Facilitated transport of CO2 through polyethylenimine/poly(vinyl alcohol) blend membrane

Polyethylenimine (PEI)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) blend membranes were prepared for the facilitated transport of CO₂. The polymeric carrier PEI was retained in the blend membrane by the entanglement with PVA chains. The CO₂ permeance decreased with an increase in CO₂ partial pressure in feed gas, whereas the N₂ permeance was nearly constant. This result clearly showed that only CO₂ was transported by the facilitated transport mechanism. The CO₂ and N₂ permeabilities increased monotonically with the PEI weight percent in the blend membrane, whereas the selectivity of CO₂ over N₂ showed a maximum. The selectivity increased remarkably with increasing heat-treatment temperature of the membrane. The highest selectivity obtained reached more than 230 when the CO₂ partial pressure was 0.065 atm. The prepared membrane was stable.     

Porous scaffolds based on cross-linking of poly(L-glutamic acid)

Porous scaffolds based on water-soluble PLGA and CS were prepared. The pores were verified to be alveolate, uniform and continuous. The effects of freezing temperature, freeze-drying time, solid content and molecular weight of reactants on the pore structure of the scaffolds were studied. The scaffold morphology could be adjusted by changing the freezing temperature and solid content of reacting polymer. Their degradation rate can be adjusted by changing the proportion of PLGA and CS. The porosity of scaffolds was higher than 90% and the high swelling ratio showed that these scaffolds had excellent hydrophilic performance. The in vitro culture of chondrocytes indicates that the obtained PLGA/CS porous scaffolds are very promising biomaterials for tissue engineering applications.     

Dynamic viscosity of dilute solutions of poly(L-glutamic acid)

The dynamic viscosity η′ of a dilute solution of poly(L-glutamic acid) (DP = 1370) in a mixed solvent made up of aqueous 0.2M NaCl and dioxane (2:1 by volume) is measured over the pH range 4.2–10 and in the frequency range 2–500 kHz. The frequency dependence of η′ in the helix region (low pH) is interpreted in terms of a model molecule consisting of n rigid helical segments connected by universal joints. The steady-flow viscosity, relaxation time, and high-frequency limiting viscosity at pH 4.75 (helical content 80%) are well explained by this model with n = 5. This value of n is consistent with that estimated from the nucleation parameter σ = 1.4 × 10^?3 obtained from the relation between reduced steady-flow viscosity and helical content. The high-frequency values of η′ in the coil region (high pH) are fitted by Peterlin's theory. The internal viscosity seems to arise in part from the polyelectrolytic character of the molecule. An additional relaxation at low frequencies in the coil region is ascribed to rotation of molecules elongated by the electrostatic interaction. The lower value of reduced steady-flow viscosity in the coil region in the mixed solvent compared with that in water is interpreted in terms of the lower degree of effective ionization and the selective solvation of water by the polypeptide. No anomaly is observed in the helix–coil transition region, indicating that the relaxation time for helix–coil equilibrium is less than 10^?6sec.     

Selective and efficient uphill transport of Cu(II) through liquid membrane

1,2-Bis methyl (2-aminocyclopentene carbodithioate) ethane is an excellent synthetic carrier for efficient and specific transport of Cu(II) ions through a liquid membrane and has the ability to transport Cu(II) ions uphill.     

Cisplatin-loaded poly(L-glutamic acid)-g-methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) nanoparticles as a potential chemotherapeutic agent against osteosarcoma

Herein, cisplatin-loaded poly(L-glutamic acid)-g-methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) nanoparticles were evaluated as a potential chemotherapeutic agent against osteosarcoma by using alone or with an i RGD(internalizing RGD, CRGDKDPDC). The release rate of platinum from the cisplatin-loaded nanoparticles CDDP/PLG160-g-m PEG2K(CDDP-NPs) accelerated with the increase of the acidity of the environment. In vitro test demonstrated that CDDP-NPs could inhibit the proliferation of MNNG/Hos osteosarcoma cells with IC50(72 h) of 12.2 μg?m L-1. In vivo test for MNNG/Hos osteosarcoma tumor bearing mice exhibited that CDDP-NPs had comparable or slightly higher efficacy but significantly lower side effects in comparison with free CDDP. The coadministration of i RGD could further enhance the anticancer efficacy of CDDP-NPs against MNNG/Hos osteosarcoma without bringing obvious side effects. Therefore, CDDP-NPs using alone or with i RGD have great potential for the treatment of osteosarcoma.     

