Aqueous two-phase systems: Towards novel and more disruptive applications

Catalysis in Pickering emulsions

“…Water-in-water systems, also known as aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) or all-aqueous systems are formed upon phase separation of an aqueous mixture of two incompatible polymers (usually polyethylene glycol (PEG) and dextran) or a polymer and a salt. 31,32 Despite the advantages ATPSs could bring to the field of biocatalysis compared to typical water-oil emulsions, these systems are not extensively used as the long-term stabilisation is still difficult to attain due to the ultralow water-water interfacial tension (typically 1 mN m À1 ) 33 and the intrinsic thick interface. 34 Certain colloidal particles, however, are promising emulsifiers for ATPSs.…”

Advanced biomedical applications based on emerging 3D cell culturing platforms

“…Teixeira et al 109 and Pereira et al 110 compared and discussed novel ATPS-based pattern bioprinting techniques, emphasizing their potential for three major aspects of (i) cell analysis, (ii) cell assembly and cell co-culture, and (iii) bacterial co-culture system.…”

Insights on the use of alternative solvents and technologies to recover bio‐based food pigments

“…Some ABSs are considered biocompatible platforms because they are mainly composed of water (up to 70–90%) (Benavides, Rito‐Palomares, & Asenjo, 2011). For their preparation, two‐phase forming mutually immiscible components, for example, salt–polymer, salt–salt, and polymer–carbohydrate, that form two immiscible phases above a critical concentration (Pereira, Freire, & Coutinho, 2020) are mixed, as schematically represented in Figure 6. Their extractive capacity depends on several factors, mainly the biomolecules affinity for each aqueous phase, molecular size, and type of interactions between the biomolecule and the components of the system (Freire et al., 2012; Ventura et al., 2017).…”