Equilibrium interaction of solid surfaces across a polymer melt

Forces across polymer melts are poorly understood despite their importance for adhesion and fabricating composite materials. Using an atomic force microscope (AFM), this interaction was measured for poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS). The structure of the polymer at the surface changed during the first approximately 10 h. Afterward, short-range attractive forces were observed with short-chain PDMS (M(w) = 4200 g/mol). Using PDMS with a molecular weight (M(w) = 18 000 g/mol) above the entanglement limit, we measured a monotonically decaying repulsive force, which indicates that a quasi-immobilized layer had formed at the solid surface. Due to the small radius of curvature of the tip, forces could be measured in equilibrium.     

STUDIES ON CHARGE TRANSFER POLYMERIZATION——POLYMERIZATION OF ACRYLONITRILE INITIATED WITH PHENYL HYDRAZINE AND ITS DERIVATIVES

The photopolymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) initiated with phenyl hydrazine (PHZ) and its derivatives has been studied. The initiator exponent and monomer exponent were determined from the kinetic investigation to be 0.66th and 2.1th respectively and the overall activation energy was 33.4KJ/mol for the PHZ-AN system. Spectral analysis and other data indicate that a charge transfer complex between PHZ as a donor and AN as an aceeptor is formed. The initiation mechanism was proposed.     

Aggregate manganese Schiff base moieties by terephthalate or acetate: dinuclear manganese and trinuclear mixed metal Mn2/Na complexes

A reaction system consisting of terephthalic acid, NaOH, inorganic Mn(II) or Mn(III) salt, and salicylidene alkylimine resulted in dinuclear manganese complexes (salpn)(2)Mn(2)(mu-phth)(CH(3)OH)(2) (1, salpn = N,N'-1,3-propylene-bis(salicylideneiminato); phth = terephthalate dianion), (salen)(2)Mn(2)(mu-phth)(CH(3)OH)(2) (2, salen = N,N'-ethylene-bis(salicylideneiminato)), (salen)(2)Mn(2)(mu-phth)(CH(3)OH)(H(2)O) (3), and (salen)(2)Mn(2)(mu-phth) (4), while the absence of NaOH in the reaction led to a mononuclear Mn complex (salph)Mn(CH(3)OH)(NO(3)) (5, salph = N,N'-1,2-phenylene-bis(salicylideneiminato)). In addition, a trinuclear mixed metal complex H[Mn(2)Na(salpn)(2)(mu-OAc)(2)(H(2)O)(2)](OAc)(2) (6) was obtained from the reaction system by using maleic acid instead of terephthalic acid. Five-coordinate Mn ions were found in 4 giving rise to an intermolecular interaction and constructing a one-dimensional linear structure. Antiferromagnetic exchange interactions were observed for 1-3, and a total ferromagnetic exchange of 4 was considered to stem from intermolecular magnetic coupling. (1)H NMR signals of phenolate ring and alkylene (or phenylene) backbone of the diamine are similar to those reported in the literature, and the phth protons are at -2.3 to -10.1 ppm. Studies on structure, bond valence sum analysis, and magnetic properties indicate the oxidation states of the Mn ions in 6 to be +3, which are also indicated by ESR spectra in dual mode. Ferromagnetic exchange interaction between the Mn(III) sites was observed with J = 1.74 cm(-1). A quasireversible redox pair at -0.29V/-0.12V has been assigned to the redox of Mn(2)(III)/Mn(III)Mn(II), implying the intactness of the complex backbone in solution.     

A Spectrophotometric Study OE Zirconium Complexes of 4,5-Dihydroxyfluorescein

Zirconium (IV) ions form violet red complex with 4,5-dihydroxyfluorescein in fairly strong mineral acid medium. The reagent has been successfully applied as a metal indicator in the direct EDTA titration of zirconium. The complex formed by 4,5-dihydroxyfluorescein and zirconium ions has been studied spectrophotometrically in 0.1M HCl solution. It is found that when an excess of metal ion is present, a violet red colored complex with metal-ligand ratio of 1:1, (MR) is formed and when an excess of 4,5-dihydroxyfluorescein is present a 1:2 complex (MR₂) may be predominant. The 1:1 complex has maximum absorption at 510 mμ and the 1:2 complex has very low solubility and tends to precipitate out from the solution. Job's method, log-ratio method and gravimetric method were used to establish the composition of complexes. The apparent stability constant of the 1:1 complex is found to be log K_h = 4.46 or K_h = 2.9×10¹ at pH 1.2.     