Selective transport of D,L‐tryptophan through poly(L‐glutamic acid) membranes

Permeability coefficients of D ‐ and L ‐tryptophan (D ‐, L ‐Trp) were estimated for poly(L ‐glutamic acid) (PLG) membranes immersed in aqueous ethanol. D ‐tryptophan was selectively transported (the maximum permeability ratio was 2.6) depending on the amount and the species of crosslinking agent, and on the composition of immersing solvent. It is suggested that hydrogen bonding between uncharged permeates and carboxyl and/or amide groups of PLG is an essential factor for the selective transport. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 1035–1041, 1999     

Electrically controlled separation of maleic acid and fumaric acid through a poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(acrylic acid) composite membrane

The separation of maleic acid (MA) from a mixture of MA and fumaric acid (FA) was studied using an electrically activated polyelectrolyte gel membrane. The membrane was prepared through the iterative freezing-thawing of an aqueous solution containing poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(acrylic acid). The separation of MA from an equimolar mixture (5 mM) of MA and FA using the membrane was performed under different conditions of pH (1–8) and electric fields (2–6 V). It was found that MA was separated from the mixture at pH 2 under an applied electric field of greater than 2 V because only the COOH groups of MA were dissociated at pH 2 and the MA⁻ ions were transported through the membrane toward the electrode opposite in sign to their charge.     

Synthesis and properties of poly(hydroxamic acid) from crosslinked poly(methacrylate)

Poly(hydroxamic acid) chelating ion-exchange resin was prepared from crosslinked poly(methacrylate) beads. The starting polymer was prepared by a suspension polymerization of methacrylate and divinyl benzene. Conversion of the ester groups into the hydroxamic acid was carried out by treatment with hydroxylamine in an alkaline solution. Hydroxamic acid capacity of the product was 2.71 mmol/g. The resin exhibited high affinity towards Fe(III) and Pb ions and its capacities for Fe(III), Pb, Cu, Ni and Co ions were pH dependent. The ability of the resin to carry out the separation of Fe(III)CuCo/Ni and PbNi ions is also reported.     

A poly(acrylic acid)-block-poly(L-glutamic acid) diblock copolymer with improved cell adhesion for surface modification

A novel PAA-b-PLGA diblock copolymer is synthesized and characterized that has excellent cell adhesion and biocompatibility. Fluorescent DiO labeling is used to monitor the attachment and growth of hASCs on the film surface, and cell proliferation over time is studied. Results show that PLLA modified by a CS/PAA-b-PLGA multilayer film can promote the attachment of human hASCs and provide an advantageous environment for their proliferation. The multilayer film presents excellent biocompatibility and cell adhesive properties, which will provide a new choice for improving the cell attachment in surface modification for tissue engineering. Hydroxyl, carboxyl and amine groups in the CS/PAA-b-PLGA multilayer film may be combined with drugs and growth factors for therapy and differentiation.     

Pervaporation separation of water-acetic acid mixtures through poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes crosslinked with glutaraldehyde

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) membranes crosslinked with glutaraldehyde (GA) were prepared by a solution method for the pervaporation separation of acetic acid-water mixtures. In the solution method, dry PVA films were crosslinked by immersion for 2 days at 40°C in reaction solutions which contained different contents of GA, acetone and a catalyst, HCl. In order to fabricate the crosslinked PVA membranes which were stable in aqueous solutions, acetone was used as reaction medium in stead of aqueous inorganic salt solutions which have been commonly used in reaction solution for PVA crosslinking reaction. The crosslinking reaction between the hydroxyl group of PVA and the aldehyde group of GA was characterized by IR spectroscopy. Swelling measurements were carried out in both water and acetic acid to investigate the swelling behavior of the membranes. The swelling behaviour of a membrane fabricated at different GA content in a reaction solution was dependent on crosslinking density and chemical functional groups created as a result of the reaction between PVA and GA, such as the acetal group, ether linkage and unreacted pendent aldehydes in PVA. The pervaporation separation of acetic acid-water mixtures was performed over a range of 70–90 wt% acetic acid in the feed at temperatures varying from 35 to 50°C to examine the separation performances of the PVA membranes. Permeation behaviour through the membranes was analyzed by using pervaporation activation energies which had been calculated from the Arrhenius plots of permeation rates.     

Synthesis of well-defined poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-b-poly(L-glutamic acid) by a versatile approach and micellization

A novel Fmoc-protected chain transfer agent (CTA) was synthesized and applied in the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm), resulting in well-defined Fmoc-protected PNIPAAm and the amino-end capped PNIPAAm by the subsequent hydrolysis. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-b-poly(l-glutamic acid) (PNIPAAm-b-PLGA) with controlled molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution was synthesized successfully via ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of alpha-amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs) by using PNIPAAm-NH2 as the macroinitiator. Both pH- and thermo-responsive micellization behaviors of the block copolymer PNIPAAm55-b-PLGA35 in dilute aqueous solution were investigated by means of the pyrene fluorescence, circular dichroism, 1H NMR, transmission electron microscopy and dynamic and static light scattering. Spherical PLGA-core and rod-like PNIPAAm-core micelles are formed in response to pH and temperature. The reversible transition between the PLGA-core and PNIPAAm-core micelles was observed. This work provides a versatile approach for synthesizing well-defined stimuli-responsive polypeptide-based double hydrophilic diblock copolymers (DHBCs), and is of great potential for generating useful stimuli-responsive materials in biomedical applications.     

