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Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Silicon (LTPS) is the enabling backplane technology for AMOLED displays and small to medium sized high-resolution AMLCDs. Recently, Excimer Laser Annealing (ELA) equipment has made significant progress in scaling for cost-effective large-scale production. In this paper, we discuss the key elements of ELA equipment and the recent and future milestones for LTPS on large substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an Advanced Excimer Laser Annealing (AELA) process for large-sized OLED displays. Achieving good uniformity and performance characteristics of LTPS TFTs using cost-effective processes are important issues for the production of OLED displays. The AELA uses a conventional ELA system, XeCl laser, large optics and positioning stage, with improved processes and existing technology such as a selective crystallization function. The selective crystallization function of the AELA process has been optimized to obtain uniform microstructure of the crystallized Si films at the TFTs and interconnection region. Specifically, the 7/20 (W/L) TFTs via AELA processed Si films have mobility of 73.81 cm2/V-sec, threshold voltage of −2.07 V and sub-threshold swing of 0.40 V/dec. 55″ FHD OLED displays have been fabricated using the AELA process. The advantages and challenges of AELA technology will be further discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crystallization of salts is recognized to be a major factor of the degradation of porous materials such as stone and concrete. On the theoretical side, there is now general acceptance about the thermodynamic origin of this phenomenon. However, on the experimental side, there are only scarce quantitative data. In this respect, the reference work par excellence is that of Correns (Discuss Faraday Soc 5:267–271, ) who shows a good correlation between calculated and measured crystallization pressures. However, concerns about both the thermodynamic derivation and the experimental conditions raise the question about why Correns could have obtained such a good correlation. This issue is discussed extensively in this paper which is organized as a commented translation of a former paper by Correns, co-authored by Steinborn, and that is much richer in experimental details. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The retrogradation property endows starch molecules with the unique ability to self-assemble crystals after encountering damage, which can restore the internal double helix structure to a limited extent. We devise a simple set of steps to grow perfect crystals of uniform size with different crystal systems in a given growth environment by first customizing the crystal seeds through enzymatic modification, and then exploiting the spontaneous recrystallization of starch. Optical microscopy confirmed the formation of gem-like starch granules (GSGs) in starches with 24.3 %-28.1 % amylose content, while no GSGs appeared in any of the other contents. FITR and XRD pattern revealed a shift in the double helix arrangement within the crystals, and the resultant change in starch crystal type from A-type to B-type provided theoretical support for the production of tetragonal, tetragonal, and hexagonal crystal systems. This work may provide a promising approach to the development of novel starch-based food/drug carriers., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Heterogeneous crystallization is a common occurrence during the formation of solid wastes. It leads to the encapsulation of valuable/hazardous metals within the primary phase, presenting significant challenges for waste treatment and metal recovery. Herein, we proposed a novel method involving the in-situ formation of a competitive substrate during the precipitation of jarosite waste, which is an essential process for removing iron in zinc hydrometallurgy. We observed that the in-situ-formed competitive substrate effectively inhibits the heterogeneous crystallization of jarosite on the surface of anglesite, a lead-rich phase present in the jarosite waste. As a result, the iron content on the anglesite surface decreases from 34.8% to 1.65%. The competitive substrate was identified as schwertmannite, characterized by its loose structure and large surface area. Furthermore, we have elucidated a novel mechanism underlying this inhibition of heterogeneous crystallization, which involves the local supersaturation of jarosite caused by the release of ferric and sulfate ions from the competitive substrate. The local supersaturation promotes the preferential heterogeneous crystallization of jarosite on the competitive substrate. Interestingly, during the formation of jarosite, the competitive substrate gradually vanished through a dissolution-recrystallization process following the Ostwald rule, where a metastable phase slowly transitions to a stable phase. This effectively precluded the introduction of impurities and reduced waste volume. The goal of this study is to provide fresh insights into the mechanism of heterogeneous crystallization control, and to offer practical crystallization strategies conducive to metal separation and recovery from solid waste in industries., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

