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“CALIFORNIA WE HAVE PROBLEM” – ELECTRIC VEHICLES NEED ACCESS TO CHARGING EQUITY
– WHO ARE THE COMPANIES WORKING TO SOLVE IT?
Oct17
i
1 Vote
Photo Courtesy of GM
The electric vehicle revolution is well underway, with California banning the
sale of new gas cars by 2035 and automakers increasing their lineup of EV
offerings. While electric has plenty of supporters in the automotive, power, and
charging industries, the issue of charging equity, or fair and equal access to
charging, looms large.
Currently, the EV market is dominated by luxury cars,
with Tesla controlling three-fourths of the U.S. market. The cost of these cars
is still well beyond the reach of many Americans. According to the U.S.
Census, median household income was $70,784 in 2021, the most recent year for
which data is available. The average price for an electric vehicle in July of
2022, was over $66,000, according to Kelley Blue Book (KBB).
As the EV market expands, however, equity will become a growing problem. In a
report on the auto industry earlier this year, Morning Consult found that 83% of
vehicle owners who make under $50,000 per year don’t have dedicated access to EV
charging at home. In the same study, 39% of people in that income bracket
expressed interest in buying an electric vehicle. Even now, EV owners who live
in rentals must sometimes go to great lengths—including running electric cord
extensions out their apartment windows—to get their cars charged.
The U.S. government has earmarked more than $7.5 billion to invest in charging
infrastructure in the bill that President Joe Biden signed into law in February.
Most of this investment is earmarked to put chargers along major highway
locations, which won’t address the equity issue.
For some companies, equity is front and center as EV charging infrastructure is
built out. Dianne Martinez is chair of East Bay Community Energy, a public
electric power agency in Northern California. The EBCE uses the buying power of
ratepayers to procure clean energy for customers, and it’s working on a project
to install fast charging in municipal lots—not just along highway corridors.
“When you look at EV charging infrastructure delivered through an equity lens,
you have to consider how a community has been impacted negatively by the fossil
fuel industry,” Martinez says. “Huge swaths of urban neighborhoods that suffer
the ill health effects of pollution, from freeways, from ports and goods
movement, from proximity to drilling and gas-powered plants. Instead of just
looking to provide the same charging opportunities that we have to folks who
already have more wealth, what if we found a metric that included and supported
those who have been traditionally the last ones considered in the green
revolution? What if we even put them first?”
A CHALLENGE FOR RENTERS
EV owners Jason Mott of Venice, Calif., and Natacha Favry of Boston have gone to
great lengths to charge their cars while living in rentals. Neither Mott nor
Favry have charging access in their apartment or condo buildings, so they use a
combination of public charging stations and, occasionally, power cords strung
out of apartment windows. Charging an EV fully using a standard power cord can
take as long as a week.
“There’s a lot of folks who don’t have parking,” Mott notes. “And you will see
people with extension cords [running] over the sidewalk to a tree, so that when
they can happen to grab that spot in front of their place, they can plug in
their car. You see people putting down those little rubber cord protectors as
you’re walking down the sidewalk, because people have their cord running out to
their car.”
A longtime EV owner and environmentalist, Mott says he’s learned to lock his
extension cord to his current vehicle, a new Rivian R1T, when he’s charging
overnight since the heavy-duty extension cords he uses to charge regularly get
stolen. Previously, Mott owned a Fiat 500e, and a Chevrolet Bolt.
Favry has owned an EV and rented flats both overseas and on the outskirts of
Boston, where she and her family moved in January for work. She says that her
charging experience in her native home of France was far more nerve-racking than
it is in the U.S. She drives a Tesla Model 3 and uses a nearby proprietary Tesla
supercharger at a local mall to keep her vehicle running. She says she’s asked
the landlord of her building to install a charger, but her request was denied.
“There’s no plug in the garage,” Favry says. “And we were told by the owner that
it’s not allowed.” Local and state incentives exist to help landlords install
chargers in multifamily dwellings, but they don’t cover the costs of upgrading
building power or wiring—and landlords don’t have a profit incentive to make the
investment worthwhile.
Rentals comprise about one-third of American housing units, according to
the U.S. Census. They are typically located in dense urban areas, and a majority
were built in the 1970s and 1980s, according to a report from 2020 by the Urban
Institute. Upgrading them to handle the charge required to power EVs is a costly
endeavor.
“The reality is that 90% of the multifamily housing in our territory is 50 years
or older, and 47% of our community here in our territory live in that
multifamily housing,” says Martinez of EBCE. “It’s very hard to incentivize
landlords to make the necessary upgrades to support their tenants in buying
EVs.”
BUSINESSES TACKLE CHARGING EQUITY
The good news for consumers is that a number of startups, utilities, and auto
manufacturers are working to solve the charging equity problem.
Joseph Vellone is head of North America operations for Ev.energy, a London-based
certified B Corporation whose software platform connects utilities, automakers,
EV chargers, and drivers to streamline charging and make it more affordable and
sustainable. About 80% of EV charging happens at home, which Vellone cites as a
reason why charging equity must begin with increasing access at multifamily
dwellings.
“Home charging access is very much a question of income level, and very quickly
becomes a social equity issue,” he says.
To solve this, Ev.energy recently launched a first-of-its-kind smart charging
cable and app, which allows multifamily unit occupants to manage their own
individual power usage and get credits or incentives for charging in off-peak
hours. The cord, called Smartenit, enables EV drivers without dedicated home
charging to optimize their usage and access, as well as save money on home
charging.
California-based charging-station company ChargePoint is also thinking about how
to get landlords to embrace the EV revolution. The company primarily operates
charging stations at stores and offices, with some stations in multifamily
units. CEO Pasquale Romano says landlords should think of EV charging the same
way they do cable or internet—as a must-have for modern living.
“The landlord doesn’t really make any money on cable TV or internet,” he says.
“EV charging is going to be like Wi-Fi. Access is going to be required.”
Even large companies like General Motors, which is already heavily invested in
the EV and electrification space, are working to tackle the charging equity
question. The company has just announced a new business unit called GM Energy,
which will offer everything from commercial battery and energy management
solutions to individual home and multiunit solutions. By getting battery storage
to multifamily units, landlords can then install EV chargers.
These solutions will be built on GM’s Ultium battery technology and utilize
integrated energy management that will include bidirectional charging,
vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-grid solutions, as well as stationary storage,
solar products, software applications, cloud management tools, microgrid
solutions, hydrogen fuel cells, and more.
“The public charging infrastructure needs to grow, and grow rapidly, both on
freeway infrastructure as well as multiunit dwellings and high-density living,”
says Travis Hester, vice president of EV growth operations at GM. “We’re walking
into this area where EVs are about to scale. They’re not there yet, but they’re
about to, and this, we think, is an integral part of the electric vehicle
ecosystem, but it’s also part of a non-vehicle ecosystem.”
On the utility and municipal side, the EBCE is focusing on working with state
and local authorities to lease municipal parking lots and install chargers
where, Martinez says, they are needed the most. “What we find to be the greatest
bang for our buck is supporting DC [direct current] fast chargers in communities
where there’s a high degree of multifamily housing,” Martinez says. She hopes
that the EBCE’s efforts will help serve as a blueprint for other cities.
“Low-income and disadvantaged communities [are] not the first-wave adopters of
electric vehicles. They have their minds set on keeping their households
together, getting to work,” Martinez says. “It’s time to focus on that second
wave of people who are thinking about their next small-car purchase.”
Article Provided by A. Bassett: Fortune
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NEW CELL-LEVEL GEL COULD TREAT OR PREVENT GUM DISEASE BY FIGHTING INFLAMMATION
AND CHANGING COMPOSITION OF MOUTH BACTERIA: NYU COLLEGE OF DENTISTRY
Sep25
i
1 Vote
A topical gel that blocks the receptor for a metabolic byproduct called
succinate treats gum disease by suppressing inflammation and changing the makeup
of bacteria in the mouth. Credit: Yuqi Guo
A topical gel that blocks the receptor for a metabolic byproduct called
succinate treats gum disease by suppressing inflammation and changing the makeup
of bacteria in the mouth, according to a new study led by researchers at NYU
College of Dentistry and published in Cell Reports.
The research, conducted in mice and using human cells and plaque samples, lays
the groundwork for a non-invasive treatment for gum disease that people could
apply to the gums at home to prevent or treat gum disease.
