merged with metal oxide nanomaterials. …

Development Of A Porous Layer-By-Layer Microsphere With Branched Aliphatic Hydrocarbon Porogens, Farah Shahjin, Milankumar Patel, Mahmudul Hasan, Jacob D. Cohen, Farhana Islam, Md Ashaduzzaman, Mohammad Ullah Nayan, Mahadevan Subramaniam, You Zhou, Irene Andreu, Howard E. Gendelman, Bhavesh D. Kevadiya

Nebraska Center for Biotechnology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Porous polymer microspheres are employed in biotherapeutics, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. Porosity dictates cargo carriage and release that are aligned with the polymer physicochemical properties. These include material tuning, biodegradation, and cargo encapsulation. How uniformity of pore size affects therapeutic delivery remains an area of active investigation. Herein, we characterize six branched aliphatic hydrocarbon-based porogen(s) produced to create pores in single and multilayered microspheres. The porogens are composed of biocompatible polycaprolactone, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), and polylactic acid polymers within porous multilayered microspheres. These serve as controlled effective drug and vaccine delivery platforms.

Me-Em Enewsbrief, December 2022, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

A Simple Micromilled Microfluidic Impedance Cytometer With Vertical Parallel Electrodes For Cell Viability Analysis, Jason Eades, Julianne F. Audiffred, Micah Fincher, Jin Woo Choi, Steven A. Soper, William Todd Monroe

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Microfluidic impedance cytometry has been demonstrated as an effective platform for single cell analysis, taking advantage of microfabricated features and dielectric cell sensing methods. In this study, we present a simple microfluidic device to improve the sensitivity, accuracy, and throughput of single suspension cell viability analysis using vertical sidewall electrodes fabricated by a widely accessible negative manufacturing method. A microchannel milled through a 75 µm platinum wire, which was embedded into poly-methyl-methacrylate (PMMA), created a pair of parallel vertical sidewall platinum electrodes. Jurkat cells were interrogated in a custom low-conductivity buffer (1.2 ± 0.04 mS/cm) to reduce current leakage and …

Fibroblast-Generated Extracellular Matrix Guides Anastomosis During Wound Healing In An Engineered Lymphatic Skin Flap, Alvis Chiu, Wenkai Jia, Yumeng Sun, Jeremy Goldman, Feng Zhao

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

A healthy lymphatic system is required to return excess interstitial fluid back to the venous circulation. However, up to 49% of breast cancer survivors eventually develop breast cancer-related lymphedema due to lymphatic injuries from lymph node dissections or biopsies performed to treat cancer. While early-stage lymphedema can be ameliorated by manual lymph drainage, no cure exists for late-stage lymphedema when lymph vessels become completely dysfunctional. A viable late-stage treatment is the autotransplantation of functional lymphatic vessels. Here we report on a novel engineered lymphatic flap that may eventually replace the skin flaps used in vascularized lymph vessel transfers. The engineered …

Avionics Market Forecasting: Comparing The Performance Of Artificial Neural Networks Forecasting With Traditional Forecasting Techniques, Jason Alexander Hoop, Walter Rodriguez

International Journal of Aviation Sciences (IJAS)

Avionics can be thought of as the nervous system sustaining aircraft operations, and accurate forecasting is critical in predicting system demand. Modeled after their biological counterpart, artificial neural networks (ANNs) maintain the ability to recognize trends in chaotic and nonlinear systems. These models possess the capability to produce more accurate predictions than those of traditional forecasting methods. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of ANNs and detail the use of these techniques as a tool for forecasting in the avionics field. Furthermore, it introduces and examines several commonly used types of predictive ANNs. The performance …

Origami-Based Design Of Conceal-And-Reveal Systems, Bryce P. Defigueiredo, Kyler A. Tolman, Spencer P. Magleby, Nathan A. Pehrson, Erica Crampton, Larry L. Howell

