Congratulations to Dr.ZHU Yujiao’s for her publication to be selected as journal cover

The flexibility in manipulating liquids and integrating different force fields (e.g., light, heat, electric) into the operation environment make microfluidic systems advantageous for conducting reactions in more effective and efficient ways. More specifically, microfluidic systems can improve the yield and selectivity of reactions, reduce the reagent and labor cost, and enhance the throughput of operations. A frequently utilized character of microfluidics is the large surface-to-volume ratio, which creates useful room to introduce functional elements at the interfaces. One example is that active sites for reaction such as enzymes can be immobilized on the surface of microchannels to establish a reactor for continuous production. Enzyme immobilization is an extensively investigated technology, which can significantly enhance the stability and reusability of enzymes. However, the efficiency in mass transfer has frequently been a challenge in some enzyme immobilization strategies due to the blockage by the immobilization solid framework. When enzymes are immobilized on the surface of a microfluidic channel, on the other hand, this mass transfer challenge may be largely addressed, and the reusing efficiency can be improved as well since the reactor can be operated in continuous flowing mode, with the flexibility in coupling with other fields such as light and electric field. In this way, the enzyme-immobilized microchannel itself serves as a functional material. Dr.Zhu’s work serves as a good example of the application of enzyme-immobilized microchannel to glucose precursor production, which could potentially lead to a new way of food/fuel production. Congratulations to Dr.Zhu and Prof.Zhang!