Gum disease (also known as periodontitis or periodontal disease) is one of the
most prevalent inflammatory diseases, affecting nearly half of adults 30 and
older. It is marked by three components: inflammation, an imbalance of unhealthy
and healthy bacteria in the mouth, and destruction of the bones and structures
that support the teeth. Uncontrolled gum disease can lead to painful and
bleeding gums, difficulty chewing, and tooth loss.
“No current treatment for gum disease simultaneously reduces inflammation,
limits disruption to the oral microbiome, and prevents bone loss. There is an
urgent public health need for more targeted and effective treatments for this
common disease,” said Yuqi Guo, an associate research scientist in the
Department of Molecular Pathobiology at NYU Dentistry and the study’s co-first
author.
Past research has linked increased succinate—a molecule produced during
metabolism—to gum disease, with higher succinate levels associated with higher
levels of inflammation. Guo and her colleagues at NYU Dentistry also discovered
in 2017 that elevated levels of succinate activate the succinate receptor and
stimulate bone loss. These findings made the succinate receptor an appealing
target for countering inflammation and bone loss—and potentially stopping gum
disease in its tracks.
Strengthening the link between succinate and gum disease
The researchers started by examining dental plaque samples from humans and blood
samples from mice. Using metabolomic analyses, they found higher succinate
levels in people and mice with gum disease compared to those with healthy gums,
confirming what previous studies have found.
They also saw that the succinate receptor was expressed in human and mouse gums.
To test the connection between the succinate receptor and the components of gum
disease, they genetically altered mice to inactivate, or “knock out,” the
succinate receptor.
In “knockout” mice with gum disease, the researchers measured lower levels of
inflammation in both the gum tissue and blood, as well as less bone loss. They
also found different bacteria in their mouths: mice with gum disease had a
greater imbalance of bacteria than did “knockout” mice.
This held true when the researchers administered extra succinate to both types
of mice, which worsened gum disease in normal mice; however, “knockout” mice
were protected against inflammation, increases in unhealthy bacteria, and bone
loss.
“Mice without active succinate receptors were more resilient to disease,” said
Fangxi Xu, an assistant research scientist in the Department of Molecular
Pathobiology at NYU Dentistry and the study’s co-first author. “While we already
knew that there was some connection between succinate and gum disease, we now
have stronger evidence that elevated succinate and the succinate receptor are
major drivers of the disease.”
A novel treatment
To see if blocking the succinate receptor could ameliorate gum disease, the
researchers developed a gel formulation of a small compound that targets the
succinate receptor and prevents it from being activated. In laboratory studies
of human gum cells, the compound reduced inflammation and processes that lead to
bone loss.
The compound was then applied as a topical gel to the gums of mice with gum
disease, which reduced local and systemic inflammation and bone loss in a matter
of days. In one test, the researchers applied the gel to the gums of mice with
gum disease every other day for four weeks, which cut their bone loss in half
compared to mice who did not receive the gel.
Mice treated with the gel also had significant changes to the community of
bacteria in their mouths. Notably, bacteria in the Bacteroidetes family—which
include pathogens that are known to be dominant in gum disease—were depleted in
those treated with the gel.
“We conducted additional tests to see if the compound itself acted as an
antibiotic, and found that it does not directly affect the growth of bacteria.
This suggests that the gel changes the community of bacteria through regulating
inflammation,” said Deepak Saxena, professor of molecular pathobiology at NYU
Dentistry and the study’s co-senior author.
The researchers are continuing to study the gel in animal models to find the
appropriate dosage and timing for application, as well as determine any
toxicity. Their long-term goal is to develop a gel and oral strip that can be
used at home by people with or at risk for gum disease, as well as a stronger,
slow-release formulation that dentists can apply to pockets that form in the
gums during gum disease.
“Current treatments for severe gum disease can be invasive and painful. In the
case of antibiotics, which may help temporarily, they kill both good and bad
bacteria, disrupting the oral microbiome. This new compound that blocks the
succinate receptor has clear therapeutic value for treating gum disease using
more targeted and convenient processes,” said Xin Li, professor of molecular
pathobiology at NYU Dentistry and the study’s lead author.
Additional study authors include Scott Thomas, Yanli Zhang, Bidisha Paul,
Sungpil Chae, Patty Li, Caleb Almeter, and Angela Kamer of NYU Dentistry; Satish
Sakilam and Paramjit Arora of NYU Department of Chemistry; and Dana Graves of
the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine.
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College of Dentistry, Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, NYU College of
DentistryDentistry
“TURNING UP THE HEAT” – HEAT-RESISTANT NANOPHOTONIC MATERIAL COULD HELP TURN
HEAT INTO ELECTRICITY: U OF MICHIGAN
Sep22
i
1 Vote
Looking for Renewable Energy Sources “In the Small Things” Contributed By G.
Cherry UOM
A new nanophotonic material has broken records for high-temperature stability,
potentially ushering in more efficient electricity production and opening a
variety of new possibilities in the control and conversion of thermal
radiation.Developed by a University of Michigan-led team of chemical and
materials science engineers, the material controls the flow of infrared
radiation and is stable at temperatures of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit in air, a
nearly twofold improvement over existing approaches.The material uses a
phenomenon called destructive interference to reflect infrared energy while
letting shorter wavelengths pass through. This could potentially reduce heat
waste in thermophotovoltaic cells, which convert heat into electricity but can’t
use infrared energy, by reflecting infrared waves back into the system. The
material could also be useful in optical photovoltaics, thermal imaging,
environmental barrier coatings, sensing, camouflage from infrared surveillance
devices and other applications.
“It’s similar to the way butterfly wings use wave interference to get their
color. Butterfly wings are made up of colorless materials, but those materials
are structured and patterned in a way that absorbs some wavelengths of white
light but reflects others, producing the appearance of color,” said Andrej
Lenert, U-M assistant professor of chemical engineering and co-corresponding
author of the study in Nature Photonics (“Nanophotonic control of thermal
emission under extreme conditions”).“This material does something similar with
infrared energy. The challenging part has been preventing breakdown of that
color-producing structure under high heat.”The approach is a major departure
from the current state of engineered thermal emitters, which typically use foams
and ceramics to limit infrared emissions. These materials are stable at high
temperature but offer very limited control over which wavelengths they let
through. Nanophotonics could offer much more tunable control, but past efforts
haven’t been stable at high temperatures, often melting or oxidizing (the
process that forms rust on iron). In addition, many nanophotonic materials only
maintain their stability in a vacuum.The new material works toward solving that
problem, besting the previous record for heat resistance among air-stable
photonic crystals by more than 900 degrees Fahrenheit in open air. In addition,
the material is tunable, enabling researchers to tweak it to modify energy for a
wide variety of potential applications. The research team predicted that
applying this material to existing TPVs will increase efficiency by 10% and
believes that much greater efficiency gains will be possible with further
optimization.The team developed the solution by combining chemical engineering
and materials science expertise. Lenert’s chemical engineering team began by
looking for materials that wouldn’t mix even if they started to melt.“The goal
is to find materials that will maintain nice, crisp layers that reflect light in
the way we want, even when things get very hot,” Lenert said. “So we looked for
materials with very different crystal structures, because they tend not to want
to mix.”They hypothesized that a combination of rock salt and perovskite, a
mineral made of calcium and titanium oxides, fit the bill. Collaborators at U-M
and the University of Virginia ran supercomputer simulations to confirm that the
combination was a good bet.John Heron, co-corresponding author of the study and
an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at U-M, and Matthew
Webb, a doctoral student in materials science and engineering, then carefully
deposited the material using pulsed laser deposition to achieve precise layers
with smooth interfaces. To make the material even more durable, they used oxides
rather than conventional photonic materials; the oxides can be layered more
precisely and are less likely to degrade under high heat.“In previous work,
traditional materials oxidized under high heat, losing their orderly layered
structure,” Heron said. “But when you start out with oxides, that degradation
has essentially already taken place. That produces increased stability in the
final layered structure.”After testing confirmed that the material worked as
designed, Sean McSherry, first author of the study and a doctoral student in
materials science and engineering at U-M, used computer modeling to identify
hundreds of other combinations of materials that are also likely to work. While
commercial implementation of the material tested in the study is likely years
away, the core discovery opens up a new line of research into a variety of other
nanophotonic materials that could help future researchers develop a range of new
materials for a variety of applications.
