5-Hydroxymethylfurfural(HMF)and its oxidation derivatives have emerged as a bridge between biomass resources and the future energy industry.These renewable biomass resources can be transformed into a variety of value-...5-Hydroxymethylfurfural(HMF)and its oxidation derivatives have emerged as a bridge between biomass resources and the future energy industry.These renewable biomass resources can be transformed into a variety of value-added chemicals,thereby addressing the challenges posed by diminishing fossil fuel reserves and environmental concerns.The immobilization of catalysts represents an innovative method for the sustainable and efficient synthesis of HMF and its oxidation derivatives.This method not only enhances the yield and selectivity of the products but also allows for the optimization of the catalytic performance of immobilized catalysts through the strategic design of their supports.In this review,we provide an overview of the recent advancements in the technology of immobilized catalyst and its application in the synthesis of HMF and its oxidation derivatives,with a particular focus on the preparation and catalytic characteristics of these immobilized catalysts.Furthermore,we discuss potential future directions for the development of immobilized catalysts,including the preparation of high-performance immobilized catalysts,the exploration of their growth and catalytic mechanisms,and the economic implications of raw material utilization.This area of research presents both significant promise and considerable challenges.展开更多
With the gradual rise of enzyme engineering,it has played an essential role in synthetic biology,medicine,and biomanufacturing.However,due to the limitation of the cell membrane,the complexity of cellular metabolism,t...With the gradual rise of enzyme engineering,it has played an essential role in synthetic biology,medicine,and biomanufacturing.However,due to the limitation of the cell membrane,the complexity of cellular metabolism,the difficulty of controlling the reaction environment,and the toxicity of some metabolic products in traditional in vivo enzyme engineering,it is usually problematic to express functional enzymes and produce a high yield of synthesized compounds.Recently,cell-free synthetic biology methods for enzyme engineering have been proposed as alternative strategies.This cell-free method has no limitation of the cell membrane and no need to maintain cell viability,and each biosynthetic pathway is highly flexible.This property makes cell-free approaches suitable for the production of valuable products such as functional enzymes and chemicals that are difficult to synthesize.This article aims to discuss the latest advances in cell-free enzyme engineering,assess the trend of this developing topical filed,and analyze its prospects.展开更多
With the development of manufacturing technology on the nanoscale, the precision of nano-devices is rapidly increasing with lower cost. Different from macroscale or microscale fluids, many specific phenomena and advan...With the development of manufacturing technology on the nanoscale, the precision of nano-devices is rapidly increasing with lower cost. Different from macroscale or microscale fluids, many specific phenomena and advantages are observed in nanofluidics. Devices and process involving and utilizing these phenomena play an important role in many fields in chemical engineering including separation, chemical analysis and transmission.In this article, we summarize the state-of-the-art progress in theoretical studies and manufacturing technologies on nanofluidics. Then we discuss practical applications of nanofluidics in many chemical engineering fields,especially in separation and encountering problems. Finally, we are looking forward to the future of nanofluidics and believe it will be more important in the separation process and the modern chemical industry.展开更多
Enzymatic reactions take place with high chemo-, regio-, and stereo-selectivity, appealing for the direct functionalization of abundant and inexpensive compounds with C-H bonds to make fine chemicals such as high-valu...Enzymatic reactions take place with high chemo-, regio-, and stereo-selectivity, appealing for the direct functionalization of abundant and inexpensive compounds with C-H bonds to make fine chemicals such as high-value intermediates and pharmaceuticals. This review summarizes recent progress in the enzymatic functionalization of C-H bonds with an emphasis on heme enzymes such as cytochrome P450 s, chloroperoxidase and unspecific peroxygenases. Specific examples are discussed to elucidate the applications of the molecular and process engineering approaches to overcome the challenges hindering enzymatic C-H functionalization. Also discussed is the recent development of the chemo-enzymatic cascade as an effective way to integrate the power of metal catalysis and enzymatic catalysis for C-H functionalization.展开更多
