Correlation between conformation change of polyelectrolyte brushes and lubrication

We directly monitor the absolute separation profiles that function as film thickness between a single glass disk and the charged polyelectrolyte brushes decorated steel slider in water using a home-made slider-on-disk apparatus, which reflects the structural conformation variations and interactions of polymer brushes under externally applied pressure, in addition to probing the relative variation of friction forces under different applied loads and sliding velocities. We find that the polyelectrolyte brushes modified surfaces can sustain high pressure and have extremely low friction coefficients(around 0.006 at pressures of 0.13 MPa; 0.5-0.6 without brushes). The water-lubrication characteristics are correlated to the structural conformation changes of the polyelectrolyte brushes that are mainly governed by electrostatic interactions and the osmotic pressure of counterions inside the polymer chains, which can be used to support and distribute the normal pressure. The apparent thickness of the brush decreases with the increase of loading forces, an increase in the ionic strength causes the polymer chains collapse, and the friction forces increase. This fundamental research is of great importance to understand the mechanical and structural properties of polyelectrolyte brushes and their influences on the tribological behaviors, and helps to design friction/lubrication-controlled surface/interface by taking advantage of polyelectrolyte brushes.     

The acidity constants of some pyrimidine bases in various water-organic solvent media

The acid ionization constants of some pyrimidine bases of nucleic acids were determined pH-metrically at 25 degrees C and at the constant ionic strength I = 0.10 mol l(-1) (KNO3) in pure water as well as in aqueous media containing variable mole percentages (5-30%) of organic solvents. The organic solvents used were methanol, ethanol, N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), acetonitrile, acetone and dioxane. The results obtained indicated that the acidity constants are generally decreased as the content of an organic solvent in the medium is increased. It was deduced that the hydrogen bonding interactions and the solvent basicity in addition to the electrostatic effect are the major effects influencing significantly the acid ionization process of pyrimidine bases in the different water-organic solvent media. Some thermodynamic parameters (deltaH, deltaG degrees, deltaS degrees) of the ionization process over the temperature range 5-45 degrees C in pure water were also determined and discussed.     

The effect of a low-molecular-mass salt on stoichiometric polyelectrolyte complexes composed of oppositely charged macromolecules with different solvent affinities

The effect of a low-molecular-mass salt on the thermodynamic stability of stoichiometric interpolymer complexes composed of oppositely charged macromolecules with different solvent affinities has been theoretically studied. It has been shown that the dissociation of such complexes with an increase in the concentration of the salt proceeds via several stages. At a low concentration of the salt, complexes retain their structure and dimensions. When a certain critical concentration of the salt n _s^cr is achieved, the dimensions of the complex increase abruptly. At this concentration, macromolecules involved in the complex begin to separate, and at concentration n _s^*, they fully move apart but remain soluble owing to the polyelectrolyte effect. Upon a further increase in the concentration of the salt, the polyelectrolyte effect is shielded and the dimensions of macromolecules decrease. The critical concentration of the low-molecular-mass salt, n _s^cr, increases with an increase in the degree of ionization of macromolecules and a decrease in the affinity of the hydrophilic component for water and diminishes with the degree of polymerization of macromolecules and the degree of hydrophobicity of a polycation. Because of the easy formation of soluble complexes from oppositely charged macromolecules differing in solvent affinities and their high stability in solutions of a low-molecularmass salt, such complexes are promising for wide use in medicine and pharmaceutical practice.     

Growth of columnar hydrogel colloidal crystals in water-organic solvent mixture

A novel emulsion method has been demonstrated to grow columnar hydrogel colloidal crystals by mixing an aqueous suspension of poly-N-isopropylacrylamide-co-allylamine microgels with organic solvent, driven by the coalescence of micelles consisting of organic oil droplets coated by many microgels. This method leads to microgel colloidal crystals of several centimeters growing from the top to the bottom along the gravity direction. Both temperature and polymer concentration play critical roles for the formation of columnar crystals. A phase diagram has been determined, and it can be used as a guide to selectively grow different crystals, including columnar crystals and randomly oriented crystals, and enable the coexistence of columnar crystals and randomly oriented crystals.     