Source: By Gabe Cherry, University of Michigan
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Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, Renewable Energy, University of Michigan
UCLA: ‘GLASS BUBBLE’ NANOCARRIER BOOSTS EFFECTS OF COMBINATION THERAPY FOR
PANCREATIC CANCER
Sep14
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The nanocarrier’s hollow glass bubble (white, at left) is packed with irinotecan
(green) and is covered by lipid layers (blue) that contain the immue-boosing
drug 3M-052 (orange particles in close-up image on right). Credit: CNSI/UCLA
Over the past 30 years, progress in early detection and treatment of cancer has
helped reduce the overall death rate by more than 30%. Pancreatic cancer,
however, has remained difficult to treat. Only 1 in 9 people survive five years
after diagnosis, in part because this cancer is protected by biological factors
that help it resist treatment.
In hopes of turning the tide, UCLA researchers have developed a technology that
delivers a combination therapy to pancreatic tumors using nanoscale particles
loaded with irinotecan, a chemotherapy drug approved as part of a drug regimen
for pancreatic cancer, and 3M-052, an investigational drug that can boost immune
activity and help overcome tumors’ resistance.
In a study recently published in the journal ACS Nano, the research team showed
that the simultaneously delivered combination outperformed the sum of its parts
in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer.
“In my opinion, invoking the immune system will make a big difference in
providing a much better treatment outcome for pancreatic cancer,” said
corresponding author André Nel, a distinguished professor of medicine and
director of research at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA. “That’s
where I hope this research is taking us.”
The researchers’ double-loaded nanocarrier was more effective at shrinking
tumors and preventing cancer metastasis in mice than either irinotecan without a
nanocarrier or nanocarriers that delivered the two drugs independently. The
combination therapy also attracted more cancer-killing immune cells to tumor
sites and maintained drug levels in the blood for longer. There was no evidence
of harmful side effects.
In addition to blocking cancer cells from growing, irinotecan sends a danger
signal to the immune system‘s dendritic cells; these in turn mobilize killer T
cells, which travel to tumor sites and destroy cancer cells. But because
dendritic cells are often functionally impaired in patients with pancreatic
cancer, 3M-052 provides extra assistance, helping them better marshal killer T
cells both at the cancer site and in nearby lymph nodes.
Combination therapies for cancer are not new, but packaging drugs together in
the same nanocarrier has proven difficult. Only one dual-delivery nanocarrier
for chemotherapy has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. However,
over the past seven years, the Nel lab has developed an approach for
simultaneous delivery, and the current findings provide further evidence that
their innovative nanocarrier design enables the drugs to work in tandem more
effectively than if they were delivered separately.
Most nanocarriers are composed of layers of lipid molecules made up of fatty
substances, similar to a cell membrane, with spaces into which drugs can be
packaged. With the new device, that double layer of lipids surrounds a core
glass bubble made of silica whose hollow interior can be filled with irinotecan.
In an ingenious twist, UCLA postdoctoral researcher and first author Lijia Luo
figured out that the 3M-052 molecule’s fatty tail could be used for integrating
the second drug directly into these outer lipid layers.
The structural design of the carrier, which is so small that it would take 1,000
of them to span the width of a human hair, helps prevent drug leakage and
toxicity while the device enters a formidable ropelike barrier protecting
the pancreatic cancer and travels to the tumor site. The glass bubbles offer
additional protection from leakage, enabling the carrier to deliver more
irinotecan to the tumor site, compared to other drug carriers.
The team will conduct further preclinical experiments to test their treatment in
large-animal models and confirm quality-control for large-scale manufacturing of
their silica nanocarriers.
“It traditionally takes 10 to 20 years for new breakthrough technologies to
reach the marketplace,” said Nel, who is also founder and chief of UCLA’s
nanomedicine division and director of the University of California’s Center for
Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology. “Nanocarriers have been around for
almost 20 years. While lipid-based nanocarriers are leading the way, the
silica-based carrier decorated with lipid layers stands a good chance of
speeding up the rate of discovery and improving cancer immunotherapy.”
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Nano-Carriers, Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, UCLA
BATTERY RECYCLING: THE OTHER BIG INDUSTRY ON EUROPEAN HORIZON
Sep11
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THE GROWTH OF RECYCLING PLANTS IN EUROPE IS A NECESSARY ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE
TO THE INCREASING DEMAND FOR BATTERIES FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND THE GIGAFACTORY
INDUSTRY THAT WILL DEVELOP IN THE COMING YEARS.
*** Contributed by: M. Guitierrez of CICenergiGUNE
The entire world is currently immersed in an energy transition that involves,
among other things, a complete electrification of the mobility sector and the
promotion of renewable energies. As a result, the demand for batteries has grown
steadily by 30% annually in recent years and the outlook for the coming years is
exponential.
The main driver of this growth is the electric vehicle, which is expected to
represent more than 88% of the demand compared to other types of applications.
Moreover, it is estimated that two out of three vehicles will be electric by
2040. Hence, Europe, which seeks to be a benchmark in this new scenario, is
taking positions through the creation of more and more gigafactories.
However, this increase in the manufacture and use of batteries for electric cars
requires the development of a new and increasingly necessary sector: the
recycling of these batteries. Above all, taking into account that the energy
transition to be faced in the coming years is linked to the circular
economy which is essential for the desired change towards sustainability.
According to a Greenpeace study, almost 13 million tons of batteries from
electric vehicles will reach the end of their life between 2021 and 2030. This
represents a huge environmental impact due to the amount of critical materials
(lithium, cobalt, nickel…) that will have to be disposed of. And even more so,
taking into account that the manufacture of new batteries will require the
extraction of around 10 million tons of new materials.
The current situation in Europe in terms of material recycling is still far from
what is desirable, given that today only 22% of cobalt, 16% of nickel, 12% of
aluminum and 8% of manganese are recycled.
That is why, as we have seen in previous blog articles, great efforts are being
made to study how these materials can be reused and/or recycled, in order to
promote a circular economy.
Source: ReCell Center
EUROPE SEEKS TO REGULATE THIS MACRO-INDUSTRY THROUGH A NEW REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
One of the major efforts made in recent months has been focused, in a
forward-looking approach, on the development of regulations to control the end
of the life of these batteries.
Europe has already taken action on the matter through a proposal to change the
current regulatory framework, not only to develop the “circularity” of the
market, but also to reduce dependence on third territories as far as the supply
of raw materials is concerned.
It is a proposal that includes thirteen major blocks of measures covering the
entire value chain of the industry with special emphasis on the efficiency
levels of recycling and recovery of materials. The objective is to contribute to
the protection, preservation and improvement of the quality of the
environment by minimizing the negative impact of batteries and capacitors and
their waste.
To achieve these goals, the European Directive prohibits the placing of
batteries containing certain hazardous substances on the market and defines
measures to establish systems aimed at achieving a high level of collection and
recycling. It also aims to improve the environmental performance of all
operators involved in the life cycle of batteries, such as producers,
distributors and end users and, in particular, operators directly participating
in the treatment and recycling of waste batteries and capacitors.
The U.S. regulation, on the other hand, complains about the absence of a
standardized procedure for the design, materials and chemistries of the
batteries that are manufactured. Their proposal includes the introduction of a
standardized procedure for battery recycling to help manufacturers understand
which materials and designs are most easily recyclable. This is known as the
“Designed for Recycling” concept.
In this regard, Spain has the Royal Decree 20/2017, of January 20, which obliges
manufacturers to inform consumers about the criteria that will be adopted to
ensure that the vehicle they are purchasing will be treated responsibly at the
end of its useful life.
LEADING INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS JOIN THE RECYCLING WAVE
The battery recycling sector requires a transformation and there are many
European players that are betting on it to boost the circular economy and create
a competitive advantage associated with the knowledge of this growing industry.
One of them is ERMA (European Raw Materials Alliance); an alliance that includes
companies, associations, universities and research centers –among them CIC
energiGUNE– focused on the recycling industry, and whose activities include,
among others, supporting the capacity of the European raw materials industry to
extract, design, manufacture and recycle materials.
Among the agents belonging to ERMA, we find the RECHARGEassociation, which
mainly brings together large companies and some associations related to
the materials used in batteries, with the intention of promoting and defending
the interests of the entire value chain.
Another player, this time directly linked to battery recycling, is Reneos. This
is the first European platform for the collection and recycling of electric
vehicle batteries. This platform focuses its activity on the collection of
batteries and waste in compliance with European guidelines, before giving them a
second life through reuse or disassembly for recycling.