Microbial polyhydroxyalkanoates(PHA)have been produced as bioplastics for various purposes.Under the support of China National Basic Research 973 Project,we developed synthetic biology methods to diversify the PHA str...Microbial polyhydroxyalkanoates(PHA)have been produced as bioplastics for various purposes.Under the support of China National Basic Research 973 Project,we developed synthetic biology methods to diversify the PHA structures into homo-,random,block polymers with improved properties to better meet various application requirements.At the same time,various pathways were assembled to produce various PHA from glucose as a simple carbon source.At the end,Halomonas bacteria were reconstructed to produce PHA in changing morphology for low cost production under unsterile and continuous conditions.The synthetic biology will advance the PHA into a bio-and material industry.展开更多
Cell-free synthetic biology emerges as a powerful and flexible enabling technology that can engineer biological parts and systems for life science applications without using living cells.It provides simpler and faster...Cell-free synthetic biology emerges as a powerful and flexible enabling technology that can engineer biological parts and systems for life science applications without using living cells.It provides simpler and faster engineering solutions with an unprecedented freedom of design in an open environment than cell system.This review focuses on recent developments of cell-free synthetic biology on biological engineering fields at molecular and cellular levels,including protein engineering,metabolic engineering,and artificial cell engineering.In cell-free protein engineering,the direct control of reaction conditions in cell-free system allows for easy synthesis of complex proteins,toxic proteins,membrane proteins,and novel proteins with unnatural amino acids.Cell-free systems offer the ability to design metabolic pathways towards the production of desired products.Buildup of artificial cells based on cell-free systems will improve our understanding of life and use them for environmental and biomedical applications.展开更多
Polyhydroxyalkanoates(PHA)have been produced by some bacteria as bioplastics for many years.Yet their commercialization is still on the way.A few issues are related to the difficulty of PHA commercialization:namely,hi...Polyhydroxyalkanoates(PHA)have been produced by some bacteria as bioplastics for many years.Yet their commercialization is still on the way.A few issues are related to the difficulty of PHA commercialization:namely,high cost and instabilities on molecular weights(Mw)and structures,thus instability on thermo-mechanical properties.The high cost is the result of complicated bioprocessing associated with sterilization,low conversion of carbon substrates to PHA products,and slow growth of microorganisms as well as difficulty of downstream separation.Future engineering on PHA producing microorganisms should be focused on contamination resistant bacteria especially extremophiles,developments of engineering approaches for the extremophiles,increase on carbon substrates to PHA conversion and controlling Mw of PHA.The concept proof studies could still be conducted on E.coli or Pseudomonas spp.that are easily used for molecular manipulations.In this review,we will use E.coli and halophiles as examples to show how to engineer bacteria for enhanced PHA biosynthesis and for increasing PHA competitiveness.展开更多
3-Hydroxybutyrate(3HB)is a small ketone body molecule produced endogenously by the body in the liver.Previous studies have shown that 3HB can reduce blood glucose level in type 2 diabetic(T2D)patients.However,there is...3-Hydroxybutyrate(3HB)is a small ketone body molecule produced endogenously by the body in the liver.Previous studies have shown that 3HB can reduce blood glucose level in type 2 diabetic(T2D)patients.However,there is no systematic study and clear mechanism to evaluate and explain the hypoglycemic effect of 3HB.Here we demonstrate that 3HB reduces fasting blood glucose level,improves glucose tolerance,and ameliorates insulin resistance in type 2 diabetic mice through hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 2(HCAR2).Mechanistically,3HB increases intracellular calcium ion(Ca^(2+))levels by activating HCAR2,thereby stimulating adenylate cyclase(AC)to increase cyclic adenosine monophosphate(cAMP)concentration,and then activating protein kinase A(PKA).Activated PKA inhibits Raf1 proto-oncogene serine/threonine-protein kinase(Raf1)activity,resulting in a decrease in extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2(ERK1/2)activity and ultimately inhibiting peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorγ(PPARγ)Ser273 phosphorylation in adipocytes.Inhibition of PPARγSer273 phosphorylation by 3HB altered the expression of PPARγregulated genes and reduced insulin resistance.Collectively,3HB ameliorates insulin resistance in type 2 diabetic mice through a pathway of HCAR2/Ca^(2+)/cAMP/PKA/Raf1/ERK1/2/PPARγ.展开更多
