Dr. Xuan Luo has a biotechnology and nanotechnology background. She received her Ph.D. from Flinders University-2019. For her thesis on the fabrication of biomedical nano-materials using Vortex Fluidic Devices (VFD), she was awarded the Flinders University Ph.D. award in 2018. She then worked as a postdoc on vortex-fluidic-mediated processing on biomaterial composites for biocatalysis. In 2019 this research has resulted in an award of Overseas Travel Fellowship from the Australian Nanotechnology Network. Her current research program includes multiple projects to develop a platform with novel immobilization technology for the environmental and diagnostic industries. Specifically, she explores the effects of surface modification on the interaction between the biocomposites and the liquid environment mediated by the topological fluid flow of VFD.

The fabrication of hybrid protein-Cu₃(PO₄)₂ nanoflowers (NFs) via an intermediate toroidal structure is dramatically
accelerated under shear using a vortex fluidic device (VFD), which
possesses a rapidly rotating angled tube. As-prepared laccase NFs
(LNFs) exhibit ≈1.8-fold increase in catalytic activity compared to
free laccase under diffusion control, which is further enhanced by
≈ 2.9-fold for the catalysis under shear in the VFD. A new LNF
immobilization platform, LNF@silica incorporated in a VFD tube,
was subsequently developed by mixing the LNFs for 15 min with
silica hydrogel resulting in gelation along the VFD tube surface.
The resulting LNFs@silica coating is highly stable and reusable,
which allows a dramatic 16-fold enhancement in catalytic rates
relative to LNF@silica inside glass vials. Ultraviolet−visible
spectroscopy-based real-time monitoring within the LNFs@silica-coated tube reveals good stability of the coating in continuous flow processing. The results demonstrate the utility of the VFD microfluidic platform, further highlighting its ability to control chemical and enzymatic processes.

Dr. Adrian Boey obtained his doctorate from the University of Melbourne in 2011, where he studied the transcriptional regulation of cytochrome P450s in the vinegar fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Currently, he is a postdoctoral fellow working on using nanoparticles as potential therapeutic agents to alleviate hepatic disease states at the Department of Pharmacy, National University of Singapore.

Metallic nanoparticles (NPs) are commonly encountered in modern life. Once ingested, they rapidly accumulate in the liver, as befitting the liver’s central role in xenobiotic detoxification. While their accumulation is usually universally regarded as detrimental, in reality their effects are often more nuanced than anticipated. The effect of each NP is often context-dependent, and relies on factors such as each particular NP’s specific elemental and physical properties, their mode of action, their interactions with specific hepatic cell types, if other external toxicants are present, amongst others. Indeed, under certain conditions, the presence of NPs may even be beneficial for alleviating some hepatic conditions. This talk will discuss the some of the effects of NP hepatic accumulation at the cellular scale in specific hepatic cell types, and their wider effects at an organ-wide level under different disease conditions.

Kim-Marie Vetter obtained her BSc (Chemistry) and her MSc (Chemistry) from the Technical University of Munich (TUM). She started working on her Ph.D. in the field of PEM(Polymer Electrolyte Membrane) water electrolysis with Siemens and TUM in 2018. She did Electro chemistry as the field of study and Investigation and improvement of chemical aspects in existing electrolysis systems. She Precisely translating scientific papers and reviews for the most renowned German chemistry journal and Dealing with biochemical, chemical, medicinal, and analytical subjects.