有机质子溶剂和有机-水溶液中质子浓度的精确测定

用水标准溶液标定的玻璃电极可用来测定有机质子溶剂和有机-水溶液中质子的水标准活度pHm质子的浓度可用-og[H2S^ ]=pHm-(-logγ-D)来精确测定。(-logγ-D)是一个常数，可以通过对有机质子溶剂和有机-水溶液中强酸-强碱滴定曲线的数学模拟后求得。因此避免了玻璃电极在有机溶剂中标定的困难。     

The enthalpies of solution of DL-α-alanine in water-organic solvent mixtures at 298.15 K

The integral enthalpies of solution (298.15 K) of DL-α-alanine in water-organic solvent mixtures were measured at organic component concentrations x ₂ = 0–0.4 mole fractions. The organic solvents used were acetonitrile (ACN), formamide (FA), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMFA), and N,N-dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). The standard enthalpies of solution Δ_sol H ^o, solvation Δ_solv H ^o, and transfer (Δ_tr H ^o) of DL-α-alanine from water to mixed solvents were calculated. The influence of the structure and properties of solutes and mixture composition on solute thermochemical characteristics was considered. The solution of DL-α-alanine in the mixtures studied was endothermic over the whole range of organic component concentrations. The Δ_sol H ^o, Δ_tr H ^o, and Δ_solv H ^o values as functions of x ₂ can pass extrema (DMSO and DMFA), be almost independent of mixed solvent composition (FA), or be exothermic and monotonic functions (ACN). The enthalpy coefficients of pair interactions (h _xy ) between DL-α-alanine and organic solvent molecules were calculated. The linear Kamlet-Taft equation was used to correlate the h _xy values with the properties of organic solvents.     

The effect of shear flow on the conformation of polyelectrolyte brushes

The behavior of flat polyelectrolyte brushes under the action of a lateral force or flow was studied. Special attention was focused on the case when a lateral force acts on a brush that occurs near the point of phase transition from the swollen state to the collapsed state. The difference between phase transitions in a brush induced by isotropic and anisotropic interactions is analyzed. As examples of such transitions, the collapse of a polyelectrolyte brush upon cooling and the nematic collapse of an anisotropic brush are considered. It was shown that lateral force (flow), exerting a marked effect on the nematic collapse of an anisotropic brush, has no practical effect on the collapse of a brush with isotropic interactions.     

Formation of polyelectrolyte complexes in an organic solvent

The formation of complexes of polyelectrolytes has been investigated with low charged polyelectrolytes soluble in an organic solvent. The degree of complexation has been determined from conductimetric experiments; it is independent of the degree of quaternization of the polycation but decreases as the polymer concentration and the ionic content increase. A change in the conductimetric and in the viscometric curves during addition of polycation to the polyanion (or the reverse) has been found in the range of the ionic stoichiometry. The complex formation corresponds to an electrostatic cross-link the stability of which decreases with the ionic content of the solution.     

A novel synthesis method for cyclodextrins from maltose in water-organic solvent systems

A novel enzymatic synthesis method of cyclodextrin (CD) from low-mol-wt maltose using cyclomaltodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase) fromBacillus macerans has been developed in various water-organic solvent systems. A Β-CD was synthesized in a two-phase system consisting of water and cyclohexane. However, no CDs could be synthesized in an aqueous buffer solution. A maximal yield of Β- CD has been obtained at a cyclohexane content volume of 44%. This synthesis has been obtained only at low temperatures, i.e., 7‡C, and did not take place at 50‡C. In addition, various organic solvents have been used for the enzymatic synthesis of CD from maltose. Consequently, Β-CD could be synthesized in various water-organic solvent systems, e.g., cyclohexane, benzene, xylene, and chloroform, but no enzymatic reaction occurred using aliphaticn-hydrocarbon solvents such as hexane, dodecane, and hexadecane. Furthermore, α- and Β- CD could be synthesized in water mixture solutions using organic solvents having an alcoholic group (e.g., ethanol, propanol, butanol, and pentanol) in a wide range of the reaction temperatures, typically 7–50‡C. In this temperature range, α- and Β-CD were also formed and the maximal yield from maltose to Β-CD of approx 13% was reached in 60 h.     

Spectrophotometric study of acidity constants of Alizarine Red S in various water-organic solvent

The acidity constants of Alizarine Red S were determined spectrophotometrically at 25 degrees C and at constant ionic strength 0.1 M (KNO3) in pure water as well as in aqueous media containing variable mole percentages (5-70%) of organic solvents. The organic solvents used were methanol, ethanol, N,N-dimethyl formamide (DMF), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), acetonitrile and dioxan. The acidity constants of all related equilibria are estimated using the whole spectral fitting of the collected data to an established factor analysis model. DATAN program was applied for determining of acidity constants and pure spectra of different form of Alizarine Red S. The obtained results indicated that acidity constants decrease as the content of an organic solvent in the medium increases. There are linear relationship between acidity constants and the mole fraction of various organic solvents in the solvent mixtures. Effect of various solvents on acidity constants and pure spectrum of each component are also discussed.     