Finally, it is worth mentioning other alliances or initiatives that defend to a
greater or lesser extent the interests of the recycling industry. Some of them
are Eucobat, the European association of national battery collection
systems; EBRA, a grouping that aims to develop the highest levels of
professionalism in the battery recycling industry; and EuRIC, which, thanks to
its strong network of European and national recycling associations, acts as a
trusted interface between the industry and the European Union for the exchange
of best practices in all matters related to recycling.
EUROPE´S PROLIFERATION OF RECYCLING PLANTS
Given the need, sustainability and also the profitability of the battery
recycling industry, more and more companies are commercializing new
processes for the collection, discharge and dismantling of these batteries.
Not surprisingly, according to a study by the consulting firm Yole Development,
during the period from 2020 to 2025 a CAGR of 25% is estimated in the global
value of the recycled materials industry for lithium-ion batteries. This would
mean, in economic terms, a total market value of close to $1.2 billion by 2025,
and some even forecast that, by 2040, this market will reach a value of almost
$24 billion.
In Europe, this spread of battery recycling projects is spearheaded by the
factory that SMS Group wants to set up together with the Australian
company Neometals. It is called “Primobius” and promises effective recycling of
lithium-ion batteries.
Meanwhile, Solvay and Veolia are continuing to advance their battery recycling
partnership, which began in September 2020, and have announced the establishment
of a demonstration plant for recycling battery materials.
In Northern Europe, Sweden has announced the project of a new battery recycling
plant, with an investment of more than €24 million by Stena Recycling and will
be located in the town of Halmstad.
At the same time, in Central Europe, Volkswagen has recently opened a pilot
plant in Salzgitter (Germany) and also, the recycling company Elemental
Holding has announced an investment of 182 million euros for the treatment of
batteries and other metals containing waste in Poland.
If we focus on southern Europe, recently, the companies Endesa and Urbaser have
announced that Spain will have its own battery recycling plant in León in 2023.
A project that promises the treatment of 8,000 tons of batteries per year that
will be processed through a separation and shredding procedure that will allow
the recycling of the materials of the storage system.
In addition to those already mentioned, other plans have been announced for the
creation of recycling plants. One of them is Northvolt, which intends to start
up a factory capable of recycling 25,000 tons of batteries per year, and also,
the one of BASF in Germany, both with the intention of being operational next
year.
THE ALTERNATIVE TO RECYCLING: THE SECOND LIFE OF BATTERIES
Another trend that has arisen as a result of the increased use of batteries is
the possibility of reconditioning electric vehicle batteries as an energy
storage solution for other applications. This is known as “Second Life
Batteries“.
Indeed, if the useful life of an electric vehicle battery is estimated at around
8 years, the energy remaining inside the battery cells can be extended by 5 to
10 years, depending on the application in which it is used, until it finally
reaches its end of life.
This has led to initiatives such as the one of Enel Group, which has used 90
used Nissan Leaf batteries in an energy storage facility in Melilla. Meanwhile,
the energy company Powervault has announced its partnership with Renault to
equip domestic energy storage systemsbased on batteries from retired electric
vehicles.
Not only that, Spain has also been a pioneer in Europe by installing the first
chargers powered by second-life batteries on the highway linking Madrid and
Valencia.
One way or another, the premise is clear. It is necessary to find a solution for
the recycling of around 50,000 tons of batteries that are expected to be
discarded from 2027; a figure that could even multiply and reach 700,000 tons in
2035.
Hence, one of the main focuses of work and research at centers such as CIC
energiGUNE is the advancement of techniques and solutions that promote the
development of the recycling industry. Even more so if we want to ensure that
the battery sector becomes a reference in terms of sustainability.
Below, as a summary, from CIC energiGUNE we have gathered the classification of
the main agents that have announced to be associated to battery recycling:
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Nanotechnology, Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, Recycle
READ GENESIS NANOTECH ONLINE: A DEEP DIVE INTO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TEXTILE
BASED PROTEIN SENSOR FOR MONITORING THE HEALING PROGRESS OF WOUNDS
Sep4
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This article focuses on the design and fabrication of flexible textile-based
protein sensors to be embedded in wound dressings.
Chronic wounds require continuous monitoring to prevent further complications
and to determine the best course of treatment in the case of infection. As
proteins are essential for the progression of wound healing, they can be used as
an indicator of wound status. Through measuring protein concentrations, the
sensor can assess and monitor the wound condition continuously as a function of
time.
The protein sensor consists of electrodes that are directly screen printed using
both silver and carbon composite inks on polyester nonwoven fabric which was
deliberately selected as this is one of the common backing fabric types
currently used in wound dressings. These sensors were experimentally evaluated
and compared to each other by using albumin protein solution of pH 7. A
comprehensive set of cyclic voltammetry measurements was used to determine the
optimal sensor design the measurement of protein in solution. As a result, the
best sensor design is comprised of silver conductive tracks but a carbon layer
as the working and counter electrodes at the interface zone. This design
prevents the formation of silver dioxide and protects the sensor from rapid
decay, which allows for the recording of consecutive measurements using the same
sensor.
The chosen printed protein sensor was able to detect bovine serum albumin at
concentrations ranging from 30 to 0.3 mg/mL with a sensitivity of
0.0026𝜇0.0026μA/M. Further testing was performed to assess the sensor’s ability
to identify BSA from other interferential substances usually present in wound
fluids and the results show that it can be distinguishable.
INTRODUCTION
Skin is a crucial organ of the human body as it acts as a barrier to protect the
rest of the body’s tissues and organs1, therefore when it suffers an injury,
other essential and healthy organs could become infected or injured2,3. While in
most minor wound cases, minimal intervention is required such as placing a
bandage or medical gauze to prevent further damage to the wound and to prevent
it being overrun by infectious microorganisms. However, many chronic wounds need
to be monitored and retreated constantly over long periods of time.
The cost of treating wounds is a critical issue as it is estimated to account
for at least 3%3% of the total healthcare expenditure in most developed
countries4. Since 2018, it is estimated that the UK is managing approximately
3.8 million patients with a wound in a clinical setting annually5. It was
estimated that health services in 2012 spent ££5.1 billion on costs associated
with wound care management6 which provided a compelling case for improvement in
the current standard of wound dressings not only to reduce healthcare costs but
also to improve patient quality of life7. However, better and effective means of
reporting quantitative information about the wound condition in real time is
required to inform and guide treatment decisions as improved wound care will
deliver improved public health and healthcare costs8,9.
The wound healing process can be monitored by repeatedly determining the
multiple physiological changes that occur including but not limited to pH,
alkalization, temperature, uric acid and specific protein types such as albumin
and fibrinogen whilst tissue repair progresses2. Detection of these biomarkers
with minimally invasive techniques can provide an effective way for the
real-time monitoring of the condition of a wound. In addition, remote wound
monitoring could keep the patient informed about their condition, improve their
quality of life and reduce the frequency of face-to-face consultations and
treatments with healthcare providers10.
Higher precision in wound detection treatment is advancing more rapidly as
presented recently3where an integrated wound recognition strategy is conducted
by extracting patterns of specific irregular wounds. This work was implemented
on a bandage, but others have investigated different textiles to allow
flexibility of wearable medical devices11,12,13. Integrating electronics with
textiles has advanced medical care by facilitating multiple physiological
parameters and the body’s biomolecular state to be monitored remotely through
minimal or noninvasive techniques and sometimes with reduced direct contact with
the human body13,14. Improved flexibility and durability allow electronic
devices to be more suitable for wearable biosensors as they can be embedded into
clothing to realize electronic textiles15. These emerging technologies in
wearable electronics have made using smart textiles in the design of flexible
patches using textiles11 which made wound dressings more achievable and is
leading to major advances in healthcare monitoring, personalized therapy, and
human-machine interaction12. The aim of wearable textile biosensors is to
indirectly detect critical physiological changes in the body through measuring
indirect stimuli that can be readily detected from outside the body despite the
uncontrolled environment surrounding the body16. However, to be embedded in
wound dressings, not only does it have to be miniaturized but it also needs to
be flexible and lightweight to make positioning around the wound feasible and as
comfortable to wear as possible regardless of the location of the wound17. To
provide better flexibility the ink used in fabricating the biosensor plays a
critical role as adding a bendable layer to a textile can provide fabric
reinforcement and make it mechanically bendable18.This is one of the challenges
that were addressed in this paper and will be discussed in the later section.
The design of the protein sensor is based on the structure of an electrochemical
cell that uses a three-electrode configuration to perform the cyclic voltammetry
measurements19,20,21.