We investigated how the exchange of the countercation in perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes influences first their processability and secondly their electrochemical performance in water electrolysis. Cation-exchanged membranes were prepared (Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Zn²⁺, Ca²⁺, tetramethyl ammonium [TMA⁺], tetrabutyl ammonium [TBA⁺]) and their glass transition temperatures (Tg) were assessed by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). A good correlation between the found Tg values and the processability of the membranes was found, imitating an industrial membrane electrode assembly (MEA) fabrication process. Li⁺, TBA⁺ and Zn²⁺ MEAs were electrochemically characterized in water electrolysis. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) polarization studies were performed to investigate initial effects of ion exchange based on the binding energies of the respective metal cation incorporated into the membrane. Impedance spectroscopy was used to measure membrane resistances during water electrolysis. Potentiostatic and galvanostatic experiments were employed to differentiate between initial and permanent effects, the latter arising from stable structural arrangements of the polymer side chains. In-situ potential- driven substitution (PDS) of the metal ions by protons was found to be quantitative. At 1.5  A/cm² the rate of PDS was 0.2 mmol/cm² per minute. However, morphological changes in the membrane remained, opening the possibility for morphological tuning of membrane fabrication by temporal proton-metal cation substitution.

Prof. Etgar was the first to demonstrate the possibility to work with the perovskite as a light harvester and hole conductor in the solar cell which results in one of the pioneer publications in this field. Recently Prof. Etgar won the prestigious Krill prize from the Wolf foundation. Etgar’s research group focuses on the development of innovative solar cells. Prof. Etgar is researching new excitonic solar cells structures/architectures while designing and controlling the inorganic light harvester structure and properties to improve the photovoltaic parameters.
Lioz Etgar obtained his Ph.D. (2009) at the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology and completed post-doctoral research with Prof. Michael Grätzel at EPFL, Switzerland. In his post-doctoral research, he received a Marie Curie Fellowship and won the Wolf Prize for young scientists.
Since 2012, he has been a senior lecturer in the Institute of Chemistry at the Hebrew University. In 2017 he received an Associate Professor position.

Photovoltaic cells (PVCs) use semiconductors to convert sunlight into electrical current and are regarded as a key technology for a sustainable energy supply. The 1^st and 2^nd generations of PV technology were based on bulk semiconductor solids, accompanied by a relatively high manufacturing cost. The 3^rd generation of PV cells, developed over the past two decades, differ from previous cells in that they don't necessarily rely only on a traditional single p-n junction configuration. Instead, they are configured as donor- acceptor (D-A) hetero-junctions, with staggered electronic band alignment. These 3rd generation PV cells also carry a lower manufacturing cost.

Recent discoveries have revealed a breakthrough in the field using inorganic-organic hybrid layers called perovskites as the light harvester in the solar cell. The inorganic- organic arrangement is self-assembled as alternate layers, being a simple, low cost procedure. These organic-inorganic hybrids promise several benefits not delivered by the separate constituents. This work will discusses new directions related to perovskite and their applications in solar cells.

In low dimensional systems, stability of excitons in quantum wells is greatly enhanced due to the confined effect and the coulomb interaction. The exciton binding energy of the typical 2D organic-inorganic perovskites is up to 300 meV and their self-assembled films exhibit bright photoluminescence at room temperature.

• In this work we will show the dimensionality in the perovskite structure. The 2D perovskite structure should provide stable perovskite structure compare to the 3D structure. The additional long organic cation, which is added to the perovskite structure (in the 2D structure), is expected to provide hydrophobicity, which will enhance the resistivity of the perovskite to humidity. Moreover we will demonstrate the use of 2D perovskite in high efficiency solar cells.
• Moreover, we will show a highly efficient semitransparent perovskite solar cell. The semitransparency was achieved through a mesh assisted evaporation technique when a grid of perovskite is created on the TiO2 surface. The perovskite grid allows to get controlled semitransparent perovskite solar cell.
• Organic-inorganic halide perovskite is used mainly in its “bulk” form in the solar cell. Confined perovskite nanostructures could be a promising candidate for efficient optoelectronic devices, taking advantage of the superior bulk properties of organo- metal halide perovskite, as well as the nanoscale properties. In this talk, I will present our recent progress related to the synthesis and characterization of perovskite NPs-i.e. Inorganic and hybrid organic-inorganic NPs. New nanostructures such us: NRs and NWs will be presented and the introduction of other cations such us Rb will be shown.