文摘5-Hydroxymethylfurfural(HMF)and its oxidation derivatives have emerged as a bridge between biomass resources and the future energy industry.These renewable biomass resources can be transformed into a variety of value-added chemicals,thereby addressing the challenges posed by diminishing fossil fuel reserves and environmental concerns.The immobilization of catalysts represents an innovative method for the sustainable and efficient synthesis of HMF and its oxidation derivatives.This method not only enhances the yield and selectivity of the products but also allows for the optimization of the catalytic performance of immobilized catalysts through the strategic design of their supports.In this review,we provide an overview of the recent advancements in the technology of immobilized catalyst and its application in the synthesis of HMF and its oxidation derivatives,with a particular focus on the preparation and catalytic characteristics of these immobilized catalysts.Furthermore,we discuss potential future directions for the development of immobilized catalysts,including the preparation of high-performance immobilized catalysts,the exploration of their growth and catalytic mechanisms,and the economic implications of raw material utilization.This area of research presents both significant promise and considerable challenges.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(2018YFA0901700)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.21878173,21706144)the Natural Science Foundation of Beijing City(2192023)。
文摘With the gradual rise of enzyme engineering,it has played an essential role in synthetic biology,medicine,and biomanufacturing.However,due to the limitation of the cell membrane,the complexity of cellular metabolism,the difficulty of controlling the reaction environment,and the toxicity of some metabolic products in traditional in vivo enzyme engineering,it is usually problematic to express functional enzymes and produce a high yield of synthesized compounds.Recently,cell-free synthetic biology methods for enzyme engineering have been proposed as alternative strategies.This cell-free method has no limitation of the cell membrane and no need to maintain cell viability,and each biosynthetic pathway is highly flexible.This property makes cell-free approaches suitable for the production of valuable products such as functional enzymes and chemicals that are difficult to synthesize.This article aims to discuss the latest advances in cell-free enzyme engineering,assess the trend of this developing topical filed,and analyze its prospects.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.21476125)Tsinghua University Foundation,(No.2013108930)performed at the “Exploration 100” platform supported by Tsinghua National Laboratory for Information Science and Technology
文摘With the development of manufacturing technology on the nanoscale, the precision of nano-devices is rapidly increasing with lower cost. Different from macroscale or microscale fluids, many specific phenomena and advantages are observed in nanofluidics. Devices and process involving and utilizing these phenomena play an important role in many fields in chemical engineering including separation, chemical analysis and transmission.In this article, we summarize the state-of-the-art progress in theoretical studies and manufacturing technologies on nanofluidics. Then we discuss practical applications of nanofluidics in many chemical engineering fields,especially in separation and encountering problems. Finally, we are looking forward to the future of nanofluidics and believe it will be more important in the separation process and the modern chemical industry.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.21676157 and No.21520102008)。
文摘Enzymatic reactions take place with high chemo-, regio-, and stereo-selectivity, appealing for the direct functionalization of abundant and inexpensive compounds with C-H bonds to make fine chemicals such as high-value intermediates and pharmaceuticals. This review summarizes recent progress in the enzymatic functionalization of C-H bonds with an emphasis on heme enzymes such as cytochrome P450 s, chloroperoxidase and unspecific peroxygenases. Specific examples are discussed to elucidate the applications of the molecular and process engineering approaches to overcome the challenges hindering enzymatic C-H functionalization. Also discussed is the recent development of the chemo-enzymatic cascade as an effective way to integrate the power of metal catalysis and enzymatic catalysis for C-H functionalization.
