Nanostructured hybrid polymer networks from in situ self‐assembly of RAFT‐synthesized POSS‐based block copolymers

A series of well‐defined hybrid block copolymers PMACyPOSS‐b‐PMMA and PMAiBuPOSS‐b‐PMMA exhibiting high POSS weight contents have been synthesized by RAFT polymerization and further studied as modifiers for epoxy thermosets based on diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A. The hybrid block copolymers self‐assembled within the epoxy precursors into micelles possessing an inorganic core and a PMMA corona. Thanks to the presence of the PMMA blocks that remain miscible until the end of the reaction, curing of the resulting blends afforded nanostructured hybrid organic/inorganic networks with well‐dispersed inorganic‐rich nanodomains with diameters on the order of 20 nm. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Prediction of the glass transition temperature of cycloaliphatic amine–epoxy networks

Stoichiometric, completely cured binary or ternary mixtures of the diglycidylether of bisphenol A (DGEBA), isophorone diamine (IPD), and trimethylcyclohexylamine (TMCA) monomers were studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The relations between the glass transition temperature T_g and the structure of the copolymer networks were investigated. Good predictions of T_g can be obtained on the basis of the following hypothesis: (1) the molar contributions M_iT^?1_gi to the “copolymer effect” of difunctional groups are additive, (2) the crosslinking effect can be expressed by the DiMarzio relation in which the molar contribution of crosslink mers is an increasing function of the stiffness of linear segments. For the seven systems under study, the deviation between calculated and experimental T_g values is within experimental scatter.     

Protonation of the chromophore in the photoactive yellow protein

The photoactive yellow protein (PYP) acts as a light sensor to its bacterial host: it responds to light by changing shape. After excitation by blue light, PYP undergoes several transformations, to partially unfold into its signaling state. One of the crucial steps in this photocycle is the protonation of p-coumaric acid after excitation and isomerization of this chromophore. Experimentalists still debate on the nature of the proton donor and on whether it donates the hydrogen directly or indirectly. To obtain better knowledge of the mechanism, we studied this proton transfer using Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics, classical molecular dynamics, and computer simulations combining these two methods (quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics, QMMM). The simulations reproduce the chromophore structure and hydrogen-bond network of the protein measured by X-ray crystallography and NMR. When the chromophore is protonated, it leaves the assumed proton donor, glutamic acid 46, with a negative charge in a hydrophobic environment. We show that the stabilization of this charge is a very important factor in the mechanism of protonation. Protonation frequently occurs in simplified ab initio simulations of the chromophore binding pocket in vacuum, where amino acids can easily hydrogen bond to Glu46. When the complete protein environment is incorporated in a QMMM simulation on the complete protein, no proton transfer is observed within 14 ps. The hydrogen-bond rearrangements in this time span are not sufficient to stabilize the new protonation state. Force field molecular dynamics simulations on a much longer time scale have shown which internal rearrangements of the protein are needed. Combining these simulations with more QMMM calculations enabled us to check the stability of protonation states and clarify the initial requirements for the proton transfer in PYP.     

13C tracer recovery in human stools after digestion of a fat-rich meal labelled with [1,1,1-13C3]tripalmitin and [1,1,1-13C3]triolein

Lipid metabolism studies focus mainly on oxidation and storage but rarely on faecal elimination, which is needed to assess total lipid distribution during the postprandial period. The purpose of the present work was to set up and validate the analysis of lipid tracers in stools, with an aim of later using this methodology in studies of postprandial lipid tracer metabolism. Eight subjects received a mixture of [1,1,1-(13)C3]tripalmitin and [1,1,1-(13)C3]triolein with a fat-rich meal. The nature and amounts of (13)C lipids excreted in stools during 3 days post-dose were determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) analysis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) from total fatty acid (TFA), free fatty acid (FFA) and triacylglycerol (TAG) fractions. The results were expressed as the Cumulative Tracer Recovery of the administered dose (CTR%). The quantities and labelling of FAMEs were higher in FFA than in TAG, indicating that label loss was not due to a lack of digestive lipase activity. The labelling was higher for C16:0 than for C18:1. The CTRs were 7.03 ± 0.77% and 6.87 ± 0.91%, respectively, in TFA and FFA for [1-(13)C] C16:0, while they were 0.60 ± 0.15% and 0.51 ± 0.11% for [1-(13)C] C18:1 (mean ± sem). By studying the kinetics of lipid excretion from subjects, two groups emerged. The first one showed rapid excretion in stool #1, whereas the second showed slower excretion in stools #2-#3. A significant difference was found in the FFA in stool #1 for C16:0 (p < 0.01) and C18:1 (p < 0.05). Individual excretion kinetics showed marked variability. Nevertheless, the CTR over the 3-day study period was substantial and homogenous for all subjects. These results confirm that the assessment of faecal elimination is of great importance when establishing total lipid distribution during the postprandial period and validate the analysis of cumulative tracer loss during 72 h post-tracer ingestion.     

