Icing and formation of ice crystals is a major obstacle against applications ranging from energy systems to transportation and aviation. Icing not only introduces excess thermal resistance, but it also reduces the safety in operating systems. Many organisms living under harsh climate and subzero temperature conditions have developed extraordinary survival strategies to avoid or delay ice crystal formation. There are several types of antifreeze glycoproteins with ice-binding ability to hamper ice growth, ice nucleation, and recrystallization. Scientists adopted similar approaches to utilize a new generation of engineered antifreeze and ice-binding proteins as bio cryoprotective agents for preservation and industrial applications. There are numerous types of antifreeze proteins (AFPs) categorized according to their structures and functions. The main challenge in employing such biomolecules on industrial surfaces is the stabilization/coating with high efficiency. In this review, we discuss various classes of antifreeze proteins. Our particular focus is on the elaboration of potential industrial applications of anti-freeze polypeptides.

Both passive and active microfluidic chips are used in many biomedical and chemical applications to support fluid mixing, particle manipulations, and signal detection. Passive microfluidic devices are geometry-dependent, and their uses are rather limited. Active microfluidic devices include sensors or detectors that transduce chemical, biological, and physical changes into electrical or optical signals. Also, they are transduction devices that detect biological and chemical changes in biomedical applications, and they are highly versatile microfluidic tools for disease diagnosis and organ modeling. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the significant advances that have been made in the development of microfluidics devices. We will discuss the function of microfluidic devices as micromixers or as sorters of cells and substances (e.g., microfiltration, flow or displacement, and trapping). Microfluidic devices are fabricated using a range of techniques, including molding, etching, three-dimensional printing, and nanofabrication. Their broad utility lies in the detection of diagnostic biomarkers and organ-on-chip approaches that permit disease modeling in cancer, as well as uses in neurological, cardiovascular, hepatic, and pulmonary diseases. Biosensor applications allow for point-of-care testing, using assays based on enzymes, nanozymes, antibodies, or nucleic acids (DNA or RNA). An anticipated development in the field includes the optimization of techniques for the fabrication of microfluidic devices using biocompatible materials. These developments will increase biomedical versatility, reduce diagnostic costs, and accelerate diagnosis time of microfluidics technology.

This study presents a method based on carpet bombardment of immobilized cells with cavitating flows. For this, immobilized cancer cell lines are exposed to micro scale cavitating flows from the tip of a micro nozzle under the effect of cavitation microbubbles. The deformation as a result of cavitation bubbles on exposed cells differs from one cell type to another. Therefore, the difference in cell deformation upon cavitation exposure (carpet bombardment) acts as a valuable indicator for cancer diagnosis. The developed system is tested on HCT-116 (Human Colorectal Carcinoma), MDA-MB-231 (Breast Adenocarcinoma), ONCO-DG-1 (Ovarian Adenocarcinoma) cell lines due to their clinical importance. The mechanical effects of cavitation are examined by considering the single-cell lysis effect (the cell membrane is ruptured, and the cell is destroyed) with the help of the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) technique. Our study proposes a promising label-free method for the potential use in cancer diagnosis with cavitation bubble collapse, where microbubbles could be precisely controlled and directed to the desired locations, as well as the characterization of the biophysical properties of cancer cells. The proposed approach tool has the advantages of label-free approach, simple structure and low cost and is a substantial alternative for the existing tools.

Two malate dehydrogenase homologs, Pcal_0564 and Pcal_1699, have been found in the genome of Pyrobaculum calidifontis. The gene encoding Pcal_1699 consisted of 927 nucleotides corresponding to a polypeptide of 309 amino acids. To examine the properties of Pcal_1699, the structural gene was cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli and the purified gene product was characterized. Pcal_1699 was NADH specific enzyme exhibiting a high malate dehydrogenase activity (886 U/mg) at optimal pH (10) and temperature (90 °C). Unfolding studies suggested that urea could not induce complete unfolding and inactivation of Pcal_1699 even at a final concentration of 8 M; however, in the presence of 4 M guanidine hydrochloride enzyme structure was unfolded with complete loss of enzyme activity. Thermostability experiments revealed that Pcal_1699 is the most thermostable malate dehydrogenase, reported to date, retaining more than 90 % residual activity even after heating for 6 h in boiling water.

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Thanks to the developments in the area of microfluidics, the cavitation-on-a chip concept enabled researchers to control and closely monitor the cavitation phenomenon in micro-scale. In contrast to conventional scale,...

L-Asparaginase is a potential therapeutic agent owing to its anti-tumor activity. We have previously characterized a thermostable L-asparaginase (TK1656F from

Due to growing cooling demands as well as emerging global warming and climate change issues, cooling systems should be more efficiently utilized. Boiling is an effective heat transfer mechanism, which has a critical role in many cooling systems. Surface modification is considered as the major approach for boiling heat transfer enhancement. In this study, we developed a microbial bio-coating surface modification technique for phase change cooling applications.Thermoacidophilic Sulfolobus solfataricus coating was implemented using a facile dip coating method on different metallic and non-metallic surfaces. Controlled by drying conditions, the coating exhibited rough and porous morphologies. When tested in a boiling heat transfer setup, bio-coated surfaces offered enhancements up to 76.3% in Critical Heat Flux (CHF). Next, a miniature evaporator was coated and tested for real-world air-conditioning applications, and coefficient of performance (COP) enhancements up to 11% clearly revealed the potential of biocoated surfaces for energy saving purpose and reduction in greenhouse gasses. Furthermore, coated evaporators reduced the exergy destruction rate up to 8%. This study not only offers a new type of coating morphology, but the applicability of the proposed bio-coating is also proven in a miniature air conditioning system.