To fundamentally elucidate the impact of fat composition on ice cream properties, this study employed controlled variable methods, utilizing anhydrous milk fat (AMF), palm oil (PO), and coconut oil (CO) as fat sources. Thermodynamic analysis showed that increasing saturated and long-chain fatty acids doubles the crystallization rate (Kz), significantly enhancing crystalline solid fat content (CSFC) at -5 °C. This improvement increases the ice cream's resistance to melting and structural collapse. XRD and PLM analyses revealed that higher levels of these fatty acids promote the β' crystal formation and elongated, one-dimensional crystals, accelerating partial coalescence by 10-40 %. This results in a denser, more stable fat network, reducing melting rates by 20-40 % and improving freeze-thaw stability by 2-5 times. These findings offer practical guidance for improving ice cream formulations to enhance melting resistance and texture stability, particularly in commercial frozen dessert production., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Poly(ε-caprolactone-co-trimethylene carbonate) (PCLTMC) is a biodegradable copolymer, which is widely used for medicine and tissue repair systems, and its morphology, degradation and mechanical properties have been extensively investigated. However, its crystallization behavior with different copolymerization ratios has not been studied systematically, which is of great significance for the study of property regulation and an understanding of the crystallization behavior of random copolymers. In this paper, the relationship between the crystallization temperature Tc, melting point temperature Tm and crystallinity Xc of copolymers with different molar ratios was determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) using a non-isothermal crystallization method. The results show that the melting point and crystallinity of the copolymer decrease with an increase in TMC composition. The equilibrium melting point of the copolymers was predicted by an isothermal crystallization method, using the Hoffman–Weeks extrapolation method and crystallization rate growth fitting method both based on Lauritzen–Hoffman theory. It is proved that Lauritzen–Hoffman theory is of great significance for guiding the kinetic behavior of PCLTMC crystallization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document is a contents list for the journal CrystEngComm, which focuses on the design and understanding of solid-state and crystalline materials. It includes articles on various topics such as thermodynamic stability relationships of cocrystals, molecular adducts of an anti-cancer drug, and the design of cocrystals featuring a modified isoniazid derivative. The journal also highlights industrial chemistry and material innovations. The document provides a list of papers and their authors, covering a range of topics related to crystal engineering and materials science. [Extracted from the article]

With the advancement of oilfield extraction technology, since oil-water emulsions in waxy crude oil are prone to be deposited on the pipe wall, increasing the difficulty of crude oil extraction. In this paper, the mesoscopic dissipative particle dynamics method is used to study the mechanism of the crystallization and deposition adsorbed on the wall. The results show that in the absence of water molecules, the paraffin molecules near the substrate are deposited on the metallic surface with a horizontal morphology, while the paraffin molecules close to the fluid side are arranged in a vertical column morphology. In the emulsified system, more water molecules will be absorbed on the metallic substrate than paraffin molecules, which obstructed the direct interaction between paraffin molecules and solid surface. Therefore, the addition of water molecules hinders the crystallization of wax near the substrate. Perversely, on the fluid side, water molecules promote the formation of paraffin crystallization. The research in this paper reveals the crystallization mechanism of paraffin wax in oil-water emulsions in the pipeline from the microscopic scale, which provides theoretical support for improving the recovery of wax-containing crude oil and enhancing the transport efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An unusual ice type, called hair ice, grows on the surface of dead wood of broad-leaf trees at temperatures slightly below 0 °C. We describe this phenomenon and present physical, chemical, and biological investigations to gain insight in the properties and processes related to hair ice. Tests revealed that the biological activity of a winter-active fungus is required in the wood for enabling the growth of hair ice. We confirmed the fungus hypothesis originally suggested by Wegener (1918) by reproducing hair ice on wood samples. Treatment by heat and fungicide, respectively, suppresses the formation of hair ice. Fruiting bodies of Asco- and Basidiomycota are identified on hair-ice carrying wood. One species, Exidiopsis effusa (Ee), has been present on all investigated samples. Both hair-ice producing wood samples and those with killed fungus show essentially the same temperature variation, indicating that the heat produced by fungal metabolism is very small, that the freezing rate is not influenced by the fungus activity and that ice segregation is the common mechanism of ice growth at the wood surface. The fungus plays the role of shaping the ice hairs and to prevent them from recrystallisation. Melted hair ice indicates the presence of organic matter. Chemical analyses show a complex mixture of several thousand CHO(N,S)-compounds similar to fulvic acids in dissolved organic matter (DOM). The evaluation reveals decomposed lignin as the main constituent. Further work is needed to clarify its role in hair-ice growth and to identify the recrystallisation inhibitor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the compatibility, phase behavior, and crystallization properties of the binary blends of palm kernel stearin (PKS) and anhydrous milk fat (AMF) were investigated by analyzing the solid fat content (SFC), thermal properties, polymorphism, and microstructure, with the aim of providing theoretical guidance for the blending of oils. The results showed that the PKS content primarily determined the SFC trend of the binary blends. However, the binary blends demonstrated poor miscibility and eutectic behavior was predominantly observed in the system, particularly at higher temperatures. Only α and β′ forms appeared in this blended system. Simultaneously, the addition of PKS elevated the liquid phase transition temperature of the binary blends, considerably