Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems

In the next few months, there will be several opportunities to become more aware of current research trends in energetic materials by attending international conferences. These conferences provide opportunities for both formal and informal discussions, and they can contribute considerably to the professional and personal development of those engaged in science and technology [1]. In addition, conferences can also allow validation of one's knowledge, or lack of knowledge, and they are a guard against misinformation that may arise when Artificial Intelligence (AI) is misused. Being up to date on research is particularly important in the area of energetic materials research and development (R&D). In many countries, as a result of the “Peace Dividend” [2], after 1989–91, there was a greatly reduced investment in energetic materials R&D, as well as in manufacturing capacity for energetic materials. The UK, for example, has had decades of decline in this area; however, there has now been a significant push to rebuild the UK's capabilities in energetic materials, from training the workforce in required science and technology skills to investing more in R&D, and growing manufacturing capability [3]. As the world becomes geopolitically more unstable and is particularly turbulent right now, countries look to improving their sovereign capabilities associated with energetic materials. There are different approaches to how the workforce can be trained and professionally developed, whether entirely in-house, or through external assistance and networking. To some extent, this depends on how much each nation or organization has already geared up with expertise, and how closely their R&D is guarded from dissemination. It is acknowledged that a lot of R&D can be difficult to publish in this area, but as Dr. Kirk Yeager observed in a PEP editorial, “foundational research upon which classified research is built is something that can be (and should be) shared” [4]. In particular, sharing knowledge facilitates improvements in the safe working practices of energetic materials. Expertise always takes time to develop, but the motivation to learn a new area is encouraged by attending conferences. Immersion in both formal and informal learning is accelerated, and networks can be initiated that lead to data sharing and collaboration. In addition, there is no better place to get feedback on one's knowledge than when presenting a paper at a conference. As with publishing, peer review encourages improvement, and “iron sharpens iron,” so we learn from each other. A further benefit to attending conferences is the grounding that one receives so that new knowledge can be validated and questioned face-to-face. In a world that is rapidly adapting to the considerable benefits of AI [5-7], generative AI is also becoming a means of promulgating convincing misinformation that challenges genuine science and technology [8]. To guard against misinformation in a world that seems overloaded with it, we need information we rely on to be validated. This validation is best done through open publishing and peer review in well-regarded journals such as Propellants, Explosives and Pyrotechnics, the official journal of the International Pyrotechnics Society. Conferences also have a role here as the formal and informal components of a conference educate scientists and engineers to make them less susceptible to misinformation. Recently, the 49th International Pyrotechnics Seminar in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, was unfortunately cancelled. Lack of conference papers was the underlying factor. Fortunately, the International Pyrotechnics Society is now partnering with the Fraunhofer ICT to hold the 49th International Pyrotechnics Seminar jointly with the 55th International Annual Conference of the ICT in Karlsruhe, Germany, 23–26 June, 2026 [9]. In addition, there will be a workshop on 23 June, the 20th Workshop on Pyrotechnic Combustion Mechanisms. The International Pyrotechnics Society has two awards available to pay the registration fees for the 55th ICT/49th IPS conference and workshop. The Frank Carver Bursary Award, honoring Dr. Frank Carver from the UK, and the Dr. Bernard E. Douda Young Scientist Award, honoring US Senior Pyrotechnics Scientist Bernie Douda. Please see the Fraunhofer 55th ICT website for details [9]. Personal connections at conferences are truly an investment in the future [1]. We hope that many of you will continue to be able to obtain the many benefits of conference attendance.

