Two recent studies (Denkov et al., Nature 2015, 528, 392 and Guttman et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.2016, 113, 493) demonstrated that micrometer-sized n-alkane drops, dispersed in aqueous surfactant solutions, can break their spherical symmetry upon cooling and self-shape into a variety of regular shapes, such as fluid polyhedra, platelet-shaped hexagons, triangles, rhomboids, toroids, and...

The self-diffusion coefficient of hydrogen (H(2)), carbon monoxide (CO) and water (H(2)O) in n-alkanes was studied by molecular dynamics simulation. Diffusion in a few pure n-alkanes (namely n-C(8), n-C(20), n-C(64) and n-C(96)) was examined. In addition, binary n-C(12)-n-C(96) mixtures with various compositions as well as more realistic five- and six-n-alkane component mixtures were simulated....

The activation of small alkane molecules originating from natural gas or renewable resources on metal oxide surfaces regains increasing scientific interest since direct utilization of saturated hydrocarbons will offer alternative pathways to higher value chemicals in a postpetroleum era. The focus of the project lies on oxidation catalysis of small alkane molecules including methane, ethane, pr...

Polyester synthesis activity of immobilized Humicola insolens (HiC) was systematically studied with three-series of substrates varying in (i) omega-hydroxyalkanoic acid (omegaHA), (ii) alpha,omega-n-alkane diol, and (iii) alpha,omega-n-alkane diacid chain length. Covalent immobilization of HiC on Amberzyme oxirane (AO) resin (i.e., AO-HiC) was prepared. HiC-AO's activity for omegaHA substrates ...

$n$-alkane/urea inclusion compounds are prototypical examples of aperiodic crystals with uniformly aligned alkane guest molecules contained within linear channels formed by the supramolecular urea host. Here, we investigate single-crystal diffuse scattering, which is present in form sharp layers, from short-chain (from octane to dodecane). The strong modulation scattering these layers shows tha...

Nocardioides luteus strain BAFB is a Gram-positive bacterium that efficiently degrades C8 to C11 alkanes aerobically. The draft genome of N. luteus BAFB is 5.76 Mb in size, with 5,358 coding sequences and 69.9% G+C content. The genes responsible for alkane degradation are present in this strain.

The OCT plasmid encodes enzymes for alkane hydroxylation and alkanol dehydrogenation. Structural components are encoded on the 7.5-kilobase pair alkBAC operon, whereas positive regulatory components are encoded by alkR. We have constructed plasmids containing fusions of cloned alkBAC and alkR DNA and used these fusion plasmids to study the functional expression of the alkBAC operon and the regu...