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As cities and urban landscapes expand across the globe, water resource management continues to pose a huge challenge. Natural wetlands are often built over as cities grow, but a recent strategy of green infrastructure applies the opposite principle – wetlands are protected and constructed as part of city planning.

Wetlands, whether natural or man-made, act as large-scale storage and filtration centers for water streams. Beyond providing a habitat for wildlife and greenery in otherwise urban landscapes, they can remove many harmful contaminants from water, including heavy metals, excess nutrients, pesticides, and bacteria.¹

Wetlands can improve an area’s resilience to extreme weather by storing excess flood water. For example, the Staten Island Bluebelt Project created 400 acres of freshwater wetlands that resolved seasonal flooding issues and saved New York City the $300 million it would have required to accomplish this by constructing storm sewers.² In the Wade Park Wetland off the coast

A significant amount of resources have been allocated each year to the research and development (R&D) of membrane filtration technology. However, it remains unclear how closely research goals align with solving industry needs. Our Product Manager, Sepideh Jankhah, examines the history and evolution of membrane filtration technology applications and investigates R&D trends in this area based on peer-reviewed literature¹.

Membrane filtration technology: who sets the tone for the future? 

Our research indicates that research goals (as represented by the number of published peer reviewed literature) have closely followed industry demands for the last decade. Industry has benefited from the developments achieved by research initiatives, and the observed positive correlation between industry and R&D goals is expected to continue as we face new challenges. This symbiosis should result in more efficient processes and new products or applications that will address the shortcoming of current

Sterlitech now offers transparent polyester track-etch (PETE) membrane filters with sufficient clarity to perform high resolution optical imaging through the membrane.  The key attribute of this material is a special, low density pore structure that mitigates light diffusion and renders the filters highly translucent. Furthermore, the membrane has very uniform thickness and flat surfaces so tissue cultures lie in one focal plane. Our transparent PETE filters are available in the 0.4 µm pore size rating commonly used for cell cultures.

Track-etch membranes have a long history of use in tissue culture experimentation, including use in multiwell plates and cell culture inserts. These membranes can act as scaffolding to create physiological microenvironments promoting growth of attachment-dependent cell cultures. The pore structures in this material allow for nutrient and environmental access to both the free surface (apical) and attached surface (basolateral) of cells. The successful growth

Sterlitech will be in Orlando exhibiting our filtration products at Pittcon 2018. This year, the annual global expo for analytical lab sciences is being held at the Orange County Convention Center. Pittcon brings together a wide variety of laboratory science companies and professionals to showcase the latest technology in our industry.

Last year there were over 14,000 attendees from 88 different countries. Pittcon offers a unique opportunity to participate in product demonstrations, attend seminars and short courses, and connect with technical experts. This is Sterlitech’s 16^th year participating in Pittcon and we are excited to continue sharing our products with the lab science community.

If you are attending the conference, we encourage you to stop by booth #3034 and chat with our representatives.  Please send us an email if you would like to arrange a specific appointment time.  In attendance will be Tauni Wright, Kensen Hirohata, Steve Dulin, Molly Harris, and Mark Spatz.

February is here, and for many research teams across the world, that means it’s time to set sail. Shoulder seasons are an important time to conduct marine research because many algal and microbial species are in bloom. Whether your research has you voyaging the open sea or cruising in coastal waters, Sterlitech is here to stock the ship with all your laboratory filtration needs.

We are proud to have our membrane filters take part in the adventure. Our customers utilize silver, glass fiber, and polycarbonate track etch (PCTE) membrane filters in aquatic research.^{1, 2, 3} These filters travel the seven seas, treating collected sea water samples for retention and analyses of algae, microorganisms, and microscopic particles.^{1, 4}

Track etch polycarbonate membrane filters are particularly well-suited for these applications because they are translucent and have a smooth, flat surface. These features allow for easy microscopic observation, as well as recovery of aquatic microorganisms and