Electrochemical sensors are generally preferred because they can provide rapid
real time monitoring of change and wound conditions, they are also relatively
inexpensive and can be miniaturized and embedded within textiles22.
Categorically the device should be a potentiometric biosensor which works by
measuring the voltage produced when electric current flows through the solution
under static conditions23,24,25,26,27,28.
Screen printing technology has been used to fabricate electrochemical electrodes
on ceramic or plastic based substrates29,30,31.This technique involves forcing
suitable ink formulations in paste form through a patterned stencil or screened
mesh of a specific size and shaped using a squeegee to form the desired design
on a substrate32. Screen printing provides greater design freedom in that the
printed layers can have any orientation on the fabric and do not need to follow
the yarn directions. In addition, screen printing provides the ability to
produce arrays of the same or different devices in a straightforward fashion;
screen printing is inherently a batch process producing multiple devices from a
single screen design.
While pH and temperature have been used as parameters in assessing wound
status33,34,35, detecting protein concentrations helps to identify wound healing
stages36 as it is less likely to be affected by the active external environment
surrounding the exudate. Albumin was the protein determined in this research
work, which has been modelled and measured previously37,38 as it is the most
abundant protein in blood plasma (it represents 50%50% of total protein)39,
previous research has shown a relation between the wellness of a person and the
albumin concentration40, establishing albumin concentration as a good marker of
protein concentrations in wounds. Albumin concentrations in wounds have been
used as indicator of wound severity conditions, for which a concentration
of >15>15 mg/mL is in inflamed wounds41. While the protein level in a healing
wound is around 9 mg/mL, compared to levels of 35 mg/mL for chronic slow healing
wounds42.
Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used to prepare standard solutions of albumin43.
The use of BSA as a protein source specifically when testing electro-chemical
sensors has been previously reported by others44 because the concentration can
be easily standardized and altered precisely to evaluate the detection range.
Most importantly, the properties of BSA are very similar to human serum albumin
with respect to other proteins as discussed in a recent paper38.
For the first time in literature, this research presents a unique approach to
integrate protein sensors in fabric which improves the sensors durability,
comfort, flexibility and wearability and performance within specification.
Although a similar approach was presented recently8,45, where screen printed
electrodes (SPEs) were printed on a paper and placed inside a bandage but
measure pH and uric acid to monitor chronic wounds.
In this research, three designs were investigated to determine the optimal
biosensor design for integration into wound dressings. These designs were
fabricated by screen printing. Each design was printed directly on 3 different
types of fabric with different surface roughness and layer thickness. The
conductive tracks were made from silver flake-based ink and carbon ink. UV
curable dielectric ink was used to smooth out the textile surface and to provide
an even surface for further printing. The same UV ink was used as the
encapsulation. 2-point resistance measurement was conducted on printed layers to
ensure continuity and cyclic voltammetry measurements were performed to
determine sensitivity and selectivity.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The research had two main stages. The first stage encompassed the design and
fabrication of the textile based sensors and the second stage covered the
testing of the sensors using a previously established empirical technique
reported by the authors37.
FABRICATION OF TEXTILE BASED SCREEN PRINTED ELECTRODES
The process of screen printing on fabric involves four stages as illustrated in
Fig. 1 which shows an exploded view of the three designs. The first design
purely consisted of silver layer as both the conductive tracks and electrodes;
the second consisted of a mix of both silver and carbon layers; the third design
had a carbon layer as part of the electrodes in the region where the sensor
encounters the fluid under test at the interface zone. In all three designs,
there were three electrodes (working, counter, reference electrodes). The
dimensions of the sensors are shown in Fig. 2.
The sensors were printed onto three textiles, two of which are medical fabric
types. The first one (Type A) was a polypropylene non-woven fabric and has areal
surface roughness (Sa = 119.24 119.24 µm), the second (Type B) is a blend of
cotton/polyester woven fabric and has areal surface roughness (Sa
= 59.37 59.37 µm) while the third one (Type C) is made from polyester non-woven
fabric and has areal surface roughness (Sa = 151.52 151.52µm). Each fabric was
placed and adhered in turn onto an alumina tile which provided a rigid platform
for printing. The sensors were successfully printed on all three fabric types
but it is discovered that printing on the cotton/polyester fabric was easier,
while Type A fabric was more difficult to print on because it started to tear
apart. However, using polyester non-woven fabric (Type C), which is similar to
the one used in wound dressings, prevented the initial substrate layer from
cracking. Upon fabrication, the final printed sensors are shown in Fig. 3. After
printing, the resistance between two end points of printed track was measured
using a multimeter. The resistance observed in design A and B (shown in Fig. 1)
was less than 1 ohm on average, while design C always had a much higher
resistance (in the range of 260–410 ohms). Microscopic images of the three
designs are shown in Fig. 1 in that the tracks were well defined.
Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3
The main challenge in the printing process was to maintain the correct alignment
when printing each layer to prevent short circuit and to preserve the sensor
design. To resolve this issue, a trial print was deposited on a transparent
laminate sheet before every deposit to make sure the patterns were all perfectly
aligned before printing directly on fabric. The second main challenge faced
repeatedly was the roughness of each printed layer. To print several layers on
top of each other, all layers need to be smooth with no pin holes on the surface
as this affected the roughness of the final finishing layer. To address this
issue, the smooth side of the fabric was initially shaved to enable the surface
to be as uniform as possible. The dielectric layer was then printed several
times with varying printing gaps to reduce any pin holes and to provide an even
platform for printing conductive layers. The third challenge was that the fabric
could not be easily removed from the alumina (supporting platform). It was
observed that this only occurred when using thin fabric such as Type A fabric
shown in Fig. 3. To avoid this issue, two layers of the same fabric were adhered
and fixed on top of each other. This strengthened the fabric layer but also
eased the removal of fabric after printing.
The printed layers after each stage are shown in Fig. 4. Initially, in the first
stage shown in (A), the polymer interface layer was deposited six times to
create a smooth platform for subsequent layers to be printed on top. The
interface layer was then cured under UV light to produce a thickness
of 110 110 µm. Next, the silver conductive electrodes were printed as shown in
(B) and cured in the oven for 15 minutes at 100 ∘∘C. The silver layer was
printed twice to produce a thickness of 16 16 µm. The carbon layer was then
printed only on the second and third designs as shown in Fig. 4C and cured in
the oven for 15 minutes at 100 ∘∘C. The print was repeated twice to create a
thickness of 26 26 µm. Finally, the same material used for the interface layer
was printed to protect the conductive tracks of the sensors as shown in (D) and
was cured under UV light to produce a thickness of 14 14 µm. A microscopic
image of the interface for each design before being tested is shown in Fig. 5.
The images captured show how the electrodes in delicate area of the interface
zone are clearly separated from each other and how the layers are well aligned
and printed on top of each other and there is no short circuit occurring.
Figure 4 Figure 5
Upon fabrication, the sensors were highly flexible and can be easily bent as
shown in Fig. 6, where the sensor was wrapped around cylinders with a diameter
ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm to mimic the bending when worn on patient. The
results showed that all designs could wrap around these diameters without
causing cracks in any of printed layers. This was further cross validated
through continuity measurement, proving the conductivity of printed sensors is
intact. This feature is of great significance because of the nature of the
targeted application as the exact positioning of a wound is unpredictable, and
the dressing does need to be wrapped and bent around the human body. To test the
bendability of the sensor, an experimental setup was prepared as shown in Fig.
7. This was achieved using a Shimadzu AG-X Universal Testing Machine with custom
3D printed attachments to grip the printed sensors. The two attachments were
initially set at 21mm apart which is the maximum distance from two opposite
sides of the sensor.
These attachments were them moved towards each other and stopped at mm apart to
avoid damage to machine and attachment. The cyclic test was repeated 5 times
with 3 sensors. The measured force to bend the sensor ranges from 0 to 2.5 N
depending on compression position and there was no damage to the integrity of
all designs which was subsequently cross-validated through continuity
measurement. This mechanical test demonstrated a quantifiable measure of the
sensor ability to bend with minimal force without affecting the sensor’s
structure. After the test was conducted, the conductivity of the electrodes was
measured and remained unchanged and unaffected by the test.
