Isothermal equilibrium adsorption of concanavalin A on dextran-modified poly(methyl methacrylate) latex particles

Isothermal equilibrium adsorption experiments were carried out to study the adsorption of concanavalin A (Con A) on dextran-modified poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) latex particles. Three PMMA particles with various levels of dextran modification were selected for study: 0% (designated as D0), 1.24% (D20), and 2.45% (D75) based on total polymer weight. The Langmuir model is applicable to both D0 and D20 systems, although the data for the D20 system are somewhat scattered. On the other hand, the amount of Con A adsorbed per gram polymer particles (q*) versus the Con A concentration in water (c*) curve for the D75 system cannot be described by the Langmuir model. The deviation is attributed to the formation of a crosslinked network structure, caused by specific binding of the dimeric Con A molecules onto two neighboring particles with grafted dextran. The ratio of the initial number of Con A molecules to the initial number of active binding sites on the dextran-modified particle surface plays an important role in determining the structure of flocs formed. The maximum amount of Con A adsorbed on the particle surface (q _max) is of the order of 10⁻¹ μmol per gram particles and q _max in decreasing order is D75 > D20 > D0. The dissociation constant of the Con A-D20 (or Con A-D75) pair is of the order of 10⁻¹ μmol dm⁻³ which is 1 order of magnitude smaller than that of the Con A-D0 pair. Thus, the electrostatic interaction between Con A and D0 is much weaker than the affinity interaction between Con A and D20 (or D75). An empirical model is proposed to qualitatively explain the q* versus c* data. Received: 18 June 1998 Accepted in revised form: 24 December 1998     

High α transitions of new polyamides based on diamantane

A series of new polyamides were synthesized by direct polycondensation of the 1,6-bis(4-aminophenyl)diamantane with various dicarboxylic acids. The soluble polyamides had high inherent viscosities, ranging from 0.73 to 1.21 dL/g. Polyamides derived from 5-tert-butylisophthalic acid and (±)-1,3-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid were soluble in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and pyridine. When NMP and N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) were added with 3% (w/v) LiCl, the solubilities of polyamides derived from 4,4′-oxybis(benzoic acid) and cis-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid were markedly enhanced. Polyamides had tensile strengths of up to 87.8 MPa, elongation to breakage values of up to 19.3%, and initial moduli of up to 2.1 GPa. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) reveals that the polyamides have three relaxations. Their α relaxations occurred at high temperatures, ranging from 380 to 462°C. Three of polyamides exhibited good retention of storage modulus (above 10⁸ Pa) at a temperature exceeding 410°C. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1257–1263, 1998     

Synthesis and characterization of chitosan‐modified polymethyl methacrylate latex particles

Stable chitosan‐modified polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) latex particles were prepared by using 2,2′‐azobis(2‐amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (V‐50) as the cationic initiator. The polymerization rate (R_p) is controlled by the V‐50 concentration ([V‐50]) and R_p is less sensitive to the chitosan concentration ([C]) used in the synthesis work. The reaction system follows Smith–Ewart Case III kinetics due to the relatively large particles produced. The zeta potential data show that the isoelectric point (pI) of the latex particles is 10.7. The amounts of V‐50 (C_V‐50) and chitosan (C_c) ultimately incorporated into the particles correlate reasonably well with [V‐50] and [C], respectively. At pH 7, the quantity of the negatively charged bovine serum albumin (BSA, pI = 4.8) adsorbed on the positively charged chitosan‐free particles (Q) via the electrostatic interaction increases with increasing C_V‐50. However, Q is relatively insensitive to changes in C_c. This result implies that only the outermost region of the hairy chitosan‐modified particles is available for adsorption of the relatively large protein species. Colloidal stability shows a significant influence on the BSA adsorption process. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 1489–1499, 1999     

Glass transition and miscibility in blends of two semicrystalline polymers: Poly(aryl ether ketone) and poly(ether ether ketone)

Binary melt‐blended mixtures of two aryl ether ketone polymers (i.e., a new poly(aryl ether ketone) (code name PK99) and poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK), have been studied. Polymer miscibility in glassy amorphous (or melt) domains has been demonstrated for the binary blend comprising of two aryl‐ether‐ketone‐type semicrystalline polymers. Composition‐dependent, single T_g was observed within full composition range in the PK99/PEEK blends, and the narrow T_g breadth also suggests that the scale of mixing was fine and uniform. To better resolve any possible overlapping T_g's, physical aging was imposed on a comparison set of blend samples for the purpose of improving detectability of overlapped multiple transitions if existing. The result still showed one single T_g. The relative sharp T_g and lack of cloud point transition suggest that the scale of molecular intermixing is good. Phase homogeneity was further confirmed using optical and scanning electron microscopy. The X‐ray diffractograms suggest that isomorphism does not exist in the PK99/PEEK blends and that the crystal forms of the respective polymers remain distinct and unchanged by the miscibility in the amorphous region. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 1485–1494, 1999     

Effects of SDS on the thermo- and pH-sensitive structural changes of the poly(acrylic acid)-based copolymer containing both poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol) grafts in water

