A Novel Biodegradable Carboxy‐Functional Lactose Copolymer

The synthesis of the first lactose main‐chain copolymer was achieved by means of solution polyreaction of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid dianhydride with D ‐lactose. The water‐soluble carboxy‐functional material based on EDTA with a high molar mass is shown to be biodegradable. The metal complexing properties of the polymer based on the liquid‐phase polymer‐based retention (LPR) method showed a strong interaction with Cr(III), Fe(III), and Sr(II) ions.     

A New Macroporous Luminescent Hydrogel from Poly(allylamine)

The synthesis of a novel highly swelling, macroporous hydrogel from poly(allylamine) using 3‐chloropentan‐2,4‐dione as a crosslinker is reported. The swelling of the hydrogel was sensitive to changes in pH, temperature, and the extent of crosslinking. The dry gel exhibited a regular honeycomb network with smooth macropores. The hydrogel was inherently luminescent, and so was a metal polychelate.     

Addition of five‐membered cyclic carbonate with amine and its application to polymer synthesis

A bifunctional five‐membered cyclic carbonate was synthesized from carbon dioxide and diglycidyl terephthalate, and its polyaddition with alkyl diamines were carried out in DMF at room temperature to obtain the corresponding poly(hydroxyurethane)s with M_n s in the range of 6300–13200 in good yields. The structures of the obtained polymers were confirmed by IR and NMR spectroscopy and their glass‐transition and decomposition temperatures were observed at 3–29 °C and 182–277 °C, respectively. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 2375–2380, 2000     

Study on syntheses of phosphates and transition‐metal complexes on viscose rayon felt for flame retardancy

High‐performance materials for flameproofing, phosphates (polyphosphate and ammonium phosphate) were synthesized on viscose rayon felt. This surface reaction has the advantage of a nonblooming effect and an application in thermosetting plastics. Metal complexes have the effect of reducing the amount of smoke. Therefore, in the second step, transition‐metal complexes were synthesized on the viscose rayon ammonium phosphate felt. This article focuses on the surface modification of phosphates and metal complexes on viscose rayon. All reactions were confirmed by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared and time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. As the concentrations of phosphoric acid and urea increased, the peak intensities of ammonium ion groups and phosphate groups greatly increased. The thermal properties of the synthesized materials were studied with thermogravimetric analysis and oxygen index testing. On the basis of the experimental results, the synthesized flame‐retardancy materials showed excellent physicochemical and thermal effects and flame retardancy. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 2815–2823, 2000     

Production of polyhydroxyalkanoates by fermentation of bacteria

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are carbon and energy reserve material accumulated by numerous microorganisms and have been drawing much attention as biodegradable substitutes for conventional nondegradable plastics and elastomers. There are a number of different PHAs having a variety of material properties based on the different monomer composition. Poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) and poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) are now efficiently produced by bacterial fermentation at reasonable production costs. Recent advances in the production of short‐chain‐length (SCL) PHAs by bacterial fermentation are reviewed. Current status of the production of medium‐chain‐length (MCL) PHAs and SCL‐MCL‐PHA copolymers is also reviewed.     

Syntheses and biological activities of α-methoxy-exo-3,6-epoxy-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophthaloyl-5-fluorouracil and its polymers

The new monomer, α-methoxy-exo-3,6-epoxy-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophthaloyl-5-fluorouracil (METFU), was synthesized by the reaction of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and exo-3,6-epoxy-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophthalic anhydride (ETA) in order to prepare polymers containing 5-FU moiety. Poly(α-methoxy-exo-3,6-epoxy-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophthaloyl-5-fluorouracil) [poly(METFU)], poly(α-methoxy-exo-3,6-epoxy-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophthaloyl-5-fluorouraci-co-acrylic acid) [poly(METFU-co-AA)], and poly(α-methoxy-exo-3,6-epoxy-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophthaloyl-5-fluorouracil-co-vinyl acetate) [poly(METFU-co- VAc)] were synthesized by photopolymerizations using 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone (DMP) as an initiator. The synthesized METFU and the polymers were identified by FTIR and ¹H-NMR spectroscopies. The contents of METFU in poly(METFU-co-AA) and poly(METFU-co-VAc) determined by elemental analysis were 52 and 60 mol %, respectively. The average molecular weights and polydispersity indices determined with GPC were as follows: M n = 9,400, M w = 11,400 M w/M n = 1.21 for poly(METFU), M n = 14,400, M w = 26,800, M w/M n = 1.86 for poly(METFU-co-AA), and M n = 23,100, M w = 33,000, M w/M n = 1.43 for poly(METFU-co-VAc). The in vitro cytotoxicities of samples were evaluated with mouse mammary carcinoma (FM3A), mouse leukemia (P388), and human histiocytic lymphoma (U937) as cancer cell lines, and mouse liver cells (AC2F) as a normal cell line. The in vivo antitumor activities of synthesized polymers against mice bearing the sarcoma 180 tumor cell line were greater than those of 5-FU at concentrations of 0.8 and 80 mg/kg. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. A Polym. Chem. 36: 2177–2184, 1998     

Calculation of molecular weight distribution in a batch thermal polymerization of styrene

Molecular weight averages have long been used as a measure of polymer molecular weight properties in industrial polymer manufacturing processes. With a kinetic model, it is possible to directly calculate the polymer chain length distribution by integrating an infinite number of the polymer population balance equations. However, when the polymer chain length is very large, such a direct integration of polymer population balance equations can be computationally demanding. In this paper, the method of finite molecular weight moments is applied to the calculation of polymer chain length distribution in a batch free radical thermal polymerization of styrene. The weight fraction of a finite chain length interval is directly calculated in conjunction with a kinetic model. The method of calculation is illustrated through model simulations.