Biological mechanisms, use

Biomimetic textiles use textile-related technologies as a platform to transfer properties and functionalities identified in biological systems into fibrous structures. This is achieved through the interpretation of the underlying biological mechanisms using the tools of textile technology. An iconic example is the invention of Velcro that took place in Europe at a similar time to Schmitt s doctoral work in the United States. 

Biological. Several recent patents have claimed the production of ethylene oxide from a wide variety of raw materials using enzymatic catalysts (221—224). However, no commercial production routes based on biological mechanisms have been proposed. 

Root DE, Flaherty SP, Kelley BP, Stockwell BR. Biological mechanism profiling using an annotated compound library. Chem Biol 2003 10 881-92. 

If the plasma membrane is relatively impermeable, how do most molecules enter a cell How is selectivity of this movement established Answers to such questions are important in understanding how cells adjust to a constantly changing extracellular environment. Metazoan organisms also must have means of communicating between adjacent and distant cells, so that complex biologic processes can be coordinated. These signals must arrive at and be transmitted by the membrane, or they must be generated as a consequence of some interaction with the membrane. Some of the major mechanisms used to accomplish these different objectives are listed in Table 41-3. 

Buchan [92] has carried out a study using electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, to determine the location and nature of the stored phosphorus in activated sludge samples from seven different treatment plants in South Africa, which all show enhanced phosphorus removal. The results indicate that there is a biological mechanism of enhanced phosphorus uptake in activated sludge. 

In water, neither volatilization nor sorption to sediments and suspended particulates is expected to be an important transport mechanism. Using the Henry s Law constant, a half-life of 88 days was calculated for evaporation from a model river 1 m deep with a current of 1 m/second, and with a wind velocity of 3 m/second (Lyman et al. 1982). The biological treatment of waste water containing phenol has shown that less than 1% of phenol is removed by stripping (Kincannon et al. 1983 Petrasek et al. 1983). 

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