Electro-adsorption of polyethyleneimine on the anion exchange membrane: Application to the nitrate removal from loaded solutions

Anion exchange membrane has been modified by fixation of polyethyleneimine. The modification has been carried out aiming to achieve a separation of anions according to their hydration radii and their sizes. The performances of the modified membranes were compared with the unmodified one by applying Donnan dialysis of nitrate ion using Cl⁻ in the strip compartment. The transfer of nitrate ions in the presence of chloride was enhanced by using immersion modified membrane. The presence of a thin layer of PEI on the strip side of the membrane improves Cl⁻ transference, by creating a chemical potential difference which increases the transfer.     

Nanoporous carbon membranes for separation of nitrogen and oxygen: Insight from molecular simulations

Here we summarize some of our recent work on using molecular simulations to understand the key mechanism that result in large differences in the reported permeation rates of O₂ and N₂ in nanoporous carbon membranes. Two different representation of the amorphous nanoporous membrane structure are used; the hypothetical C₁₆₈ Schwarzite and a single wall carbon nanotube with a constriction. By comparing the results obtained from empirical planar graphite potential and an ab initio-based potential, the effect of carbon curvature and the presence of non-hexagonal carbon rings in C₁₆₈ Schwarzite is also investigated. It is found using either force field, that the energetic effect alone cannot explain the experimental observations. However, simulations performed using carbon nanotube with a constriction show that the size or entropic effect can be dominant. In particular, it is shown that an appropriate size constriction can result in large transport resistance to nitrogen while letting oxygen to pass through at a much higher rate, even though these gases have very similar molecular sizes and interaction energetics.     

Chiral separation of phenylalanine in ultrafiltration through DNA-immobilized chitosan membranes

Ultrafiltration experiments for the chiral separation of racemic phenylalanine were performed with DNA-immobilized chitosan membranes having various pore sizes. Atomic analysis on the membranes showed that the chitosan membranes covalently bound six times more DNA than the cellulose membranes used in our previous study [A. Higuchi, Y. Higuchi, K. Furuta, B.O. Yoon, M. Hara, S. Maniwa, M. Saitoh, K. Sanui, Chiral separation of phenylalanine by ultrafiltration through immobilized DNA membranes, J. Membr. Sci. 221 (2003) 207–218]. d-Phenylalanine preferentially permeated through DNA-immobilized chitosan membranes with a pore size <6.4 nm [molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) <67,000]. The binding affinity of a specific enantiomer due to the pore size of the DNA-immobilized membranes regulated the preferential permeation of the enantiomer through the membranes. l-Phenylalanine was adsorbed on the DNA-immobilized chitosan membranes with a pore size <6.4 nm (MWCO < 67,000), while there was little difference between the adsorption of d-phenylalanine and l-phenylalanine on the membranes with a pore size >6.4 nm (MWCO > 67,000). The DNA-immobilized chitosan membranes were categorized as channel type membranes.     

Preparation and application of a new glucose sensor based on iodide ion selective electrode

An electrode for glucose has been prepared by using an iodide selective electrode with the glucose oxidase enzyme. The iodide selective electrode used was prepared from 10% TDMAI and PVC according our previous study. The enzyme was immobilized on the iodide electrode by holding it at pH 7 phosphate buffer for 10 min at room temperature. The H₂O₂ formed from the reaction of glucose was determined from the decrease of iodide concentration that was present in the reaction cell. The iodide concentration was followed from the change of potential of iodide selective electrode. The potential change was linear in the 4×10⁻⁴ to 4×10⁻³ M glucose concentration (75-650 mg glucose/100ml blood) range. The slope of the linear portion was about 79 mV per decade change in glucose concentration. Glucose contents of some blood samples were determined with the new electrode and consistency was obtained with a colorimetric method. The effects of pH, iodide concentration, the amount of enzyme immobilized and the operating temperature were studied. No interference of ascorbic acid, uric acid, iron(III) and Cu(II) was observed. Since the iodide electrode used was not an AgI-Ag₂S electrode, there was no interference of common ions such as chloride present in biological fluids. The slope of the electrode did not change for about 65 days when used 3 times a day.     

Advances in Uniform Polymer Microspheres and Microcapsules: Preparation and Biomedical Applications