significantly increased their crystallization rate when the addition of PKS was more than 20% and increased the density and size of the fat crystals. Finally, the mixing design optimization method was used to get the most suitable ratio of the binary blends in the refrigerated cream system with PKS:AMF to be 0.914:0.086. The cream prepared with the above binary blends was indeed superior in overrun and firmness and had high stability. Practical Application: Some fats with special advantages are often limited in their wide application because of their poor crystallization ability. In this paper, the crystallization ability of fats is improved, and their application scenarios are increased through the combination of fats, so as to provide reference for the production of special fats for food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) are growing in popularity prominently due to their potential in micro-electromechanical systems (MEMSs) and aerospace applications. BMGs have unique mechanical properties, i.e., high strength, hardness, modulus of elasticity, and wear resistance, due to their disordered atomic structure. Due to their unique mechanical properties and amorphous structures, machining of BMGs remains a challenge. This paper aims to carry out a detailed literature review on various aspects of the machining of bulk metallic glasses using both conventional and non-conventional processes, including experimental approaches, modeling, statistical findings, challenges, and guidelines for machining this difficult-to-machine material. Conventional machining processes were found to be challenging for machining bulk metallic glasses due to their high hardness, brittleness, and tendency to convert their amorphous structure into a crystalline structure, especially at the machined surface and sub-surface. Although their high electrical conductivity makes them suitable for machining by non-conventional processes, they impose new challenges such as heat-affected zones and crystallization. Therefore, the successful machining of BMGs requires more in-depth analysis of cutting forces, tool wear, burr formation, surface finish, recast layers or heat-affected zones, crystallization, and mechanical property changes among different varieties of BMGs. This review paper provides guidelines emerging from in-depth analysis of previous studies, as well as offering directions for future research in the machining of BMGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biobased, biodegradable, non-toxic polymer widely considered for replacing traditional petroleum-based polymer materials. Being a semi-crystalline material, PLA has great potential in many fields, such as medical implants, drug delivery systems, etc. However, the slow crystallization rate of PLA limited the application and efficient fabrication of highly crystallized PLA products. This review paper investigated and summarized the influence of formulation, compounding, and processing on PLA's crystallization behaviors and mechanical performances. The paper reviewed the literature from different studies regarding the impact of these factors on critical crystallization parameters, such as the degree of crystallinity, crystallization rate, crystalline morphology, and mechanical properties, such as tensile strength, modulus, elongation, and impact resistance. Understanding the impact of the factors on crystallization and mechanical properties is critical for PLA processing technology innovations to meet the requirements of various applications of PLA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in Twin Screw Melt Granulation (TSMG) processes is rapidly increasing, along with the search for suitable excipients. This study aims to optimize the TSMG process for immediate-release tablets containing two different drugs. The hypothesis is that one poorly water-soluble drug requires amorphous conversion for improved dissolution, while the other water-soluble drug, with a higher melting point (T m ), remains more stable in its crystalline form. Ibuprofen (IBU) and Acetaminophen (APAP) were chosen as the model drug combination to test this hypothesis. Various diluents, binders, and disintegrating agents were assessed for their impact on processability, crystallinity, disintegration, and dissolution during development. The temperatures used during processing were below the T m of all components, except for IBU. Melted IBU acted as a granulating aid in addition to the binders in the formulation, facilitating granule formation. Physicochemical analyses by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) confirmed the complete conversion of IBU into an amorphous state and the preserved crystalline nature of APAP. Saturation solubility studies showed an improvement in IBU's solubility by ∼ 32-fold in 0.1 N HCl. Poor tablet disintegration performance led to the addition of disintegrating agents, where osmotic agents (sorbitol and NaCl) were found to significantly enhance disintegration compared to super disintegrants. The optimized formulation showed an enhanced IBU release (∼20 %) compared to the physical mixture (∼12.5) in 0.1 N HCl dissolution studies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Establishing structure-mechanical property relationships is crucial for understanding and engineering the performance of pharmaceutical molecular crystals. In this study, we employed nanoindentation, a powerful technique that can probe mechanical properties at the nanoscale, to investigate the hardness and elastic modulus of single crystals of succinic acid and L-alanine. Nanoindentation results reveal distinct mechanical behaviors between the two compounds, with L-alanine exhibiting significantly higher hardness and elastic modulus compared to succinic acid. These differences are attributed to the underlying variations in molecular crystal structures - the three-dimensional bonding network and high intermolecular interaction energies of L-alanine molecules leads to