Cross‐linking emulsion copolymerization of butyl acrylate with diallyl maleate

The emulsion copolymerization of butyl acrylate (BA) with a trifunctional cross‐linker, diallyl maleate (DAM), was investigated. The effect of the monomer feeding time and the amount of cross‐linker on the microstructural properties (branching, cross‐linking, gel formation, and sol MWD) of the seeded semicontinuous emulsion copolymerization of BA with DAM was investigated. It was found that the gel content was not significantly affected by increasing feeding time, but the level of quaternary carbons (an indication of the branching density) increased. On the other hand, increasing the amount of DAM in the feed composition caused gel content, level of quaternary carbons, and the cross‐linking density to increase. Interestingly, the level of quaternary carbons and the cross‐linking density sharply increased during the cooking period. The molecular weight of the sol decreased as DAM increased in the feed. In addition, the effect of process type, batch versus semibatch, was also considered and important differences in the level of quaternary carbons, cross‐linking, and gel content were found. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 4684–4694, 2005     

Fluorescent cyclodextrins bearing metal binding sites and their use for chemo- and enantioselective sensing of amino acid derivatives

Ditopic receptors based on cyclodextrins bearing a metal binding site were used as enantioselective fluorescence sensors, which were able to generate different responses in the presence of d- or l-amino acids. The performances of the selectors as a function of their structure were evaluated, and the same analysis was extended to other analytes. In this work, this approach is used for the enantiomers of a series of amino acid derivatives and in particular of 2-aminocaprolactam. The results showed that the ability of these sensors to perform enantiomeric analysis can be extended to other analytes of interest in organic synthesis such as amino acid amides and α-aminolactams.     

Solution properties of poly(acrylamide-co-3,5,5-trimethylhexane methacrylate) and its polyelectrolyte derivative

The physicochemical properties of hydrophobically modified polyacrylamide (HAPAM) containing a small amount of hydrophobic groups (3,5,5-trimethylhexane methacrylate) and its partially hydrolyzed derivative (HAPAM-10N500) were investigated. The ¹³C spectrum was used to establish the degree of hydrolysis of HAPAM-10N500. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was employed to highlight the polyelectrolyte character of HAPAM-10N500, estimate the chain conformation in the semidilute regime, and evaluate the influence of the ionic strength and the type of salt. The weight average molecular weight, the second virial coefficient, and radius of gyration were determined by static light scattering (SLS). The polymers showed different rheological properties in aqueous solution, with significant increase in viscosity due to partial hydrolysis of HAPAM, however, with strong dependence on ionic strength of the medium. Results showed that the polymers HAPAM and HAPAM-10N500 are suitable for application in processes of moderate temperatures and salinities.     

Morphology control in polystyrene/poly(methyl methacrylate) composite latex particles

The effect of the presence of different amounts of block copolymers [polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate)] on the morphology of polystyrene/poly (methyl methacrylate) composite latex particles was investigated. The block copolymers were produced in situ by controlled radical polymerization (CRP) through the addition of the second monomer to a seed prepared by miniemulsion polymerization with a certain amount of a CRP agent. With an increase in the amounts of the block copolymers, the particle morphology changed from a hemisphere morphology (for a latex without block copolymers, i.e., without the use of a CRP agent during the polymerization) to clear core–shell morphologies as a result of decreasing polymer–polymer interfacial tension © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 2484–2493, 2007     

Redox initiator systems for emulsion polymerization of acrylates

The performance of different redox initiator couples to initiate the emulsion polymerization of butyl acrylate at low temperature (40–50 °C) was investigated in both batch and seeded semibatch polymerizations. Polymerizations were carried out mimicking industrial conditions, that is, technical grade monomer and no N₂ purging was used during the polymerizations. The redox systems used contained as oxidants persulfates or hydroperoxides and as reducing agents ascorbic acid, formaldehyde sulfoxilate (SFS), tetramethyl ethylene diamine (TMEDA), Bruggolit 6 and 7 (FF6 and FF7), and sodium metabisulfites. Batch experiments showed that for systems using persulfates, the ammonium persulfate (APS)/TMEDA system provided the lower induction period and higher conversion, whereas for the systems with hydroperoxide oxidants, tert‐butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP)/FF7, TBHP/SFS, and H₂O₂/FF7 were the best alternatives. When these selected systems were used in seeded semibatch experiments of BA with allyl methacrylate, it was found that to obtain similar kinetics and microstructure (gel content and crosslinking density) than in case of using a thermal initiator at 80 °C, the polymerization could be run at 40 °C if the reactor was purged with N₂. Alternatively, in absence of N₂ polymerization, temperature should be increased to 50 °C and initiator concentration increased. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 2917–2927, 2009     