Microspheres and microcapsules have been widely used in biomedical field, such as delivery systems for drugs, vaccines. Uniform particle is required for precise drug delivery and disease treatment, since the particle diameter is a key factor which controls the pharmacokinetics and efficacy of loaded drug. However, there is no universal method to prepare uniform particles either from monomer or preformed polymer raw materials. We have developed two membrane emulsification techniques (MET) to prepare uniform particles with controllable size. In this review, we introduce two MET processes and their mechanisms, and how to develop MET to different emulsion systems to obtain various uniform microspheres and microcapsules with interesting morphologies. Then, the advantages of uniform particles on biomedical application results are focused. Finally, particle design and applications as “Chassis” to form synthetic vaccine are described. What is the most favorite and original chemistry developed in your research group? We clarified the mechanism for obtaining uniform microspheres and microcapsules in O/W, W/O and double emulsion systems, which enabled us to develop the technique to a universal technique, successfully preparing various uniform particles including hydrophobic, hydrophilic and composite functional particles, and leading to the original systematic studies on biomedical applications including “Synthetic Vaccine”. How do you get into this specific field? Could you please share some experiences with our readers? I started the research on preparation of nanospheres from my master course. At that time, I knew there were few universal methods to obtain uniform microspheres and microcapsules. So, after I became an assistant professor, I began to consider this scientific topic. How do you supervise your students? Our group motto is “Enjoy Science, Enjoy Work, Enjoy Life”. I tried to lead the students to like their research, and tried to find interesting results with students together based on their primary experimental results. What is the most important personality for scientific research? Pure, Passion, Perseverance. How do you keep balance between research and family? Work hard, and let my family know I am enjoyable and happy with my research, getting support and encouragement from family. Who influences you mostly in your life? My father. He always read books at the desk. He always gave me encouragement no matter happy or sad.     

Amino acid analysis using amine-sensitive membrane electrodes

A method for determining specific amino acids is described, based on the detection of the amine formed by the enzymatic reaction of an amino acid with decarboxylase, using an amine-sensitive membrane electrode. l-Tyrosine and l-phenylalanine are considered as examples. The corresponding amines tyramine and phenethylamine, respectively, were selectively detected by using a poly(vinyl chloride)-based membrane electrode containing sodium tetrakis[3,5- bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate as an ion exchanger and tricresyl phosphate as a solvent mediator. The detection limits of l-tyrosine and l-phenylalanine were 20 and 50μM, respectively. The response characteristics of electrodes were compared by changing ion exchangers and solvent mediators.     

Membrane potential of a bipolar membrane: the effect of concentration perturbation of the intermediate phase around a certain value

A new model of a sandwich-type bipolar membrane potential was constructed by assuming the potential behavior of a bipolar membrane as a combination of each layer potential between two different states, i.e. the different concentrations of the bulk solution. Hence, we introduced the coion exclusion parameter that is derived from the Donnan equilibrium as a combinatorial function, which combined all the potential equations involved in our system. We assumed that the existence of the intermediate phase due to its volume would allow the Donnan equilibrium to play an important role, i.e. the vanishing of the coion exclusion effect of the membrane layer facing the bulk solution phase in high concentration. Sandwich-type bipolar membranes, which consist of a cation- (K-501) and an anion-exchange layer (A-501) were used in this study. A series of concentration perturbations of the intermediate phase was performed to examine the membrane potential behavior of the bipolar membrane experimentally. The experimental results showed a good agreement with the theoretical results, which led to the conclusion that explained the contribution of the intermediate phase to the membrane potential behavior through its volume and electrochemical properties.     

A new procedure using membrane chromatography for the valorization of fraction IV from Kistler and Nitschmann's fractionation of blood plasma

Summary The aim of this work was to recover albumin from Kistler and Nitschmann's fraction IV using membrane chromatography. The best solubilization results were obtained at pH 6.5 using a phosphate buffer containing 150 mM NaCl. More than 90% of the initial albumin content was recovered.The purification procedure included 2 main steps: the first one was a depth filtration in order to remove fine particles and a selective depth filter treatment for lipid removal. The second step was ion exchange chromatography. We used membrane chromatography systems where the fluid flows radially allowing fast flow purification under low operating pressures. The eluted albumin was free from IgG. Because of the absence of contaminating IgG and its high microbiological quality compared to standard animal sera, this albumin preparation can be used as a culture medium additive. It can also be further purified by ultrafiltration. The equipment used here is easy to handle and to sterilize, and meets the FDA Code of Federal Regulations. Additionally, this procedure is flexible enough to allow the co-purification of other fraction IV proteins such as transferrin or alpha-1-anti-trypsin.     

壳聚糖膜结构与乙醇／水混合液的渗透汽化性能

用渗透汽化膜分离混合液体,纤维素、赛璐玢等作醇/水分离膜有较高的渗透通量,但分离系数低.甲壳素是广泛存在于自然界的一类天然高分子.前文报道了用甲壳素脱乙酰基的产物壳聚糖(CS)作醇/水渗透汽化(PV)分离膜,在一定的原料液浓度下具有较好的选择渗透性.本文讨论CS膜结构对乙醇/水混合液PV性能的影响,并探讨了提高选择性的途径.     

含不同取代基的Cardo聚芳醚酮的气体透过性能

研究了带有不同烷基取代基的Ｃａｒｄｏ聚芳醚酮均质膜对Ｈ２，Ｏ２，ＣＯ２和ＣＨ２气体的透气性能，讨论气体透过对温度的依赖性。