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At least 163 records · Page 9

Data from A Mass Spectrometry-Based High-Throughput Screening Method for Engineering Fatty Acid Synthases with Improved Production of Medium Chain Fatty Acids

Microbial cell factories have been extensively engineered to produce free fatty acids (FFAs) as key components of crucial nutrients, soaps, industrial chemicals, and fuels. However, our ability to control the composition of microbially synthesized FFAs is still limited, particularly, for producing medium‐chain fatty acids (MCFAs). This is mainly due to the lack of high‐throughput approaches for FFA analysis to engineer enzymes with desirable product specificity. Here we report a mass spectrometry (MS)‐based method for rapid profiling of MCFAs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by using membrane lipids as a proxy. In particular, matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight (MALDI‐ToF) MS was used to detect shorter acyl chain phosphatidylcholines from membrane lipids and a higher m/z peak ratio at 730 and 758 was used as an indication for improved MCFA production. This colony‐based method can be performed at a rate of ~2 s per sample, representing a substantial improvement over gas chromatography‐MS (typically >30 min per sample) as the gold standard method for FFA detection. To demonstrate the power of this method, we performed site‐saturation mutagenesis of the yeast fatty acid synthase and identified nine missense mutations that resulted in improved MCFA production relative to the wild‐type strain. Colony‐based MALDI‐ToF MS screening provides an effective approach for engineering microbial fatty acid compositions in a high‐throughput manner.

Conversion↗

Prediction of superconductivity in metallic boron–carbon compounds from 0 to 100 GPa by high-throughput screening

Boron–carbon compounds have been shown to have feasible superconductivity. In our earlier paper [Zheng et al., Phys. Rev. B, 2023, 107, 014508], we identified a new conventional superconductor of LiB 3 C at 100 GPa. Here, we aim to extend the investigation of possible superconductivity in this structural framework by replacing Li atoms with 27 different cations from periods 3, 4, and 5 under pressures ranging from 0 to 100 GPa. Using the high-throughput screening method of zone-center electron–phonon interaction, we found that ternary compounds like CaB 3 C, SrB 3 C, TiB 3 C, and VB 3 C are promising candidates for superconductivity. The consecutive calculations using the full Brillouin zone confirm that they have a T c of <31 K at moderate pressures. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that fast screening of superconductivity by calculating zone-center electron–phonon coupling strength is an effective strategy for high-throughput identification of new superconductors.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Optimal Decision Making in High-Throughput Virtual Screening Pipelines

ABSTRACT Effective selection of the potential candidates that meet certain conditions in a tremendously large search space has been one of the major concerns in many real-world applications. In addition to the nearly infinitely large search space, rigorous evaluation of a sample based on the reliable experimental or computational platform is often prohibitively expensive, making the screening problem more challenging. In such a case, constructing a high-throughput screening (HTS) pipeline that pre-sifts the samples expected to be potential candidates through the efficient earlier stages, results in a significant amount of savings in resources. However, to the best of our knowledge, despite many successful applications, no one has studied optimal pipeline design or optimal pipeline operations. In this study, we propose two optimization frameworks, applying to most (if not all) screening campaigns involving experimental or/and computational evaluations, for optimally determining the screening thresholds of an HTS pipeline. We validate the proposed frameworks on both analytic and practical scenarios. In particular, we consider the optimal computational campaign for the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) classification as a practical example. To accomplish this, we built the high-throughput virtual screening (HTVS) pipeline for classifying the lncRNA. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed frameworks significantly reduce the effective selection cost per potential candidate and make the HTS pipelines less sensitive to their structural variations. In addition to the validation, we provide insights on constructing a better HTS pipeline based on the simulation results.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Improving Data and Prediction Quality of High-Throughput Perovskite Synthesis with Model Fusion

