Polymer-coated hollow fiber for CO(2) laser delivery

Hollow fibers for CO(2) laser light have been fabricated with a cyclic olefin polymer as the inner dielectric. A film of cyclic olefin polymer was coated inside the glass capillary tubing by a simple liquid-flowing process. A polymer-coated fiber with a 700-microm bore showed a loss of 0.06 dB/m for CO(2) laser light because cyclic olefin polymer has low absorption at a 10.6-microm wavelength.     

Injectable biodegradable hydrogels composed of hyaluronic acid-tyramine conjugates for drug delivery and tissue engineering

The sequential injection of hyaluronic acid-tyramine conjugates and enzymes forms biodegradable hydrogels in vivo by enzyme-induced oxidative coupling, offering high potential as a promising biomaterial for drug delivery and tissue engineering.     

Peroxidase-catalyzed oxidative polymerization of phenol with a nonionic polymer surfactant template in water

Peroxidase-catalyzed oxidative polymerization of phenol has been examined using the template, poly(ethylene glycol) monododecyl ether (PEGMDE), in water. The role of this template, which forms a complex with phenol in the polymerization, was verified by UV measurements. During the reaction, a complex of the resulting polymer and PEGMDE was precipitated in high yields. The amount and the PEG chain length of PEGMDE strongly affected the polyphenol yield. The unit molar ratio of polyphenol and PEG of the template was about 1:0.9. The presence of the PEGMDE template in the aqueous medium greatly improved the regioselectivity of the polymerization, yielding polyphenol with a phenylene unit content close to 90%. FT-IR, DSC, and XRD analyses confirmed the formation of the miscible complex of polyphenol and PEGMDE by hydrogen-bonding interactions.     

Self-reversal phenomena of toroidal current by reversing the external toroidal field in helicity-driven toroidal plasmas

In order to understand self-organization in helicity-driven systems, we have investigated the dynamics of low-aspect-ratio toroidal plasmas by decreasing the external toroidal field and reversing its sign in time. Consequently, we have discovered that the helicity-driven toroidal plasma relaxes towards the flipped state. Surprisingly, it has been observed that not only toroidal flux but also poloidal flux reverses sign spontaneously during the relaxation process. The self-reversal of the magnetic fields is attributed to the nonlinear growth of the n=1 kink instability of the central open flux.     

Seed Dispersion Polymerization to Micron-Size Monodisperse Polymer Particles

Abstract

Seed dispersion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in the presence of monodisperse PMMA particles was carried out in an aqueous methanol using poly(methacrylic acid) stabilizer. The polymerization using 2. 5 μ. m-sized seed particles gave monodisperse PMMA particles in the diameter up to 4. 9 μm. The solvent composition and monomer concentration greatly affected the polymerization behavior. Under appropriate conditions, monodisperse PMMA particles in the diameter up to 8. 9 μ, m was prepared from 4. 6 μm-sized seed particles. The seed dispersion polymerization of styrene in the presence of the seed particles produced monodisperse PMMA-polystyrene particles in the micron range. The particles were supposed to have a structure consisting of PMMA-core and polystyrene-shell from ESCA analysis.     

Hybrid porous tin(IV) phosphonate: an efficient catalyst for adipic acid synthesis and a very good adsorbent for CO2 uptake

A new porous organic-inorganic hybrid tin phosphonate material has been synthesized hydrothermally, which shows a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area of 723 m(2) g(-1) and it adsorbs 4.8 mmol g(-1) CO(2) at 273 K and 5 bar pressure. The material also shows remarkable catalytic activity in one-pot liquid phase oxidation of cyclohexanone to adipic acid under eco-friendly conditions.     

Precision enzymatic polymerization to polyesters with lipase catalysts

Ring-opening polymerization of lactones with different ring-size has been achieved via lipase catalysis. Small-size (4-membered) and medium-size lactones (6- and 7-membered) as well as macrolides (12-, 13-, 16-, and 17-membered) were subjected to the lipase-catalyzed polymerization. The polymerization behaviors strongly depended on the lipase origin and the ring-size of the lactones. In using Pseudomonas family lipases as catalyst, the polymerization of macrolides showing much lower anionic polymerizability proceeded much faster than that of ϵ-caprolactone. The enzymatic polymerizability of the lactones was evaluated by Michaelis-Menten kinetics. V_max increased as a function of the ring-size, whereas K_m values were not so different with each other. The granular immobilized lipase derived from Candida antarctica. showed the extremely efficient catalysis in the polymerization of ϵ-caprolactone. Single-step synthesis of methacryl- and ω-alkenyl-type polyester macromonomers was achieved by the lipase-catalyzed polymerization of 13-membered lactone in the presence of vinyl esters acting as terminator. Lipase also catalyzed a polycondensation of dicarboxylic acid and glycol in the aqueous medium, in which the dehydration took place in water.