Cellulose-based fibers from liquid–crystalline solutions. II. Processing and morphology of acetate/butyrate esters

Fibers were spun from isotropic and anisotropic dimethylacetamide solutions of cellulose esters. Take-up speeds of the dry jet/wet spinning process varied. Water served as the coagulant. The mechanical properties of the fibers increased as spinning progressed from the isotropic to the anisotropic state of the solution. A trade-off in solubility and fiber properties was noted as the butyryl acetyl ratio decreased. Whereas high butyryl content enhances both overall solubility and the formation of liquid–crystalline solutions at lower concentration, it results in lower fiber modulus and strength. Morphology of the fibers depended on the coagulation rate which was influenced by the concentration of the sppinning solution. The level of orientation and crystallinity of the fibers increased somewhat when they were spun from liquid-crystalline solutions. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Detection of processed genetically modified food using CIM monolithic columns for DNA isolation

The availability of sufficient quantities of DNA of adequate quality is crucial in polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods for genetically modified food detection. In this work, the suitability of anion-exchange CIM (Convective Interaction Media; BIA Separations, Ljubljana, Slovenia) monolithic columns for isolation of DNA from food was studied. Maize and its derivates corn meal and thermally pretreated corn meal were chosen as model food. Two commercially available CIM disk columns were tested: DEAE (diethylaminoethyl) and QA (quaternary amine). Preliminary separations were performed with standard solution of salmon DNA at different pH values and different NaCl concentrations in mobile phase. DEAE groups and pH 8 were chosen for further isolations of DNA from a complex matrix-food extract. The quality and quantity of isolated DNA were tested on agarose gel electrophoresis, with UV-scanning spectrophotometry, and by amplification with real-time PCR. DNA isolated in this way was of suitable quality for further PCR analyses. The described method is also applicable for DNA isolation from processed foods with decreased DNA content. Furthermore, it is more effective and less time-consuming in comparison with the existing proposed methods for isolation of DNA from plant-derived foods.     

Fibers and 3D mesh scaffolds from biodegradable starch-based blends: production and characterization

The aim of this work is the production of fibers from biodegradable polymers to obtain 3D scaffolds for tissue engineering of hard tissues. The scaffolds required for this highly demanding application need to have, as well as the biological and mechanical characteristics, a high degree of porosity with suitable dimensions for cell seeding and proliferation. Furthermore, the open cell porosity should have adequate interconnectivity for a continuous flow of nutrients and outflow of cell metabolic residues as well as to allow cell growth into confluent layers. Blends of corn starch, a natural biodegradable polymer, with other synthetic polymers (poly(ethylene vinyl alcohol), poly(epsilon-caprolactone), poly(lactic acid)) were selected for this work because of their good balance of properties, namely biocompatibility, processability and mechanical properties. Melt spinning was used to produce fibers from all the blends and 3D meshes from one of the starch-poly(lactic acid) blends. The experimental characterization included the evaluation of the tensile mechanical properties and thermal properties of the fibers and the compression stiffness, porosity and degradation behavior of the 3D meshes. Light microscopy picture of 3D meshes.     

Comparison of the thermal behavior of three cellulose fibers mercerized or submitted to solar degradation

Comparison of Lyocell, modal and viscose fibers was performed by means of differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry and scanning electron microscopy. Thermal analysis was performed in air atmosphere. Samples were mercerized (21.3 g 100 mL-1) or submitted to solar radiation (seven months). Solar degraded samples presents a higher thermal stability and are initially less degraded. Furthermore, Lyocell fiber is the most stable under thermal degradation conditions. Heating produces a reduction of the fiber diameter (about 50%). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

聚(St-DVB)型整体柱的制备及其对蛋白质的色谱分离性能

苯乙烯(St)为单体,二乙烯基苯(DVB)为交联剂,在致孔剂甲苯和十二醇存在下,直接以Ф4.6×50mm色谱柱管为模具,同时在整个反应过程中通过氩气对反应混合物施加一个恒定的压力,通过原位聚合制备了聚(苯乙烯-二乙烯基苯)(PSD)型整体柱。在聚合过程中对反应混合物施加一定的压力,使制备的整体柱表面光滑无凹痕现象,并且使柱子的两头平整不凹陷,有利于提高柱效。本文对整体柱的孔结构及其对蛋白质的分离性能进行了研究。实验结果表明,整体柱内部含有大量类似渠道的大孔,孔径为2μm~3μm,在流速为5ml/min时,背压为7MPa。而且流速对色谱分离效率的影响小,流速从1ml/min增大到3ml/min时,牛血清白蛋白和溶菌酶这两种蛋白质的总分离效能指标K1的值基本保持不变,保持在3.35左右,说明可以通过提高流速实现蛋白质的快速分离。     