Faculty Publications

This work introduces a type of motion termed “conceal-and-reveal” which is characterized by a state that protects a payload, a state that exposes the payload, and coupled motions between these two states. As techniques for thick, rigid origami-based engineering designs are being developed, origami is becoming increasingly more

attractive as inspiration for complex systems. This paper proposes a process for designing origami-based conceal- and-reveal systems, which can be generalized to design similar thick, rigid origami-based systems. The process

is demonstrated through the development of three conceal-and-reveal systems that present a luxury product to the consumer. The three designs also confirm …

Skeleton-Based Hand Gesture Recognition Using Data-Level Fusion, Oluwaleke Yusuf

Theses and Dissertations

Hand Gesture Recognition (HGR) is a form of perceptual computing that allows artificial systems to capture and interpret human gestures. HGR has applications in human-machine interaction, virtual reality, augmented reality, and human behavior analysis. The human hand can assume a near-infinite number of poses and orientations to form myriad gestures, thus increasing the difficulty of the HGR task.

The hand skeleton of connected joints effectively describes the hand’s geometric shape and thus contains richer semantic gesture information while eliminating noise from individual differences in physical hand characteristics. The efficacy and computational efficiency of skeleton-based HGR frameworks can be significantly enhanced …

An Artificial Intelligence Tool For The Selection Of Delay Analysis Technique In Construction, Mostafa Farouk

Theses and Dissertations

The increasing complexity and magnitude of projects impose greater impact of delays on stakeholders. Construction delays are a major source of disputes in construction projects. Since a construction project depends on interactions and shared responsibilities among parties, research works were directed toward identifying delay causes, quantifying their impacts, and proposing ways to deal with them. Several delay analysis techniques (DATs) are available, but when applied to the same project’s delays provide different results. Thus, the selection of the DAT to use in evaluating delays becomes vital. Reviewing the literature, it has been realized that often there are disagreements, which lead …

Electrochemical Sensors And Biosensors Of Biomarkers And Therapeutic Agents Detection, Mahmoud Abdelhakem

Theses and Dissertations

Electrochemical sensing is a pioneering tool amongst all other sensing techniques even though it had been started in the early 20th century. Due to their cost efficacy, accuracy, and real-time measurement, electrochemical sensing has been utilized in a vast of biomedical applications in therapeutic drug monitoring and biomarker detection. This thesis work concerned the monitoring of three therapeutic agents in spiked plasma, urine, dosage form, and interstitial skin fluid with high specificity and accuracy. Two of our sensing platforms utilized nanomaterials for sensing (sensors) of Cilostazol and Velpatasvir utilizing α-MnO2-V2O5 (metal oxide nanorods) and NH2- MIL-53 (Aluminum-based metal organic frameworks), …

Sra Inhibition Improves Antitumor Potency Of Antigen-Targeted Chaperone Vaccine, Jie Qian, Xiaofei Yu, Zheng Liu, Jinyang Cai, Masoud H. Manjili, Hu Yang, Chunqing Guo, Xiang Yang Wang

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We Have Previously Demonstrated that Scavenger Receptor a (SRA) Acts as an Immunosuppressive Regulator of Dendritic Cell (DC) Function in Activating Antitumor T Cells. Here We Investigate the Potential of Inhibiting SRA Activity to Enhance DC-Targeted Chaperone Vaccines Including One that Was Recently Evaluated in Melanoma Patients. We Show that Short Hairpin RNA-Mediated SRA Silencing Significantly Enhances the Immunogenicity of DCs that Have Captured Chaperone Vaccines Designed to Target Melanoma (I.e., Hsp110-Gp100) and Breast Cancer (I.e., Hsp110-HER/Neu-ICD). SRA Downregulation Results in Heightened Activation of Antigen-Specific T Cells and Increased CD8+ T Cell-Dependent Tumor Inhibition. Additionally, Small Interfering RNA (SiRNA) Complexed …

Non-Equilibrium Colloidal Phenomena In Magnetic Fields And Photoillumination: From Controlling Living Microbots To Understanding Microplastics, Ahmed Al Harraq

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Colloids are a ubiquitous class of materials composed of microscopic particles suspended in a continuous phase which are found in everyday products and in nature. Colloids are also useful models for studying the spontaneous arrangement of matter from individual building blocks to mesophases. Standard treatment of colloid science is based on the assumption of equilibrium conditions, as defined in traditional thermodynamics. However, novel assembly mechanisms and motility are unlocked by pushing colloids away from equilibrium using external energy. In addition, many colloids in nature and in industrial applications exchange energy and mass with the surrounding environment thus behaving in a …