Selective transport of zirconium (IV) and niobium (V) from hydrochloric media through a bulk liquid membrane

The selective transport of zirconium/niobium from hydrochloric medium has been investigated through a bulk liquid membrane (BLM) using tri-n-butyl-phosphate (TBP), tri-n-octylamine and dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DBC-6) as the extractants (carriers). The Optimization studies have been carried out by scrutinizing the effect of variables such as the hydrochloric acid concentration in the feed solution, membrane type and hydrochloric acid concentration in the strip solution using the Taguchi approach. The Quantitative transport of zirconium/niobium has been observed by 30% (v/v) TBP in 1200 min from the feed composed of a 9.0 M hydrochloric acid solution of Zr(IV), Nb(V) and lanthanide cations, while the transport of other cations, which have been presented along with Zr/Nb are less than 3% during the same time. Moreover, the possible mechanism of Zr(IV)/Nb(V) ion transport through the BLM has also been discussed and the results show a consecutive, irreversible second-order reaction at the interfaces. Transfer kinetics studies show that niobium transfer process exhibits slightly faster kinetics than zirconium.     

Selective separation of water–alcohol binary mixture through poly(maleimide-co-acrylonitrile) membrane

Separation of various alcohols and water through a membrane was carried out by means of a hydrogen-bonding interaction. A membrane obtained from poly(maleimide-co-acrylonitrile) was effective for a selective separation of water from aqueous alcohol solution by pervaporation technique. Spectroscopic analyses verified that this high selectivity was attributed to the hydrogen-bonding interaction between water and maleimide units in the membrane.     

Conductivity of crosslinked poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) gel film containing surfactant as electrolyte salt

New polymeric solid electrolyte films, consisting of crosslinked poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVPD) as matrix, and surfactant, sodium deoxycholate (NaDC), lithium deoxycholate (LiDC), sodium laulylsulfate (R₁₂OSO₃Na), or sodium palmitate (R₁₅COONa) as electrolyte salt, are prepared; their basic structure and conductivity dependence on temperature are reported. The structure of the electrolytes is amorphous. Their conductivity is 3.1 × 10^?5 S cm^?1 (containing NaDC), 8.42 × 10^?6 S cm^?1 (LiDC), 2.18 × 10^?4 S cm^?1 (R₁₂OSO₃Na), and 7.27 × 10^?5 S cm^?1 (R₁₅COONa) at 20°C. Their temperature dependence of the conductivity is similar to that of liquid electrolyte rather than that of usual polymeric solid electrolyte, i.e., the WLF-type dependence. The values of activation energy of conductivity (E_a) were PVPD, 25.5 kJ mol^?1; PVPD/NaDC, 21.4 kJ mol^?1; PVPD/LiDC, 25.3 kJ mol^?1; PVPD/R₁₂OSO₃Na, 17.2 kJ mol^?1; PVPD/R₁₅COONa, 18.7 kJ mol^?1. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Rapid swelling and deswelling in cryogels of crosslinked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid)

Thermally sensitive hydrogels of poly[N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPA)-co-acrylic acid (AA)] hydrogels with N,N-methylene bisacrylamide (BIS) as crosslinker have been synthesized via a two-step procedure in which, the initial polymerisation is conducted for various times at 18 °C, this step being followed by polymerisation for one fixed time at −22 °C. The gravimetrically determined rates of swelling/deswelling for these materials termed “cryogels” prepared by this two-step polymerisation are much higher than those for the same type of hydrogel prepared via conventional methods (30 °C for 24 h). For example the time for the former xerogel to take up 70% of its final water content at 25 °C is just 18 min, compared with a time 300 min for the latter to attain the same uptake of water. During deswelling (shrinking) at 50 °C, which is above the lower critical temperature, the hydrogel loses 60 and 90 wt% water in 1 and 10 min respectively, compared to a timescale for the corresponding crosslinked copolymers prepared by conventional methods of about 100 min for 50 wt% water loss. A third type of hydrogel was made by a cold treatment (CT), for which the hydrogel prepared by conventional polymerization was stored in the frozen state. The swelling rate of these CT xerogels was the same as that for xerogels prepared by conventional polymerization, but the deswelling rate of the former was higher than that of the latter; for example, during deswelling, a loss of 90% water is attained within a few minutes.Scanning electron microscopy, digital photographs and flotation experiments together with swelling ratio studies reveal that the polymeric network of cryogel produced by the two-step polymerization method is characterized by an open structure with more pores and higher swelling ratio but lower mechanical strength compared to the conventional hydrogels. Such rapid response hydrogels have potential applications in separation and drug release technologies for example.