Combinatorial fusion analysis (CFA) is an approach for combining multiple scoring systems using the rank-score characteristic function and cognitive diversity measure. One example is to combine diverse machine learning models to achieve better prediction quality. In this work, we apply CFA to the synthesis of metal halide perovskites containing organic ammonium cations via inverse temperature crystallization. Using a data set generated by high-throughput experimentation, four individual models (support vector machines, random forests, weighted logistic classifier, and gradient boosted trees) were developed. We characterize each of these scoring systems and explore 66 possible combinations of the models. When measured by the precision on predicting crystal formation, the majority of the combination models improves the individual model results. The best combination models outperform the best individual models by 3.9 percentage points in precision. In addition to improving prediction quality, we demonstrate how the fusion models can be used to identify mislabeled input data and address issues of data quality. In particular, we identify example cases where all single models and all fusion models do not give the correct prediction. Experimental replication of these syntheses reveals that these compositions are sensitive to modest temperature variations across the different locations of the heating element that can hinder or enhance the crystallization process. In summary, we demonstrate that model fusion using CFA can not only identify a previously unconsidered influence on reaction outcome but also be used as a form of quality control for high-throughput experimentation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

High-throughput experimentation for microstructural design in additively manufactured 316L stainless steel

In the present study, a combination of high-throughput (HT) and low-throughput (LT) techniques was used to rapidly determine the processing window and generate processing maps for Selective Laser Melting (SLM) of 316L stainless steel. The HT method includes the fabrication of hundreds of hex nut-shaped specimens, each processed with a unique combination of laser power, scanning speed, and hatch spacing. An easily removable scaffolding permitted rapid sample extraction from the base plate, thus saving machining cost and time. Hardness and immersion density measurements were used for HT characterization to identify a processing window for maximum strength and density. Within the defined processing window, a low-throughput (LT) microstructural interrogation of specimens were performed. The microstructural analysis included quantification at various length scales (i.e., grains size and morphology, texture, primary dendrite arm spacing, and melt pool geometry analysis). Microstructure-based processing maps as a function of volumetric energy density were generated. The combination of HT and LT methods produced a predictive relationship between hardness and primary dendrite arm spacing using a Hall-Petch relationship. A model is proposed to explain the dependence of microstructure on the melt pool geometry. Here, the HT method can be applied for the microstructural design of SLM-fabricated components in other alloys.

316L stainless steel↗

High-Throughput Microstructural Characterization and Process Correlation Using Automated Electron Backscatter Diffraction

The need to optimize the processing conditions of additively manufactured (AM) metals and alloys has driven advances in throughput capabilities for material property measurements such as tensile strength or hardness. High-throughput (HT) characterization of AM metal microstructure has fallen significantly behind the pace of property measurements due to intrinsic bottlenecks associated with the artisan and labor-intensive preparation methods required to produce highly polished surfaces. This inequality in data throughput has led to a reliance on heuristics to connect process to structure or structure to properties for AM structural materials. In this study, we show a transformative approach to achieve laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) printing, HT preparation using dry electropolishing and HT electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). This approach was used to construct a library of > 600 experimental EBSD sample sets spanning a diverse range of LPBF process conditions for AM Kovar. This vast library is far more expansive in parameter space than most state-of-the-art studies, yet it required only approximately 10 labor hours to acquire. Build geometries, surface preparation methods, and microscopy details, as well as the entire library of >600 EBSD data sets over the two sample design versions, have been shared with intent for the materials community to leverage the data and further advance the approach. Using this library, we investigated process–structure relationships and uncovered an unexpected, strong dependence of microstructure on location within the build, when varied, using otherwise identical laser parameters.