Figure 6 Figure 7
CYCLIC VOLTAMMETRY (CV) MEASUREMENTS
The fabric around the bottom edge of the sensor was removed in order to be
connected to the AUTOLAB Dropsens adaptor which includes an insertion connector
with 3 pins. BSA with 8 concentrations ranging from 0.3 – 30 mg/mL were used as
the protein sources. Initially, the experiment was conducted on three sensor
designs on all three types of fabric to establish the most suitable design. For
each measurement, the current at the oxidation peak was observed and recorded
and a best fit line of all the measurements was then plotted in Fig. 8. The SPE
design with only silver layer at the interface zone (SPE design (A)) stopped
functioning when testing a solution with concentration below 3 mg/mL. As shown
in Fig. 8, the two cycles conducted using SPE with only carbon were close to
each other in terms of gradient as there was less than 8%8% difference in
comparison with design A and B where the differences in measurements between two
cycles were 32%32% and 41%41%, respectively. This demonstrated that design C was
the most stable and reliable design as it provided reproducible and comparable
results each time. The results show a clear relationship between BSA
concentration and current peak obtained at the working electrode. This happens
because the increase in concentration gradient near the surface of the working
electrode causes an increase in the current observed at the oxidation peak. This
is a result of the increase in the amount of electroactive proteins adsorption
at the interface when the concentration of BSA increases, leading to increase in
surface charge density which drives higher current at the oxidation peak46.
Figure 8
The status of the sensors after CV measurement performed was investigated to
ensure no printed material was damaged. This was achieved by examining each
sensor post measurement under the microscope. During the measurement process,
the formation of a dark grey color coating (Silver dioxide) was observed at the
working electrode when using SPE design (A) as shown in Fig. 9A. This indicated
that the silver electrode was damaged before the end of the cycle and could lead
to unreliable results. In order to examine the underlying silver layer in design
B, the carbon layer was manually removed to expose the silver layer. SPE design
(B) where the carbon layer was scratched in SPE design (B) to make the silver
layer more visible as shown in Fig. 9B. The image illustrates how silver layer
was still oxidized, but was far less visibly damaged than design (A) because it
is protected by the carbon layer as it is noncorrosive. The SPE design (C)
remained unchanged as there was no silver present at the interface zone. SPE
design (C) was then observed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a
cross-sectional micrograph including the conductive tracks, the encapsulation
layer, interface layer and the textile is shown in Fig. 10. The image shown
demonstrates the continuity and consistency of the multiple layers present in
design of the sensor around the interface zone.
Figure 9 Figure 10
Further empirical testing was only conducted using SPE design (C). The CV
measurement obtained after the redox reaction is shown in Fig. 11 when 30 mg/mL
BSA was used. After repeating each test three time with new sensor on each
fabric type, there was a correlation observed after the first cycle between
cycle 2 and 3. The equation of the line for the sensors with three different
fabric types are included in Table 1.Table 1 The relationship between number of
cycles and CV measurements.
Full size table
The CV experiment was then repeated three times on the same sensor and performed
on all three types of fabric. The results obtained using the three types of
fabric overlapped each other and were within the same current range at the
working electrode (0.06–0.15A). Therefore, the effect of fabric type on the
redox reaction was minimal. Type (C) fabric was more repeatable as clearly shown
in the graph (the undashed lines) and was chosen as the standard in the
fabrication of the sensor because it is also commonly used for medical wound
dressings. In addition, the first CV cycle was always lower in magnitude than
the measurements obtained in the subsequent cycles. The second and third cycles
were consistently closer to each other in comparison with the initial cycle.
This is more visible when all peaks of several concentrations of each cycle were
compared to each other as shown in Fig. 12. Therefore, as a standard it is best
to take the average of the second and third cycles when comparing the results.
Figure 11 Figure 12
Since the combination of type (C) fabric and SPE design (C) was ideal, eight BSA
concentrations were used to examine the sensitivity of this combination. The
current observed at the oxidation peaks were recorded, shown in Fig. 12. The
best fit line was drawn based on the average value around each solution of each
cycle. While the initial cycle was consistently lower in gradient as presented
in Table 2 than the second and third cycles conducted on the same un-replaced
sensor which illustrates that SPE design (C) is the most reproducible.
After testing the sensitivity of the chosen SPE sensor, it was important to
analyse the selectivity of printed sensor in comparison with other substances
present in wounds. Therefore, the SPE was tested against several potentially
interfering substances such as creatin, hydrogen peroxide, glucose and absorbic
acid and the results are shown in Fig. 13 similar to a study achieved
previously47. In Fig. 13 the shape and range of the redox reaction obtained
through CV of BSA is different from the other tested solutions tested which
eliminates the effect of interference.
Figure 13
Scientific Reports volume 12, Article number: 7972 (2022) Cite this article
CONCLUSION
The sensor was fabricated using the screen printing technique and consisted of
four layers: an interface layer, silver electrodes, carbon conducting interface
area and an encapsulation layer. The sensor relied on quantifying the protein
concentration by measuring changes to conducting cyclic voltammetry
measurements. After testing three sensor designs with different silver and
carbon combinations, it was concluded that that the design with only carbon
material presented at the interface zone was the optimal design as not only it
provided the most reproducible and consistent results upon testing, but also it
remained unaffected by oxidation. The sensor was printed on three different
fabric types, and all presented promising results, one of which was wound
dressing fabric which was chosen as the substrate as it is commonly used
medically. During the screen printing process, precise alignment is a key aspect
in the fabrication process to prevent any short circuit of the electrodes and to
provide efficient performance of the sensors. Upon further cyclic voltammetry
empirical testing and result analysis conducted using carbon only sensors
(design (C)) and on Type C fabric, it was determined that to compare the outcome
of different BSA concentrations it is best to take the average of the second and
third cycles conducted on the same sensor.
The CV measurements demonstrated that the screen printed protein sensor could
accurately monitor BSA concentrations from 0.3 to 30 mg/mL with a sensitivity of
0.0026𝜇0.0026μA/M. Additionally, an SEM image was captured and presented in the
paper to demonstrate the consistency and continuity of the different layers
making up the texture of the final fabricated design. The final design also
demonstrated its ability to bend easily around different diameters without
breaking. Further testing was conducted to assess the sensor’s ability to detect
BSA from other interferential substances present in a wound. The measured
results show that the chosen SPE type (C) can successfully distinguishes BSA in
the range of 3 to 30 mg/mL from others.
METHODS
SCREEN PRINTING PROCESS
LAYER TYPES
To design the protein sensors shown in Fig. 6, the sensor consisted of four
printed layers. Initially, a layer was built to create an interface for the
electrode conductive tracks. Silver layer was then deposited over the interface
layer. In two of the designs (design B and C), carbon conductive ink was
deposited over the interface zone. Finally, an encapsulation layer was deposited
on top of the sensor tracks and around the interface zone to protect the sensor
electrodes and to prevent any short circuit. In this work, three different
designs were considered when designing the carbon conductive layer.
INK TYPES
Three types of inks were used: a UV curable polymer ink from ElectraPolymers Ltd
was used to act as the interface and encapsulation, carbon and silver inks from
Henkel were used as the electrodes and conductive tracks, respectively.
TEXTILE MATERIALS
Three different fabric types were tested: 1) a non-woven polypropylene fabric
(Type A), 2) a woven polyester/cotton fabric (65%65%/35%35%) (Type B), 3) a
non-woven polyester fabric (Type C). Type A and C are commonly used in used in
wound dressings and therefore are more favorable. Although the woven
polyester/cotton (Type B) fabric is the most ideal type of fabric for printing
because it is relatively smoother than the others (has areal surface roughness
(Sa) = 59.37 59.37 µm), yet it is not commonly used in wound dressings. We only
use Type C as a comparison.
PROTEIN SOLUTION PREPARATION
The protein used to test the printed sensors was BSA powder as it is considered
as a standard for protein quantification (Sigma-Aldrich, Steinheim, Germany). In
this research, 8 samples of BSA solutions were prepared with different
concentrations and diluted using deionized water: 30, 23, 18, 11, 7, 3, 1, 0.3
mg/mL with a pH value of 7. Initially, 30 mg/mL was prepared by putting 3 grams
of BSA powder in 100 mL of deionized water, and then the rest of the solutions
were prepared by diluting the original stock solution.
MEASUREMENT SETUP
A setup similar to the methodology discussed in the previous work by the authors
was implemented. The objective is to evaluate the sensitivity shown in
Table 2 of the developed textile-based screen printed carbon electrodes as shown
in Fig. 14. The printed protein sensor was connected the Metrohm Dropsens
device. A glass filled with ice was placed within a close proximity to the
sensors to provide humid environment and to prevent evaporation of the BSA
samples. This was achieved by conducting a series of cyclic voltammetry
experiments on different protein solutions using an AUTOLAB potentiostat device
(PGSTAT101). The setup parameters are listed in Table 3.