The effects of SDS on the structural changes of the thermally induced polymeric micelles from a graft copolymer comprising poly(acrylic acid) (PAAc) as the backbone and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) and monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (mPEG) as the grafts in aqueous solution are studied. At low temperature, SDS micelles form via the hydrophobic association of SDS molecules with the PNIPAAm grafts at a critical aggregation concentration of SDS (cac(SDS)) much lower than its critical micelle concentration. Consequently, the critical aggregation temperature of the graft copolymer is elevated. The corresponding structure of the thermally induced polymeric micelles is characterized by an abrupt reduction in the particle size and an increased tendency toward formation of the monocore structure with a more compact and hydrophobic PNIPAAm microdomain being developed. On the other hand, upon the polymeric micelle formation at high temperature, the copolymer-bound SDS micelle structure is disrupted and the dissociated SDS molecules migrate to the core-shell interface with their alkyl chains residing in the liquidlike region of the hydrophobic PNIPAAm microdomain. The correlation between the polymeric particles and copolymer-bound micelles is further substantiated by showing the change of the colloidal particle size in response to changes in cac(SDS) via adjusting the pH of the aqueous copolymer/SDS solutions.     

Interactions between nonionic Triton X surfactants and cholesterol-containing phosphatidylcholine liposomes

Solubilization kinetics experiments were developed to study the effects of the polyethylene glycol chain length of Triton X surfactants on their interactions with the cholesterol-containing phosphatidylcholine vesicles. An empirical liposome stability ratio was used to describe the vesicle solubilization process. The effectiveness of Triton X surfactants in solubilizing vesicles decreases with increasing polyethylene glycol chain length of surfactants. It was also shown that vesicles containing the intercalated surfactant molecules with the largest number of ethylene glycol units per molecule exhibited the exceedingly retarded solubilization behavior. Independent experiments based on a thermodynamic approach provide supporting evidence for the conclusions obtained from solubilization kinetics experiments.     

Uniqueness of Topological Solutions and the Structure of Solutions for the Chern-Simons System with Two Higgs Particles

The existence of topological solutions for the Chern-Simons equation with two Higgs particles has been proved by Lin, Ponce and Yang [16]. However, both the uniqueness problem and the existence of non-topological solutions have been left open. In this paper, we consider the case of one vortex at origin. Among others, we prove the uniqueness of topological solutions and give a complete study of the radial solutions, in particular, the existence of some non-topological solutions.     

The effect of annealing ambient on carrier recombination in boron implanted silicon

The selection of either an oxidising or inert ambient during high temperature annealing is shown to affect dopant activation and electron–hole recombination in boron implanted silicon samples. Samples implanted with B at fluence between 3 × 10¹⁴ cm^–2 to 3 × 10¹⁵ cm^–2 are shown to have lower dopant activation after oxidation at 1000 °C compared to an equivalent anneal in an inert ambient. In addition, emitter recombination is shown to be up to 15 times higher after oxidation compared with an inert anneal for samples with equivalent passivation from deposited Al₂O₃ films. The observed increase in recombination for oxidised samples is attributed to the enhanced formation of boron‐interstitial defect clusters and dislocation loops under oxidising conditions. It is also shown that an inert anneal for 10 minutes at 1000 °C prior to oxidation has no significant impact on sheet resistance or recombination compared with a standard oxidation process.

     

Microemulsion polymerization of styrene stabilized by sodium dodecyl sulfate and short‐chain alcohols

Styrene microemulsion polymerizations with different short‐chain alcohols [n‐C_iH_2i+1OH (C_iOH), where i = 4, 5, or 6] as the cosurfactant were investigated. Sodium dodecyl sulfate and sodium persulfate (SPS) were used as the surfactant and initiator, respectively. The desorption of free radicals out of latex particles played an important role in the polymerization kinetics. An Arrhenius expression for the radical desorption rate coefficient was obtained from the polymerizations at temperatures of 50–70 °C. The polymerization kinetics were not very sensitive to the alkyl chain length of alcohols compared with the temperature effect. The maximal polymerization rate in decreasing order was C₆OH > C₄OH > C₅OH. This was related to the differences in the water solubility of C_iOH and the structure of the oil–water interface. The feasibility of using a water‐insoluble dye to study the particle nucleation mechanisms was also evaluated. The parameters chosen for the study of the particle nucleation mechanisms include the cosurfactant type (C_iOH), the SPS concentration, and the initiator type (oil‐soluble 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile versus water‐soluble SPS). © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3199–3210, 2001     

Synthesis of the Chiral Pair of a Novel Thromboxane Antagonist, 3‐[2‐(3‐Benzenesulfonylamino‐7‐oxabicyclo[2.2.1]hept‐2‐yl‐methyl)phenyl] Propionic Acid

Preparation of the enantiomeric pair of 3‐[2‐(3‐benzenesulfonylamino‐7‐oxabicyclo[2.2.1]hept‐2‐yl‐methyl)phenyl] propionic acid, a novel thromboxane antagonist is reported. They are synthesized from either enantiomers of known (1R,2R,3R,4S)‐3‐[2‐(3‐carboxy‐7‐oxabicyclo[2,2,1]hept‐2‐yl‐methyl)phenyl]‐propionic acid methyl ester via epimerization, modified Curtius' rearrangement and sulfonylamino formation. Other derivatives may be prepared similarly.