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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Department of Chemical Engineering
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240117T120000
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DTSTAMP:20260510T202932
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SUMMARY:Chemical Engineering Spring Seminar Series: Professor Hongfei Lin
DESCRIPTION:Towards Holistic Approach for Decarbonizing Energy System \nDecarbonizing the energy system is essential for mitigating climate change by replacing fossil fuels with alternative sources emitting significantly less carbon dioxide. Recognizing that no single alternative energy source can meet global demand\, our approach involves utilizing multiple sources for a future carbon-neutral energy system. We focus on developing highly selective and efficient catalytic processes to convert diverse carbon feedstocks\, including renewable and waste carbons. In this seminar\, I will showcase our groundbreaking biphasic tandem catalytic processes\, achieving exceptional carbon-atom efficiencies in converting renewable biomass into biofuels. Additionally\, our innovative sequential catalytic process enables highly selective deconstruction of mixed waste plastics into valuable monomers and fuels. The presentation will also delve into the synergy of integrating direct air capture of CO2 for its utilization in producing value-added carbon-neutral products. Ultimately\, our research aims to implement a holistic approach\, decarbonizing the energy system\, and establishing a sustainable supply of low-carbon intensity chemicals\, materials\, and fuels from renewable and waste carbon resources. \n\nDr. Hongfei Lin is a Professor at the Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering at Washington State University and Chief Scientist in the Energy and Environment Directorate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He earned his B.E. and M.S. degrees from Tsinghua University\, completed his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Louisiana State University\, and further honed his expertise as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California\, Santa Barbara. With nearly two decades of multidisciplinary research experience\, Dr. Lin focuses on catalysis and sustainability\, particularly in developing novel catalytic processes to derive value-added fuels and chemicals from renewable and waste carbon resources. His commitment to a sustainable\, low-carbon\, circular economy is evident through his numerous publications\, multiple patents\, and extensive support from entities such as DOE\, NSF\, and USDA. Dr. Lin actively contributes to the academic community\, serving on the international advisory board of Energy Technology\, the editorial board of Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials\, and previously as the Program Chair of the Energy and Fuels Division of the American Chemical Society.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/chemical-engineering-spring-seminar-series-professor-hongfei-lin/
LOCATION:103 Churchill\, 103 Churchill Hall\, 360 Huntington Ave\, Boston\, MA\, 02115\, United States
CATEGORIES:use the department, audience, and topic lists
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240123T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240123T110000
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SUMMARY:CHE PhD Dissertation Defense: Jiaming Xu
DESCRIPTION:PhD Dissertation Defense: Molecular simulations of confined deep eutectic solvents for gas separations and liposomes for drug delivery \nLocation: ISEC 332 & Microsoft Teams \nAbstract: This dissertation leverages molecular dynamics simulations to explore the properties of nanoscale materials and interfaces involving gases\, liquids and solids\, traversing the realms of environmental and biological science. This work not only demonstrates the expansive applicability of MD simulations across various scientific disciplines but also highlights their capability to provide profound insights into diverse scientific phenomena. In the segment dedicated to deep eutectic solvents\, our study investigates the behavior of ethaline (mixtures of choline chloride with ethylene glycol at different molar ratios) confined in graphite and titania (rutile) slit pores\, measuring 2 nm and 5 nm in width. This research aims to address the high viscosity issue prevalent in these solvents when saturated with CO2. The results reveal that modifications in the ethylene glycol ratio\, variations in pore sizes\, and the choice of pore wall materials significantly affect the efficiency of CO2/CH4 separation. These findings offer a deeper understanding of how molecular interactions and structural changes in confined spaces can influence the physical properties of DES. \nThe dissertation also delves into the domain of liposomes (nanoparticles formed by a lipid bilayer encapsulating an aqueous core)\, examining the influence of lipid composition and the integration of two distinct small-molecule hydrophobic drugs on their mechanical\, spatial\, and fluid properties. The study encompasses an analysis of the effects of acyl chain saturation and length\, diverse lipid headgroups\, and drug incorporation. Experimental validations\, conducted in collaboration with Prof. Auguste’s laboratory\, support our simulation findings. We discovered that lipids with short-saturated acyl chains and varied headgroups alter the lipid bilayer packing\, resulting in decreased liposome stiffness\, which has been shown promoted drug delivery efficiency. Additionally\, specific drug substances were observed to lower interaction energies within the lipid matrix\, which consequently reduces stiffness and enhances lipid molecule diffusion. This segment of the dissertation provides crucial insights into the design of liposomal formulations\, particularly for drug delivery purposes\, by demonstrating how lipid structure and drug interactions can be manipulated to optimize liposome properties. Overall\, this dissertation underscores the versatility of molecular dynamics simulations in elucidating complex material behaviors and offers valuable contributions to the various engineering fields.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/che-phd-dissertation-defense-jiaming-xu/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240124T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240124T120000
DTSTAMP:20260510T202932
CREATED:20240116T203137Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240116T203137Z
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SUMMARY:CHE PhD Dissertation Defense: Shicheng Yang