The nuclear pore complex (NPC) regulates the molecular traffic between nucleus and cytoplasm. Its permeability barrier is formed by intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) known as FG-nucleoporins (FG-NUPs), whose physical state has long been debated. Deciphering how FG-NUPs behave inside living cells is crucial for understanding how the NPC achieves selective and rapid transport. Here, by combining site-specific labelling with picosecond time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy, we reveal that FG domains exhibit nanosecond-scale, liquid-like mobility in live cells, yet undergo a liquid-to-solid transition in vitro. Experiments and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations further show that importin-β, a major nuclear transport receptor, and O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc), a key post-translational modification of FG-NUPs together stabilise the dynamic FG network. Finely balanced FG-FG interactions modulated by O-GlcNAcylation, along with FG-importin-β interactions, maintain liquidity and enrich importin-β near the NPC periphery, while extended FG domains remain in the central channel to form the transport barrier. These findings reconcile conflicting models of FG-NUP organisation and explain the recent observations in high-resolution MINFLUX studies of importin-β depletion from the pore centre in mammalian cells. Beyond resolving debates over FG-NUP behaviour, our study underscores the importance of studying IDPs in their cellular context, with broader implications for understanding IDP-related diseases, including viral infections, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders.

Abstract Continuous solvothermal syntheses of carbon-based nanomaterials (CBNs) provide an efficient route to generate optically active substances compared to batchwise synthesis. In this study, technical process control and in-line analytical data acquisition was applied. Both facilitated immediate insight into the product’s properties in correlation to the process parameters. As a second continuous step, spray-drying, converted the CBNs dispersions into powder materials to increase the density and simplify product handling, in addition minimizing self-quenching of the fluorescent properties. As starting materials, phenylenediamine regioisomers were chosen which are conventionally explored via autoclave synthesis. For each regioisomer, two emission wavelength regions appeared in the visible wavelength range. The residence time, temperature, acidic component and initial starting concentration played a significant role in the relative emission intensities concluded from systematic screening. While the resulting materials need further improvement concerning their photo stability and absolute emission intensity, the technological combination presented here is a step towards the tailor-made manufacturing chain of CBNs based on micro-process engineering and continuous flow syntheses at safe high-pressure conditions.

Ammonia has attracted much interest as a potential green and renewable hydrogen carrier or energy vector. Compared to hydrogen, ammonia offers several advantages. For example, ammonia has a significantly higher energy density and can be liquefied at room temperature at a moderate pressure of 8 bars. While ammonia can be cracked to supply hydrogen, it is also possible to convert it directly into high-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) to generate electricity. The Ship-FC project aims to install an ammonia-fed 2MW SOFC system on board the vessel Viking energy to demonstrate the feasibility of zero CO2 emission shipping. For this NH3 SOFC system, a catalytic afterburner is required to remove the hydrogen and ammonia present in the SOFC off-gas and to recover heat. The current study analysed the effects of different catalyst supports, with a focus on NOX formation through the combustion of an SOFC off-gas surrogate. The study investigated the performance of catalysts based on the active metals, platinum and iridium, as well as the catalyst supports, Al2O3, SiO2, and TiO2. The results were correlated with catalyst characterisation data and ammonia TPD results. The investigations showed that the formation of NOX was clearly affected by the nature of the catalyst support. The highest selectivity towards NOX was observed for Al2O3, followed by SiO2, and the lowest selectivity was observed for TiO2. This trend was evident for the supported platinum and iridium catalysts and for the samples exclusively containing the support. The trend for N2O formation was opposite to that of NOX formation (TiO2 > SiO2 > Al2O3) in both the presence and absence of platinum or iridium.