its stiffness compared to the layered and weakly bonded crystal structure of succinic acid. Furthermore, the anisotropic nature of succinic acid is reflected in the directional dependence of the mechanical responses where it has been found that the (111) plane is more resistant to indentation than (100). By directly correlating the nanomechanical properties obtained from nanoindentation with the detailed crystal structures, this study provides important insights into how differences in molecular arrangements can translate into different macroscopic mechanical performance. These findings have implications on the selection of molecular crystals for optimized drug manufacturability., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Tenofovir amibufenamide fumarate (TMF) is the first oral drug developed in Asia for the treatment of adult patients with chronic viral hepatitis B, however, further applications are limited by poor tableting performance and high sticking propensity. In this work, the spherulitic growth process of TMF has been designed and explored with the help of molecular dynamics simulation and process analysis technologies (ATR-FTIR, FBRM and EasyViewer). The spherical particles with high bulk density, good flowability and uniform particle size distribution are prepared by a simple quenching process. More importantly, experimental results show that spherical particles have higher average tensile strength (100.8% increase), higher plastic deformability and lower amount of punch sticking (87.4% decrease in 30 tablets) compared to the commercial powder products. These contributions not only shed light on the design principle of drug spherulitic growth processes, but also provide guidance for the manufacture of high-quality tablet products., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Nintedanib (NIN), a multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor clinically approved for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer, is characterized by protonation-dependent lysosomotropic behavior and appearance of lysosome-specific fluorescence emission properties. Here we investigate whether spontaneous formation of a so far unknown NIN matter within the acidic cell compartment is underlying these unexpected emissive properties and investigate the consequences on lysosome functionality. Lysosomes of cells treated with NIN, but not non-protonatable NIN derivatives, exhibited lysosome-associated birefringence signals co-localizing with the NIN-derived fluorescence emission. Sensitivity of both parameters towards vATPase inhibitors confirmed pH-dependent, spontaneous adoption of novel crystalline NIN structures in lysosomes. Accordingly, NIN crystallization from buffer solutions resulted in formation of multiple crystal polymorphs with pH-dependent fluorescence properties. Cell-free crystals grown at lysosomal-like pH conditions resembled NIN-treated cell lysosomes concerning fluorescence pattern, photobleaching dynamics, and Raman spectra. However, differences in birefringence intensity and FAIM-determined anisotropy, as well as predominant association with (intra)lysosomal membrane structures, suggested formation of a semi-solid NIN crystalline matter in acidic lysosomes. Despite comparable target kinase inhibition, NIN, but not its non-protonatable derivatives, impaired lysosomal functionality, mediated massive cell vacuolization, enhanced autophagy, deregulated lipid metabolism, and induced atypical phospholipidosis. Moreover, NIN exerted distinct phototoxicity, strictly dependent on lysosomal microcrystallization events. The spontaneous formation of NIN crystalline structures was also observable in the gut mucosa of orally NIN-treated mice. Summarizing, the here-described kinase inhibition-independent impact of NIN on lysosomal functionality mediates several of its cell biological activities and might contribute to NIN adverse effects., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: All authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The study investigates the impact of the d-lactic acid units content on the crystallinity and crystal structure of commercial poly(lactic acid) (PLA) grades, which are copolymers of poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) containing a minor amount of d-units. As the d-units content increases, a detectable decrease in crystallinity was observed along with a simultaneous rise in mobile amorphous fraction (MAF) and a reduction in rigid amorphous fraction (RAF). The percentage of d-units was found not to significantly affect RAF thickness, suggesting that the d-units are not completely excluded from the crystals. The inclusion of d-units as defects in the PLA crystal lattice was confirmed by XRD analysis, which disclosed that the crystal phase gets gradually richer of d-units as the crystallization time evolves. FT-IR analysis proved that the incorporation of d-units in the crystal phase is promoted by the formation of local CH 3 ···O=C interactions, similar to those massively active between PLLA and poly(d-lactic acid) (PDLA) in the stereocomplex. The establishment of these interactions leads to a contraction of the interplanar distances and a decrease in the crystal cell volume with increasing the crystallization time and the d-units percentage. In summary, the study proves that for PLA copolymers containing a d-units percentage at least up to about 8 %, d-units are included in the crystal lattice., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Elevated levels of total hardness in drinking water can readily result in scaling, which poses a threat to both the safety of water quality and the convenience of its use. While there is a wealth of research on the removal of calcium hardness, there is a dearth of studies focusing on the removal of magnesium hardness. In light of this, the present study employs modified induced crystallization softening (MICS) to delineate the removal pathways and mechanisms of magnesium hardness, and