Dr. Ananta Kumar Atta is a senior Assistant Professor (Grade I) of Chemistry at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Arunachal Pradesh, India. He received his Ph.D. degree in 2010 from the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) in carbohydrate chemistry. He pursued his postdoctoral studies with Prof. Dong Gyu Cho at Inha University, Incheon, South Korea in supramolecular chemistry from 2010 to 2013. He has been awarded DST-Young Scientist Award in 2015 and elected as a fellow of the Indian Chemical Society (FICS) in 2019. His current research schemes mainly focus on sugar-modified chemosensors for the detection of heavy metal ions and nitroaromatics, synthesis of low-molecular-weight organogelators (LMWOs), and carbohydrate-based fluorometric carbon quantum dots for various applications. Recently, he has given invited talk in Analyticon 2020, San Francisco, CA, USA and Molecules to Materials, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology Surat, India

This talk is about the synthesis and development of triazole-linked pyrenyl-based xylofuranose derivatives from D-xylose. We observed that bis-triazoles-appended bispyrenyl-based  sugar  derivative exhibited selective and sensitive fluorescence quenching effect in the presence  of  Cu²⁺ ions over a wide range of cations and anions in acetonitrile. It is well known that the use of carbohydrate moiety to design the sensors has significant importance because of its chiral entities  with hydroxyl groups and oxygen atoms, controlled ring-flipping capability, availability, and biocompatibility. The ON-OFF type fluorescence response of the sensor might be explained by the conformational changes from strong excimer emission of pyrene to weak pyrene monomer emission due to an interaction between Cu²⁺ and inward-facing triazole groups. The existence of sensor-Cu²⁺ complex in  acetonitrile medium was also established by IR-spectroscopy and mass  spectrometry.  The limit of detection (LOD) of sensor 1 for Cu²⁺ was calculated to be 0.15 µM, which is well accepted as per WHO’s guidelines

Hannes P. L. Gemoets was born in Ghent, Belgium. He received an M.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering (cum laude) at the KU Leuven (Faculty of Engineering Technology Ghent). He moved to the Netherlands to pursue his Ph.D. at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in the Micro Flow Chemistry & Process Technology group, under the supervision of Prof. Timothy Noël and Prof. Volker Hessel. His research focused on the development of novel continuous-flow methods for C–H functionalization strategies (i.e. C–H activation and photoredox catalysis). As the next step in his career, Hannes joined the Research & Development division of Creaflow located in Deinze, Belgium. As R&D Director, his work focuses on the design and development of innovative and scalable continuous-flow (photo)reactors, as well as the worldwide sales of the HANU™ Flow Reactor.

With the full support of regulatory agencies, continuous-flow chemistry continues to cement its position in the chemical industry. With its groundwork in place, the focus has been shifted to the realization of the first commercially scalable flow processes, and with the focal point on handling of continuous multi-phase processes and implementation of alternative energy input (e.g. photochemistry). To address these unmet needs we have recently developed a truly scalable continuous-flow photoreactor, capable of performing photochemistry from the lab- to production-scale (Figure 1).

Figure 1. A) Overview of the capabilities of the HANU™ Flow Reactor. B) HANU™ HX 150 Flow Reactor at the Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services’ pilot plant in Belgium. C) Lab-scale HANU™ 15 Flow Reactor characteristics.

The HANU™ Flow Reactor is a pulsating-flow plate reactor which contains static mixing elements that induce a split-and-recombine flow path, and is equipped with a large window for maximum light exposure. The synergetic use of the reactor geometry with a pulsatile flow regime results in plug flow-like behavior combined with intense mixing, regardless of its net flow rate. The innovative design allows the user to operate the reactor at both short and very long light exposure times, without compromising the mixing efficiency or the need for flow recirculation.