Endocellulase and exocellulase activities of two Streptomyces strains isolated from a forest soil

Two Streptomyces strains, M7a and M23, from a Brazilian forest soil were evaluated for the cellulase production of their superna tants after growth in a microcrystalline cellulose medium, using carboxy methylcellulose and filter paper as substrates at different temperatures and pH values. Endoglucanase and exoglucanase activities were compared to a commercial Trichoderma reesei cellulase using fluorogenic conjugated substrates Similar specific activities were observed for the enzyme preparations of strain M23 and T. reesei. For M7a the activities were about seven times higher than those obtained for T. reesei. Extracellular or cell-associated cellobiase activities were not detected in both strains.

     

Interaction of small amounts of bovine serum albumin with phospholipid monolayers investigated by surface pressure and atomic force microscopy

The influence of small amounts of bovine serum albumin (BSA) (nM concentration) on the lateral organization of phospholipid monolayers at the air-water interface and transferred onto solid substrates as one-layer Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films was investigated. The kinetics of adsorption of BSA onto the phospholipid monolayers was monitored with surface pressure isotherms in a Langmuir trough, for the zwitterionic dipalmitoylphosphatidyl ethanolamine (N,N-dimethyl-PE) and the anionic dimyristoylphosphatidic acid (DMPA). A monolayer of N,N-dimethyl-PE or DMPA incorporating BSA was transferred onto a solid substrate using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of one-layer LB films displayed protein-phospholipid domains, whose morphology was characterized using dynamic scaling theories to calculate roughness exponents. For DMPA-BSA films the surface is characteristic of self-affine fractals, which may be described with the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation. On the other hand, for N,N-dimethyl-PE-BSA films, the results indicate a relatively flat surface within the globule. The height profile and the number and size of globules varied with the type of phospholipid. The overall results, from kinetics of adsorption on Langmuir monolayers and surface morphology in LB films, could be interpreted in terms of the higher affinity of BSA to the anionic DMPA than to the zwitterionic N,N-dimethyl-PE. Furthermore, the effects from such small amounts of BSA in the monolayer point to a cooperative response of DMPA and N,N-dimethyl-PE monolayers to the protein.     

Enantioselective fluorescence sensing of amino acids by modified cyclodextrins: role of the cavity and sensing mechanism

Two selectors based on modified cyclodextrins containing a metal binding site and a dansyl fluorophore-6-deoxy-6-N-(N(alpha)-[(5-dimethylamino-1-naphthalenesulfonyl)aminoethyl]phenylalanylamino-beta-cyclodextrin-containing D-Phe (3) and L-Phe (4) moieties were synthesized. The conformations of the two selectors were studied by circular dichroism, two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Cyclodextrin 4 was found to have a predominant conformation in which the dansyl group is self-included in the cyclodextrin cavity, while 3 showed a larger proportion of the conformation with the dansyl group outside the cavity. As a consequence, the two cyclodextrins were found to bind copper(II) with different affinities, as revealed by fluorescence quenching in competitive binding measurements. Addition of D- or L-amino acids induced increases in fluorescence intensity, which were dependent on the amino acid used and in some cases on its absolute configuration. The cyclodextrin 4 was found to be more enantioselective than 3, suggesting that the self-inclusion in the cyclodextrin cavity strongly increases the chiral discrimination ability of the copper(II) complex. Accordingly, a linear fluorescent ligand N(alpha)-[(5-dimethylamino-1-naphthalenesulfonyl)aminoethyl]-N(1)-propyl-phenylalaninamide, which has the same binding site and absolute configuration as 4, showed very low chiral discrimination ability. The enantioselectivity in fluorescence response was found to be due to the formation of diastereomeric ternary complexes, which were detected by ESI-MS and by circular dichroism. Time-resolved fluorescence studies showed that the fluorescence of the dansyl group was completely quenched in the ternary complexes formed, and that the residual fluorescence was due to uncomplexed ligand.