Separations

Background: Viral vectors are indispensable tools in gene therapy and neural circuit mapping, offering promising therapeutic strategies for diverse genetic diseases and advancing neuroscience research. To achieve high transduction efficiency while mitigating impurity-induced immunogenicity, the development of viral vectors with improved purity and quality is essential. However, this critical requ…

Metanephrine (MN) and normetanephrine (NMN) are critical biomarkers for neuroendocrine tumors (pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma). Following our previous development of a molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) sorbent for urine analysis, this study evaluated MISPE coupled with HILIC-MS/MS for determining metanephrines in human plasma. Unlike conventional phases, the novel polymer s…

Mine water treatment remains a long-term challenge due to high suspended solids, wide particle size distributions, and inflow variability, all of which stress solid–liquid separation systems. Hydrocyclones and filtration often fail not from insufficient capacity, but from the inability to handle dynamic influent behavior. This review integrates existing studies and reinterprets mine water treatme…

Spent coffee grounds (SCGs) are an abundant agro-industrial residue with high potential as a source of phenolic compounds and proteins. This study evaluated the extraction of these value-added fractions using hydrophilic and hydrophobic eutectic solvents, applied either alone or combined with enzyme-assisted extraction. A total of 31 hydrophobic eutectic solvents (HESs), nine hydrophilic deep eut…

Fufang Yinhua Jiedu Granules (FFYHG) is usually applied to treat influenza and the common cold. However, there is no available report concerning the effects of chemical constituents in FFYHG on antiviral activity. In our study, four new terpenoid derivatives (1–4) and seventeen known compounds were isolated from FFYHG. Their structures and absolute configurations were determined by various techni…

The chemical composition of natural products is complex and the investigation of bioactivities of compounds of interest demands their isolation. S. terebinthifolia Raddi is a tree belonging to the Anacardiaceae family and is used in Brazilian folk medicine; its fruit (pink peppers) are used in cooking and its bark in phytomedicine. Extracts of other parts of this plant contain a plethora of compo…

Rare earth elements (REEs), as significant associated resources in sedimentary phosphate deposits, are commonly processed via the conventional hydrochloric acid wet-process phosphoric acid route (IMI process). In this method, phosphate and rare earth elements are typically leached simultaneously, which subsequently complicates their separation. In this study, a dolomitic rare earth-bearing phosph…

Adsorption is a widely employed separation technique valued for its low energy requirements and its applicability to diverse processes, including air separation, water purification, chromatographic analysis, wastewater treatment, and protein immobilization on biomaterials. Industrial adsorption–desorption cycles are typically carried out in parallel packed-bed columns. The accurate design and opt…

Ammonium bisulfate (ABS) fouling in air preheaters has become a critical challenge restricting the safe and efficient operation of coal-fired units. Optimizing the flow field of the outlet of the upstream SCR system is a potentially effective path to mitigate ABS fouling. In this work, CFD simulations were conducted on the SCR De-NOx system and its succeeding flue ducts connected to the air prehe…

High-ash coal slime water, characterized by its stable colloidal suspension of fine kaolinite particles, poses a significant challenge in the coal preparation industry because it is hard to achieve efficient solid–liquid separation. While traditional coagulants and flocculants often suffer from limited bridging capabilities and distinct pH sensitivity, novel molecular architectures offer potentia…

Macroporous adsorption resins (MARs) are widely used for preparative-scale flavonoid purification, yet rational resin selection remains difficult because flavonoids differ substantially in hydrophobicity, hydrogen-bonding capacity, molecular size, and planarity. This review reorganizes the available literature into a structure-guided and data-supported selection aid rather than a fully predictive…

To efficiently remove oxytetracycline (OTC) pollution from water bodies, this study utilized fava bean straw as a precursor to synthesize iron-nitrogen (Fe/N) co-doped biochar via pyrolysis. By regulating the synthesis ratio of iron and nitrogen, the material’s adsorption performance was optimized. The adsorption characteristics and mechanisms of OTC were systematically investigated. The findings…

This paper reports the chiral separation of menthol enantiomers using the VARICOL process to improve productivity. Amylose 3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate coated on silica gel was employed as the chiral stationary phase, and n-hexane/2-propanol (95/5, v/v) was used as the eluent. To design and optimize the VARICOL process, a linear driving-force model was developed to predict the separation performan…

Skin-whitening products (SWPs) are widely used, yet many contain prohibited or misdeclared depigmenting agents posing safety concerns. This study developed and validated a sensitive and reliable HPLC-DAD method for the simultaneous determination of hydroquinone (HQ), salicylic acid (SAL), and niacinamide (NIC) in commercial and homemade SWPs. Validation followed ICH Q2(R1), demonstrating good spe…

This study investigates how membrane transport characteristics affect permeate quality in a 2-pass reverse osmosis (RO) system for ultrapure water (UPW) production. Unlike conventional RO, UPW-RO operates in an ultra-low concentration range. Seven commercial 4-inch RO membrane modules spanning a wide range of water (A) and salt (B) permeability coefficients were evaluated under various second-pas…

5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) affords various positive health effects, including benefits for conditions such as diabetes. Biological fermentation holds potential for efficiently mass-producing biomolecules, including 5-ALA, yet it generally results in a mixture of target molecules and impurities, including byproducts. Pyrazine-2,5-dipropionic acid (PY), a dimer of 5-ALA, can easily form in 5-ALA…

Traditional lithium-ion battery recycling relies mainly on pyrolysis or chemical leaching to separate current collectors from electrode materials, inevitably resulting in secondary pollution. In contrast, eddy current separation (ECS) applied to crushed lithium-ion battery residues can substantially reduce the introduction of contaminants while minimizing material losses. However, the heterogeneo…

The extraction of functional organic compounds from natural products has become an important focus of current research. Citrus fruits are among the most widely produced fruits worldwide and have attracted increasing attention because of their pleasant flavor and rich content of bioactive compounds. Hesperidin, the focus of this review, is a representative flavonoid glycoside that is abundant in c…

Platinum group metals (PGMs) are strategic metals, and recycling PGMs in spent automobile exhaust catalysts (SACs) is a key path to alleviate the contradiction between resource supply and demand. This paper proposes a new Cu-Ni capture process and conducts research on the recovery of PGMs from SACs. Through the binary phase diagram analysis of Cu, Ni and PGMs and the thermodynamic calculation of …

Coal slime, typically with particle sizes below 1 mm, is difficult to utilize directly and is frequently associated with energy loss and environmental burden. This study comparatively investigates hot–air drying and transient steam flash drying for the dehydration and upgrading of filter–pressed coal slime. In hot–air drying, elevated temperature and reduced particle size markedly accelerate the …