| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/L07611/01 |
| Title: |
WATER-IN-CARBON DIOXIDE MICROEMULSIONS: A NEW REACTION MEDIUM FOR NOVEL CHEMISTRY |
| Principal Investigator: |
Steytler, Dr D |
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| Department: |
Chemistry |
| Organisation: |
University of East Anglia |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
10 March 1997 |
Ends: |
09 March 1998 |
Value (£): |
59,608
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Complex fluids & soft solids |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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Recently supercritical CO2 (sc-CO2) has attracted much interest as an environmentally acceptable alternative to petroleum-based organic solvents. Following the realisation some years ago that enzymes remain active in organic solvents, there has been interest in the application of sc-CO2 as a clean solvent medium for enzyme reactions. It is now appreciated that water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsions offer many potential advantages as a reaction medium for enzyme reactions. However, owing to the difficulties in forming water-in-CO2 (w/c) microemulsions no work of a similar nature has been undertaken to examine enzyme reactions in dispersed phases in sc-CO2. Recent developments now indicate that w/c microemulsion formation is possible using fluorocarbon-based surfactants and initial tests suggest proteins remain active after solubilisation. This aim of this feasibility study is to test the viability of w/c microemulsions as a reaction medium for in-situ enzyme-catalysed reactions. The programme includes preliminary studies of the phase stability and structure of w/c microemulsions and enzyme solubilisation tests. Enzyme reactions in w/c microemulsions will then be tested and compared with conventional w/o microemulsions. In particular, the use of higher concentrations of gaseous substrates, that are possible in sc-CO2, will be examined.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.uea.ac.uk |