DESCRIPTION:PhD Dissertation Defense: Drug Delivery Systems in Oncology: From Polymeric Implants to Nanomedicine Approaches \nShicheng Yang \nLocation: Hastings Hall 107 & Zoom \nAbstract: Molecular inhibitors\, including PARP inhibitor talazoparib\, CDK inhibitor dinaciclib\, and docetaxel\, are critical in precision cancer therapy\, offering novel therapeutic options for a range of cancers. While demonstrating potent activity as monotherapy or in combination in both preclinical and clinical settings\, challenges such as drug resistance and off-target toxicity persist with these small molecule drugs. To mitigate these issues\, innovative formulation strategies using implants or nanoparticles have been explored. These formulations are designed to alter drug uptake pathways\, resist the emergence of drug resistance\, and minimize direct contact with healthy tissues\, thereby reducing toxicity. This thesis encompasses several nanotechnology approaches in formulating chemotherapy agents and their application across various cancers\, including breast\, ovarian\, pancreatic\, lung\, and prostate. \nIn the context of ovarian cancer\, known for its high mortality rate within the realm of female reproductive system cancers\, more than 15% of cases involve defective BRCA-mediated homologous recombination repair pathways. Talazoparib\, a PARP inhibitor\, has been hindered in its clinical application due to severe systemic side effects. The development of a novel TLZ-loaded PLGA implant (InCeT-TLZ) is reported\, designed for sustained release over 25 days directly into the peritoneal cavity\, targeting BRCA-mutated metastatic ovarian cancer. Results from in vivo experiments indicated a doubling of survival in the InCeT-TLZ treated group compared to controls\, with no significant toxicity observed in surrounding peritoneal organs. This suggests that localized and sustained delivery of Talazoparib can enhance therapeutic efficacy without significant toxicity. Additionally\, the potential of combining CKD inhibitor and PI3K inhibitor with InCeT-TLZ to counteract acquired PARPi resistance was demonstrated in vitro\, indicating a promising approach for enhanced ovarian cancer treatment. \nWhile the biodegradable PLGA implants showed potency\, the conventional solvent-based fabrication methods used to synthesize these implants\, however\, the use of toxic organic solvent and its safety issue pose difficulties for translation to clinical use. To address these challenges\, a scalable\, solvent-free hot-melt extrusion process was introduced for producing PLGA implants iii with docetaxel. This process ensures uniform dispersion of clinically relevant concentrations of the drug without requiring organic solvents. Results showed the bioactivity of incapsulated docetaxel was maintained during fabrication and controlled degradation\, enhancing tumor growth inhibition capabilities both in vitro and in vivo. The implants\, when used intratumorally\, act as both radiosensitizers and continuous chemotherapy sources\, suitable for scale-up in compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). \nFurthermore\, the combination of talazoparib and dinaciclib has been studied to overcome PARPi resistance in tumors. The short blood circulation time of dinaciclib and the high toxicity of combination therapies pose significant challenges. Nanomedicine formulations have been developed to address these issues\, creating a nano-cocktail of talazoparib (nTLZ) and dinaciclib (nDCB) to enhance therapeutic efficacy at lower doses. The study showed that these nanoformulations effectively infiltrate tumor cells\, with synergistic effects observed in both BRCAmutant and BRCA wild-type cancer strains\, particularly sensitizing BRCA wild-type cells to PARPi therapy. This approach demonstrates the potential of nanoformulations in broadening the applicability and enhancing the efficacy of combination cancer therapies.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/che-phd-dissertation-defense-shicheng-yang/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240131T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240131T130000
DTSTAMP:20260510T202932
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SUMMARY:Chemical Engineering Spring Seminar Series: Professor Bryan James
DESCRIPTION:Design strategies to minimize the environmental impacts of plastic products \nCombatting the existential threats of climate change and pollution requires circularizing and decarbonizing material lifecycles\, reducing persistence\, and eliminating the toxicity of products and processes. Plastics\, the combination of polymer and chemical additives\, contribute significantly to both threats. Despite these harms\, plastics are crucial materials for modern society. In their recent report\, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences\, Engineering\, and Medicine identified material and product design as one of six key interventions to tackle plastic pollution. With this charge\, I will demonstrate how combining concepts learned from the last decade of plastic pollution research with established material selection practices resulted in a quantitative\, multi-dimensional framework for use during product design to minimize the environmental impacts of plastic. By taking this approach\, a sustainability metric was developed for the design of plastic products with low environmental persistence and uncompromised performance. Applying this methodology to commonly littered plastic products (drinking straws and coffee cup lids) demonstrated that accounting for persistence in product design could reduce the societal impacts of plastic pollution by hundreds of millions of dollars for a single product. My findings identify the materials and their properties that deserve development\, adoption\, and investment to create functional and less environmentally impactful plastic products. \n\nDr. Bryan D. James is a Postdoctoral Investigator at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). As part of an interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers within WHOI’s Microplastics Initiative\, his postdoctoral research focuses on understanding the fate\, persistence\, and toxicity of plastic in the ocean to inform the rational design of next-generation materials that are safe for people and the planet. Through this work\, Bryan has collaborated globally with academic colleagues\, NGOs\, and industrial partners and regularly engages with K-12 educators\, mentors community college students\, and advises policymakers. Bryan received his B.A.Sc. in materials engineering from the University of Toronto and his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the University of Florida (UF). At UF\, as an NIH F31 Predoctoral Fellow under the mentorship of Prof. Josephine Allen\, Bryan pioneered the use of nucleic acid-collagen complexes for hard and soft tissue engineering and championed investigating sex as a biological variable in biomaterials research\, identifying mechanobiological sex differences in vascular cells. Bryan has been recognized with multiple early career honors and awards\, including being named a Rising Star in Engineering in Health\, a CAS Future Leader\, a DYSS speaker\, and an ACS PMSE Future Faculty Scholar.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/chemical-engineering-spring-seminar-series-professor-bryan-james/
LOCATION:103 Churchill\, 103 Churchill Hall\, 360 Huntington Ave\, Boston\, MA\, 02115\, United States
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