to investigate viable methods for its enhancement and application. Our research has determined that magnesium hardness can be effectively removed from water through the MICS, with the dosage of softening agents (NaOH) being a significant factor that influences this removal, whereas the fixed bed height within the fluidized bed exerts minimal impact on the process. In the low-dose stage (less than 250 mg/L), when the pH is below 10.0, up to 20% of magnesium hardness can be removed, predominantly through the crystallization of (Ca 0.936 Mg 0.064 )CO 3 . As the dosage increases to the moderate stage (250-400 mg/L), the conversion of excess bicarbonate (HCO 3 - ) in the water hinders further removal of magnesium hardness. In the high-dose stage (exceeding 400 mg/L), when the pH rises above 10.5, the removal rate of magnesium hardness can be enhanced to over 75%, with the crystallization of Mg(OH) 3 2- ) in the water hinders further removal of magnesium hardness. In the high-dose stage (exceeding 400 mg/L), when the pH rises above 10.5, the removal rate of magnesium hardness can be enhanced to over 75%, with the crystallization of Mg(OH) 2 being the primary removal mechanism. Density functional theory calculations, along with molecular dynamics simulations of cohesive energy and bond energy, substantiate the feasibility of the identified magnesium removal pathways. The addition of coagulants (FeCl 3 ) and an decrease in the up-flow velocity can further augment the removal efficiency of magnesium hardness by promoting the crystallinity of Mg(OH) 2 during the high-dose stage (exceeding 400 mg/L). In practical engineering applications, the strategic control of softening agent dosages enables the achievement of varying levels of magnesium hardness removal, tailored to specific water quality requirements., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The relationship between structural properties and functional characteristics of starch remains a hot subject among researchers. The crystalline property is a substantial characteristic of starch granules, undergoing different changes during modification techniques. These changes are closely related to the functional properties of modified starches. Physical modifications are eco-friendly techniques and are widely adopted for starch modifications. Therefore, understanding the impact of changes in crystalline properties during different physical modifications on starch functionality is the ultimate way to improve their industrial utilization. However, the existing literature still lacks the elucidation of changes in functional properties of starch in accordance with its crystalline properties during different physical treatments. Hence, this review summarizes the effects of the most important and widely used physical modifications on starch crystalline properties, highlighting the alterations in various functional properties such as hydration, pasting, gelatinization, and in vitro digestibility resulting from changes in crystalline characteristics in a single comprehensive discussion. Furthermore, the current review gives direction for envisaging the functionalization of starches based on deviations in the crystalline properties during several physical treatments., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The off-target effects of herbicides present significant challenges in agricultural practices, posing serious threats to both ecological systems and human health. Dicamba, one of the most widely used herbicides, is particularly problematic due to its high volatility and water solubility, which can lead to rapid environmental dispersal, non-target toxicity, and groundwater contamination. To mitigate these issues, we synthesized a novel cocrystal of dicamba and phenazine (DCB-PHE cocrystal) through a combination of theoretical prediction and mechanochemical screening. The DCB-PHE cocrystal was characterized using single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and thermal analysis. Compared to pure dicamba, the DCB-PHE cocrystal exhibited a substantial reduction in volatility by 59 % and a decrease in equilibrium solubility by up to 5.4 times across various temperatures (15 °C, 25 °C, 35 °C). Additionally, the dissolution rates were significantly lowered by over 94 %. Leaching experiments demonstrated that the DCB-PHE cocrystal reduced total leachate by 4.9 % and delayed percolation. In greenhouse trials, the DCB-PHE cocrystal caused less damage to exposed soy plants and enhanced herbicidal activity against target weeds, with fresh weight reduction of chicory and ryegrass by 32 % and 28 %, respectively, at the highest dosage. Furthermore, safety assays confirmed that the DCB-PHE cocrystal's safety profile was comparable to that of dicamba in terms of its impact on wheat, and it did not exhibit increased genotoxicity to broad beans. These findings suggest that the DCB-PHE cocrystal is a promising candidate for reducing the environmental impacts of dicamba while maintaining its herbicidal efficacy., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Phosphorus in sewage is mostly enriched in activated sludge in wastewater treatment plants, making excess sludge an appropriate material for phosphorus recovery. The potential of vivianite (Fe 3 (PO 4 ) 2 ·8H 2 O) crystallization-based phosphorus recovery during the anaerobic digestion of thermally hydrolyzed sludge was discussed with influences of organic compounds on the formation of vivianite crystals being investigated in detail. Bovine serum albumin, humic acids and alginate, as model compounds of proteins, humic acids and polysaccharides, all inhibited vivianite crystallization, with the influence of humic acids being the most significant. A sludge retention time of >12 d for effective degradation of organic compounds and a certain degree of Fe II excess are suggested to decrease the organics resulting inhibition. The results demonstrate the compatibility of vivianite-crystallization pathway of phosphorus recovery with anaerobic sludge digesters, and reveal the complexity of vivianite formation in the sludge with further research warranted to minimize the inhibitory influences., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Xiang Cheng reports financial support was provided by National Key Research and Development Program of China. Xiang Cheng reports financial support was provided by Natural Science Foundation of China. