A sulfonated polyethersulfone (SPES)/polyethersulfone (PES) blend catalytic membrane was prepared and used as a heterogeneous catalyst in the esterification of the acidified oil (acid value 153 mg KOH/g) with methanol for producing biodiesel. The results showed that the free fatty acids conversion reached 97.6% using SPES/PES catalytic membrane under the optimal esterification conditions. Meanw...

Measuring small molecule interactions with membrane proteins in single cells is critical for understanding many cellular processes and for screening drugs. However, developing such a capability has been a difficult challenge. We show that molecular interactions with membrane proteins induce a mechanical deformation in the cellular membrane, and real-time monitoring of the deformation with subna...

For the first time, based on joint application of fine-porous and cell models, a theoretical analysis changing transport structural characteristics heterogeneous polymeric ion-exchange membranes (IEMs) MK-40, MA-40, MA-41 after exposure to elevated temperatures in water aggressive media (H2SO4 NaOH solutions), as well long-term processing electrodialyzers various types, was carried out. The stu...

Liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy (LPTEM) is an essential tool for studying the dynamics of materials interactions at nanoscale, in and/or with their operational environment. Microfabricated SiN x membrane cells further allow integration thin-film electrodes that opens technique to studies heterogeneous electrocatalysts under relevant electrochemical conditions. However, experiments...

The hydrodynamic theory of heterogeneous fluid membranes is extended to the case of a membrane adjacent to a solid substrate. We derive the coupling diffusion coefficients of pairs of membrane inclusions in the limit of large separation compared to the inclusion size. Two-dimensional compressive stresses in the membrane make the coupling coefficients decay asymptotically as 1/r(2) with interpar...

A justification of heterogeneous membrane models as zero-thickness limits of a cylindral three-dimensional heterogeneous nonlinear hyperelastic body is proposed in the spirit of Le Dret (1995). Specific characterizations of the 2D elastic energy are produced. As a generalization of Bouchitté et al. (2002), the case where external loads induce a density of bending moment that produces a Cosserat...

Electrodialysis is an innovative technique to reclaim phosphates from municipal wastewater. However, chemical reactions accompany the transport of these ions through ion-exchange membranes. The present study investigates dependence phenomena on initial pH and concentration phosphate-containing solution using a heterogeneous anion-exchange membrane. Linear sweep voltammetry, electrochemical impe...

We report that atomic force microscopy based high-speed nanomechanical analysis can identify components of complex heterogeneous synthetic and biological membranes from the measured spectrum of nanomechanical properties. We have investigated phase separated ternary lipid bilayers and purple membranes of Halobacterium salinarum. The nanomechanical spectra recorded on these samples identify all m...

Influenza A viruses (IAVs) initiate infection via binding of the viral hemagglutinin (HA) to sialylated glycans on host cells. HA’s receptor specificity towards individual is well studied and clearly critical for virus infection, but contribution highly heterogeneous complex glycocalyx virus–cell adhesion remains elusive. Here, we use two complementary methods, glycan arrays single-virus force ...

Self-assembly of biological molecules and structures is a fundamental property life. Whereas most functions are based on self-assembled proteins protein complexes, the self-assembly lipids important for spatial organization heterogeneous cellular reaction environments to catalyze cooperative interactions on/with membranes. Lipid domains or “rafts”, which known selectively recruit proteins, play...