Abstract: A method of manufacturing a reinforced tubular membrane comprises the steps of manufacturing the tubular support from monofilament thread, impregnating the support with membrane dope and adjusting the inner and the outer diameter of the membrane. A coating apparatus comprises a casting bob and an orifice to adjust respectively the inner and outer diameter of the membrane. A tubular reinforced polymeric membrane comprises a tubular support and membrane substance. The tubular support is made of monofilament thread and has a sufficiently open structure (openings larger than 0.1 mm). Touching and/or engaging parts of the thread may be linked prior to impregnating the support with membrane dope. The support may comprise loops of the monofilament thread, which are also linked.

Abstract: A silicate-based microporous ceramic molecular sieve membrane zeolite-like properties with an ordered stack of nanometre-sized slab-shaped building blocks having zeolite framework. A method for producing a membrane does not involve a hydrothermal treatment step, hence avoiding the formation of zeolite crystals.

Abstract: This invention relates to a metal ion specific capacitance sensor with exceptional sensitivity and wide operating range. It is versatile because different kinds of recognition elements can be immobilized directly in a self-assembling monolayer substantially completely covering the surface of the measuring noble metal electrode. The electrode then becomes selective to those metal ions in the solution that show affinity to the recognition element on the surface. Compared to previously described electrochemical sensors, the sensor according to the present invention shows many orders of magnitude better sensitivity because of the unique measuring principle.

Abstract: This invention concerns a diagnostic system made of: a transformed microorganism capable of an increased reporter activity upon exposure to an environmental insult, said microorganism having a stress inducible promoter sequence being operatively linked to a reported encoding nucleic acid sequence encoding a reporter molecule resulting in a signal that can be assayed, and of a transformed microorganism having a constitutive and non stress inducible promoter sequence being operatively linked to a reporter encoding nucleic acid sequence encoding a reporter molecule resulting in a signal that can be assayed.