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To investigate the effect of dentin infiltration with polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) doped with tideglusib (TDg) (TDg-NPs) on hydroxyapatite formation, crystallinity and elasticity of conditioned resin-dentin interfaces., Methods: Dentin conditioned surfaces were infiltrated with NPs or TDg-NPs. Bonded interfaces were created, stored for 24 h and submitted to mechanical and thermal challenging. Resin-dentin interfaces were evaluated through nanoindentation to determine the modulus of elasticity, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy through selected area diffraction and bright-filed imaging., Results: TDg-NPs provoked peaks narrowing after the diffraction-intensity analysis that corresponded with high crystallinity, with an increased modulus of Young after load cycling in comparison with the samples treated with undoped NPs. New minerals, in the group of TDg-NPs, showed the greatest both deviation of line profile from perfect crystal diffraction and dimension of the lattice strain, i.e., crystallite, grain size and microstrain and 002 plane-texture. The new minerals generated after TDg-NPs application and mechanical loading followed a well defined lineation. Undoped NPs mostly produced small hydroxyapatite crystallites, non crystalline or amorphous in nature with poor maturity., Conclusions: Tideglusib promoted the precipitation of hydroxyapatite, as a major crystalline phase, at the intrafibrillar compartment of the collagen fibrils, enabling functional mineralization. TDg-NPs facilitated nucleation of crystals randomly oriented, showing less structural variation in angles and distances that improved crystallographic relative order of atoms and maturity. Nanocrystals inducted by TDg-NPs were hexagonal prisms of submicron size. Thermal challenging of dentin treated with TDg-NPs have provoked a decrease of functional mineralization and crystallinity, associated to immature hydroxyapatite., Clinical Significance: New polycrystalline lattice formation generated after TDg-NPs infiltration may become correlated with high mechanical performance. This association can be inferred from the superior crystallinity that was obtained in presence of tideglusib. Immature crystallites formed in dentin treated with undoped NPs will account for a high remineralizing activity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

We have recently reported a set of urinary proteins that inhibited calcium oxalate (CaOx) stone development. However, physicochemical properties that determine their inhibitory activities remained unknown. Herein, human urinary proteins were chromatographically fractionated into 15 fractions and subjected to various CaOx crystal assays and identification by nanoLC-ESI-Qq-TOF MS/MS. Their physicochemical properties and crystal inhibitory activities were subjected to Pearson correlation analysis. The data showed that almost all urinary protein fractions had crystal inhibitory activities. Up to 128 proteins were identified from each fraction. Crystallization inhibitory activity correlated with percentages of Ca 2+ -binding proteins, stable proteins, polar amino acids, alpha helix, beta turn, and random coil, but inversely correlated with number of Ox 2- -binding motifs/protein and percentage of unstable proteins. Crystal aggregation inhibitory activity correlated with percentage of stable proteins but inversely correlated with percentage of unstable proteins. Crystal adhesion inhibitory activity correlated with percentage of stable proteins and GRAVY, but inversely correlated with pI, instability index and percentages of unstable proteins and positively charged amino acids. However, there was no correlation between crystal growth inhibitory activity and any physicochemical properties. In summary, some physicochemical properties of urinary proteins can determine and may be able to predict their CaOx stone inhibitory activities., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Co-amorphous (CM) is a promising technology for enhancing the aqueous solubility of insoluble drugs, but the gelation phenomenon has often occurred during the dissolution process and seriously threatened their solubility/dissolution performance. Therefore, it's quite important to design favorable CM systems to alleviate or even avoid the adverse effects of gelation phenomenon. In this study, CM systems of taxifolin (TAX) and oxymatrine (OMT) (TAX-OMT CMs) were constructed to improve the solubility and dissolution properties of TAX. Interestingly, TAX-OMT CMs gradually aggregated and obviously gelled during dissolution, but the solubility and dissolution of TAX in TAX-OMT CMs were significantly enhanced compared to crystalline TAX. Consequently, the underlying solubilization mechanisms of TAX-OMT CMs after gelation were systematically explored. For one thing, the complexation between the two components in TAX-OMT CMs was verified by phase solubility, fluorescence spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry. For another, the residual solids of TAX-OMT CMs after dissolution evaluation were thoroughly characterized by means of powder X-ray diffraction, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, which showed the anti-crystallization property of TAX-OMT CMs. Furthermore, molecular simulation demonstrated the intermolecular interactions of TAX-OMT CMs alone and TAX-OMT complexes in aqueous solution. Finally, pharmacokinetics study in rats suggested that the bioavailability of TAX in TAX-OMT CM (1:2) was