Transient and steady-state water vapor permeation through polymer films

Water vapor transport properties for the polymers Kapton H

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and Parylene C were determined over a temperature range of 20 to 55°C. Activation energies and entropies for permeation as well as partial molar free energies, heats, and entropies of dilution were calculated for water vapor concentrations ranging from 3 × 10^?6 to 1 × 10^?3 mole H₂O per cm³ of polymer. Mylar A was tested to extend the available data for partial molar heats and entropies of dilution and to compare permeation and diffusion results with the corresponding values in the literature. Diffusion coefficients were measured using the time-lag technique of Barrer but employing a modified test apparatus. Equilibrium sorption isotherms at 30°C were obtained for Mylar A and Kapton H with a Cahn microbalance. The ratios of the permeability to diffusion coefficients as measured from time-lag experiments agreed with solubility coefficients within 3% for Mylar A and within 12% for Kapton H. Both polymers obeyed Henry's law. The results were interpreted in light of polymer polarity and morphology.     

INTERFACIAL CHARGE SEPARATION IN PHOTORECEPTOR MEMBRANES

Abstract— A rapid change in an interfacial electric potential of isolated bovine rod outer-segment disc membranes occurs upon illumination. This potential change, which has been detected by the use of spin labelled hydrophobic ions, apparently occurs within a low dielectric boundary region of the membrane near the external (cytoplasmic) surface and is positive with respect to the aqueous exterior of the disk. The magnitude of the potential change is pH and temperature dependent and appears with a first-order half-time of approximately 5 ms at 23°C. A simple model in which one positive charge per bleached rhodopsin is translocated from the cytoplasmic aqueous space into the membrane low dielectric boundary region readily accounts for all experimental observations. The similarity of the boundary potential change to the R₂ phase of the early receptor potential suggests that the two have the same molecular origin.     

Interfacial reactivity of block copolymers: understanding the amphiphile-to-hydrophile transition

Block copolymers offer an interesting platform to study chemically triggered transitions in self-assembled structures. We have previously reported the oxidative degradation of vesicles made of poly(propylene sulfide)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PPS-PEG) copolymers. Here we propose a mechanism for vesicle degradation deduced from copolymer conformational changes occurring at the air/water interface in a Langmuir trough together with a reactive subphase. The hydrophobic PPS block is converted into hydrophilic poly(propylene sulfoxide) and poly(propylene sulfone) by oxidation upon exposure to 1% aqueous H(2)O(2) subphase. As a result, a dramatic increase in area per molecule at constant surface pressure (Pi) was observed, followed by an apparent decrease (recorded as decrease in area at constant Pi) due to copolymer dissolution. For monolayers at the air/water surface, the large interfacial tensions present suppress increases in local curvature for alleviating the increased hydrophilicity of the copolymer chains. By contrast, vesicles can potentially rearrange molecules in their bilayers to accommodate a changing hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB). Similar time scales for monolayer rearrangement and vesicle degradation imply a common copolymer chain solubilization mechanism, which in vesicles lead to an eventual transition to aggregates of higher curvature, such as cylindrical and spherical micelles. Subtle differences in response to the applied surface pressure for the diblock compared to the triblock suggest an effect of the different chain mobility.     

