Continuous Photocatalytic Reduction of CO₂ Using Nanoporous Reduced Graphene Oxide (RGO)/Cadmium Sulfide (CdS) as Catalyst on Porous Anodic Alumina (PAA)/Aluminum Support.

Solar conversion of CO₂, using a photocatalyst in the presence of water, has attained considerable attention due to added value of the process in terms of both reduction of an environmental pollutant and production of valuable synthetic chemicals. Room temperature fabrication of porous anodic alumina (PAA), for sufficiently low time, facilitates the synthesis of self-withstanding PAA with a middle layer of aluminum. Nanoporous reduced graphene oxide (RGO), deposited on the pore walls of PAA, with subsequent deposition of cadmium sulfide (CdS) as photocatalyst over it, and efficiently enhances the photocatalytic reduction of CO₂.

Polymorphs of Curcumin and Its Cocrystals With Cinnamic Acid.

We report formation of polymorphs and new eutectics and cocrystals of curcumin, a sparingly water-soluble active component in turmeric, structurally similar to cinnamic acid. The curcumin polymorphs were formed using liquid antisolvent precipitation, where acetone acted as a solvent and water was used as the antisolvent. The metastable form 2 of curcumin was successfully prepared in varied morphology over a wide range of solvent-to-antisolvent ratio and under acidic pH conditions.

Mass transfer studies of cell permeabilization and recovery of alkaline phosphatase from Escherichia coli by reverse micellar solutions.

Transfer of alkaline phosphatase (AP) directly from Escherichia coli cells into reverse micellar solutions (RMS) was studied by varying the water content, pH, and ionic strength of RMS. Prior to the mass transfer studies, the optimum conditions for the activity of alkaline phosphatase in reverse micellar solutions were determined. The maximum enzyme activity could be detected at higher pH and water content, indicating the ionization of p-nitrophenol to be crucial in the enzyme activity.

Purification and concentration of alkaline phosphatase by selective permeabilization of Escherichia coli using reverse micellar solutions.

Recovery of alkaline phosphatase (AP) from the periplasm of Escherichia coli using reverse micellar solutions (RMSs) of sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate (AOT) in aliphatic hydrocarbons has been attempted. A variety of surface-active agents, solvents, and reverse micellar conditions were screened, and an excellent recovery of the enzyme in a concentrated form, with a high purification factor, was obtained in a single-step process. The permeabilization process strongly depended on the water content of the RMS as well as on the amount of water coating the microbial cell surface.