Thanks to the innovative design, the HANU™ Flow Reactor can be linearly scaled. Production-scale photochemistry is now readily accessible by simply widening its process channel, while the critical process characteristics, such as mass- and energy-transfer, residence time distribution and pressure drop are not influenced. In addition, the pulsatile flow expands the window of operation to heterogeneous reaction processing (e.g. metallaphotoredox catalysis using inorganic bases, heterogeneous photocatalysts). Furthermore, the window lid allows visual inspection as well as application of non-invasive, through-window inline spectroscopic PAT.

To demonstrate its potential, a series of (multiphase) photochemical applications will be demonstrated which display the capacity of this reactor technology, delivering kilogram quantities utilizing photochemistry.[1-4]

Dr. Jingrun Ran received his Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Adelaide. Now he is working as an ARC DECRA Fellow in Prof. Shi-Zhang Qiao's group, focusing on the atomic-level design and synthesis of photocatalysts for producing energy fuels and value-added chemicals using renewable solar energy. Dr. Jingrun Ran has been recognized as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher in 2020. He has published 41 papers in refereed journals, including Nat. Commun., Adv. Mater., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., Energy Environ. Sci., Adv. Energy Mater., Chem. Soc. Rev., Sci. Adv. (over 10647 citations, h-index: 29 based on Google Scholar).

The global energy crisis and environmental problems drive the aggressive search for a clean and renewable energy source to replace fossil fuels. The production of clean and carbon-free hydrogen energy from inexhaustible solar energy through photocatalytic water splitting is a ‘dream technology’ to address the worldwide energy shortage, environmental contamination and the greenhouse effect. The core challenge of this advanced technology lies in the development of low-cost and environmentally benign photocatalysts with sufficiently high activity and stability to produce hydrogen at a cost comparable to the conventional fossil fuels. Recently, emerging two-dimensional (2D) materials such as MXene, phosphorene, 2D metal-organic framework (MOF) and ReS2 have attracted tremendous attention due to their outstanding characteristics of ultrathin thickness, large surface area, high-aspect ratio and abundant active sites. Therefore, the rational design and synthesis of 2D materials based photocatalysts to achieve efficient and stable light-induced H2 production is highly promising. Furthermore, both advanced characterizations (e.g., aberration-corrected atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy, synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy and femtosecond fluorescence spectroscopy) and density functional theory based theoretical computations are adopted to investigate the atomic-level structure/composition-performance relation in photocatalysts. Finally, a general principle to develop high-performance photocatalysts for efficient solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion is concluded.

Jiaquan Xu is associate professor, currently works at the International Joint Research Center for Mass Spectrometry and Instrumentation, East China Institute of Technology. His research interest is direct mass spectrometry analysis of miscellaneous samples. He published more than 20 papers indexed in SCI, including Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., Anal. Chem, etc.

Rare earth has been widely used in permanent magnet materials, metallurgical industry, ceramic glass materials, petrochemical industry and other fields due to its unique physical properties. It is vital to obtain the molecular structure, abundance and spatial distribution of different components at the molecular level for rare earth exploration, mineral processing and metallogenic theory investigation. However, traditional analytical methods inevitably require tedious sample pretreatment, resulting in long analysis time and high energy consumption.

Herein, a new strategy for direct mass spectrometry analysis of rare earth ore samples was proposed by regulating the interaction process between reagents/energy and rare earth ore samples. Assisted by different energy forms such as ultrasonic and heating, various element species in rare earth ore samples were sequentially extracted by reagents with different physicochemical properties of polarity, acidity, redox, etc. The analytes were then online ionized by ICP and introduced into the mass spectrometer. Based on this, a direct ionization device for rare earth ore sample was developed, which generally consists of 8 modules: 1) Quantitative addition/mixing system of the chemical reagents, 2) Microscale liquid sample transportation system, 3) Microstructure morphology imaging system, 4) Micro-electrolytic cell and interface system, 5) Field energy (temperature, ultrasonic, microwave) coupling and regulation system, 6) Super-high efficiency ionization system, 7) Timing trigger and intelligent control system, 8) Power supply and support connection system. The device can be directly coupled to the commercial mass spectrometer for direct mass spectrometry analysis of rare earth ore samples. The results demonstrated that by using this device, different fractions (water-soluble, exchangeable, reduced, oxidized and crystalline) of 15 kinds of rare earth elements and associated metal elements (such as Cu, Zn, Ca, Mg, etc.) could be analyzed in less than 1 hour with minimized sample consumption (1 mg) and without any sample pretreatment. In addition, the method can also be applied to the analysis of other geological samples, such as pyrite, uranium, phosphorite, fossils, etc.