approximately 5.5-fold higher than that of crystalline TAX after oral administration. Collectively, this study reveals the importance of complexation and anti-crystallization effects of CM systems on maintaining solubilization behavior after gelation, providing an effective strategy to improve the absorption performance of pharmaceutical CM systems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF) approach was used to separate a biodegradable poly(lactic acid) (PLA) resin into ten fractions and completely establish the relationship between chain microstructure and properties. The main fractions were mainly eluted at 100, 110, 114, and 118 °C, and their mass percentages were 7.98 wt%, 44.83 wt%, 19.64 wt%, and 11.90 wt%, respectively. Through the use of successive self-nucleation/annealing (SSA) thermal fractionation, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and 13 C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 13 C NMR), the intermolecular and intramolecular differences of PLA were further explored. Fractions eluted at 90, 110, 118, and 126 °C were also chosen to research the non-isothermal cold crystallization kinetics, and fractions eluted at 110, 118, and 126 °C were chosen to explore the non-isothermal crystallization kinetics in order to simulate the real process. The findings demonstrated that the Liu-Mo approach were more suited the non-isothermal crystallization and non-isothermal cold crystallization kinetics of PLA. As the elution temperature increased, so did the stereoregularity of the fractions, the crystallization rate, the crystallization capacity, and the lamellar thickness. These will lay a foundation for its basic research and industrial application., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Calcium oxalate (CaOx) kidney stones accumulate within the renal tubule due to high concentrations of insoluble deposits in the urine. Pb 2+ -induced Ca 2+ mobilization along with Pb 2+ -induced nephrotoxic effects within the proximal tubule have been well established; however, Pb 2+ mediated effects within the collecting duct remains insufficiently studied. Thus in vitro and ex vivo model systems were treated with increasing concentrations of lead (II) acetate (PbAc) ± sodium oxalate (Na 2 C 2 O 4 ) for 1 h, both individually and in combination. Pb 2+ -mediated solution turbidity increased 2 to 5 times greater post-exposure to 75, 100 and 200 μM Pb 2+ with the additional co-treatment of 10 mM oxalate in mouse inner medullary collecting duct (mIMCD-3) cells. Additionally, 100 μM and 200 μM Pb 2+ alone induced significant levels of intracellular Ca 2+ release. To validate Pb 2+ -mediated effects on the formation of CaOx crystals, alizarin red staining confirmed the presence of CaOx crystallization. Pb 2+ -induced intracellular Ca 2+ was also observed ex vivo in fly Malpighian tubules with significant increases in CaOx crystal formation via Pb 2+ -induced intracellular Ca 2+ release significantly increasing the average crystal number, size, and total area of crystal formation, which was ameliorated by tissue-specific SPoCk C transporter and Capa receptor knockdown. These studies demonstrate Pb 2+ -induced Ca 2+ release likely increases the formation of CaOx crystals, which is modulated by a G q -linked mechanism with concurrent Ca 2+ extracellular mobilization., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Greg M. Landry reports financial support was provided by American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Emulsions stabilized via Pickering particles are becoming more and more popular due to their high stability and biocompatibility. Hence, developing new ways to produce effective Pickering particles is essential. In this work, we present a crystal engineering approach to obtain precise control over particle properties such as size, shape, and crystal structure, which may affect wettability and surface chemistry. A highly reproducible synthesis method via anti-solvent crystallization was developed to produce sub-micron sized curcumin crystals of the metastable form III, to be used as Pickering stabilizers. The produced crystals presented a clear hydrophobic nature, which was demonstrated by their preference to stabilize water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions. A comprehensive experimental and computational characterization of curcumin crystals was performed to rationalize their hydrophobic nature. Analytical techniques including Raman spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (SSNMR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), confocal fluorescence microscopy and contact angle measurements were used to characterize curcumin particles in terms of shape, size and interfacial activity. The attachment energy model was instead applied to study relevant surface features of curcumin crystals, such as topology and facet-specific surface chemistry. This work contributes to the understanding of the effect of crystal properties on the mechanism of Pickering stabilization, and paves the way for the formulation of innovative products in fields ranging from pharmaceuticals to food science., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Polymorphism can be a valuable tool as well as an impediment in the development and approval of pharmaceuticals, providing an opportunity to tune active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) physicochemical properties. The control of polymorphism in cocrystalline systems and other multicomponent forms remains underexplored. The study herein aims to investigate the potential of several techniques, liquid-assisted grinding (LAG), solvent evaporation (SE), supercritical enhanced atomization (SEA) and electrospraying, to control the cocrystal polymorphic outcome of three cocrystals: isonicotinamide-citric acid (IsoCa), ethenzamide-saccharin (EthSac) and ethenzamide-gentisic acid (EthGa). Solvent selection employing LAG and SE showed little effect on polymorphic