Characterization and Analytical Technique↗

pyRMG: A framework for high-throughput, large-cell DFT calculations on supercomputers

Exascale computing delivers the raw power to simulate ever larger and more chemically realistic systems, but realizing this potential requires codes that can efficiently use thousands of processors. Our real-space multigrid (RMG) density functional theory (DFT) code’s grid-decomposition approach scales nearly linearly with the number of graphics processing units (GPUs), even for simulations exceeding thousands of atoms. This scalability makes RMG a compelling tool for high-throughput DFT studies of materials that would otherwise be bottlenecked in other codes (for example, by global fast Fourier transforms in plane-wave DFT). However, the limited workflow infrastructure for RMG has thus far constrained its adoption to a small user community. In this work, we present pyRMG, a Python package designed to streamline the setup and execution of RMG DFT calculations. Built on the pymatgen and ASE (Atomic Simulation Environment) computational materials science Python packages, pyRMG automates input generation and convergence checking, and it integrates with modern job schedulers (e.g., Flux) on leadership-class platforms such as Frontier and Perlmutter. Here, we demonstrate pyRMG for a high-throughput study of strain effects in 2D 2L-Bi 2 Se 3 /2L-NbSe 2 heterostructures, which offers chemical insights into this system and shows that RMG-based workflows can converge with limited user intervention.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

High Throughput In-Line Coating Metrology Development for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Manufacturing

Coatings play key roles in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack durability. For example, diffusion barrier coatings on Cr-containing interconnect and balance of plant (BOP) components protect electrodes from Cr poisoning over the long operational lifetimes (>10,000 hours) of the fuel cell stack. Common defects in coatings, such as cracks, pinholes, and porosity, result in a failure to protect the electrodes, resulting in shorter operational lifetime and thus higher cost. It is very unlikely, even in the best coating process, that all these defects can be mitigated, hence identifying critical defects in parts, and removing defective parts from production before they can damage the stack, becomes paramount. Furthermore, these quality control techniques must be operational in the production/assembly line (in-line), i.e., high throughput and non-destructive, and cost effective. Redox Power Systems, LLC (Redox) together with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed much needed high throughput, in-line metrology techniques for protective coatings. The overall goal of the project is to lower cost while increasing robustness, reliability, and endurance of SOFC stacks. To accomplish this, we had several objectives, including: to identify key coating and substrate defects that lead to coating failure through the use of detailed characterization methods (e.g., microscopy, XRD, EDS, electrochemistry); to assess capabilities of in-line metrology techniques, e.g., optical profilometry (Redox) and thermography (NREL), to probe these defects, or evidence thereof; demonstrate long-term performance of “defect-free” protective coatings, as identified by in-line metrology, in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack operation. In the first part of this project, the ability to identify key defects expected to lead to coating and SOFC degradation using in-line metrology tools were evaluated. Coated interconnect samples with controlled defect types and populations were tested under conditions similar to SOFC operation, followed by detailed post-test analysis to reveal the defects responsible for observed degradation. In the second part of the project, the optimal in-line metrology techniques and methodologies were used to map the defect distribution in full-size interconnects with critical defects intentionally allowed to exist in some cases. These interconnects underwent SOFC testing for extended periods (up to ~3,000 hours) followed by post-test analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of in-line metrology techniques in mitigating MCO coating related degradation. Key accomplishments in this project included the following: Demonstrated ASR of < 0.05 ohm-cm 2 at 650 °C for 1,000 hours with low defect (determined by in-line metrology) interconnect samples (average ASR=37 milliohms-cm 2 after over 1,000 hours). Demonstrated that low defect coatings on interconnects (as screened using in-line metrology) have low volatilization of chromium at ~650 °C for 1,000 hours as detected using Cr-getter material (< 5 at% increase above baseline); 1022 hour duration tests under humidified, elevated temperature (750 °C rather than 650 °C) compared a base case against different coating thicknesses. Demonstrated capability to identify initial key defects of interest with in-line metrology techniques using up to 8 cm by 10 cm having coatings with and without intentional defects of interest using thermal imaging and optical profilometry. Correlated key defects identified using metrology techniques with observed coating performance (e.g., ASR and Cr volatility). Conducted several 4 cm by 4 cm cell tests using MCO-interconnects that were pre-screened using some of the metrology techniques developed in the project (e.g., optical profilometry). An analysis of ASR measurements were able to show that defect-free coatings resulted in the anticipated performance in the cell tests.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

