NEWS
IN BRIEF
Lubrizol opens Shanghai BRI Lubrizol has opened its Beauty Research Institute ( BRI ) in Shanghai . This expands its R & D and lab network in Asia Pacific and houses clinical testing equipment and collaborative workspaces based on the best practices of its site in Barcelona . Services will include claim substantiation , sensory evaluation , consumer insight generation , training and education .
SNF Indian investment France ’ s SNF Group has opened a regional technical centre at its site at Gandhidham in Gujarat , India . This will carry out core flooding , compatibility studies and chemically enhanced oil recovery screening , focusing on high-performance anionic polymers for oil and gas applications . It will serve as the firm ’ s R & D hub for India , while also facilitating joint projects with oil operators .
Mastermelt to work with Hensel Mastermelt has formed a strategic collaboration with a long-time partner , Germany ’ s Hensel Recycling . This aims to advance the recycling and processing of platinum group metalbased fuel cell and electrolyser materials in Europe , combining the former ’ s expertise in processing and refining with the latter ’ s in the collection , dismantling and mechanical processing of end-of-life fuel cells .
New LPPS technology from Snapdragon
Cambrex ’ s Snapdragon Chemistry subsidiary has developed a new liquid-phase peptide synthesis ( LPPS ) technology that uses traditional API batch reactors and continuous flow , obviating dependency on specialised , solid-phase reactors . It also “ materially reduces solvent demand and the need for excess reagents compared to standard solid-state peptide synthesis ( SPPS ) processes ”, the firm says .
The LPPS technology supports peptides up to 12 residues long , while larger peptides are then assembled in the liquid phase using a convergent fragmentcoupling approach . Processes developed with it can be scaled in the same way as traditional small molecules .
Cambrex also claims to have developed unique capabilities in peptide and protein crystallisation , including a screening platform specifically for the discovery of crystalline forms of peptides and proteins . Crystallisation can deliver improved product quality and stability and reduce the need for time-consuming preparative chromatography and lyophilisation .
Separately , Snapdragon has also announced a strategic collaboration with Californiabased Atinary Technologies , which has developed no-code artificial intelligence ( AI ) platforms and technology for R & D into new molecules and chemicals .
Through this , Snapdragon has integrated its proprietary LabOS software platform with Atinary ’ s SDLabs platform to build a fully automated , AI-driven , medium-throughput solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesiser for autonomous multi-objective process optimisations . By using Atinary ’ s platform , Snapdragon said , it has seen an 18 % increase in product yield and a 22 % reduction in cost compared to processes previously optimised by an experienced scientist .
Suez joins GIC Suez , which describes itself as “ a global leader in circular solutions for water and waste ”, has joined the Global Impact Coalition ( GIC ). It will also has also provide the GIC with its expertise in recycling and recovery , which are seen as essential to achieving the chemical industry ' s net zero and circularity targets . This includes collaborating on new circular business models and scaling up sustainable technologies .
12 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981