有机质子和有机水溶剂中有机酸pKa值的测定与玻璃电极的标定

在非水质子溶剂和有机．水溶液中有机酸的酸碱平衡常数测定精度与质子浓度的测定精度密切相关。溶液中质子活度可以用水标准溶液标定的玻璃电极用电位法来测定。测得的以水为标准的质子活度pHm,可用-log[H2S^＋]=pHm-（-logγ-D）来转换成质子的浓度,（-logγ-D）是一个与该溶剂有关的常数。用非线性回归法对有机酸的质子交换数与质子溶度关系模拟可以进一步提高有机酸酸度测定的精度。     

Molecular architecture and conformation of macromolecules of novel polysilanes

Molecular-weight parameters of new silane homo- and copolymers were analyzed. For all polymers, theM _w values are close ((6.0–8.6)·10⁴), the curves of molecular weight distribution are unimodal, andM _w/M _n=2−2.5. Cyclic fragments or those containing the −C=C− groups make the major contribution to the polysilane chain rigidity. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 12, pp. 2430–2433, December, 1998.     

Substitution complexometric determination of cadmium in the presence of zinc in homogeneous water-organic solvent medium

A method for substitution complexometric determination of cadmium is based on the decomposition of the Cd-EDTA complex by the combined action of ethylxanthate and zinc. The reaction is performed in a slightly acid homogeneous water-organic solvent medium in which the cadmium ethylxanthate complex is stable and soluble.     

Application of multiparameter equations to calculation of the mutual solubility in water-organic solvent binary systems

The solubility of organic liquids in water and of water in organic liquids is primarily determined by the capability of organic liquids for hydrogen bonding. Adequate generalization of the solubility data is possible only with multiparameter equations taking also into account other properties of organic components, including the cohesion and molar volume.     

Inverse Monte Carlo procedure for conformation determination of macromolecules

A novel numerical method for determining the conformational structure of macromolecules is applied to idealized biomacromolecules in solution. The method computes effective inter-residue interaction potentials solely from the corresponding radial distribution functions, such as would be obtained from experimental data. The interaction potentials generate conformational ensembles that reproduce thermodynamic properties of the macromolecule (mean energy and heat capacity) in addition to the target radial distribution functions. As an evaluation of its utility in structure determination, we apply the method to a homopolymer and a heteropolymer model of a three-helix bundle protein [Zhou, Y.; Karplus, M. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1997, 94, 14429; Zhou, Y. et al. J Chem Phys 1997, 107, 10691] at various thermodynamic state points, including the ordered globule, disordered globule, and random coil states.     

Ion-exchange resins in non-aqueous solvents-II Sorption of P-nitroaniline and other weak bases in water-organic solvent mixtures

Sorption of p-nitroaniline and several weak organic bases on macro- and microreticular hydrogen-form resins is reported. The solvents used in the study are mixtures of water and fourteen watermiscible organic solvents. The distribution coefficients change from a large value at pure organic solvent to a minimum value at 80% organic solvent-20% water, then increase again except for the basic solvents where no sorption takes place at high organic solvent concentration. It is suggested that in the vicinity of the minimum D a transition in sorption mechanism takes place. A similar behaviour is observed for several other weak organic bases. The sorption of p-nitroaniline in 80% organic solvent-20% water as a function of time is reported. Mesh size and percentage cross-linking are other variables considered.     

Extraction of betulin, trimyristin, eugenol and carnosic Acid using water-organic solvent mixtures

A solvent system consisting of ethyl acetate, ethyl alcohol and water, in the volume ratio of 4.5:4.5:1, was developed and used to extract, at room temperature, betulin from white birch bark and antioxidants from spices (rosemary, thyme, sage, and oregano) and white oak chips. In addition, under reflux conditions, trimyristin was extracted from nutmeg using the same solvent system, and eugenol from olives was extracted using a mixture of salt water and ethyl acetate. The protocol demonstrates the use of water in organic solvents to extract natural products from plants. Measurement of the free-radical scavenging activity using by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) indicated that the extraction of plant material using ethyl acetate, ethyl alcohol and water (4.5:4.5:1, v/v/v) was exhaustive when carried out at room temperature for 96 h.