Figure 14
Table 3 Parameters of cyclic voltammetry measurement setup.
Full size table
Table 2 The best fit line of oxidation peak measurements with all three designs
using type (C) fabric.
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Medical, Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, Nottingham Trent Unniversity
READ THE LATEST GENESIS NANOTECH ONLINE: THERAPEUTIC VIRUSES HELP TURBOCHARGE
THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AGAINST CANCER
Aug28
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1 Vote
The illustration shows a cancer cell (center) surrounded by immune T-cells
augmented with an oncolytic (cancer-fighting) virus. A new study describes how a
combination of immunotherapy and virotherapy, using myxoma virus, provides new
hope for patients with treatment resistant cancers. Credit: Jason Drees
The immune system has evolved to safeguard the body from a wildly diverse range
of potential threats. Among these are bacterial diseases, including plague,
cholera, diphtheria and Lyme disease, and viral contagions such as influenza,
Ebola virus and SARS CoV-2.
Despite the impressive power of the immune system’s complex defense network, one
type of threat is especially challenging to combat. This arises when the body’s
own native cells turn rogue, leading to the phenomenon of cancer. Although the
immune system often engages to try to rid the body of malignant cells, its
efforts are frequently thwarted as the disease progresses unchecked.The
illustration shows a cancer cell (center) surrounded by immune T-cells augmented
with an oncolytic (cancer-fighting) virus. A new study describes how a
combination of immunotherapy and virotherapy, using myxoma virus, provides new
hope for patients with treatment resistant cancers.
In new research appearing in the journal Cancer Cell, corresponding authors
Grant McFadden, Masmudur Rahman and their colleagues propose a new line of
attack that shows promise for treatment-resistant cancers.
The approach involves a combination of two methods that have each shown
considerable success against some cancers. The study describes how oncolytic
virotherapy, a technique using cancer-fighting viruses, can act in concert with
existing immunotherapy techniques, boosting the immune capacity to effectively
target and destroy cancer cells.
Oncolytic viruses represent an exciting new avenue of cancer therapy. Such
viruses have the remarkable ability to hunt and terminate cancer cells while
leaving healthy cells unharmed, as well as enhancing the immune system’s ability
to recognize and terminate cancer cells.
One such virus, known as myxoma, is the focus of the current research and an
area of expertise for the research group. The study shows that the use of
T-cells infected with myxoma virus can induce a form of cancer cell death not
previously observed.
Known as autosis, this form of cell destruction may be particularly useful
against solid tumors that have proven treatment-resistant to various forms of
cancer therapy, including immunotherapy alone.
“This work affirms the enormous potential of combining virotherapy with cell
therapy to treat currently intractable cancers,” McFadden says.
McFadden directs the Biodesign Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines and
Virotherapy at Arizona State University.
Internal sentries
The immune system is composed of a range of specialized cells designed to patrol
the body and respond to threats. The system is involved in a ceaseless arms race
against pathogens, which evolve sophisticated techniques to attempt to outwit
immune defenses, propagate in the body and cause disease. Cancer presents a
unique challenge to the immune system as tumor cells often lack the identifying
cell features that allow the immune system to attack them by distinguishing self
from non-self.
Cancer cells can further short-circuit immune efforts to hunt and destroy them,
through a range of evasive strategies. Researchers hope to help the immune
system to overcome cancer’s notorious tactics of disguise, developing new
experimental techniques belonging to a category known as adoptive cell therapy,
or ACT.
Such methods often involve removing a collection of cancer-fighting white blood
cells known as T-cells, modifying their seek-and-destroy capacities and
reinjecting them in patients. Two forms of ACT immunotherapy are described in
the new study: CAR T-cell therapy (CART) and T Cell Receptor Engineering (TCR).
The basic idea in each case is the same: treating cancer with activated T
lymphocytes extracted from the patient.
New method delivers one-two punch to tumor cells
The development of these therapies has been nothing short of revolutionary, and
some cancer patients facing grim prospects have made remarkable recoveries
following the use of immunotherapy. But techniques like CART and TCR
nevertheless have their limitations and are often ineffective against advanced
solid tumors. In such cases, cancer cells often manage to evade destruction by
T-cells by downregulating or losing the surface antigens or MHC proteins that
T-cells use to identify them.
The new study highlights the ability of immunotherapy when it is coupled with
virotherapy to break through the wall of cancer resistance, specifically using
myxoma-equipped T-cells. The myxoma can target and kill cancer cells directly
but more usefully can induce an unusual form of T-cell directed cell death known
as autosis. This form of cell death augments two other forms of programmed
cancer cell death induced by T-cells, known as apoptosis and pyroptosis.
During myxoma-mediated autosis, cancerous cells in the vicinity of those
targeted by the therapy are also destroyed in a process known as bystander
killing. This effect can considerably enhance the dual therapy’s aggressive
eradication of cancer cells, even in notoriously hard-to-treat solid tumors.
A combined myxoma-immunotherapy approach therefore holds the potential to turn
so-called “cold tumors,” which fly under the immune system‘s radar, into “hot
tumors” that immune cells can identify and destroy, allowing CAR T-cells or
TCR cells to enter the tumor environment, proliferate and activate.
“We are at the edge of discovering newer aspects of the myxoma virus and
oncolytic virotherapy,” Rahman says. “In addition, these findings open the door
for testing cancer-killing viruses with other cell-based cancer immunotherapies
that can be used in cancer patients.”
The ability to radically reengineer oncolytic viruses like myxoma to target a
range of resistant cancers provides a new frontier for the treatment of this
devastating disease
+ Explore further
NEW REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS CANCER-CRUSHING VIRUSES
More information: Ningbo Zheng et al, Induction of tumor cell autosis by myxoma
virus-infected CAR-T and TCR-T cells to overcome primary and acquired
resistance, Cancer Cell (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2022.08.001
Journal information: Cancer Cell
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Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, Therapytics
LOOP ENERGY GROWS EUROPEAN FOOTPRINT WITH UK EXPANSION
Aug18
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1 Vote
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA and LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – August 16, 2022 – Loop
Energy™ (TSX: LPEN), a designer and manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cells for
commercial mobility, will extend its presence in Europe later this month by
expanding into the UK.
Loop Energy’s newest facility will be based in Grays, Essex, just east of the
centre of London and next to a growing group of manufacturers helping
decarbonize road transport, including current customer Tevva Motors, the
hydrogen and electric truck OEM which is based in Tilbury.
Loop Energy has already started to recruit for the roles at the new facility,
with employees assisting in the areas of production support, customer support
and inventory.
The move is in reaction to growing customer demand for Loop Energy’s fuel cells
in continental Europe and the UK, where diesel and petrol vehicles will start to
be banned from 2030.
Loop Energy, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, and has raised $100
million CAD so far, is targeting the commercial vehicle sector, including buses
and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).
Diesel and petrol HGVs made up 18% of all road emissions in 2019, amounting to
19.5 metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e), according to UK government
data.
The market for zero-emissions commercial vehicles continues to evolve quickly
and Loop Energy is well positioned to provide its technology and expertise to
help OEMs and others decarbonize the transportation industry.
The announcement comes just a month after Loop Energy signed a multi-year fuel
cell supply agreement with UK-based Tevva, which includes delivery commitments
in excess of US$12 million through 2023.
Elsewhere, Loop Energy recently entered the Australian bus market as a supplier
of fuel cell modules to Aluminium Revolutionary Chassis Company (ARCC) and the
company has seen its order book grow substantially for its technology, with 52
purchase orders in the six months to the end of June, up from 13 over the same
period last year.
Loop Energy President & CEO, Ben Nyland said:
“We are excited to open a new facility in the UK, where both the private and
public sector is quickly growing around decarbonizing commercial vehicles. We
were pleased to see the UK government’s recent commitment to the hydrogen
sector, with the Business Secretary’s pledge to unlock £9bn investment needed to
make hydrogen a cornerstone of the UK’s greener future,”
“Our investment commitment for the UK market is strategic to serve both UK and
the rest of Europe. We expect to service a truck and bus market size upwards of
US $15 Billion over the next 2 to 3 years, and our UK facility is established as
the localized support center for these vehicles. Our investments to the UK will
grow in lock-step with the growth of our local OEM customers, and our investment
strategy will align with the timing and volume of our ecosystem partners as the
industry ramps up supply to this market,”
“We also believe that the UK’s strong pool of manufacturing and design talent
will help take Loop to the next level in its growth story.”