Carbon monoxide-releasing micelles for immunotherapy

With the discovery of important biological roles of carbon monoxide (CO), the use of this gas as a therapeutic agent has attracted attention. However, the medical application of this gas has been hampered by the complexity of the administration method. To overcome this problem, several transition-metal carbonyl complexes, such as Ru(CO)(3)Cl(glycinate), [Ru(CO)(3)Cl(2)](2), and Fe(η(4)-2-pyrone)(CO)(3), have been used as CO-releasing molecules both in vitro and in vivo. We sought to develop micellar forms of metal carbonyl complexes that would display slowed diffusion in tissues and thus better ability to target distal tissue drainage sites. Specifically, we aimed to develop a new CO-delivery system using a polymeric micelle having a Ru(CO)(3)Cl(amino acidate) structure as a CO-releasing segment. The CO-releasing micelles were prepared from triblock copolymers composed of a hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) block, a poly(ornithine acrylamide) block bearing Ru(CO)(3)Cl(ornithinate) moieties, and a hydrophobic poly(n-butylacrylamide) block. The polymers formed spherical micelles in the range of 30-40 nm in hydrodynamic diameter. Further characterization revealed the high CO-loading capacity of the micelles. CO-release studies showed that the micelles were stable in physiological buffer and serum and released CO in response to thiol-containing compounds such as cysteine. The CO release of the micelles was slower than that of Ru(CO)(3)Cl(glycinate). In addition, the CO-releasing micelles efficiently attenuated the lipopolysaccharide-induced NF-κB activation of human monocytes, while Ru(CO)(3)Cl(glycinate) did not show any beneficial effects. Moreover, cell viability assays revealed that the micelles significantly reduced the cytotoxicity of the Ru(CO)(3)Cl(amino acidate) moiety. This novel CO-delivery system based on CO-releasing micelles may be useful for therapeutic applications of CO.     

Six Decades of Progress in Magnetic Resonance: The Contributions of James S. Hyde

The development of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over six decades is sketched with an emphasis on the contributions of James S. Hyde. For twenty years starting three years after the first commercial EPR spectrometer was shipped by Varian, he led commercial EPR developments, and then for more than forty years, he led development of instrumentation and biomedical applications of EPR at the Medical College of Wisconsin. It was there that he also made major contributions to MRI, and especially functional MRI.     

Surface modification of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) with benzophenone and sodium hydride by ultraviolet irradiation

Poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) films were surface modified in a solution of benzophenone and sodium hydride in dry dimethylformamide by ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. The extent of surface modification was characterized after durations of UV light irradiation from 5–20 min at temperatures from 19–60°C. The modified films were analyzed by electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis, diffuse reflectance ultraviolet-visible light spectroscopy, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic contact angle measurement, and low-voltage scanning electron microscopy. PTFE surfaces produced by this modification demonstrated extensive defluorination, oxygen incorporation, surface unsaturation, and reduction in both advancing and receding dynamic water contact angles in a manner that was more extensive at long durations of irradiation and at high temperatures. Morphological damage depended upon treatment conditions, but extensive surface modification could be obtained without substantial morphological damage to PTFE films. Control experiments indicated that the surface modification proceeded by photoexcitation of either diphenyl ketyl radical anion or benzhydrol anion, the products of reaction of benzophenone with sodium hydride. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 1499–1514, 1997     

Phase-mixed poly(ethylene glycol)/poly(trimethylolpropane triacrylate) semi-interpenetrating polymer networks obtained by rapid network formation

Semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (semi-IPNs) of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) in poly(trimethylolpropane triacrylate) (TMPTA) were synthesized from PEG melts in neat TMPTA monomer, using PEG of molecular weights from 4000 to 100,000 g/mol. Differential scanning calorimetry and transmission electron microscopy were used to examine phase separation occurring during network formation. The degree of phase separation was observed to depend upon the rate of PEG aggregation relative to the rate of network formation during TMPTA polymerization. Higher molecular weight PEG and acrylate-functionalized PEG formed more phase-mixed networks compared to lower molecular weight PEG; acetatefunctionalized PEG showed no difference from unmodified PEG in the extent of phase mixing. For networks that demonstrated phase separation, the PEG was observed to be in two states: some being phase mixed and solvent inextractable, and some being phase separated and solvent extractable. Phase-mixed networks could be obtained from this thermodynamically incompatible polymer pair utilizing rapid photopolymerization systems to overcome PEG phase aggregation and kinetically entrap the PEG in a nonequilibrium phase-mixed state. These mixed-phase semi-IPNs of PEG and TMPTA may be useful in biological applications where the presence of PEG is desired throughout the bulk matrix rather than as a surface graft to reduce biological interactions. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.