In Situ Incorporation of Praziquantel in Polymer Microparticles through Suspension Polymerization for Treatment of Schistosomiasis

Schistosomiasis is one of the major public health problems worldwide. Even though this is a common illness among preschool children in poor countries, treatment is carried out mainly through the administration of praziquantel tablets, which has some disadvantages, such as the strong bitter taste. As an alternative to overcome this problem, the development of new encapsulated praziquantel formulations is demanded. For this reason, suspension polymerizations are carried out for the in situ encapsulation of praziquantel into polymer microparticles, using methyl methacrylate (MMA) and cationic compounds (diethylaminoethyl methacrylate, DEAEMA, and dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, DMAEMA) as comonomers. This technique allows for the preparation of polymer microparticles with high encapsulation efficiencies (>90%) with characteristic sizes ranging from 0.5 to 1500 µm. Drug release profiles show that praziquantel is released from poly(methyl methacrylate) microparticles slowly due to the existence of strong diffusional resistance. On the other hand, the addition of cationic comonomers renders polymer particles sensitive to pH variations, allowing for faster release of praziquantel in acidic environments, as found in the stomach.     

Poly(vinyl acetate) paints in works of art: A photochemical approach. Part 1

The photochemistry of poly(vinyl acetate), PVAc, homopolymer, of PVAc mixtures with selected pigments and fillers, and of accurate historic reproductions based on the colours prepared by Portuguese artist Joaquim Rodrigo and on those supplied by the company A Favrel was studied. The systems, applied as films, were irradiated at λ ≥ 300 nm and the changes followed by size exclusion chromatography, infrared spectroscopy, and colorimetry.PVAc as homopolymer or as an emulsion paint proved to be very stable to light, and after 5000 h of irradiation no gel fraction was observed. Φ_R (λ_irr = 313 nm) for chain scission for PVAc was determined to be 7 × 10⁻⁸. This value indicates that the mechanism/s operating when irradiating at λ ≥ 300 nm are different from those previously published with irradiation involving 254 nm. No side-group scission was observed, and main chain scission is the foremost photodegradation mechanism. Also, the metal ions present in the pigments do not affect the photochemical stability of the polymer.     

Inverse photoinduced electron transfer in large betaine molecules

We have used ab initio methods to confirm the existence of an inversion in the photoinduced intramolecular electron transfer in large conjugated pyridinium betaines, by examining compounds where an imidazole ring and a pyridinic group are connected by polyenic chains of increasing size. As these intermediary conjugated bridges get longer, an unusual net charge transfer is observed. The conjugated chain becomes a channel for the photoinduced electronic density flow, and the amount of charge at the donor and acceptor groups is reduced, while an inversion in the spatial localization of the frontier orbitals occurs. We discuss the corresponding implications on the nonlinear optical, photochemical and solvatochromic properties of these molecules.     

Non-separating cocircuits in matroids

In this note, we obtain a lower bound for the number of connected hyperplanes of a 3-connected binary matroid M containing a fixed set A provided M|A is coloopless.     

A study of frost growth and densification on flat surfaces

The present study advances a theoretical and experimental investigation of the frost growth and densification on flat surfaces. This study focuses on the most important factors affecting the frost formation process, i.e. the surrounding air temperature, humidity and velocity, and the surface temperature. The processes of frost growth and densification were investigated experimentally in order to provide a physical basis for the development of a theoretical model to predict the variation of the frost layer thickness and mass with time. The mathematical model was based on mass and energy balances within the frost layer, assuming the frost as a porous medium and accounting for the supersaturation of the moist air on the frost surface. The governing equations for mass and heat diffusion were integrated analytically, giving rise to a semi-algebraic formulation which requires numerical integration of only one time dependent ordinary differential equation. When compared with experimental data, the model predictions of the frost thickness as a function of time agreed to within ±10% error bands. The experimentally-validated model was then used to predict the frost layer growth and densification with respect to the operation conditions such as plate surface temperature, air stream temperature, humidity and velocity.     

Prediction of vapor–liquid and liquid–liquid equilibria for polymer systems: Comparison of activity coefficient models

A large number of equations of state and activity coefficient models capable of describing phase equilibria in polymer solutions are available today, but only a few of these models have been applied to different systems. It is therefore useful to investigate the performance of existing thermodynamic models for complex polymer solutions which have not yet been widely studied. The present work studies the application of several activity coefficient models [P.J. Flory, Principles of Polymer Chemistry, Cornell University Press, New York, NY, 1953; T. Oishi, J.M. Prausnitz, Estimation of solvent activities in polymer solutions using a group-contribution method, Ind. Eng. Chem. Process Design Dev. 17 (1978) 333; H.S. Elbro, A. Fredenslund, P. Rasmussen, A new simple equation for the prediction of solvent activities in polymer solutions, Macromolecules 23 (1990) 4707; G.M. Kontogeorgis, A. Fredenslund, D. Tassios, Simple activity coefficient model for the prediction of solvent activities in polymer solutions, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 32 (1993) 362; C. Chen, A segment-based local composition model for the Gibbs energy of polymer solutions, Fluid Phase Equilib. 83 (1993) 301; A. Vetere, Rules for predicting vapor–liquid equilibria of amorphous polymer solutions using a modified Flory–Huggins equation, Fluid Phase Equilib. 97 (1994) 43; C. Qian, S.J. Mumby, B.E. Eichinger, Phase diagrams of binary polymer solutions and blends, Macromolecules 24 (1991) 1655; Y.C. Bae, J.J. Shim, D.S. Soane, J.M. Prausnitz, Representation of vapor–liquid and liquid–liquid equilibria for binary systems containing polymers: applicability of an extended Flory–Huggins equation, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 47 (1993) 1193; G. Bogdanic, J. Vidal, A segmental interaction model for liquid–liquid equilibrium calculations for polymer solutions, Fluid Phase Equilibria 173 (2000) 241] and activity coefficient from equations of state [F. Chen, A. Fredenslund, P. Rasmussen, Group-contribution Flory equation of state for vapor–liquid equilibria en mixtures with polymers, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 29 (1990) 875; M.S. High, R.P. Danner, Application of the group contribution lattice—fluids EOS to polymer solutions, AIChE J. 36 (1990) 1625]. The evaluation of these models was carried out both at infinite dilution and at finite concentrations and the results compared to experimental data. Furthermore, liquid–liquid equilibrium predictions for binary polymer solutions using six activity coefficient models are compared in this work. The parameters were estimated for all the models to achieve the best possible representation of the reported experimental equilibrium behavior.