An in vitro model of an in vivo gastrointestinal tract including an in vitro model of an in vivo small intestine including a plurality of fermentation vessels and an in vitro model of an in vivo large intestine including a plurality of fermentation vessels is provided. A method of simulating a biotransformation of food product through the human digestive tract using an in vitro model of an in vivo gastrointestinal tract is provided.

A process for oxidising a substrate selected from hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), diformylfuran (DFF), hydroxymethylfurancarboxylic acid (HMFCA) and formylfurancarboxylic acid (FFCA). Said process comprises mixing said substrate with catalase, one or more further enzymes and hydrogen peroxide to form a reaction mixture. Said one or more further enzymes have the ability to catalyse oxidation of said substrate. Said hydrogen peroxide is provided at a total molar ratio of at least about 0.1:1 hydrogen peroxide to substrate.

A microfluidic multi-well-based cell culture testing device is provided. The multi-well-based cell culture testing device has an array structure of a plurality of aligned microfluidic well units. Each of the microfluidic well units comprises an inlet through which a first fluid enters, an accommodation compartment adapted to accommodate a second fluid therein, a microfluidic channel through which the first fluid flows, and an air outlet adapted to facilitate the entering of the first fluid.

Aspects of the invention include methods of removing carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) from a CO.sub.2 containing gas. In some instances, the methods include contacting CO.sub.2 containing gas with a bicarbonate buffered aqueous medium under conditions sufficient to produce a bicarbonate rich product. Where desired, the resultant bicarbonate rich product or a component thereof may then be stored or further processed, e.g., combined with a divalent alkaline earth metal cation, under conditions sufficient to produce a solid carbonate composition. Aspects of the invention further include systems for practicing the methods, as well as products produced by the methods.

The present invention relates to a method for synthesizing an RNA molecule of a given sequence, comprising the step of determining the fraction (1) for each of the four nucleotides G, A, C and U in said RNA molecule, and the step of synthesizing said RNA molecule by in vitro transcription in a sequence-optimized reaction mix, wherein said sequence-optimized reaction mix comprises the four ribonucleoside triphosphates GTP, ATP, CTP and UTP, wherein the fraction (2) of each of the four ribonucleoside triphosphates in the sequence-optimized reaction mix corresponds to the fraction (1) of the respective nucleotide in said RNA molecule, a buffer, a DNA template, and an RNA polymerase. Further, the present invention relates to a bioreactor (1) for synthesizing RNA molecules of a given sequence, the bioreactor (1) having a reaction module (2) for carrying out in vitro RNA transcription reactions in a sequence-optimized reaction mix, a capture module (3) for temporarily capturing the transcribed RNA molecules, and a control module (4) for controlling the infeed of components of the sequence-optimized reaction mix into the reaction module (2), wherein the reaction module (2) comprises a filtration membrane (21) for separating nucleotides from the reaction mix, and the control of the infeed of components of the sequence-optimized reaction mix by the control module (4) is based on a measured concentration of separated nucleotides.

The present invention provides an immobilized reaction device and a method for carrying out reaction by utilizing the immobilization technology. The immobilized reaction device includes a columnar reactor with an inlet and an outlet. The reactor is provided with an interior cavity which is defined by a top portion and a bottom portion opposite to each other, and a side wall connecting the top portion and the bottom portion.

The present disclosure provides a system for mimicking the secondary lymphoid organs where suspension cells (e.g., T cells) are expanded; methods of expanding, activating, and transfecting the suspension cells in the synthetic microenvironment, and suspension cells produced by such systems and methods.

A tissue dissociation device includes an inlet coupled to a first stage having a single channel having an upstream end and a downstream end; a plurality of serially arranged intermediate stages, wherein a first intermediate stage of the plurality is fluidically coupled to the downstream end of the first stage, and wherein each subsequent intermediate stage of the plurality has an increasing number of channels (with channels of smaller dimensions); and an outlet coupled to a last stage of the intermediate stages.

A portable fluidic platform for rapid and flexible end-to-end production of recombinant protein biologics includes a bioreactor system hosting stable and robust cell-free translation systems that is fluidically integrated with modular protein separation functionalities (e.g., size exclusion, ion exchange or affinity chromatography systems) for purification of the cell-free expressed product and which are configurable for process-specific isolation of different proteins, as well as for formulation. The bioreactor utilizes lysates from engineered eukaryotic (e.g., yeast) or prokaryotic (e.g., bacterial) strains that contain factors for protein folding and posttranslational modifications. Combination of various purification modules on the same fluidic platform allows flexibility of re-routing for purification of different proteins depending on specific target requirements. Protein synthesis and purification modules are integrated into self-contained disposable fluidic cartridge that eliminates cross-contamination between runs. The platform allows for flexible production of protein biologics within 24 hours (from DNA to purified product).

An enzyme production line having a plurality of enzymes 3 bound to a support 4 for running a series of catalyzed reactions to convert a substrate 30 to a final product 32. A method of using the enzyme production line to form a final product 32 in which a substrate 30 contacts a first enzyme 3 bound to a support 4 to form an intermediate and contacting the intermediate with a second enzyme 3 bound to a support 4 to form a final product 32.