Influence of structure-property relationship on the optical,thermal and mechanical properties of castor oil based transparent polyurethane for catheter applications

Castor oil based transparent polyurethane elastomers were synthesized, which can be used as an advanced catheter material. The effect of NCO: OH ratio on the structural, optical, thermal and physicomechanical properties of polyurethanes (PU) has been studied. The optical properties of the PU was analysed by studying its percentage transmittance and haze. The results showed a high transparency of 90.7% for the PU with a NCO: OH ratio of 0.9:1. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis revealed an increase in the glass transition temperature (T_g) of PU with increasing hard segment content whereas thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) shows an increase in the initial decomposition temperature of PU from 262 to 268°C upon increasing the NCO: OH ratio from 0.9 to 1.5. A similar trend of increment in the tensile properties of PU has been observed as a consequence of increasing the molar ratio of NCO: OH. In vitro cytotoxicity analysis of PU was studied using human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cell line that revealed the nontoxic character of PU.     

Free radical-scavenging activities of Homalium species – An endangered medicinal plant of Eastern Ghats of India

Three species of the genus Homalium – e.g. Homalium nepalense, Homalium tomentosum and Homalium zeylanicum (Flacourtiaceae) – are recorded in India which are confined to the Eastern Ghat hill ranges. While H. zeylanicum is the IUCN red-listed medium-sized tree, the other two are endangered species of medicinal significance. The antioxidant potential of leaf and bark of the plants was evaluated through successive extraction methods by using hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol. The extracts were subjected to in vitro assays as DPPH, hydroxyl, nitric oxide and superoxide along with its biochemical estimation. Amongst all, the ethyl acetate extracts of bark is found to be most potent compared with that of the leaves. H. nepalense has the highest amount of total phenolic and flavonoid contents followed by H. tomentosum and H. zeylanicum, respectively, and significant antioxidant behaviour.     

Hydroxyselanylation of acyloxycyclohex-3-enes

In contrast to the corresponding hydroxyiodination reactions, the reaction of acetoxycyclohex-2-ene 1 with N-PSP in the presence of water shows little regiocontrol, but is highly diastereoselective. However, the same reaction of the (R)-phenylglycinate derivative of (±)-cyclohexen-3-ol is highly diastereoselective, and regioselective. A hydrogen-bonding interaction is proposed to rationalize these differing selectivities.     

Surface effects on quantum dot-based energy transfer

CdSe quantum dot (QD)-phthalocyanine (Pc) conjugates were prepared as energy transfer donor-acceptor pairs, and the efficiency of the energy transfer process in this system was investigated as a function of QD size and under different surface chemistry conditions. The kinetics and efficiency of the energy transfer process were studied by femtosecond time-resolved laser spectroscopy. We observed that the energy transfer efficiency does not follow a linear dependence on spectral overlap integrals as predicted by the F?rster theory for molecules. This observation is found to be due to the involvement of QD surface states in the energy transfer process from the photoexcited QDs to the molecular energy acceptor.     

Role of stimuli-sensitive polymers in protein refolding: alpha-amylase and CcdB (controller of cell division or death B) as model proteins

Alginate, a calcium-sensitive polymer, could carry out simultaneous purification and refolding of 8 M urea/100 mM dithiothreitol (DTT) denatured and thermally denatured alpha-amylase present in a commercial preparation. Activity recoveries of 80 and 70% in the former and the latter cases, respectively, were obtained. The fluorescence spectra showed refolding, and PAGE showed the absence of any aggregates in the refolded preparation. As another example, Eudragit S-100, a pH-sensitive poly(methyl methacrylate), was used to refold CcdB (controller of cell division or death B) protein. Initial experiments with wild-type (WT) CcdB showed that Eudragit bound and precipitated (upon lowering the pH to 4.0) CcdB quantitatively from the latter's aqueous solution. The bioconjugate showed DNA gyrase inhibition activity of CcdB and could be recycled. The inclusion bodies of CcdB mutant CcdB-17P were solubilized in 8 M urea/100 mM dithiothreitol. This preparation could be refolded by precipitation with Eudragit. The fluorescence and CD spectra showed that protein refolding has occurred.     

Effect of silver nanoparticles on the morphology,crystallization, and melting behavior of polypropylene: A study on non-isothermal crystallization kinetics

The nanocomposites were prepared using melt intercalation method and the effects of the processing conditions on silver nanoparticles dispersion were investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of virgin polypropylene (PP) and its nanocomposites have been evaluated using differential scanning calorimetric technique. The non-isothermal crystallization melt data were analyzed using macro kinetics equation with the help of Avrami, Malkin, and Mo’s models. The crystallization rate increased with the increasing of cooling rates for virgin PP and nanocomposite, but the crystallization of nanocomposite was faster than that of PP at a given cooling rate. The activation energy for non-isothermal crystallization of virgin polymer and nanocomposites based on Kissinger method has been determined to be 186 and 211 kJ/mol, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy analysis reveals balanced dispersion and presence of some silver nanoparticles aggregates, which act as a heterogeneous nucleating agent during the crystallization of the nanocomposite.     

Waterborne epoxy adhesive derived from epoxidized soybean oil and dextrin: Synthesis and characterization

In the present study, waterborne epoxy (WBE) was prepared and the parameters involved in the synthesis of WBE have been optimized based on physicochemical analysis. A dextrin-based curing agent (DCA) was synthesized from dextrin and trimellitic anhydride at variable molar ratios, reaction temperature, reaction duration, and solvent. Furthermore, the optimized composition of DCA and WBE system was used as adhesive in wood bonding. A comparative analysis of DCA-cured-bonded system was studied with phenol-formaldehyde (PF)-bonded adhesive system. From all the analyses, the performance characteristic WBE–DCA adhesive system was found comparable with that of PF-bonded system.