基金the State Basic Science Foundation 973(Grant no.2012CB725201)National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant no.31430003 and 31270146).
文摘Microbial polyhydroxyalkanoates(PHA)have been produced as bioplastics for various purposes.Under the support of China National Basic Research 973 Project,we developed synthetic biology methods to diversify the PHA structures into homo-,random,block polymers with improved properties to better meet various application requirements.At the same time,various pathways were assembled to produce various PHA from glucose as a simple carbon source.At the end,Halomonas bacteria were reconstructed to produce PHA in changing morphology for low cost production under unsterile and continuous conditions.The synthetic biology will advance the PHA into a bio-and material industry.
文摘Cell-free synthetic biology emerges as a powerful and flexible enabling technology that can engineer biological parts and systems for life science applications without using living cells.It provides simpler and faster engineering solutions with an unprecedented freedom of design in an open environment than cell system.This review focuses on recent developments of cell-free synthetic biology on biological engineering fields at molecular and cellular levels,including protein engineering,metabolic engineering,and artificial cell engineering.In cell-free protein engineering,the direct control of reaction conditions in cell-free system allows for easy synthesis of complex proteins,toxic proteins,membrane proteins,and novel proteins with unnatural amino acids.Cell-free systems offer the ability to design metabolic pathways towards the production of desired products.Buildup of artificial cells based on cell-free systems will improve our understanding of life and use them for environmental and biomedical applications.
基金This research was financially supported by a grant from Ministry of Sciences and Technology(Grant No.2016YFB0302504)grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.31430003)Tsinghua President Fund also supported this project(Grant No.2015THZ10).
文摘Polyhydroxyalkanoates(PHA)have been produced by some bacteria as bioplastics for many years.Yet their commercialization is still on the way.A few issues are related to the difficulty of PHA commercialization:namely,high cost and instabilities on molecular weights(Mw)and structures,thus instability on thermo-mechanical properties.The high cost is the result of complicated bioprocessing associated with sterilization,low conversion of carbon substrates to PHA products,and slow growth of microorganisms as well as difficulty of downstream separation.Future engineering on PHA producing microorganisms should be focused on contamination resistant bacteria especially extremophiles,developments of engineering approaches for the extremophiles,increase on carbon substrates to PHA conversion and controlling Mw of PHA.The concept proof studies could still be conducted on E.coli or Pseudomonas spp.that are easily used for molecular manipulations.In this review,we will use E.coli and halophiles as examples to show how to engineer bacteria for enhanced PHA biosynthesis and for increasing PHA competitiveness.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.31870859)and Tsinghua Chunfeng Foundation.
文摘3-Hydroxybutyrate(3HB)is a small ketone body molecule produced endogenously by the body in the liver.Previous studies have shown that 3HB can reduce blood glucose level in type 2 diabetic(T2D)patients.However,there is no systematic study and clear mechanism to evaluate and explain the hypoglycemic effect of 3HB.Here we demonstrate that 3HB reduces fasting blood glucose level,improves glucose tolerance,and ameliorates insulin resistance in type 2 diabetic mice through hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 2(HCAR2).Mechanistically,3HB increases intracellular calcium ion(Ca^(2+))levels by activating HCAR2,thereby stimulating adenylate cyclase(AC)to increase cyclic adenosine monophosphate(cAMP)concentration,and then activating protein kinase A(PKA).Activated PKA inhibits Raf1 proto-oncogene serine/threonine-protein kinase(Raf1)activity,resulting in a decrease in extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2(ERK1/2)activity and ultimately inhibiting peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorγ(PPARγ)Ser273 phosphorylation in adipocytes.Inhibition of PPARγSer273 phosphorylation by 3HB altered the expression of PPARγregulated genes and reduced insulin resistance.Collectively,3HB ameliorates insulin resistance in type 2 diabetic mice through a pathway of HCAR2/Ca^(2+)/cAMP/PKA/Raf1/ERK1/2/PPARγ.