PURIFICATION AND PARTIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYSACCHARIDES FROM THE POLLEN OF TYPHA ANGUSTIFILIA L

Three polysaccharides TAA, TAB and TAC were purified from the pollen of Typha An-gustifilia L..TAA is mainly composed of α-L-arabinofuranose, β-D-galactose and α-D-galac-turonic acid.TAB and TAC contain the backbone mainly composed of (1→5)-linked-L-arabi-nosyl residue.     

A Spectrophotometric Study of the Chelate of Iron (III) with Sorbohydroxamic Acid and Its Analytical Application

Iron (III) chelates of sorbohydroxamic acid have been studied spectrophotometrically in aqueous solution. Formation of sorbohydroxamic acid chelates was pH dependent. The “normalized absorbance” concept proposed by Likussar and Boltz has been utilized in the continuous variation plot method of determining the composition of metal chelates and the formation constants. The mole ratio of sorbohydroxamic acid to ferric ion was found to be 1 to 1 stoichiometry at pH lower than 2. The formation constant of this chelate has been evaluated to be 6.0×10¹¹ at a constant ionic strength of 0.1 M at 30°C A spectrophotometric determination of ferric ion with sorbohydroxamic acid was proposed in conjunction with the present work.     

An Education in Robustness

A case study is presented of the application of robustness analysis to the choice of examination subjects to be made by a 14-year-old girl. The analysis is conducted in terms of the desirable future career options which may be preserved by different combinations of subjects, and also of the balance with topics selected for their intrinsic interest. The approach, which employs very limited technical apparatus, is justified on a number of grounds-in particular, the crucial importance of uncertainty, and the need for understanding and acceptance by a "client" very unlike the corporate manager. Some tentative conclusions are reached on the extension of such methods to other cases of decision-makers with little, if any, resources to control except their own lives.     

Addition of grignard reagents to aryl acid chlorides: an efficient synthesis of aryl ketones

[chemical reaction: see text]. Direct addition of Grignard reagents to acid chlorides in the presence of bis[2-(N,N-dimethylamino)ethyl] ether proceeds selectively to provide aryl ketones in high yields. A possible tridentate interaction between Grignard reagents and bis[2-(N,N-dimethylamino)ethyl] ether moderates the reactivity of Grignard reagents, preventing the newly formed ketones from nucleophilic addition by Grignard reagents.     

Self-assembly and characterization of paclitaxel-loaded N-octyl-O-sulfate chitosan micellar system

N-octyl-O-sulfate chitosan micellar system loaded paclitaxel was prepared by using dialysis method. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the modified chitosan was found to be 0.45 mg/ml. Compared with the amount of N-octyl-O-sulfate chitosan, the paclitaxel loading amount in the system was up to 25% (w/w), depending on both of the solvents used in dialysis and the feed weight ratio of paclitaxel to the derivative. The polymeric micelles forming and loading occurred simultaneously in the dialysis process when ethanol and water were utilized as the solvents for paclitaxel and the polymer, respectively. Paclitaxel-loaded micellar system of N-octyl-O-sulfate chitosan was characterized by DSC, WXRD and TEM. TEM photograph revealed that paclitaxel existed as the colloid particulates in ethanol before loading and in the cores of the spherical polymeric micelles after loading. The results of DSC and WXRD indicated that paclitaxel was transferred from the crystalline state to amorphous state after loading. The lyophilized powder of micellar system (25% (w/w) loading) could be reconstituted easily in aqueous media even after 2 months storage at 4 degrees C without the change of paclitaxel entrapment and micelle size. The reconstituted solution (2.1 mg paclitaxel/ml) also showed good stability. The dilution with saline may decrease the loading and physical stability based on the dilution times which was related with CMC of the polymer. In vitro tests showed that paclitaxel was slowly released from micellar solution and the release lasted up to 220 h by means of the dialysis method.     

Use of the tubulin bound paclitaxel conformation for structure-based rational drug design

A new computational docking protocol has been developed and used in combination with conformational information inferred from REDOR-NMR experiments on microtubule bound 2-(p-fluorobenzoyl)paclitaxel to delineate a unique tubulin binding structure of paclitaxel. A conformationally constrained macrocyclic taxoid bearing a linker between the C-14 and C-3'N positions has been designed and synthesized to enforce this "REDOR-taxol" conformation. The novel taxoid SB-T-2053 inhibits the growth of MCF-7 and LCC-6 human breast cancer cells (wild-type and drug resistant) on the same order of magnitude as paclitaxel. Moreover, SB-T-2053 induces in vitro tubulin polymerization at least as well as paclitaxel, which directly validates our drug design process. These results open a new avenue for drug design of next generation taxoids and other microtubule-stabilizing agents based on the refined structural information of drug-tubulin complexes, in accordance with typical enzyme-inhibitor medicinal chemistry precepts.