Chen, Aston, Thompson, Ladisch, Mosier, journal issue cover :

Unlocking the full potential of lignocellulosic biomass for a resilient bio-based economy requires solutions that work both in the field and inside the biorefinery. This issue features an in-depth review by a team from Purdue University and Idaho National Laboratory that reimagines pelletization as more than a logistics step: it is a powerful enabler of enzymatic saccharification and advanced biomanufacturing (DOI: 10.18331/BRJ2025.12.4.2). By densifying diverse agricultural residues and energy crops into uniform pellets with up to tenfold higher bulk density, pelleting reduces storage and transport costs while simultaneously acting as a mild thermochemical pretreatment that alters cell wall structure and improves downstream digestibility.  These advances position biomass pellets as a true commodity feedstock, bridging upstream supply chains with efficient biochemical conversion and paving the way for scalable, cost-competitive production of fuels, chemicals, and materials from plant-derived sugars. Cover art by BiofuelResJ. ©2025.

https://www.biofueljournal.com/article_235175.html

The poster presented an in-vitro method for screening preclinical candidates for treating ocular diseases based on the diffusion properties of therapeutics and demonstrated a robust image analysis method for tracking diffusion of unlabeled protein in low viscosity HA matrices. The work showed a significant difference in effective diffusion coefficient of IgG in 0.1 Pa s and 1 Pa s HA matrices, suggesting age-related changes in vitreous humor may influence intravitreal drug diffusion and may help guide research that address formulation and dosing strategies.

See Mol Pharmaceutics, Nov 2025: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.5c00836

Diana Guierrez, Cristiane Farinas, Mike Ladisch and Fernanda da Cunha at LORRE 47 at Purdue University

The Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering is collaborating Dr. Cristiane Farinas at Embrapa Instrumentacao and the ChE Department at the Federal University Sal Carlos since 2015.  Research topics relate to Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Health. This continuing collaboration has been in the form of graduate studies, exchange of researchers, and cooperative research resulting in numerous publications that have addressed advances in the utilization of renewable resources as a resilient feedstock for biomanufacturing.   

Fernanda da Cunha was invited to lecture on advances in renewable biofuels by the Biofuels Specialization Program (PRH-39, National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels  -ANP)  in the Department of Chemical Engineering of the Federal University of São Carlos (DEQ/UFSCar) and to address research in One Health at Embrapa in Oct, 2025.  She visited laboratories and continued development of collaborations between LORRE and our Brazilian colleagues in October.