UK Business Minister Lord Callanan said:
“Hydrogen is likely to be fundamental to cutting emissions across some of our
largest forms of commercial transport – from buses to heavy goods vehicles. As
the world shifts to cleaner transport it is critical we embed a UK supply chain
that can capture the economic opportunities of hydrogen technology,”
“Loop Energy’s expansion in Essex is fantastic news for the region, bringing
green jobs and growth, while adding to the UK’s reputation as a leader in
hydrogen and fuel cell research.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABOUT LOOP ENERGY INC.
Loop Energy is a leading designer and manufacturer of fuel cell systems targeted
for the electrification of commercial vehicles, including light commercial
vehicles, transit buses and medium and heavy-duty trucks. Loop’s products
feature the company’s proprietary eFlow™ technology in the fuel cell stack’s
bipolar plates. eFlow™ is designed to enable commercial customers to achieve
performance maximization and cost minimization. Loop works with OEMs and major
vehicle sub-system suppliers to enable the production of hydrogen fuel cell
electric vehicles. For more information about how Loop is driving towards a
zero-emissions future, visit www.loopenergy.com.
FORWARD LOOKING WARNING
This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of
applicable securities legislation, which reflect management’s current
expectations and projections regarding future events. Particularly, statements
regarding the Company’s expectations of future results, performance,
achievements, prospects or opportunities or the markets in which we operate is
forward-looking information, including without limitation the ability for Loop
to service the truck and bus market and the market’s potential to reach upwards
of US $15 billion.
Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions (including
without limitation assumptions with respect to the potential growth of the bus
and truck market and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of
which are beyond the Company’s control and could cause actual results and events
to vary materially from those that are disclosed, or implied, by such
forward‐looking information. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, the market reaching the TAM of upwards of US $15 billion, the
realization of electrification of transportation, the elimination of diesel fuel
and ongoing government support of such developments, the expected growth in
demand for fuel cells for the commercial transportation market and the factors
discussed under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Information Form dated
March 23, 2022. Loop disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking
statements.
Source: Loop Energy Inc.
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Leave a comment Posted in Nanotechnology Tagged Genesis Nanotechnology, Hydrogen
fuel, Loop Energy, Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, Renewable Energy, Vancouver
B.C.
‘QUANTUM DOT’ PHOTOVOLTAIC WINDOW PROJECT TO RECEIVE FUNDING FROM U.S. AIR FORCE
Aug18
i
1 Vote
UbiQD, a nanotechnology company, has revealed that its quantum dot solar
technology will be used in a Small Business Innovation Research project with the
US Air Force. The contract provides funding for two installations of more than
20 windows and additional scale-up and development funds for the product.
“We are seeing strong fiscal support for sustainability initiatives in the built
environment right now,” said CEO Hunter McDaniel. “Our expanded contract with
the US Air Force couldn’t come at a better time, right as we are scaling and
ahead of the upgraded solar investment tax incentives.”
The company uses luminescent quantum dot tinting to concentrate solar energy and
generate electricity while maintaining transparency. Quantum dots are
photoluminescent particles so small that it would take 100,000 of them to span
one fingernail, said UbiQD. The company said the technology has applications in
localized DC microgrids and smart building solutions, including integration with
sensors for climate and ambient controls.
Commercial buildings account for 36% of all US electricity consumption at a cost
of more than $190 billion annually. Additionally, windows represent 30% of a
commercial building’s heating and cooling energy, costing US building owners
about $50 billion annually, according to the US Department of Energy.
UbiQD’s quantum-dot tinted window, called WENDOW, has recently been installed in
a series of demonstrations projects, including a campus building at the Western
Washington University, which the company said is the largest solar window
installation to date. The WENDOW can be tinted, allowing for colorful designs.
The university installation features vibrant yellow and orange windows.
“THIS TECHNOLOGY HELPS WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY GET CLOSER TO ACHIEVING OUR
SUSTAINABILITY GOALS ON CAMPUS,” SAID DAVID PATRICK, VICE PROVOST FOR RESEARCH.
“I WAS IMPRESSED BY HOW EASILY THE WINDOWS WERE INSTALLED AND LOVE HOW GREAT
THEY LOOK. I’M HOPING TO SEE MORE PROJECTS LIKE THIS ON CAMPUS IN THE NEAR
FUTURE.”
While the solar windows offer less efficiency than a conventional solar panel,
they represent an alternative to blending photovoltaics with the build
environment. Read more about solar in uncommon spaces.
UbiQD also builds translucent panels for greenhouses that are integrated with
photoluminescent particles that are efficient at converting light into a
preferable wavelength. The UbiQD “UbiGro” panels glow a spectrum of color that
is optimized for plant growth, absorbing UV and blue light and emitting fruitful
orange or red light.
In recent trials, UbiGro led to a 21% boost in flowering in geranium flowers, a
14 to 28% boost in winter strawberry growth, and an 8% yield increase in
cannabis production. Increased crop yields are a welcome sign to any grower, and
the two companies are set to take that benefit one step further, integrating
productive solar PV in the greenhouse-topping modules.
From pv magazine USA **
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Leave a comment Posted in Nanotechnology Tagged Environment, Genesis
Nanotechnology, Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, Photovoltaics, Quantum Dots,
Renewable Energy, UBiQD, US Air Force
A NEW NANOTECHNOLOGY APPLICATION ACCELERATES THE TRANSITION OF STEM CELLS INTO
BONE – TRANSFORMING REGENERATIVE MEDICINE: NANO BIO-SCIENCE FROM KAUST
Aug17
i
1 Vote
A cell cultured on top of the nanowire scaffold. Credit: © 2022 KAUST; Heno
Hwang
A nanotechnology platform developed by King Abdullah University of Science &
Technology (KAUST) scientists could lead to new treatments for degenerative bone
diseases.
The technique relies on iron nanowires that bend in response to magnetic fields.
Bone-forming stem cells grown on a mesh of these tiny wires get a kind of
physical workout on the moving substrate. They subsequently grow into adult bone
considerably quicker than in conventional culturing settings, with a
differentiation protocol that lasts only a few days rather than a few weeks.
“This is a remarkable finding,” says Jasmeen Merzaban, associate Professor of
bioscience. “We can achieve efficient bone cell formation in a shorter amount of
time,” potentially paving the way for more efficient regeneration of bone.
Merzaban co-led the study together with sensor scientist Jürgen Kosel and
colleagues from their labs.
The scientists analyzed the bone-producing capability of their nanowire
scaffold, both with and without magnetic signals. They patterned the tiny wires
in an evenly spaced grid and then layered bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal
stem cells (MSCs) on top. Each of the tiny wires is about the size of the
tail-like appendage found on some bacteria.
The researchers discovered that adding a low-frequency magnetic field greatly
accelerated the process of bone development. Within two days of incubation under
mechanical stimulation, genetic markers of bone development could be detected,
while genes linked to stemness and self-renewal quickly became inactive. The
scientists could also witness the cells rebuilding themselves to become more
bone-like at a rapid rate under a microscope.
Next, the KAUST team plans to test its system in mouse models of degenerative
bone disease, with the expectation that stem cell–seeded nanowire scaffolds can
be safely implanted at sites of injury and promote tissue repair. An externally
applied magnetic field would be used to speed the healing process.
Study author Jose Efrain Perez, a former Ph.D. student in Kosel’s lab, also sees
potential applications in other disease settings. As he points out: “Varying the
matrix stiffness by increasing or decreasing nanowire length and diameter could
promote differential responses with MSCs.” Or they could use other types of stem
cells to, for example, promote neuronal growth and brain repair after a stroke.
What’s more, Perez adds, “We could further customize the nanowire scaffold
itself or the base material — for instance, by using different metals to exploit
their magnetic responses or coating the nanowires with biomolecules for
potential delivery upon cellular contact.”
For such a small technology, the possibilities are huge.
Reference: “Modulated nanowire scaffold for highly efficient differentiation of
mesenchymal stem cells” by Jose E. Perez, Bashaer Bajaber, Nouf Alsharif, Aldo
I. Martínez-Banderas, Niketan Patel, Ainur Sharip, Enzo Di Fabrizio, Jasmeen
Merzaban and Jürgen Kosel, 16 June 2022, Journal of Nanobiotechnology.
DOI: 10.1186/s12951-022-01488-5
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