Biochemical and Biomolecular Engineering Commons^™

Acquisition Of Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope For Biological And Materials Research, Stephen M. Shaler, Seth Shaler, Susan Brawley, Carol H. Kim, Paul J. Millard

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Biological and Materials research at the University of Maine will be strongly impacted by the acquisition of a Laser Scanning Electron Microscope as a result of this NSF-MRI award. The Leica confocal unit, along with an upright and inverted microscope and digital camera will form a multi-user facility for campus researchers working with a range of biological and materials problems. Initially, 13 faculty members from 8 academic departments have projects planned for the instrument. The microscope will be the first of its kind on the University of Maine campus.

A wide range of research problems will be attacked through use …

An Approach To Sequence Dna Without Tagging, Sanjun Niu, Ravi F. Saraf

Papers in Biotechnology

Microarray technology is playing an increasingly important role in biology and medicine and its application to genomics for gene expression analysis has already reached the market with a variety of commercially available instruments. In these combinatorial analysis methods, known probe single-strand DNA (ssDNA) ‘primers’ are attached in clusters of typically 100 μm × 100 μm pixels. Each pixel of the array has a slightly different sequence. On exposure to ‘unknown’ target ssDNA, the pixels with the right complementary probe ssDNA sequence convert to double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) by a hybridization reaction. To transduct the conversion of the pixel to dsDNA, the …

Microbial Cellulose Utilization: Fundamentals And Biotechnology, Lee R. Lynd, Paul J. Weimer, Willem H. Van Zyl, Isak S. Pretorius

Dartmouth Scholarship

Fundamental features of microbial cellulose utilization are examined at successively higher levels of aggregation encompassing the structure and composition of cellulosic biomass, taxonomic diversity, cellulase enzyme systems, molecular biology of cellulase enzymes, physiology of cellulolytic microorganisms, ecological aspects of cellulase-degrading communities, and rate-limiting factors in nature. The methodological basis for studying microbial cellulose utilization is considered relative to quantification of cells and enzymes in the presence of solid substrates as well as apparatus and analysis for cellulose-grown continuous cultures. Quantitative description of cellulose hydrolysis is addressed with respect to adsorption of cellulase enzymes, rates of enzymatic hydrolysis, bioenergetics of microbial …

Fluoride Release From Model Glass Ionomer Cements, A. Guida, R. G. Hill, Mark R. Towler, S. Eramo

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Glass ionomer cements (GICs) are an important class of biomedical material used extensively for color matched mercury free, dental restorations. GICs can release clinically beneficial amounts of fluoride and have acceptable handling properties which make them suitable as dental restoratives. The fluoride release of model GICs produced from specially synthesized fluoro-alumino-silicate glasses was studied. Nine glasses of varying fluoride content based on 4.5SiO₂-3Al₂O₃-1.5P₂O₅-(5-Z)CaO-ZCaF₂ were synthesized, and cement disks were prepared from them. The glass transition temperature reduced with increasing fluorine content of the glass. Fluoride ion release was measured …

A Preliminary Study Of An Aluminum-Free Glass Polyalkenoate Cement, Mark R. Towler, C. M. Crowley, D. Murphy, A. M.C. O'Callaghan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Cfd Of Multiphase Flow In Packed-Bed Reactors: Ii. Results And Applications, Y. Jiang, M. R. Khadilkar, M. (Muthanna) H. Al-Dahhan, M. P. Dudukovic

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Numerical Simulations of Multiphase Flow using the K-Fluid CFD Model Described in Part I of This Issue Are Presented for Packed Beds at Various Operating Conditions. Both Steady-State and Unsteady-State (E.g., Periodic Operation) Feed Conditions Were Studied Numerically. Predictions of the K-Fluid CFD Model Are Comparable with the Experimental Data in the Literature for Liquid Upflow in a Cylindrical Packed Bed. in Addition to the Mean Porosity and the Longitudinally Averaged Radial Porosity Profile, the Variance of the Porosity Distribution is Needed for Predicting the Probability Density Function of the Sectional Flow Velocity. in the Trickling Flow Regime, the K-Fluid …

Cfd Of Multiphase Flow In Packed-Bed Reactors: I. K-Fluid Modeling Issues, Y. Jiang, M. R. Khadilkar, M. (Muthanna) H. Al-Dahhan, M. P. Dudukovic

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Eulerian K-Fluid CFD Model Was Used to Simulate the Macroscale Multiphase Flow in Packed Beds. the Geometric Complexity of the Bed Structure is Resolved by Statistically Describing the Porosity Distribution. the Complicated Multiphase Interactions Are Computed using the Ergun Type of Formula Developed based on Bench-Scale Hydrodynamic Experiments. the Work is Presented in Two Sequential Articles. Part I Discusses Implementation Issues of the K-Fluid CFD Model for Packed Beds. the Drag Exchange Coefficients Are Obtained from the Model of Holub Et Al. for the Particle-Fluid Interfaces Xks and from the Model of Attou Et Al. (1999) for the Gas …

