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Silk fibroin (SF) is a natural protein, which is derived from the Bombyx mori silkworm. SF based porous materials are extensively investigated for biomedical applications, due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. In this work, CO2 assisted acidification is used to synthesize SF hydrogels that are subsequently converted to SF aerogels. The aqueous silk fibroin concentration is used to tune the morphology and textural properties of the SF aerogels. As the aqueous fibroin concentration increases from 2 to 6 wt%, the surface area of the resultant SF aerogels increases from 260 to 308 m(2) g(-1) and the compressive modulus of the SF aerogels increases from 19.5 to 174 kPa. To elucidate the effect of the freezing rate on the morphological and textural properties, SF cryogels are synthesized in this study. The surface area of the SF aerogels obtained from supercritical CO2 drying is approximately five times larger than the surface area of SF cryogels. SF aerogels exhibit distinct pore morphology compared to the SF cryogels. In vitro cell culture studies with human foreskin fibroblast cells demonstrate the cytocompatibility of the silk fibroin aerogel scaffolds and presence of cells within the aerogel scaffolds. The SF aerogels scaffolds created in this study with tailorable properties have potential for applications in tissue engineering.

This paper describes the synthesis of H₂O₂-H₂O filled poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microcapsules as potential candidates for controlled O₂ delivery. The microcapsules are prepared by a water-in-oil solvent emulsion and evaporation method. The results of this study describe the effect of process parameters on the characteristics of the microcapsules and on their in vitro performance. The size of the microcapsules, as determined from scanning electron microscopy, ranges from ∼5 to 30 μm and the size distribution is narrow. The microcapsules exhibit an internal morphology with entrapped H₂O₂-H₂O droplets randomly distributed in the PMMA continuous phase. In vitro release studies of 4.5 wt% H₂O₂-loaded microcapsules show that ∼70% of the H₂O₂ releases in 24h. This corresponds to a total O₂ production of ∼12 cc/gram of dry microcapsules. Shelf-life studies show that the microcapsules retain ∼84 wt% of the initially loaded H₂O₂ after nine months storage at 2-8 °C, which is an attractive feature for clinical applications.

General method for prediction of thermal conductivity for well-characterized hydrocarbon mixtures and fuels up to extreme conditions using entropy scaling. Fuel,

I thank Professor Mark A. M c Hugh for his guidance throughout my undergraduate and graduate education. Dr. M c Hugh's guidance has truly been a significant factor in my growing love for the field of chemical engineering. Lastly, I would like to note that Dr. M c Hugh has never failed to keep me entertained and inspired through his lectures. It has been a pleasure working with Dr. M c Hugh. I would also like to thank Dr. Reddy Mallepally for working closely with me and teaching me how to perform high-pressure experiments. I appreciate Dr. Mallepally's guidance as it has been an integral part of my development as a researcher. In addition, I thank Dr. Babatunde Bamgbade for always lending a helping hand and offering me additional advice from his previous experiences.

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