High-throughput determination of Hubbard $U$ and Hund $J$ values for transition metal oxides via the linear response formalism

DFT+U provides a convenient, cost-effective correction for the self-interaction error (SIE) that arises when describing correlated electronic states using conventional approximate density functional theory (DFT). The success of a DFT+U(+J) calculation hinges on the accurate determination of its Hubbard U and Hund J parameters, and the linear response (LR) methodology has proven to be computationally effective and accurate for calculating these parameters. This study provides a high-throughput computational analysis of the U and J values for transition metal d-electron states in a representative set of over 1000 magnetic transition metal oxides (TMOs), providing a frame of reference for researchers who use DFT+U to study transition metal oxides. In order to perform this high-throughput study, an ATOMATE workflow is developed for calculating U and J values automatically on massively parallel supercomputing architectures. Here, to demonstrate an application of this workflow, the spin-canting magnetic structure and unit cell parameters of the multiferroic olivine LiNiPO4 are calculated using the computed Hubbard U and Hund J values for Ni-d and O-p states, and are compared with experiment. Both the Ni-d U and J corrections have a strong effect on the Ni-moment canting angle. Additionally, including a O-pU value results in a significantly improved agreement between the computed lattice parameters and experiment

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Material Discovery and High Throughput Exploration of Ru Based Catalysts for Low Temperature Ammonia Decomposition

High throughput experimentation has the capability to generate massive, multidimensional datasets, allowing for the discovery of novel catalytic materials. Here, we show the synthesis and catalytic screening of over 100 unique Ru-Metal-K based bimetallic catalysts for low temperature ammonia decomposition, with a Ru loading between 1–3 wt% Ru and a fixed K loading of 12 wt% K, supported on γ-Al2O3. Bimetallic catalysts containing Sc, Sr, Hf, Y, Mg, Zr, Ta, or Ca in addition to Ru were found to have excellent ammonia decomposition activity when compared to state-of-the-art catalysts in literature. Furthermore, the Ru content could be reduced to 1 wt% Ru, a factor of four decrease, with the addition of Sr, Y, Zr, or Hf, where these secondary metals have not been previously explored for ammonia decomposition. The bimetallic interactions between Ru and the secondary metal, specifically RuSrK and RuFeK, were investigated in detail to elucidate the reaction kinetics and surface properties of both high and low performing catalysts. The RuSrK catalyst had a turnover frequency of 1.78 s−1, while RuFeK had a turnover frequency of only 0.28 s−1 under identical operating conditions. Based on their apparent activation energies and number of surface sites, the RuSrK had a factor of two lower activation energy than the RuFeK, while also possessing an equivalent number of surface sites, which suggests that the Sr promotes ammonia decomposition in the presence of Ru by modifying the active sites of Ru.

McCullough, Katherine (ORCID:0000000197525740)↗

Perspectives on Polyolefin Catalysis in Microfluidics for High-Throughput Screening: A Minireview

Polyolefins are the largest produced plastics in the world which traditionally employ continuous stirred tank reactors and fluidized bed reactors for commercial production. The operating condition, reaction kinetics, and molecular interactions inside the reactor strongly affect the polyolefin properties, which require stringent process control in conventional procedures. Understanding the catalytic pathway, behavior of polymer particles and effect of reactor conditions are essential for designing specific polymer properties, namely the molecular weight, chain length, polydispersity, etc. Microfluidics can play a significant role in designing polymers tailored to the user needs. Smaller channel dimensions help obtain uniform reaction conditions over the length of the microfluidic reactor in a controlled environment. With real-time monitoring techniques in microfluidics, even single particle growth of polymer can be studied to understand the parameters affecting the polymer properties. High throughput microfluidics can help catalyst screening in a short duration with less consumption of reagents generating less waste. When supplemented with efficient machine learning algorithms, automated high throughput microfluidics has the potential to rapidly optimize the process and develop new knowledge even with a limited data set. When trained on data sets generated using microfluidic experiments that are designed efficiently with working knowledge of the process, machine learning algorithms can provide the relationship between the multivariable parameters space and polymer properties, which is not possible with the traditional statistical methods and interpolation techniques. Here, the rise in the utilization of microfluidics, with the advancement of machine learning algorithms, for polyolefin catalysis, highlights the importance of microfluidics for catalyst discovery, parameter optimization, and understanding reaction pathway for producing polymers with specific properties for specialized applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Electroslag additive manufacturing: A pathway for high throughput near net shape production

