Membrane technology has become an indispensable part of our daily lives. The rapid growth membrane been breeding unavoidable yet critical challenge─the unsustainable disposal used membranes. Commercial polymer membranes are fabricated from fossil-based monomers and polymers that not biodegradable. Hence, there is urgent need to develop sustainable cradle grave, i.e., both bioderived Cellulose o...

The ability of a variety of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes to retain the natural hormone estrone are examined here as a function of solution conditions. While size exclusion dominates retention with the tighter membranes, both size exclusion and adsorptive effects appear to be instrumental in maintaining high retention on nanofiltration membranes that otherwise exhibit relatively ...

Two nanofiltration membranes, a Dow NF 270 polyamide thin film and a TriSep TS 80 polyamide thin film, were investigated for their retention of ionic species when filtering mine influenced water streams at a range of acidic pH values. The functional iso-electric point of the membranes, characterized by changes in retention over a small pH range, were examined by filtering solutions of sodium su...

Ninety-six strains of Candida, including 29 resistant and 67 susceptible isolates with mutations in the FKS1 and FKS2 genes were tested by the European Committee on Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing EDef 7.1 and 7.2 methodologies to determine the impact on the MIC when water was replaced with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as the solvent for caspofungin and micafungin. The MICs were significantly lo...

The development of organometallic catalysts with high activity and selectivity has transformed the way both bulk and fine chemicals are produced. When such catalysts are applied in fine chemicals production, the presence of toxic heavy metals in these catalysts (Pd, Pt, Ru, Rh, etc.) can pose significant separation challenges. Regulatory bodies (such as the FDA and EMA) require that many popula...

The MICs of ciprofloxacin for 33 clinical isolates of K. pneumoniae resistant to extended-spectrum cephalosporins from three hospitals in Singapore ranged from 0.25 to >128 microg/ml. Nineteen of the isolates were fluoroquinolone resistant according to the NCCLS guidelines. Strains for which the ciprofloxacin MIC was >or=0.5 microg/ml harbored a mutation in DNA gyrase A (Ser83-->Tyr, Leu, or II...

Membrane technology, i.e., ultrafiltration and nanofiltration, is growing in popularity, as it is a space efficient alternative for surface water treatment. Two types of hollow fiber membranes were tested in a fully equipped and automated pilot at a Swedish water treatment plant. Raw water was treated by a nanofilter and by coagulation before an ultrafilter. Operation parameters recorded during...

Microorganisms have mechanisms that enable them to tolerate lethal concentrations of toxic compounds. This feature has been exploited in a wide range of bioprocesses that range from bioremediation applications to production of fine chemicals in two-phase reaction media. The ability to modify the physical properties of cellular membranes has long been put forward as a protection mechanism that e...