Dr. Anna-Sophia Hehn studied Chemistry at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the Free University of Amsterdam. She obtained her Ph.D. in Computational Chemistry at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Wim Klopper in 2017, working on explicitly correlated wave function approaches. Since 2018 she has joined the group of Prof. Dr. Jürg Hutter at the University of Zurich. Her current research is focused on the development of electronic structure methods for the description of excited state dynamics of condensed phase systems.

Structural characterization of ruthenium nanoparticles is essential when aiming to elucidate the role of the metal catalyst in ammonia
synthesis. In particular, an independent examination of ruthenium clusters of msmaller sizes is indispensable as cluster structures
often differ from the bulk lattice motif [1]. We present a combined experimental and theoretical study using trapped ion electron diffraction and density functional theory computations to determine the structure of small Ru clusters and to analyze the structural effect of hydrogenation on Ru14- and Ru19- anions [2,3,4]. In contrast to the hcp geometry of the bulk, it is found that bare Ru14-forms a double layer hexagonal structure while Ru19- favors a closed-shell octahedral fcc motif. However, for both cluster sizes, a structural rearrangement is initiated upon hydrogen adsorption, gradually stabilizing icosahedral core structures for increasing hydrogen coverages. Furthermore, an instability region is found for medium coverages where the hydrides decompose into the bare and the hydrogenated cluster motif, indicating a structural phase equilibrium.

[1] T. Rapps, R. Ahlrichs, E. Waldt, M. M. Kappes, D. Schooss, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 52, 6102 (2013).
[2] E. Waldt, A.-S. Hehn, R. Ahlrichs, M. M. Kappes, D. Schooss, J. Chem. Phys. 142, 024319 (2015).
[3] D. Bumüller, A.-S. Hehn, E. Waldt, R. Ahlrichs, M. M. Kappes, D. Schooss, J. Phys. Chem. C, 121, 10645 (2017).
[4] A.-S. Hehn, D. Bumüller, W. Klopper, M. M. Kappes, D. Schooss, J. Phys. Chem. C, 124, 14306 (2020).

Dr. František Hnilicka is the head of the Department of Botany and Plant Physiology of the FAFNR, Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague. He is an associate professor in the field of general plant production. He is currently the team leader of the EU-Project "NutRisk Center". His scientific focus is the primary metabolism of plants, transport of assimilates, combustion calorimetry and stress physiology of plants. Within the stress physiology of plants, it focuses on the influence of abiotic stressors and anthropogenic effects on the physiological parameters of field crops and vegetables.

Man acts on ecosystems as well as significant biotic stressors that negatively affects the effect is long-lasting and still active. One of the methods that can be detected by the human activity is the method of combustion calorimetry. The results show that the higher values of energy were observed in assimilation organs of beech, male fern and blueberries (range 19984 – 20551 J g^-1) in the beech-fir stand; raspberry showed slightly higher value of energy in clear-cut area (18562 ± 325 J g-¹) in comparison with the beech-fir stand (18511 ± 251 J g^-1). Significantly lower was only the mean value of energy found for D. filix mas species (18562 ± 310 J g^-1) growing in clear-cut area compared with the value in beech-fir stand (19049 ± 251 J g^-1). Changes in energy content were also found in blackberry in damaged and undamaged spruce ecosystems of Slovakia. The average energy content of blackberry from damaged ecosystems was 19.13 kJ.g^-1, and 19.08 kJ.g^-1 from undamaged spruce stands. It is apparent from this that the energy content is higher in plants disturbed spruce ecosystems compared to undisturbed ecosystems. These changes are due to the fact that in the past, mining activities were active in selected localities of the Middle Spiš in Slovakia.