聚碳硅烷／纳米镍粉的热裂解

聚碳硅烷／纳米镍粉的热裂解王军＊宋永才冯春祥（国防科学技术大学材料工程与应用化学系长沙４１００７３）关键词聚碳硅烷，纳米材料，镍，热解，碳化硅纤维１９９６－０９－１７收稿，１９９６－１２－１３修回国家攻关计划和“８６３”高技术资助项目聚碳硅烷（ＰＣＳ...     

K~+-FREE INDUCED EARLY AFTERDEPOL-ARIZATION IN CARDIAC VENTRICULAR FIBERS OF GUINEA PIG AFTER COLD TREATMENT

The genesis and elimination of early afterdepolarizations (EADs) have been investigated in guinea pig cardiac ventricular fibers after a short period of cooling (5h, 2—4℃). After rewarming them to 37℃, EADs could be induced by K~+-free superfusion at an appropriate driving stimulation (0.2 Hz) in all preparations. A high level plateau, which linearly increases its duration with time, appears ahead of EADs. The critical point of the plateau occurred steadily at the level of -47±4 mV. Two types of triggered activity, all of which are the rhythmic activities in low level of membrane potential (-50 to -60 mV), appear on the platcau. There is no significant change after overdriving. Agonists of the Na-K pump (K~+ and Tl~+) could stop the rhythmic activity immediately and turn the low level of membrane potential to high one. The results showed that high level plateau is the basis of genesis of EADs, and the activation of Na-K pump plays an important part in stopping triggered rhythms arising from EADs.     

Applications of chalcogenide glass optical fibers

Chalcogenide-glass fibers based on sulfide, selenide, telluride and their rare-earth-doped compositions are being actively pursued worldwide. Great strides have been made in reducing optical losses using improved chemical purification techniques, but further improvements are needed in both purification and fiberization technology to attain the theoretical optical losses. Despite this, chalcogenide-glass fibers are enabling numerous applications that include laser power delivery, chemical sensing, and imaging, scanning near field microscopy/spectroscopy, IR sources/lasers, amplifiers and optical switches.     

Polymerised bicontinuous microemulsions as stationary phases for capillary electrochromatography

Summary Polymerisation of bicontinuous microemulsions yields porous monolithic structures with well defined pore sizes that are potentially suitable for use as stationary phases for capillary electrochromatography (CEC). A variety of pore sizes can be achieved by altering the composition of the microemulsion, which typically consists of butyl methacrylate (BMA) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as the polymerisable oil phase. The aqueous phase consists of water, a surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulphate, SDS) and a co-surfactant (1-propanol). 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid (AMPS) is also added to provide charges along the polymer backbone to allow electroosmotic flow (EOF) to occur. SEM analysis shows that in-situ polymerisation yields a monolithic structure with a porous topography. Investigations have shown that these monoliths are easy to prepare, robust and suitable for the separation of phthalates. They generate higher linear velocities than are achieved using the silica based HPLC packings normally used for CEC.     

The potential of serially coupled alkyl-bonded silica monolithic columns for high resolution separations of pharmaceutical compounds in biological fluids

Summary In this paper we investigate the potential of alkyl-bonded silica monolithic columns for the isolation and identification of drug-related components in biological fluids. Up to 6 columns have been connected in series to produce a chromatographic system with up to 40,000 plates. This high-resolution chromatography system has been coupled to both MS and NMR to enable efficient detection and characterisation of drug-related components in biological fluids. The use of six coupled columns has been shown to give enhanced resolution over a high quality silica particulate column packed with 3 μm material which exhibits the same back pressure. The effect of volume and mass load on the performance of monolithic columns for semi-preparative chromatography of biological fluids has also been investigated. In these studies it was possible to inject up to 100 mL of neat urine with no loss of chromatographic performance. Furthermore, upon re-testing, the columns showed similar chromatographic performance. Again several columns were serially connected, producing enhanced resolution in the semi-preparative mode.