Electroslag Additive Manufacturing (ESAM), a new high-throughput additive manufacturing (AM) method that combines Electroslag Strip Cladding (ESC) and wire arc AM (WAAM) is introduced. This combination enables the high deposition rate of ESC (more than 20 kg/h with a 60 mm strip electrode) to benefit from the precise geometric control of WAAM. As a precursor to ESAM, the ESC process is investigated in an AM context independently by evaluating both direct and staggered bead-stacking strategies and analyzing the microstructural and mechanical properties of each. This is followed by an ESAM demonstration producing an annular geometry by pairing ESC with gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), wherein GTAW is utilized to construct annular walls that are subsequently infilled via ESC. The microstructure and mechanical properties of ESC-only AM are compared with that of the ESAM method and it is shown that printed integral retaining walls do not impact the resulting mechanical properties of ESAM. Furthermore, results indicate that ESAM-produced Alloy 625 parts exhibit tensile properties on par with cast counterparts, supporting the method’s scalability to components exceeding one metric ton, and possibly making ESAM a viable future manufacturing approach for competitive production of large-scale components currently manufactured by casting and forging.

Additive manufacturing↗

Combining High-Throughput Experiments and Active Learning to Characterize Deep Eutectic Solvents

The high tunability of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) stems from the ease of changing their precursors and relative compositions. However, measuring the physicochemical properties across large composition and temperature ranges, necessary to properly design target-specific DESs, is tedious and error-prone and represents a bottleneck in the advancement and scalability of DES-based applications. As such, active learning (AL) methodologies based on Gaussian processes (GPs) were developed in this work to minimize the experimental effort necessary to characterize DESs. Owing to its importance for large-scale applications, the reduction of DES viscosity through the addition of a low-molecular-weight solvent was explored as a case study. A high-throughput experimental screening was initially performed on nine different ternary DESs. Then, GPs were successfully trained to predict DES viscosity from its composition and temperature, showcasing the ability of these stochastic, nonparametric models to accurately describe the physicochemical properties of complex mixtures. Finally, the ability of GPs to provide estimates of their own uncertainty was leveraged through an AL framework to minimize the number of data points necessary to obtain accurate viscosity modes. This led to a significant reduction in data requirements, with many systems requiring only five independent viscosity data points to be properly described.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Ultrapotent influenza hemagglutinin fusion inhibitors developed through SuFEx-enabled high-throughput medicinal chemistry

Seasonal and pandemic-associated influenza strains cause highly contagious viral respiratory infections that can lead to severe illness and excess mortality. Here, we report on the optimization of our small-molecule inhibitor F0045(S) targeting the influenza hemagglutinin (HA) stem with our Sulfur-Fluoride Exchange (SuFEx) click chemistry–based high-throughput medicinal chemistry (HTMC) strategy. A combination of SuFEx- and amide-based lead molecule diversification and structure-guided design led to identification and validation of ultrapotent influenza fusion inhibitors with subnanomolar EC 50 cellular antiviral activity against several influenza A group 1 strains. X-ray structures of six of these compounds with HA indicate that the appended moieties occupy additional pockets on the HA surface and increase the binding interaction, where the accumulation of several polar interactions also contributes to the improved affinity. The compounds here represent the most potent HA small-molecule inhibitors to date. Our divergent HTMC platform is therefore a powerful, rapid, and cost-effective approach to develop bioactive chemical probes and drug-like candidates against viral targets.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

