Co-evaluation of interaction parameters of genomic and plasmid DNA for a new chromatographic medium.

Preparation of new sorbents specific to DNA has a great significance in many biomedical fields. This study reports a new sorbent with high surface area and porosity to immobilize nucleic acids having both high molecular weight like genomic DNA (gDNA) for potential use in therapy of some immune system disease and low molecular weight like plasmid DNA (pDNA) for diagnosis, gene therapy and DNA vaccination. For this aim, silica-based pore-expanded SBA-15 nanoparticles with aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane (APTMS) for decoration of Fe+3 ions (PE SBA-15-APTMS/Fe+3) were synthesized to get high surface area for high adsorption, and embedded into cryogel column for obtaining interconnected pores to avoid diffusion limitation of DNA samples because of their viscosity features. SEM, XRD, BET, and FTIR techniques were used for characterization of samples. Synthesized hybrid column showed a superior adsorption capacity of 751.5 mg/g NP for gDNA at pH 6 with an initial concentration of 2.0 mg/mL. Hybrid column presented excellent performance for pDNA when evaluated with agarose gel electrophoresis.

Direct Capture of CO2 from Ambient Air.

The increase in the global atmospheric CO2 concentration resulting from over a century of combustion of fossil fuels has been associated with significant global climate change. With the global population increase driving continued increases in fossil fuel use, humanity's primary reliance on fossil energy for the next several decades is assured. Traditional modes of carbon capture such as precombustion and postcombustion CO2 capture from large point sources can help slow the rate of increase of the atmospheric CO2 concentration, but only the direct removal of CO2 from the air, or "direct air capture" (DAC), can actually reduce the global atmospheric CO2 concentration. The past decade has seen a steep rise in the use of chemical sorbents that are cycled through sorption and desorption cycles for CO2 removal from ultradilute gases such as air. This Review provides a historical overview of the field of DAC, along with an exhaustive description of the use of chemical sorbents targeted at this application. Solvents and solid sorbents that interact strongly with CO2 are described, including basic solvents, supported amine and ammonium materials, and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), as the primary classes of chemical sorbents. Hypothetical processes for the deployment of such sorbents are discussed, as well as the limited array of technoeconomic analyses published on DAC. Overall, it is concluded that there are many new materials that could play a role in emerging DAC technologies. However, these materials need to be further investigated and developed with a practical sorbent-air contacting process in mind if society is to make rapid progress in deploying DAC as a means of mitigating climate change.