The Visualization Of Orphadata Neurology Phenotypes, Daniel B. Hier, Raghu Yelugam, Michael D. Carrithers, Donald C. Wunsch

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Disease Phenotypes Are Characterized by Signs (What a Physician Observes during the Examination of a Patient) and Symptoms (The Complaints of a Patient to a Physician). Large Repositories of Disease Phenotypes Are Accessible through the Online Mendelian Inheritance of Man, Human Phenotype Ontology, and Orpha data Initiatives. Many of the Diseases in These Datasets Are Neurologic. for Each Repository, the Phenotype of Neurologic Disease is Represented as a List of Concepts of Variable Length Where the Concepts Are Selected from a Restricted Ontology. Visualizations of These Concept Lists Are Not Provided. We Address This Limitation by using Subsumption to Reduce …

Monitoring Fluid Migration Using In-Situ Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Core Flooding System Integrated With Fiber Optic Sensors: A Proof Of Concept, Bruno Da Silva Falcão, Lionel Esteban, Ausama Giwelli, Yevhen Kovalyshen, Stephen Banks, Ahmed Al-Yaseri, Alireza Keshavarz, Stefan Iglauer

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In-situ nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) core flooding system has enabled researchers to monitor several rock properties such as porosity, pore size distribution, and fluid saturation along the tested samples with high resolutions and under reservoir conditions. However, spatially resolved rock strength/mechanical property alteration coupled to fluid migration/substitution remains poorly characterized. To this end, Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) multiplex sensors were integrated with NMR core flooding system to monitor rock strength changes, or generally speaking, to observe hydro-mechanical-chemical coupling mechanisms during core flooding tests. In this study, we present a novel approach on how to conduct core flooding experiments, while simultaneously …

Is Feeding Algae To Lab- Grown Chicken The Future Of Agriculture?, Elise Barton, Melanie Mills, Britton Porter, Elizabeth Walker

Research on Capitol Hill

The goal of this ongoing research is to develop a more cost-effective process for culturing cells to produce synthetic or lab grown meat. Cellular agriculture is an emerging technology with potential to have a smaller energy footprint and decrease in land used for livestock compared to traditional meat production. Cellular agriculture will allow Utah to experience continued population growth without hampering the meat production of the state. However, currently the cost of producing synthetic meat is a constraint for expanding production and availability. This project is focused on testing various combinations of hydrolysates to determine a cost-effective alternative to current …

Polyethyleneimine Shell Nucleic Acid Nanostructures From Gold Nanoparticle Template For Chemotherapeutic Drug Delivery, Brendan Guy Rucci

Theses and Dissertations

The next generation of anticancer agents will emerge from rationally designed nanostructured materials. This work involved the synthesis and characterization of novel hollow DNA-conjugated gold nanoparticles (DNA-AuNPs) for controlled drug delivery. Polyethyleneimine (PEI) was bound to citrate-capped AuNPs, forming polymer-shell nanoparticles. Dissolution of the gold core via iodine formed hollow core polymeric nanoparticles (HCPPs) and a high density of DNA (85 molecules/particle) containing daunorubicin was conjugated. Particles were spherical with an average diameter of 105.7±17.3 nm and zeta potential of 20.4±3.54 mV. We hypothesize the DNA backbone electrostatically condensed to the primary amines on the surface of the particle toroidally, …

A 3d Bioprinted Hydrogel Microfluidic Device For Screening Applications, Anant Bhusal

Theses and Dissertations

The microfluidic enabled the integration of engineered miniaturized tissue models for drug screening. Conventional polydimethylsiloxane or plastic-based devices require multiple fabrication steps, which are challenging. We developed a 3D bioprinting approach to create prototypes of hydrogel-based multi-material microfluidic devices integrated with microtissue models. The approach utilizes poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate and gelatin-methacryloyl to create microfluidic chips using multi-material bioprinting capacity with a high resolution of 15µm on x-y and 50µm on the z-axis and post-printing viability of >90%. We demonstrated easy regulation of stiffness from 24±5 kPa to 1,180±9 kPa and burst pressure from 16±1kPa to 256±19 kPa in the chip …