High-throughput printing of combinatorial materials from aerosols

The development of new materials and their compositional and microstructural optimization are essential in regard to next-generation technologies such as clean energy and environmental sustainability. However, materials discovery and optimization have been a frustratingly slow process. The Edisonian trial-and-error process is time consuming and resource inefficient, particularly when contrasted with vast materials design spaces 1 . Whereas traditional combinatorial deposition methods can generate material libraries 2,3 , these suffer from limited material options and inability to leverage major breakthroughs in nanomaterial synthesis. Here we report a high-throughput combinatorial printing method capable of fabricating materials with compositional gradients at microscale spatial resolution. In situ mixing and printing in the aerosol phase allows instantaneous tuning of the mixing ratio of a broad range of materials on the fly, which is an important feature unobtainable in conventional multimaterials printing using feedstocks in liquid–liquid or solid–solid phases 4–6 . We demonstrate a variety of high-throughput printing strategies and applications in combinatorial doping, functional grading and chemical reaction, enabling materials exploration of doped chalcogenides and compositionally graded materials with gradient properties. The ability to combine the top-down design freedom of additive manufacturing with bottom-up control over local material compositions promises the development of compositionally complex materials inaccessible via conventional manufacturing approaches.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Candidate ferroelectrics via ab initio high-throughput screening of polar materials

Ferroelectrics are a class of polar and switchable functional materials with diverse applications, from microelectronics to energy conversion. Computational searches for new ferroelectric materials have been constrained by accurate prediction of the polarization and switchability with electric field, properties that, in principle, require a comparison with a nonpolar phase whose atomic-scale unit cell is continuously deformable from the polar ground state. For most polar materials, such a higher-symmetry nonpolar phase does not exist or is unknown. Here, we introduce a general high-throughput workflow that screens polar materials as potential ferroelectrics. We demonstrate our workflow on 1978 polar structures in the Materials Project database, for which we automatically generate a nonpolar reference structure using pseudosymmetries, and then compute the polarization difference and energy barrier between polar and nonpolar phases, comparing the predicted values to known ferroelectrics. Focusing on a subset of 182 potential ferroelectrics, we implement a systematic ranking strategy that prioritizes candidates with large polarization and small polar-nonpolar energy differences. To assess stability and synthesizability, we combine information including the computed formation energy above the convex hull, the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database id number, a previously reported machine learning-based synthesizability score, and ab initio phonon band structures. To distinguish between previously reported ferroelectrics, materials known for alternative applications, and lesser-known materials, we combine this ranking with a survey of the existing literature on these candidates through Google Scholar and Scopus databases, revealing ~130 promising materials uninvestigated as ferroelectric. Our workflow and large-scale high-throughput screening lays the groundwork for the discovery of novel ferroelectrics, revealing numerous candidates materials for future experimental and theoretical endeavors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

High throughput, spatially resolved thermal properties measurement using attachable and reusable 3ω sensors

The 3ω method is a well-established thermal technique used to measure the thermal conductivity of materials and the thermal resistance of interfaces. It has significant advantages over other steady state and transient thermal techniques in its ability to provide spatially resolved thermal property measurements over a wide range of thermal conductivity. Despite its advantages, it has been restricted to lab-scale use because of the difficulty involved in sample preparation and sensor fabrication and is limited to non-metallic substrates. High-throughput 3ω measurements with reusable sensors have not been realized yet. In this work, we demonstrate a method of applying reusable 3ω sensors fabricated on flexible polyimide films to measure bulk and spatially resolved thermal properties. Here, we establish the limits of thermal conductivity measurement with the method to be 1 to 200 W/mK, and within the measurement limit, we verify the method by comparing the measured thermal conductivities of standard samples with established values. From the 3ω measurements, we also determine the thermal resistance of an interlayer of thermal grease as a function of pressure and compare it against the resistance calculated from direct thickness measurements to demonstrate the ability of this method to provide spatially resolved subsurface information. The technique presented is general and applicable to both metallic and non-metallic substrates, providing a method for high-throughput 3ω measurements with reusable sensors and without considerable sample preparation.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