We studied the unzipping of single molecules of double-stranded DNA by pulling one of their two strands through a narrow protein pore. Polymerase chain reaction analysis yielded the first direct proof of DNA unzipping in such a system. The time to unzip each molecule was inferred from the ionic current signature of DNA traversal. The distribution of times to unzip under various experimental con...

We review recent molecular dynamics simulations of thermally activated undulations and defects in the lamellar Lα phase of a binary amphiphile-solvent mixture, using an idealized molecular coarse-grained model: Solvent particles are represented by beads, and amphiphiles by bead-and-spring tetramers. We find that our results are in excellent agreement with the predictions of simple mesoscopic th...

Diffusion is a slow transport mechanism and advective transport tends to dominate in large-size systems. An alternative transport mechanism is explored herein, whereby zero time-average cyclic fluid flow is compounded with pore-scale mixing to render effective transport. Two one-dimensional cyclic flow cases are analyzed: a rigid porous network with two open boundaries subjected to cyclic flow ...

Seismic-induced pore pressure and effective stresses in the saturated porous seabed under seismic loading are the main factors that govern the overall stability of submarine pipelines. In most of the previous investigations for the seismic-induced dynamic response around a submarine pipeline have been limited to two-dimension cases. In this paper, a three-dimensional finite element model includ...

In this paper, the kinetics of the outflow in a microporous particle infiltrated by a nonwetting liquid is analyzed in context of effective phase transformation. The “dewetting” process is considered as the nucleation, growth, and coalescence of empty pore clusters (EPCs) that starts from the interior and eventually involves the whole particle. Initially, the EPC nucleation is dominant while th...

High-resolution X-ray computed tomography is employed to obtain the exact 3D geometrical configuration of porous anisotropic ceria applied in solar-driven thermochemical cycles for splitting H2O and CO2. The tomography data are, in turn, used in direct pore-level numerical simulations for determining the morphological and effective heat/mass transport properties of porous ceria, namely: porosit...

Carbonate reservoir rocks of different pore structure have quite distinct and detectable 4D seismic signatures. Using three defined pore structure types (PST), these seismic signatures are correlated with the permeability patterns of carbonate rocks. In both the high-permeability PST3 and intermediate-permeability PST2 regions, gas injection is preferred than water injection for effective 4D se...

Freeform fabrication provides an effective process tool to manufacture advanced tissue scaffolds with specific designed properties. Our research focuses on using a novel Precision Extrusion Deposition (PED) process technique to directly fabricate Polycaprolactone (PCL) and composite PCL/ Hydroxyapatite (HA) tissue scaffolds. The scaffold morphology and the mechanical properties were evaluated u...

Novel MCO high-flux membranes for hemodialysis have been developed with optimized permeability, allowing for filtration close to that of the natural kidney. A comprehensive in vitro characterization of the membrane properties by dextran filtration is presented. The sieving profile of pristine membranes, as well as that of membranes exposed to blood for 40 minutes, are described. The effective p...

Emergent rational drug design techniques explore individual properties of target biomolecules, small and macromolecule drug candidates, and the physical forces governing their interactions. In this minireview, we focus on the single-molecule biophysical studies of channel-forming bacterial toxins that suggest new approaches for their inhibition. We discuss several examples of blockage of bacter...