polymerguru

 Hydrogels are one of the hottest topics in bioelectronics. Conductive hydrogels, in particular, might prove crucial for treating nerve injuries. Hydrogels are networks of polymers that hold a large amount of water - like a jelly. By inserting polyacrylamide and polyaniline, researchers in China were able to create hydrogels that conduct electricity. They demonstrated that this new material could treat nerve injuries by forming a conducting biocompatible link between broken nerves. Peripheral nerve injury – for example, when a peripheral nerve has been completely severed in an accident – can result in chronic pain, neurological disorders, paralysis, and even disability. They are traditionally very difficult to treat. The new hydrogel could change this. The team implanted the hydrogel into rats with sciatic nerve injuries. The rats’ nerves recovered their bioelectrical properties – as measured by electromyography one to eight weeks following the operation – and their walking improved. I

  Rice University scientists employed a process to make efficient use of waste plastic. The lab of Rice chemist James Tour modified a method to make flash graphene to enhance it for  recycling plastic into graphene . The lab’s study appears in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano. Producing High-quality Turbostratic Graphene Instead of raising the temperature of a carbon source with direct current, as in the original process, the lab first exposes plastic waste to around eight seconds of high-intensity alternating current, followed by the DC jolt. The products are high-quality turbostratic graphene, a valuable and soluble substance that can be used to enhance electronics, composites, concrete and other materials, and carbon oligomers, molecules that can be vented away from the graphene for use in other applications. “ We also produce considerable amount of hydrogen, which is a clean fuel, in our flashing process, ” said Rice graduate student and lead author Wala Algozeeb. Tou

  Researchers from JAIST and U-Tokyo have successfully developed the white-biotechnological conversion from cellulosic biomass into aromatic polymers with the highest thermodegradation of all the plastics. Aromatic Molecules Produced from Kraft Pulp Organic plastic superior in thermostability (over 740 °C), was developed from  inedible biomass feedstocks  without using heavy inorganic fillers and thus lightweight in nature. Such an innovative molecular design of ultra-high thermoresistance polymers by controlling π-conjugation can contribute to establishing a sustainable carbon negative society, and energy conservation by weight saving. Two specific aromatic molecules, 3-amino-4-hydroxybenzoic acid (AHBA) and 4-aminobenzoic acid (ABA) were produced from kraft pulp, an inedible cellulosic feedstock by Prof. Ohnishi and team in U-Tokyo. Recombinant microorganisms enhanced the productivity of the aromatic monomers selectively and inhibited the formation of the side products. Prof. Kaneko

US HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY MARKET ANALYSIS REPORT AVAILABLE : This 90 plus pages report cost 950 USD. Interested professionals do write to me private on Linkedin. I can share the 2 pages of the Executive Summary. Muthuramalingam Krishnan Gruntech Polymer Consultants

  As part of a strategic collaboration, Covestro received a first delivery of 1,000 tons of renewable phenol from Borealis, produced with renewable hydrocarbons from Neste. Neste produces these ISCC Plus certified hydrocarbons entirely from renewable raw materials. The hydrocarbons are then converted into ISCC Plus mass balance certified phenol by Borealis and finally used by Covestro to produce the high-performance plastic polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is used in car headlights, automotive glazing, LED lights, electronic devices as well as other applications. Commitment to Increase Use of Alternative Raw Materials With this first supply, Covestro is underlining its commitment to the increased use of alternative raw materials. In this way, it is recycling carbon and is driving the circularity forward, which must become the new global guiding principle.“We are delighted to see our renewable feedstock helping Covestro to achieve this new milestone. It highlights the drop-in nature of our

  UC Santa Barbara researchers have developed a one-pot, low-temperature catalytic method that upcycles polyethylene — a polymer that is found in about a third of all plastics produced, with a global value of about $200 billion annually — into high-value alkylaromatic molecules that are the basis of many industrial chemicals and consumer products. Adding value to what would otherwise become trash could   make plastic waste recycling a more attractive and practical pursuit   with an environmentally beneficial outcome. New Direction for Plastic Waste This method represents a new direction in the lifecycle of plastics, one in which waste polymers could become valuable raw materials instead of winding up in landfills, or worse, in waterways and other sensitive habitats. “This is an example of having a second use, where we could make these raw materials more efficiently and with better environmental impact than making them from petroleum,”  fellow chemistry and chemical engineering professo

  Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have modified a single microbe to simultaneously digest five of the most abundant components of lignocellulosic biomass, a big step forward in the development of a cost-effective biochemical conversion process to turn plants into   renewable chemicals . Engineering Bacteria to Produce Renewable Chemicals The team engineered the Pseudomonas putida bacterium to consume glucose, xylose, arabinose, coumaric acid and acetic acid in a single bioreactor, eliminating the need for multiple tanks and microbes for each of those components. The one-pot process also breaks down lignin — traditionally a waste product of biomass conversion — so that every part of the plant can be used to create valuable products. “ We were pleasantly surprised at how quickly and well the microbe consumed these components, as they are structurally different and utilized via very different pathways. You had all of this carbon converging in the central metabolism and being co-u