outcome. Electrospraying and SEA primarily produced the α form of IsoCa, with process parameter variations leading to the β form during SEA, and a mixture of α and γ from electrospraying. Electrospraying led to the stable form I of EthSac, while SEA could produce pure form II, and a mixture. Electrospraying produced the form I of EthGa while SEA could produce form II, with an unknown polymorphic impurity. Density functional theory (DFT) computed electron density (ED) maps of cocrystal polymorph binary systems further rationalised the polymorphic predominance observed through the electrospraying. Ultimately this study provides a general road map for polymorph selection via atomization-based methodologies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Metal smelting and combustion of solid fuels produce significant quantities of waste slag, leading to issues such as land occupation and environmental pollution. Understanding and controlling the microscale crystallization phenomena of these slags during thermal treatment is crucial for transforming waste slags into materials suitable for carbon capture or glass ceramics. Previous research has primarily focused on macroscopic crystallization behaviors, significantly advancing the utilization of waste slags in cement clinker production. However, macroscopic results are inadequate for precisely controlling the microscale crystallization behaviors of waste slags. Here, we employed the single hot thermocouple technique to visually explore crystal growth modes, shapes, sizes, numbers, and translational rates of the crystal growth front in a representative blast furnace slag under various isothermal temperatures. The results revealed that crystals exhibited five modes as the isothermal temperature gradually increased, including equiaxed, equiaxed & columnar, columnar, columnar & planar, and planar. Moreover, the translational rate of the crystal growth front increased from 0.011 μm·s -1 to 43.7 μm·s -1 with an increase in the isothermal temperature. Simultaneously, the number of crystals decreased from around 10 4 to 10 0 μm -2 . On this basis, correlations between microscale crystallization behaviors and isothermal temperature were established to fill the current gap., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Biochar-derived dissolved organic matter (BDOM), is extensively involved in the recrystallization of minerals and the speciation alteration of associated toxic metals. This study investigates how BDOM extracted from tobacco petiole (TP) or tobacco stalk (TS) biochar influences the speciation repartitioning of Cr(VI) in environments impacted by acid mine drainage (AMD), focusing on interactions with secondary minerals during Schwertmannite (Sch) dissolution and recrystallization. TP-BDOM, rich in lignin-like substances, slowed down the Cr-Sch dissolution and Cr release under acidic conditions compared to TS-BDOM. TP-BDOM's higher O/C component exerts a delayed impact on Cr-Sch stability and Cr(VI) reduction. In-situ ATR-FTIR and 2D-COS analysis showed that carboxylic and aromatic N-OH groups in BDOM could interact with Cr-Sch surfaces, affecting sulfate and Cr(VI) release. It was also observed that slight recrystallization occurred from Cr-Sch to goethite, along with increased Cr incorporation into secondary minerals within TS-BDOM. This enhances our understanding of BDOM's role in Cr(VI) speciation changes in AMD-contaminated sites., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Protein crystallization is among the key processes in biomolecular research, but the underlying mechanisms are still elusive. Here, we address the role of inevitable interfaces for the nucleation process. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) with simultaneously optical microscopy, confocal microscopy, and grazing-incidence small angle X-rays scattering (GISAXS) were employed to investigate the temporal behavior from the initial stage of protein adsorption to crystallization. Here we studied the crystallization of the Human Serum Albumin (HSA), the most abundant blood protein, in the presence of a charged surface and a trivalent salt. We found evidence for interface-assisted nucleation of crystals. The kinetic stages involved are initial adsorption followed by enhanced adsorption after longer times, subsequent nucleation, and finally crystal growth. The results highlight the importance of interfaces for protein phase behavior and in particular for nucleation., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Frank Schreiber reports financial support was provided by German Research Foundation. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The intricate organization of goethite nanorods within a silica-rich matrix makes limpet teeth the strongest known natural material. However, the mineralization pathway of goethite in organisms under ambient conditions remains elusive. Here, by investigating the multi-level structure of limpet teeth at different growth stages, it is revealed that the growth of goethite crystals proceeds by the attachment of amorphous nanoparticles, a nonclassical crystallization pathway widely observed during the formation of calcium-based biominerals. Importantly, these nanoparticles contain a high amount of silica, which is gradually expelled during the growth of goethite. Moreover, in mature teeth of limpet, the content of silica correlates with the size of goethite crystals, where smaller goethite crystals are densely packed in the leading part with higher content of silica. Correspondingly, the leading part exhibits higher hardness and elastic modulus. Thus, this study not only reveals the nonclassical crystallization pathway of goethite nanorods in limpet teeth, but also highlights the critical roles of silica in controlling the hierarchical structure and the mechanical properties of limpet teeth, thus providing inspirations for fabricating biomimetic materials with excellent properties., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)