Western Washington University View Institution's Website 4 articles published in JoVE Chemistry Fabrication of Spherical and Worm-shaped Micellar Nanocrystals by Combining Electrospray, Self-assembly, and Solvent-based Structure Control Xinyi Ding1,2,3, Yuxiang Sun1,2,3, Yanming Chen1,2,3, Wanchuan Ding1,2,3, Steven Emory1,2,3,4, Tianhao Li1,2,3, Zixing Xu1,2,3, Ning Han1,2,3, Jun Wang1,2,3, Gang Ruan1,2,3 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, 2Institute of Materials Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, 3Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Life Sciences, Nanjing University, 4Department of Chemistry, Western Washington University The present work describes a method to fabricate micellar nanocrystals, an emerging major class of nanobiomaterials. This method combines top-down electrospray, bottom-up self-assembly, and solvent-based structure control. The fabrication method is largely continuous, can produce high quality products, and possesses an inexpensive means of structure control. Environment Experimental Protocol for Biodiesel Production with Isolation of Alkenones as Coproducts from Commercial Isochrysis Algal Biomass Gregory W. O'Neil1, John R. Williams1, Julia Wilson-Peltier1, Gerhard Knothe2, Christopher M. Reddy3 1Department of Chemistry, Western Washington University, 2Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 3Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Detailed methods are presented for the production of biodiesel along with the co-isolation of alkenones as valuable coproducts from commercial Isochrysis microalgae. Biology Isolation of Native Soil Microorganisms with Potential for Breaking Down Biodegradable Plastic Mulch Films Used in Agriculture Graham Bailes1, Margaret Lind1, Andrew Ely1, Marianne Powell2, Jennifer Moore-Kucera3, Carol Miles2, Debra Inglis2, Marion Brodhagen1 1Biology Department, Western Washington University, 2Washington State University Northwestern Research and Extension Center, 3Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University Plastic films labeled "biodegradable" are commercially available for agricultural use as mulches. Tillage represents an attractive disposal method, but degradation under field conditions is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to develop methods for isolating native soil fungi and bacteria that colonize plastic mulch films after field burial. Neuroscience A General Method for Evaluating Incubation of Sucrose Craving in Rats Jeffrey W. Grimm1, Jesse Barnes1, Kindsey North1, Stefan Collins1, Rachel Weber1 1Department of Psychology and Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Western Washington University Responding for food or drug-paired cues increases over the course of a period of abstinence and this may relate to an increased susceptibility to relapse behaviors. Here we detail a procedure for evaluating this "incubation of craving" in rats that have self-administered sucrose.