Latest AIM Projects

Novel Sargassum-Based Polymer Composite Filaments for 3D Printing

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Figure 1:  Examples of prints made with Sargassum loaded filament â€‹


Invention Summary:

As a direct effect of ocean warming and nutrient enrichment, tons of brown macroalgae known as sargassum, have been accumulating on shores throughout the Caribbean Sea, Florida, Mexico, and the Bahamas since 2011. These unprecedented annual events have been detrimental not only to marine ecosystems but also to the human health and economy of coastal communities. 

Rutgers researchers in collaboration with Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico have developed a use for sargassum as a raw material for the fabrication of novel bio-based composite 3D printing materials. The technology has a higher algae biomass content as it can load more than 10% of algae as a plasticizer than other algae-based materials. These sargassum based materials exhibit enhanced material properties and printability compared to commercially available 3D printing materials and biodegrade within 60 days for rapid prototyping.  

Market Applications:

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Intellectual Property & Development Status: 

Provisional patent application filed, patent pending. Available for licensing and/or search collaboration. For any business development and other collaborative partnerships contact  marketingbd@research.rutgers.edu 

 

High Performance Reversible Adhesive System

Executive Summary

In many applications, the ability to debond adhered substrates is advantageous as this can significantly reduce removal time and costs. However, to date, reversible adhesive systems with the proper balance of performance under a variety of environmental conditions and debonding time have not been developed. MSU researchers have recently developed a new modified polymer system and related equipment, that debonds on demand under induction fields of specific strength and frequency. The system has been used to debond in 1 minute, 2’ x 2’ composite panels bonded to metal which normally took hours to remove mechanically.

 

Description of the Technology

This invention consists of a modified polymer and associated electronic equipment. The polymer itself can be a thermoplastic or thermoset and is modified by electromagnetically excitable particles dispersed in the matrix. The frequency of excitation of the modified polymer is optimally determined by a variable field induction applicator device which allows efficient power consumption and rapid debonding.

 

Benefits

 

Applications

 

Patent Status

Patent pending

 

Licensing Rights

Full licensing rights available

 

Inventors

Erik Stitt, Dr. Mahmoodul Haq, Dr. Lawrence Drzal

 

TECH ID

TEC2022-0076

Process for Chemical Recycling of Multilayer & Metallized Plastic Packaging Films

Executive Summary

In order to combat the growth of global plastic waste, pyrolysis processes have been developed to turn this waste material into gases, oils and waxes. However, these processes usually require high operating temperatures, expensive catalysts and restrictions on the type of plastics they can handle. Researchers at Michigan State University have recently developed an efficient process that can convert mixed polyolefins and metallized films into a primary product of oil. A wide variety of plastic materials and mixtures can be handled as feedstocks, thus enabling broader recycling of packaging materials and plastics in general.

 

Description of the Technology

The technology is based on standard pyrolysis, except it utilizes inexpensive, safe, and abundant Sodium Chloride (NaCl), or table salt, as the catalyst. Pyrolysis takes place at temperatures as low as 425oC and as short as 2 hours, with optimized lab-scale experiments recovering up to 86% of the plastic in the form of oil, while minimizing wax and gas. The process can handle single plastics or mixtures thereof, multilayer and metallized films and combinations. The salt can also be recycled and reused with negligible activity losses.

 

Benefits

 

Applications

 

Patent Status

 

Licensing Rights

Full licensing rights available

 

References

Advanced Sustainable Systems Article, 2023

 

Inventors

Dr. Muhammad Rabnawaz, Mohamed Shake Abdelwahed Mohamed

 

TECH ID

TEC2023-0108

COMPUTER SYSTEM WITH INSTRUCTION PRE-SENDING

\r\n\r\nUW-Madison researchers have developed a system for pre-sending memory blocks to the higher levels of the memory hierarchy without the need for accurate and time-precise knowledge of processor micro-architectural events. Instead a high-level representation of memory block usage of a program is constructed and used to identify and pre-send memory blocks likely to be needed by the processor in the future based on memory blocks that are currently accessed. Preliminary studies suggest that this approach significantly decreases latencies in comparison to more tightly coupled prefetching approaches of greater complexity.

Method to Predict, Evaluate and Map Soil Microbial Function for Broad Geographical Regions using Omics and Machine Learning

This invention is a methodology for predicting and geographically mapping the functional composition of soil microbial communities across a large geographical area and with diverse environments using machine learning. The resulting information is relevant to evaluating soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling.

Background: 
Microbial-mediated soil organic matter decomposition regulates many key ecosystem functions such as soil nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and soil fertility. However, representing microbial processes in Earth system models is still a challenge due to the lack of a clear understanding regarding the spatial patterns of functional diversity within microbial communities and how diverse environments regulate these communities.