Marion ERNY studied in Rennes (France) and Stuttgart (Germany), where she received  respectively a degree in engineering and an MSc in chemistry in 2017. After a first professional experience in Germany, she joined the Innovation team of PolyPeptide Group as R&D Chemical Engineer in 2019. She is currently performing a PhD thesis at PolyPeptide, under the supervision of Dr. Frédéric Bihel (University of Strasbourg) and Dr. Olivier Ludemann-Hombourger (PolyPeptide Group). She is working on the development of green strategies for peptide manufacturing.

Diisopropylcarbodiimide (DIC) and ethyl (hydroxyimino)cyanoacetate (Oxyma) are the most widely used coupling reagents in peptide synthesis. McFarland et al. recently discovered the reaction between DIC and Oxyma, which forms hydrogen cyanide (HCN). Controling the formation of toxic side products is crucial for advancing protocols for safer and environmentally sensible peptide synthesis. HCN is formed during amino acid activation but also during amide bond forming reactions mediated by DIC and Oxyma. The linear DIC/Oxyma adduct rearranges to form the oxadiazole and HCN in a 1:1 ratio. This ratio changes depending on the concentration of DIC and Oxyma. At low concentration, the majority of HCN formed stays in the solution but not at higher concentration. We have shown that the amount of HCN can be minimized in two ways: by quenching the formed HCN and by decreasing HCN formation. First, the concept of in situ scavenging of the HCN formed was evaluated by using dimethyl trisulfide (DMTS), which transforms the HCN into the less hazardous methyl thiocyanate. DMTS can be used as HCN scavenger during the amination without disturbing the reaction. Secondly, screening different solvents allowed to replace N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) with a greener solvent mixture such as N-Butyl-2-pyrrolidone (NBP)/ethyl acetate (EtOAc) (1:4). In those conditions amidation kinetic rates are increased and HCN amount is reduced, because the linear DIC/Oxyma adduct is more stable and therefore HCN formation is minimized.

Juan Manuel Peralta Herández, Since 2015 has a full Professor and researcher in the Chemistry Department at Guanajuato University, Mexico. He is a Principal Investigator at Environmental Electrochemistry Lab. He works at the university-industry interface where he is recognized nationally and internationally for his research contributions and achievements in Electrochemistry Advanced Oxidation Processes, nanomaterials and Fenton reactions. Currently has 83 papers published in JCR journals and an h index of 29, their papers have been cited 2,600 times.

Actually, the rising pollution of natural water bodies with dyes is an emerging problem that has not received the important attention. This work presents a research about preparation electrodes of iridium and tin oxides doped with antimony deposited on Ti plates (Ti/IrO₂-SnO₂-Sb₂O₅) under Pechini process, which was used for the ^●OH free radicals. Quantification of ^·OH radicals was followed by the use of a spin trap analysis using N,N-dimethyl-p-nitrosoanilline (RNO). The electrode was characterized by SEM-EDS, XRD, accelerated life test and electrochemical characterizations by cyclic voltammetry. The films synthetized was used for the degradation of differenten dyes use in the tannery industry, such as: Violet RL, Green A and Brown DR. Dyes degradation by electro-oxidation (EO) were carry out with a stirred tank cell under galvanostatic conditions. Service life was estimated by accelerated life test (1 A cm^-2, 1M HClO₄), the electrode reached up to 782 h of service life under extreme conditions. SEM-EDS analysis evidencing a compact structure with few cracks, reducing the dispersion of the electrolyte through the cracks and in this way minimizing the mechanical rupture of the coating. The test using RNO confirmed that Ti/IrO₂-SnO₂-Sb₂O₅ favor the ^·OH formation at 1.3 V. A high discoloration efficiency 99.9% was obtained. COD was tested to evaluate the degradation, ˃90% was achieved. HPLC analysis was used to follow the evolution of carboxyl acids.

