Bemerkung über das elektrische Verhalten von Petroleum

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Platin

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Filter und filtriertechnisches

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Molecular thermodynamics for swelling of a mesoscopic ionomer gel in 1 : 1 salt solutions

For a microphase-separated diblock copolymer ionic gel swollen in salt solution, a molecular-thermodynamic model is based on the self-consistent field theory in the limit of strongly segregated copolymer subchains. The geometry of microdomains is described using the Milner generic wedge construction neglecting the packing frustration. A geometry-dependent generalized analytical solution for the linearized Poisson-Boltzmann equation is obtained. This generalized solution not only reduces to those known previously for planar, cylindrical and spherical geometries, but is also applicable to saddle-like structures. Thermodynamic functions are expressed analytically for gels of lamellar, bicontinuous, cylindrical and spherical morphologies. Molecules are characterized by chain composition, length, rigidity, degree of ionization, and by effective polymer-polymer and polymer-solvent interaction parameters. The model predicts equilibrium solvent uptakes and the equilibrium microdomain spacing for gels swollen in salt solutions. Results are given for details of the gel structure: distribution of mobile ions and polymer segments, and the electric potential across microdomains. Apart from effects obtained by coupling the classical Flory-Rehner theory with Donnan equilibria, viz. increased swelling with polyelectrolyte charge and shrinking of gel upon addition of salt, the model predicts the effects of microphase morphology on swelling.     

Phase behavior and critical properties of size-asymmetric, primitive-model electrolytes

The theory of J. Jiang et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 116, 7977 (2002)] for size-symmetric electrolytes is extended to size-asymmetric electrolytes. When compared to molecular-simulation results, this extension gives the correct trend of critical properties with size asymmetry.     

Phase behavior of aqueous solutions containing dipolar proteins from second-order perturbation theory

Due to the interplay of Coulombic repulsion and attractive dipolar and van der Waals interactions, solutions of globular proteins display a rich variety of phase behavior featuring fluid-fluid and fluid-solid transitions that strongly depend on solution pH and salt concentration. Using a simple model for charge, dispersion and dipole-related contributions to the interprotein potential, we calculate phase diagrams for protein solutions within the framework of second-order perturbation theory. For each phase, we determine the Helmholtz energy as the sum of a hard-sphere reference term and a perturbation term that reflects both the electrostatic and dispersion interactions. Dipolar effects can induce fluid-fluid phase separation or crystallization even in the absence of any significant dispersion attraction. Because dissolved electrolytes screen the charge-charge repulsion more strongly than the dipolar attraction, the ionic strength dependence of the potential of mean force can feature a minimum at intermediate ionic strengths offering an explanation for the observed nonmonotonic dependence of the phase behavior on salt concentration. Inclusion of correlations between charge-dipole and dipole-dipole interactions is essential for a reliable calculation of phase diagrams for systems containing charged dipolar proteins and colloids.     

Quantification of optison bubble size and lifetime during sonication dominant role of secondary cavitation bubbles causing acoustic bioeffects

Acoustic cavitation has been shown to deliver molecules into viable cells, which is of interest for drug and gene delivery applications. To address mechanisms of these acoustic bioeffects, this work measured the lifetime of albumin-stabilized cavitation bubbles (Optison) and correlated it with desirable (intracellular uptake of molecules) and undesirable (loss of cell viability) bioeffects. Optison was exposed to 500 kHz ultrasound (acoustic pressures of 0.6-3.0 MPa and energy exposures of 0.2-200 J/cm2) either with or without the presence of DU145 prostate cancer cells (10(6) cells/ml) bathed in calcein, a cell-impermeant tracer molecule. Bubble lifetime was determined using a Coulter counter and flow cytometer, while bioeffects were evaluated by flow cytometry. The lifetime of Optison cavitation nuclei was found to decrease and bioeffects (molecular uptake and loss of cell viability) were found to increase with increasing acoustic energy exposure. These bioeffects correlated well with the disappearance of bubbles, suggesting that contrast agent destruction either directly or indirectly affected cells, probably involving unstabilized cavitation nuclei created upon the destruction of Optison. Because Optison solutions presonicated to destroy all detectable bubbles also caused significant bioeffects, the indirect mechanism involving secondary cavitation bubbles is more likely.