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Wide Area Spectralelectrochemical Measurement of Thin Film Semiconductors for Electronic Band Structure Analysis

This invention is a rapid, nondestructive detection method for properties of semiconductor stacks (including perovskite stacks for use in photovoltaics) which can be used at speeds and scales relevant for manufacturing to check product quality. This invention could reduce/remove barriers for manufacturing scale-up and production of high quality robust next generation photovoltaics.

Background: 
The physical properties and chemical characteristics of perovskite thin films and their contact interfaces are complex and defects arising in these materials may be stochastic. Very sophisticated measurement and analysis techniques to determine the quality of these materials and composites may not be suitable or practical for manufacturability. Therefore, there is a need for effective measurement techniques which can support scaled-up manufacturing. A new technology presented here is a spectro-electrochemical measurement of energy levels. This measurement technique can be applied for a wide area and at speeds relevant for manufacturing and results in determining characteristic of multilayer stacks, including the portions of material "buried" in the stack, such as interfaces. This technique is a broad concept that may be suitable for application to other multi-layer semiconductor stacks comprising many semiconductor layers.

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Isolation And Characterization Of Novel Tissue-Specific Promoters In Maize

\r\n\r\nUW researchers have identified and characterized a set of tissue-specific, maize promoters. To identify these promoters, the researchers combed through gene expression datasets, flagging genes expressed in a specific tissue and nowhere else. They removed candidates that had inconsistent expression or long-range activating regions, as those are difficult to clone. They further curated the list to only include genes with official names or that had been identified in an existing database. The researchers inserted the candidate promoter sequence upstream of a GUS reporter gene. They identified where tissue specific expression occurred by monitoring the levels of GUS expression in the maize plant. The four promoter sequences control gene expression specifically in leaf, embryo, or in root tissue. The researchers cloned the 2000 BP region upstream of the gene and inserted those nucleotides in front of a gene encoding the GUS reporter enzyme. The promoter-GUS gene construct was transformed into the maize inbred line LH244. Surveying the plant for GUS protein allowed the researchers to identify where in the plant the gene was being expressed. The promoters that were disclosed only showed expression in a single tissue: two were positive for leaf specific expression (ris2 and lhcb10), one was positive for root specific expression (Php20719a), one was positive for embryo specific expression (Nas2).

Compositions and Methods to Enhance Therapeutic Efficacy of Cancer Therapies

\r\n\r\nUW researchers have identified a molecule commonly used as a vaccine adjuvant to add to the combination of radiation therapy and checkpoint inhibitor treatment to drive the immune system’s response to tumor cells. The researchers explored the ability of radiation therapy, anti-CTLA4, and the adjuvant to shrink melanoma or prostate cancer tumors in mice and to prolong survival. Adding the adjuvant to the radiation therapy + CTLA4 treatment resulted in additional tumor growth reduction, prolonged survival and an observed complete response rate in both tumor models as compared to the radiation therapy and CTLA4 combination by itself. The adjuvant tested is monophosphoryl lipid A, and it was injected intratumorally. Tumor bearing mice received either RT (12 Gy, day 1), RT+anti-CTLA4 (C4, day 3, 6, 9), MPL (20 µg IT injection days 5, 7, 9), RT+C4+MPL combination, or PBS control. To evaluate the effect of MPL on the irradiated tumor microenvironment, primary tumor with tumor draining lymph nodes were harvested for immune cell infiltration analysis and cytokine profiling, and serum was collected for analysis of anti-tumor antibody populations. MPL treatment significantly increased production of Th1-associated, IgG2c anti-tumor antibodies which were required for and predictive of anti-tumor response to RT+C4+MPL, and enabled macrophage-mediated antibody-dependent direct tumor cell killing by MPL-stimulated macrophages.

Methods Of Predicting Responses To Disease Treatments

\r\n\r\nUW-Madison researchers have developed a novel method for predicting optimal treatment responses in oncology patients based on DNA and RNA sequences in circulating tumor cells. They termed this new method TARGETS (TreAtment Response Generalized Elastic-neT Signatures). The researchers trained TARGETS drug response models using Elastic-Net regression using data from the publicly available Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer database. The final validation step involved independent clinical validation using the West Coast Prostate Cancer Dream Team (WCDT) data, and the researchers found that the TARGETS androgen receptor signaling inhibitors (ARSI) signature successfully predicted clinical treatment response in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer with a statistically significant interaction between the TARGETS score and PSA response. The inventors noted in the paper that to reduce noise in the training data, they included genes only identified in the COSMIC Cancer Gene Census database. They trained their algorithm to develop pharmacogenetic response signatures for all drugs included in the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer database. They validated their system using data from the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE), and on clinical samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Stand Up to Cancer/Prostate Cancer Foundation West Coast Prostate Cancer Dream Team. The inventors now have identified genetic patterns associated with positive responses to widely prescribed chemotherapeutic drugs as well as a system for looking for those patterns.

Novel therapy for inflammatory disease using fatty acid-bound alpha fetoprotein