Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology 7 articles published in JoVE Engineering Fabrication and Design of Wood-Based High-Performance Composites Marion Frey1,2, Meri Zirkelbach3, Clemens Dransfeld4, Eric Faude1, Etienne Trachsel1, Mikael Hannus5, Ingo Burgert1,2, Tobias Keplinger1,2 1Wood Materials Science, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, ETH Zurich, 2Cellulose & Wood Materials, Functional Materials, EMPA, 3Design and Arts, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, 4Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies, Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, 5Stora Enso Oyj Delignified densified wood represents a new promising lightweight, high-performance and bio-based material with great potential to partially substitute natural fiber reinforced- or glass fiber reinforced composites in the future. We here present two versatile fabrication routes and demonstrate the possibility to create complex composite parts. Chemistry A Continuous-flow Photocatalytic Reactor for the Precisely Controlled Deposition of Metallic Nanoparticles Sina Abdolhosseinzadeh1,2, Mirsajjad Mousavi3, Navid Haghmoradi3, Selmiye Alkan Gürsel3,4 1Institut des matériaux, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 2Laboratory for Functional Polymers, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), 3Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University, 4SUNUM Nanotechnology Research Centre, Sabanci University For a continuous and scalable synthesis of noble-metal-based nanocomposites, a novel photocatalytic reactor is developed and its structure, operation principles, and product quality optimization strategies are described. Chemistry Microfluidic Pneumatic Cages: A Novel Approach for In-chip Crystal Trapping, Manipulation and Controlled Chemical Treatment Afshin Abrishamkar1,2, Markos Paradinas3, Elena Bailo4, Romen Rodriguez-Trujillo5, Raphael Pfattner5, René M. Rossi1, Carmen Ocal5, Andrew J. deMello2, David B. Amabilino6, Josep Puigmartí-Luis1 1Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 2Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Bioscience, ETH Zurich, 3ICN2-Institut Catala de Nanociencia i Nanotecnologia, 4WITec GmbH, 5Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona, 6School of Chemistry, The University of Nottingham Herein, we describe the fabrication and operation of a double-layer microfluidic system made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). We demonstrate the potential of this device for trapping, directing the coordination pathway of a crystalline molecular material and controlling chemical reactions onto on-chip trapped structures. Chemistry Supercritical Nitrogen Processing for the Purification of Reactive Porous Materials Nicholas P. Stadie1, Elsa Callini1, Philippe Mauron1, Andreas Borgschulte1, Andreas Züttel1 1Hydrogen and Energy Laboratory, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology Nitrogen is an effective supercritical fluid for extraction or drying processes due to its small molecular size, high density in the near-liquid supercritical regime, and chemical inertness. We present a supercritical nitrogen drying protocol for the purification treatment of reactive, porous materials. Environment Transcript and Metabolite Profiling for the Evaluation of Tobacco Tree and Poplar as Feedstock for the Bio-based Industry Colin Ruprecht1, Takayuki Tohge1, Alisdair Fernie1, Cara L. Mortimer2, Amanda Kozlo2, Paul D. Fraser2, Norma Funke1, Igor Cesarino3,4, Ruben Vanholme3,4, Wout Boerjan3,4, Kris Morreel3,4, Ingo Burgert5,6, Notburga Gierlinger5,6, Vincent Bulone7, Vera Schneider8, Andrea Stockero8, Juan Navarro-Aviñó9, Frank Pudel10, Bart Tambuyser11, James Hygate12, Jon Bumstead13, Louis Notley13, Staffan Persson1,14 1Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, 2School of Biological Sciences, Plant Molecular Science, Centre for Systems and Synthetic Biology, Royal Holloway, University of London, 3Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB, 4Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, UGhent, 5Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zurich, 6Applied Wood Materials, EMPA, 7Division of Glycoscience, School of Biotechnology, AlbaNova University Center, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), 8European Research and Project Office GmbH, 9ABBA Gaia S.L., 10Pflanzenöltechnologie, 11Capax Environmental Services, 12Green Fuels, 13Neutral Consulting Ltd, 14Plant Cell Biology Research Centre, School of Botany, University of Melbourne Plant biomass offers a renewable resource for multiple products, including fuel, feed, food, and a variety of materials. In this paper we investigate the properties of tobacco tree (Nicotiana glauca) and poplar as suitable sources for a biorefinery pipeline. Bioengineering Preparation of Light-responsive Membranes by a Combined Surface Grafting and Postmodification Process Katrin Schöller1, Lukas Baumann1, Dirk Hegemann2, Damien De Courten3, Martin Wolf3, René M. Rossi1, Lukas J. Scherer1 1Laboratory for Protection and Physiology, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 2Laboratory of Advanced Fibers, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 3Division of Neonatology, University Hospital Zurich A plasma-induced polymerization procedure is described for the surface-initiated polymerization on polymer membranes. Further postmodification of the grafted polymer with photochromic substances is presented with a protocol of conducting permeability measurements of light-responsive membranes. Bioengineering Determination of the Transport Rate of Xenobiotics and Nanomaterials Across the Placenta using the ex vivo Human Placental Perfusion Model Stefanie Grafmüller1,2,3, Pius Manser2, Harald F. Krug2, Peter Wick2, Ursula von Mandach1 1Department of Obstetrics, Perinatal Pharmacology, University Hospital Zurich, 2Laboratory for Materials - Biology Interactions, EMPA Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, 3Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern The ex vivo dual recirculating human placental perfusion model can be used to investigate the transfer of xenobiotics and nanoparticles across the human placenta. In this video protocol we describe the equipment and techniques required for a successful execution of a placenta perfusion.