Probing Dna Structural Heterogeneity By Identifying Conformational Subensembles Of A Bicovalently Bound Cyanine Dye, Matthew S. Barclay, Azhad U. Chowdhury, Austin Biaggne, Jonathan S. Huff, Nicholas D. Wright, Paul H. Davis, Lan Li, William B. Knowlton, Bernard Yurke, Ryan D. Pensack, Daniel B. Turner

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

DNA is a re-configurable, biological information-storage unit, and much remains to be learned about its heterogeneous structural dynamics. For example, while it is known that molecular dyes templated onto DNA exhibit increased photostability, the mechanism by which the structural dynamics of DNA affect the dye photophysics remains unknown. Here, we use femtosecond, two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy measurements of a cyanine dye, Cy5, to probe local conformations in samples of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA–Cy5), double-stranded DNA (dsDNA–Cy5), and Holliday junction DNA (HJ–DNA–Cy5). A line shape analysis of the 2D spectra reveals a strong excitation–emission correlation present in only the dsDNA–Cy5 complex, which is …

Co-Culture Models Of Endothelial Cells, Macrophages, And Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells For The Study Of The Natural History Of Atherosclerosis, Martin Liu, Saurabhi Samant, Charu Hasini Vasa, Ryan M. Pedrigi, Usama Oguz, Sangjin Ryu, Timothy Wei, Daniel R. Anderson, Devandra K. Agrawal, Yiannis Chatzizisis

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Background

This work aims to present a fast, affordable, and reproducible three-cell co-culture system that could represent the different cellular mechanisms of atherosclerosis, extending from atherogenesis to pathological intimal thickening.

Methods and results

We built four culture models: (i) Culture model #1 (representing normal arterial intima), where human coronary artery endothelial cells were added on top of Matrigel-coated collagen type I matrix, (ii) Culture model #2 (representing atherogenesis), which demonstrated the subendothelial accumulation and oxidative modification of low-density lipoproteins (LDL), (iii) Culture model #3 (representing intimal xanthomas), which demonstrated the monocyte adhesion to the endothelial cell monolayer, transmigration into the …

Development Opportunities And Technical Challenges Of Industrialization For Hydrogen Production From Bio-Ethanol Reforming, Xue Han, Hong He, Guojun Yue, Hailong Lin, Jinsong Liu, Bin Yu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Bio-ethanol reforming for hydrogen production, using renewable raw materials and adopting mature and efficient chemical processes, is an important source of green hydrogen supply to achieve the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Bio-ethanol is a widely used substitute for fossil fuels. With the continuous progress of cellulosic ethanol technology in recent years, bio-ethanol will gradually break through the constraints of starch-based raw material supply. Based on the industrialization achievements of hydrogen production and bio-ethanol, bio-ethanol reforming can realize a rapid linkage with the existing hydrogen energy industry. However, the existence of a carbon-carbon signal bond in ethanol poses …

Adsorptive Properties And On-Demand Magnetic Response Of Lignin@Fe3o4 Nanoparticles At Castor Oil–Water Interfaces, Mohammad J. Hasan, Emily Westphal, Peng Chen, Abishek Saini, I-Wei Chu, Sarah J. Watzman, Esteban E. Ureña-Benavides, Erick S. Vasquez

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Lignin@Fe3O4 nanoparticles adsorb at oil–water interfaces, form Pickering emulsions, induce on-demand magnetic responses to break emulsions, and can sequester oil from water. Lignin@Fe3O4 nanoparticles were prepared using a pH-induced precipitation method and were fully characterized. These were used to prepare Pickering emulsions with castor oil/Sudan red G dye and water at various oil/water volume ratios and nanoparticle concentrations. The stability and demulsification of the emulsions under different magnetic fields generated with permanent magnets (0–540 mT) were investigated using microscopy images and by visual inspection over time. The results showed that the Pickering emulsions were more stable at the castor oil/water …