Thermal Analysis Of Fly Ashes Sourced From European Non-Blended Coals, Kenneth T. Stanton, Mark R. Towler, Patrick Mooney, Robert G. Hill, Xavier Querol

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fly ashes exist as a mixture of major amorphous phases and minor crystalline phases. For commercial applications, such as in concretes and for the production of zeolites, it would be desirable to be able to predict the reactivity of fly ashes. The amorphous phase dominates degradation behaviour, because glasses have a higher potential energy than the equivalent crystal structure and the variation of bond angles and distances in a glass make the bond breakage easier. Despite the large quantities of fly ash produced annually by coal-burning power plants, there have been very few studies investigating the microstructure and composition of …

Thermodynamics And Bioenergetics, Yaşar Demirel, Stanley I. Sandler

Papers in Thermal Mechanics

Bioenergetics is concerned with the energy conservation and conversion processes in a living cell, particularly in the inner membrane of the mitochondrion. This review summarizes the role of thermodynamics in understanding the coupling between the chemical reactions and the transport of substances in bioenergetics. Thermodynamics has the advantages of identifying possible pathways, providing a measure of the efficiency of energy conversion, and of the coupling between various processes without requiring a detailed knowledge of the underlying mechanisms. In the last five decades, various new approaches in thermodynamics, non-equilibrium thermodynamics and network thermodynamics have been developed to understand the transport and …

Thermodynamics And Bioenergetics, Yaşar Demirel, Stanley I. Sandler

Papers in Thermal Mechanics

Bioenergetics is concerned with the energy conservation and conversion processes in a living cell, particularly in the inner membrane of the mitochondrion. This review summarizes the role of thermodynamics in understanding the coupling between the chemical reactions and the transport of substances in bioenergetics. Thermodynamics has the advantages of identifying possible pathways, providing a measure of the efficiency of energy conversion, and of the coupling between various processes without requiring a detailed knowledge of the underlying mechanisms. In the last five decades, various new approaches in thermodynamics, non-equilibrium thermodynamics and network thermodynamics have been developed to understand the transport and …

Expression Of Active Human Factor Ix In Mammary Tissue And Of Milk Non Human Transgenic Mammals , William H. Velander, William N. Drohan

Papers in Biotechnology

Recombinant Factor IX characterized by a high percentage of active protein can be obtained in the milk of transgenic animals that incorporate chimeric DNA molecules according to the present invention. Transgenic animals of the present invention are produced by introducing into developing embryos DNA that encodes Factor IX, such that the foreign DNA is stably incorporated in the DNA of germ line cells of the mature animal. Particularly efficient expression was accomplished using a chimeric construct comprising a mammary gland specific promoter, Factor IX cDNA that lacked the complete or any portion of the 5'-untranslated and 3'-untranslated region, which is …

Biological Reduction Of Perchlorate In Ion Exchange Regenerant Solutions Containing High Salinity And Ammonium Levels, Tina M. Gingras, Jacimaria R. Batista

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

The most promising technologies to remove perchlorate from water are ion exchange and biological reduction. Although successful, ion exchange only separates perchlorate from water; it does not eliminate it from the environment. The waste streams from these systems contain the caustic or saline regenerant solutions used in the process as well as high levels of perchlorate. Biological reduction could be used to treat the regenerant waste solutions from the ion exchange process. A treatment scheme, combining ion exchange and biodegradation, is proposed to completely remove perchlorate from the environment. Perchlorate-laden resins generate brines containing salt concentrations up to 6% or …

Ultrafast Flow Quantification With Segmented K-Space Magnetic Resonance Phase Velocity Mapping, Haosen Zhang, Sandra S. Halliburton, James R. Moore, Orlando P. Simonetti, Paulo R. Schvartzman, Richard D. White, George P. Chatzimavroudis

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Magnetic resonance (MR) phase-velocity mapping (PVM) is routinely being used clinically to measure blood flow velocity. Conventional nonsegmented PVM is accurate but relatively slow (3–5 min per measurement). Ultrafast k-space segmented PVM offers much shorter acquisitions (on the order of seconds instead of minutes). The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of segmented PVM in quantifying flow from through-plane velocity measurements. Experiments were performed using four straight tubes (inner diameter of 5.6–26.2 mm), under a variety of steady (1.7–200 ml/s) and pulsatile (6–90 ml/cycle) flow conditions. Two different segmented PVM schemes were …

Modelling Of The Glass Phase In Fly Ashes Using Network Connectivity Theory, Mark R. Towler, Kenneth T. Stanton, Patrick Mooney, Robert G. Hill, Natalia Moreno, Xavier Querol

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The amorphous phase of fly ash dominates degradation behaviour because glass has a higher potential energy than the equivalent crystal structure and the variation of bond angles and distances in a glass make the bond breakage easier. It would be advantageous to predict the presence and subsequent degradability of glass on the basis of the solid-state chemistry of the fly ash. To this end, and inorganic polymer model was applied to a selection of European fly ashes to determine the value known as cross-link density (CLD). A cross-link density value of less than two implies that the material is amorphous …