Influence of POSS structure on the fire retardant properties of epoxy hybrid networks

Monofunctional Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes (POSS), differing in chemical structure, were introduced into an epoxy-amine formulation in order to obtain hybrid organic/inorganic epoxy networks. The process developed allows the POSS to be either covalently bonded to the network and organized in small amorphous domains, or completely dispersed in larger crystalline domains. Morphology, thermal and fire retardant properties were studied through electron microscopy, DSC, TGA, cone calorimeter experiments and UL94 tests. It was demonstrated that POSS nanoclusters induced an effective fire retardant effect, which was controlled by several factors. It was shown that POSS bearing phenyl ligands were far more effective than POSS with isobutyl ligands, and that the presence of a chemical linkage between the phenyl-based POSS clusters and the matrix favoured the dispersion of the nanoclusters, resulting in enhanced fire retardancy. The fire retardant effect was only slightly enhanced by increasing the amount of POSS nanoclusters.     

Solid-state NMR investigation on the interactions between a synthetic montmorillonite and two homopolypeptides

Interactions of two homopolypeptides (polylysine and polyglutamic acid) with a synthetic montmorillonite were studied by ¹H MAS, ¹H–²⁷Al HETCOR and ¹H–¹³C CP-MAS NMR experiments. ¹H–²⁷Al HETCOR with ¹H spin-diffusion NMR appears to be a powerful probe for the identification of the polypeptide fragments, which interact with the montmorillonite interlayer surfaces. In particular, selective interactions were observed between the polypeptide side-chains and the montmorillonite octahedral aluminum atoms. ¹H–¹³C CP-MAS NMR experiments were used to assess the dynamics of the two polypeptides through the measurement of the t_1/2 characteristic time of selected carbons. Results indicate that the local mobility of the side chains and their interaction with the montmorillonite layers depend on the nature of the adsorbed polypeptides.     

A study of polymer blends by nonradiative energy transfer fluorescence spectroscopy

The nonradiative energy transfer (NRET) method has been used to study the miscibility of polymer blends in the solid state. This can be done by labeling the polymers with fluorescence donor and acceptor chromophores. The efficiency of energy transfer, which reveals the interpenetration of the chains, is measured by following changes in the fluorescence intensity ratio of the donor and acceptor as a function of the concentration of the polymer mixture and by comparison with reference values corresponding to totally miscible and totally immiscible systems. It is shown that the reference ratio corresponding to the absence of energy transfer must be determined by using donor-labeled and acceptor-labeled polymer films, instead of making measurements in chromophore solutions in organic solvents, as has usually been done. It is also shown that fluorescence quenching is important in such studies, since it can lead to variations of the fluorescence intensity ratio by more than an order of magnitude; this factor varies with blend concentration and is particularly sensitive to the presence of halogen atoms. The NRET technique has been applied to several PVC/CPVC binary blends and to PCL/PVC/CPVC ternary blends in which PVC and CPVC were labeled by naphthalene and anthracene, respectively [PCL is poly(ε-caprolactone), PVC is poly(vinyl chloride), and CPVC is chlorinated PVC]. For binary blends, the measured intensity ratios indicate the immiscibility of PVC with CPVC, although there is nonnegligible energy transfer between the two phases. For ternary blends, the intensity ratios indicate that the addition of up to 40 wt % of PCL to the immiscible PVC/CPVC binary system leads to the formation of two coexisting PCL/PVC and PCL/CPVC phases.     

Nitrogen nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Nitrogen-15 and proton chemical shifts of methylanilines and methylanilinium ions

Nitrogen and carbon electron densities of the toluidines and xylidines have been recalculated by the INDO method; previously published errors have been corrected. Although the nitrogen-15 chemical shifts of these compounds still display the earlier suggested correlation with σ and total electron densities, the calculated inverse correlation with proton electron densities has been shown to be incorrect. Methyl proton chemical shifts of these compounds display no meaningful correlation with the nitrogen shifts. The nitrogen chemical shifts of the toluidinium and xylidinium ions correlate moderately well with the ¹³C chemical shifts of the analogous di- and tri-methylbenzenes.