Trang Vu obtained his BSc from Penn State University, currently she is studying her Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati. She Collaborate with P&G’s analytical chemists, simulation modelers and formulation chemists to solve stability issues and improve performances for multiple surfactant systems. She did Part-time as Graduate Teaching Assistant for graduate-level Drug Delivery and Cosmetic Science Labs in Aug 2017 – Aug 2018.

In recent years, changes in consumer preferences and regulatory requirement as well as concerns about the environment and sustainability have shifted interest and demand away from sulfates and to sulfate-free and bio-based surfactants. The formulation technology for these newer class of surfactants significantly lags that for sulfate-based systems due to a historical focus on the latter. A particular challenge in personal cleansing products like shampoo and body wash is rheology control of these formulations. Controlling the viscosity of surfactants is necessary in order to provide easy dispensing and spreading of personal care products such as shampoos and body washes. In conventional surfactant blends such as sodium lauryl ether sulfate, viscosity is built by entanglement of wormlike micelles and can be controlled by small addition of salt, typically sodium chloride. This control mechanism is lost in many sulfate-free and natural surfactant systems. Despite their anionic nature, they cannot be effectively thickened by salt addition or, at neutral pH, by zwitterionic cosurfactants. The objective of my research was to identify alternative thickening mechanisms and determine the relationship between micelle properties and thickening behavior for a model amino acid-derived surfactant, sodium lauroyl sarcosinate (SLSar). The results will help to optimize product rheology and performance for sulfate-free and natural cleansing formulations, provide alternatives to polymeric thickeners, and allow formulators to incorporate more natural ingredients into their products. Financial support was provided by the Procter & Gamble Company.

Dr. Prakash Parajuli obtained his BSc (Physics) from Tribhuvan University, Nepal and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Currently, he is working as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he is recognized for his research contributions in electron microscopy, material science and multivalent battery system. His main interest lies towards the utilization of aberration-corrected STEM/EELS/EDS to probe the atomic- scaled structure, chemistry, and defects of materials to elucidate and enhance the nanomaterial functionality, and the development and application of advanced in situ electron microscopy characterization techniques to probe the mechanisms and kinetics of materials transformations.

Rather than retaining their structural framework during cation insertion and extraction, the majority of intercalation-type cathode materials suffer an irreversible structural transformation; this has been perceived as a principal cause of capacity fading and voltage decay in both uni- and multi-valent battery cathodes. Herein, we employed an in-situ electron microscopy techniques to explore the dynamics of spinel to defect rocksalt phase transition in MgCrMnO₄, a potential multivalent cation intercalation cathode. The particles are exposed to an intense electron beam (an approximate dose of 10⁷ e^–/Ų) and both the structural and electronic changes induced by the electron beam are investigated via atomic-resolution imaging and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). This dynamic electron beam irradiation study of specific structural transformations provides an atomistic understanding of the structural evolution observed in transition-metal oxide spinels during electrochemical cycling using multivalent cations, such as Mg²⁺. By combining an imaging study with first-principles modeling, we demonstrate that this transformation occurs via cation (Mg/Mn) migration, facilitated by the creation of oxygen vacancies, and requires additional energy input to overcome kinetic barriers for cation diffusion. Since oxygen vacancies appear to enable the Mg/Mn inversion and thus the formation of a rocksalt phase, the study suggested several options to stabilize the surface of the particles: the deposition of a thin, more stable epitaxial layer to prevent the dissolution of oxygen into the electrolyte and/or doping the structure with redox-inactive materials to further increase the energy barriers and thereby minimize the formation of an inverted spinel or a rocksalt surface layer.

