Metal–organic framework nanosheets (MOF NSs) have drawn a lot of attention lately; however, the interfacial behavior of these 2D MOFs has rarely been investigated. Here, the partition and distribution of 2D NS and 3D nanoparticle (NP) of copper benzenedicarboxylate (CuBDC) at the oil/water interface are imaged by cryo‐scanning electron microscopy. A layer of ≈20 nm NS‐CuBDC is detected with a lateral orientation along the interface, which is attributed to the existence of relatively hydrophobic planes and hydrophilic edges in NS‐CuBDC. The highly hydrophilic CuBDC localizes along the interface within the water phase. The self‐assembly of NS‐CuBDC is found to be a facile method to construct small cubical NPs. The exchange of water into CuBDC leads to super hydrophilic wettability. Ascribed to their amphiphilic properties, NP‐CuBDC acts as sole stabilizer to form stable oil‐in‐water emulsions. Synchrotron‐based computed tomography is used to characterize the 3D distribution of CuBDC in emulsions at room temperature. This work provides great insights in the fundamental study of MOFs at the oil/water interface and may lead to further development of ultrathin 2D MOF membranes.

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Phototrophic microorganisms have been proposed as an alternative to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) and to produce biofuels and other valuable products. Low CO2 absorption rates, low volumetric productivities, and inefficient downstream processing, however, currently make algal biotechnology highly energy intensive, expensive, and not economically competitive to produce biofuels. This mini-review summarizes advances made regarding the cultivation of phototrophic microorganisms at highly alkaline conditions, as well as other innovations oriented toward reducing the energy input into the cultivation and processing stages. An evaluation, in terms of energy requirements and energy return on energy invested, is performed for an integrated high-pH, high-alkalinity growth process that uses biofilms. Performance in terms of productivity and expected energy return on energy invested is presented for this process and is compared to previously reported life cycle assessments (LCAs) for systems at near-neutral pH. The cultivation of alkaliphilic phototrophic microorganisms in biofilms is shown to have a significant potential to reduce both energy requirements and capital costs.

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Algae are considered excellent candidates for renewable fuel sources due to their natural lipid storage capabilities. Robust monitoring of algal fermentation processes and screening for new oil-rich strains requires a fast and reliable protocol for determination of intracellular lipid content. Current practices rely largely on gravimetric methods to determine oil content, techniques developed decades ago that are time consuming and require large sample volumes. In this paper, Nile Red, a fluorescent dye that has been used to identify the presence of lipid bodies in numerous types of organisms, is incorporated into a simple, fast, and reliable protocol for measuring the neutral lipid content of Auxenochlorella protothecoides, a green alga. The method uses ethanol, a relatively mild solvent, to permeabilize the cell membrane before staining and a 96 well micro-plate to increase sample capacity during fluorescence intensity measurements. It has been designed with the specific application of monitoring bioprocess performance. Previously dried samples or live samples from a growing culture can be used in the assay. Video LinkThe video component of this article can be found at

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