Membrane

This volume provides an overview of membrane systems and separation processes, recent trends in membranes and membrane processes, and advancements in osmotically driven membrane systems.

This book covers essential subsections of membrane separation and bioseparation processes from the perspectives of technical innovation, novelty, and sustainability. The book offers a comprehensive overview of the latest improvements and concerns with respect to membrane fouling remediation techniques, issues of bioincompatibility for biomedical applications, and various subareas of membrane separation processes, which will be an efficient resource for engineers.

Like quantum computing or DNA computing, membrane computing is an unconventional model of computation associated with a new computing paradigm. The field of membrane computing was initiated in 1998 by the author of this book; it is a branch of natural computing inspired by the structure and functioning of the living cell and devises distributed parallel computing models in the form of membrane systems, also called P systems.

This book provides a detailed account of the physico-chemical properties and biological functions of the outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) of different pathogenic and non-pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria. It also includes an authentic record of the first systematic study that discovered the mechanism of OMV formation by a pathogen, Vibrio cholerae, and proposed that the process represented a novel secretory activity of bacteria. Furthermore, the authors present clinical and laboratory data on the use of OMVs as immunogens, as effective and licensed vaccines against Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B infections and on the development of more effective vaccines against other human and animal pathogens including Vibrio cholerae. This volume thus bears witness to the emerging revolution in the field of vaccines against pathogens and closes with a discussion of open questions and future research on OMVs.