Dat Nguyen is a biomedical engineering Ph.D. student at the University of California, Irvine. Dat received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering at California State University, Long Beach and his Master’s Degree in biomedical engineering at the University of Southern California. Dat has been rewarded the Cardiovascular Applied Research and Entrepreneurship Fellowship – NIH T32 Grant and the NSF: Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Biophotonics Across Energy, Space, and Time training grants to bridge the gap between optical technologies and translational medicine. Dats work focuses on developing implantable sensors that use optical techniques to continuous measure analytes.

Molecular sensors from protein engineering offer new methods to sensitively bind to and detect target analytes for a wide range of applications. For example, these sensors can be integrated into probes for implantation, and then yield new and valuable physiological information. Here, a new Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based sensor is integrated with an optical fiber to yield a device measuring free Ca²⁺. This membrane encapsulated optical fiber (MEOF) device is composed of a sensor matrix that fills poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) with an engineered troponin C (TnC) protein fused to a pair of FRET fluorophores. The FRET efficiency is modulated upon Ca²⁺ ion binding. The probe further comprises a second, size-excluding filter membrane that is synthesized by filling the pores of a PTFE matrix with a poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) hydrogel; this design ensures protection from circulating proteases and the foreign body response. The two membranes are stacked and placed on a thin, silica optical fiber for optical excitation and detection. Results show the biosensor responds to changes in Ca²⁺ concentration within minutes with a sensitivity ranging from 0.01 to 10 mM Ca²⁺, allowing discrimination of hyper- and hypocalcemia. Furthermore, the system reversibly binds Ca²⁺ to allow continuous monitoring. This work paves the way for the use of engineered structure-switching proteins for continuous optical monitoring in a large number of applications.

Dr. Nastaran Salehi Marzijarani obtained his BSc (Chemistry) from the Sharif University of Technology in Iran, her Master’s degree from Western Michigan University, and her Ph.D. from the Michigan State University. She joined Merck & Co., Inc., in 2016 and worked in the Process Chemistry department and recently she has joined the Chemical Engineering group as part of a one-year rotation. During her career, she worked on the development of a commercial manufacturing process for multiple projects to design the most direct method to convert commodity chemicals into the desired molecules, maximizing the access of our medicines to patients worldwide, and influencing the field of synthetic chemistry.

Herein we report an efficient synthesis of nucleoside 5′-monothiophosphates under mild reaction conditions using commercially available thiophosphoryl chloride with a cinchona alkaloid catalyst. A detailed mechanistic study of the reaction was undertaken, employing a combination of reaction kinetics, NMR spectroscopy, and computational modeling, to better understand the observed reactivity. Taken collectively, the results support an unprecedented mechanism for this class of organocatalyst.

Natalia Pacocha is a Ph.D. student at the Institute of Physical Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences. She works in the Microfluidics and Complex Fluids Laboratory led by Professor Piotr Garstecki. Her research focuses on developing high-throughput methods for counting, identification, and antibiotic susceptibility testing of bacteria at the single-cell level. Mainly, she is interested in the analysis of phenotypic heterogeneity of bacterial response to antibiotics in isogenic bacterial populations.

The lack of a high-throughput label-free method of detecting bacteria in nanoliter droplets prohibits analysis of the most interesting strains and widespread use of droplet technologies in analytical microbiology. It particularly finds utility in antibiotic susceptibility testing at the single-cell level and analysis of bacterial population towards heteroresistance. The sensitive and fast measurement of scattered light creates the possibility for reliable detection of encapsulated bacteria proliferation. The created method was verified by simultaneous readout of fluorescence signals from bacteria expressing a green fluorescent protein, showing good linearity between both approaches. The label-free measurement of bacteria growth is feasible with a range of different unlabeled Gram-positive and Gram-negative clinical, research, and industrial interest species. The droplets can be analyzed at a frequency of 1200 Hz (droplets/s), which is around four times higher than the frequency in the existing methods presented in the literature.