Abstract Background Risankizumab (RZB) has been available in our country for Crohn’s disease (CD) patients through an early access program and is now administered using an innovative medical device known as an on-body injector (OBI). We assessed the acceptability and the tolerance of RZB administration via OBI and compare its acceptability with other modalities of CD treatments, and searched for factors associated with the OBI acceptability. Methods This was a prospective, multicenter longitudinal study. All CD patients from the early access cohort treated with RZB via OBI starting in February 2024 were assessed at the time of the switch to OBI (week 0 = W0) and at W8, W16, and W24. The primary endpoint was acceptability, evaluated using a acceptability numerical scale (ANS) ranging from 0 (completely unacceptable) to 10 (perfectly acceptable). Results A total of 58 multi-refractory patients were included (mean age : 42.8 ± 13.8 years; 57.9% were women, 17.3% were smokers, 64.7% had a history of intestinal resection, and 78.2% were in PRO2-clinical remission). Therapeutic education sessions were conducted concurrently for 36.2% (21/58) of patients. OBI was applied to abdomen, thigh, or another site in 43.9%, 52.6%, and 3.5% of patients, respectively. RZB administration via OBI was well tolerated in 57.4%, with possible mild application-site pain (20.4%, mild in 90% of cases), localized erythema (22.2%), pruritus (16.7%), edema (16.7%). No factors affected the acceptability of risankizumab administration via OBI in more than 15% of patients. RZB acceptability via OBI was very high (9.5 ± 1.2) at W0, significantly better than RZB subcutaneous injections (6.98 ± 2.57; p < 0.0001). OBI acceptability remained stable over time: 9.6 ± 1.2 at W8, 9.6 ± 1.4 at W16, and 9.6 ± 0.8 at W24 (p = 0.97). OBI acceptability as a medical device was better than other injectable administration modalities for IBD treatments: IV infusions (p < 0.0001), pen injectors (p < 0.001), and syringes (p < 0.001). Overall, patients preferred OBI (64.0%), followed by oral administration (28.0%), subcutaneous injections (6.0%), and IV infusions (2.0%). When adjusted for administration frequency, RZB every 8 weeks via OBI was the most preferred method (ANS = 9.2 ± 2.0), compared to long interval subcutaneous injections (every 12, 8, or 4 weeks), more frequent injections (weekly or eow), and IV infusions every 4–8 weeks (p < 0.001 for all comparisons). Conclusion In this cohort of refractory patients, the administration of risankizumab via OBI was highly acceptable to CD patients with excellent tolerance, suggesting that this new medical device could promote the use of risankizumab in clinical practice.

Soluble aryl diazonium trifluoroacetates are introduced for safe photochemical aryl–aryl coupling to produce industrially relevant biphenyls, even on a gram scale. While conventional diazonium tetrafluoroborates fail, this mild synthesis requires no catalysts but only UV-A light to generate aryl radicals for direct C−H arylation of various arenes. By implementing a capillary flow photoreactor, 13 biphenyl derivatives were synthesised and quantified by real-time 19F NMR spectroscopy as an in-line PAT tool. More information can be found in the Research Article by C. Deckers and T. H. Rehm (DOI: 10.1002/chem.202303692).

In the production of pharmaceutically active ingredients, the formation of new carbon–carbon bonds is essential. A widespread and frequently employed method is the use of organometallic reagents (e.g., RLi, RMgX, RZnX), which differ greatly in their reactivity and are selected according to the specific reaction pathway desired. Organozinc compounds (RZnX) represent a class of compounds whose reactivity is lower than that of the widely used Grignard reagents and far below that of organolithium compounds, allowing them to tolerate the presence of functional groups incompatible with organomagnesium and organolithium compounds. Organozinc compounds are highly sensitive to oxygen and moisture, which results in difficult handling and problematic storage and limits the use of organozinc compounds in synthetic chemistry. In order to overcome this limitation and make organozinc reagents widely accessible for process chemists of varying industries, a continuous synthetic route to a large number of organozinc reagents was established on a laboratory and pilot scale. Flow rates, solvents, the metal activation mechanism, and the initial concentration of the starting materials were varied. For this purpose, a bed of Zn granules was used, which provides an approximately 250-fold excess of Zn throughout the reaction. The formed zinc organyls were analyzed by manual titration and GC analysis after quenching to determine conversion and yield as well as possible side product formation. For the formation of monozinc organyls, a lab-scale reactor originally designed for the formation of Grignard reagents was used, including a Zn replenishing unit. The main objective of this work was to establish the scalable continuous formation of organozinc reagents, which enables fast and safe process optimization. It was found that complete conversion of the organic halides used could be achieved in a single passage through the reactor with zinc organyl yields of 78–100%. Furthermore, the continuous conversion of highly concentrated 2.0 M starting materials was successfully carried out for the first time. Sufficient process reliability was ensured, and good to very good yields of 84–100% were demonstrated. The synthesis of some selected zinc organyls was then also transferred to a pilot scale, where a maximum liquid throughput of 18 L/h was achieved. With residence times of 1.5–14.0 min, complete conversion of the organic halide was achieved in all syntheses with high zinc organyl yields of up to 98%.