Photopolymers for Rapid Prototyping of Soluble Mold Materials and Molding of Cellular Biomaterials

To substitute cross-linked photopolymers in rapid prototyping of mold materials and therefore extend the range of materials which can be casted, organo-soluble photopolymers were developed. Branched bisalkylacrylamides were suitable as base component for such formulations, due to their high reactivity, good mechanical properties, and excellent solubility of the formed polymers. These molding materials were used to prepare cellular biocompatible materials which could be used as bone replacement materials. Biocompatible crosslinkers based on methacrylates from hydrolyzed gelatine or lactic acid ethyleneglycol blockcopolymers and commercially available reactive diluents are the base components of such a formulation. Biocompatibility was investigated by osteoblast-like cells. Cellular biocompatible parts were obtained by thermal polymerization in soluble mould materials prepared by 3D-photoshaping.     

β-Crystallisation tendency and structure of polypropylene grafted by maleic anhydride and its blends with isotactic polypropylene

Crystallization, melting and structure of three different commercial types of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) grafted by maleic anhydride (PP-g-MAH) with different maleic anhydride content (AC) and their β-nucleated versions were studied by X-ray diffractometry (WAXS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarised light microscopy (PLM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The presence of maleic anhydride units disturbs the chain regularity, hereby decreases the crystallization tendency of iPP in general and the β-crystallisation ability in particular. β-modification of iPP (β-iPP) forms only in β-nucleated PP-g-MAH polymers studied if the anhydride content is not larger than 0.5 mass%. The influence of AC of PP-g-MAH on the feature the spherulitic structure is demonstrated by PLM and SEM micrographs. The β-nucleated iPP/PP-g-MAH blends containing 10 mass% PP-g-MAH crystallise predominantly in β-form independently of AC of the latter. The β-nuceated blends of iPP and PP-g-MAH with lowest AC crystallise in β-form in whole concentration range. The interaction parameter between iPP and PP-g-MAH polymers calculated by Nishi-Wang equation indicate limited interaction between the components.     

Isolation of water-soluble organic matter from atmospheric aerosol

The development of a solid phase extraction (SPE) method is presented, which is capable of isolating approx. 60% of the water-soluble organic compounds from aerosol samples. The aqueous extracts of the filter samples were acidified then passed through an SPE column. Four silica-based and two polymeric reversed phase columns were tested and similar recoveries of the organic carbon were found. The isolated organic matter was nearly free from inorganic ions, which are major constituents of atmospheric aerosol. This fraction accounted for a major part of the UV absorption above 250 nm and fluorescence activity of the aerosol extract. The precision of the method was tested by performing three parallel sample preparations with Oasis HLB columns. It was found that the relative standard deviation of the carbon content of the isolated organic matter was better than 7%, which indicated the reliability of the method. In the atmospheric aerosol research the newly developed sample preparation method facilitates the physical and chemical characterisation of water-soluble organic compounds without the interference of inorganic constituents.     

Adsorption of sodium alkyl sulfate homologues at the air/solution interface

Experimental results are presented on the adsorption of sodium alkyl sulfate homologues (nC = 8-14) at the air/solution interface. The adsorption isotherms calculated from equilibrium surface-tension vs concentration data and the critical micelle concentration change regularly with the length of the alkyl chain; the odd/even effect was not observed. The isotherms were analyzed using a model-independent approach. The analysis indicates that the total driving force of adsorption reaches a plateau value and becomes constant in the function of the adsorbed amount in the case of each homologue. With the use of different electrostatic models, it was demonstrated that this behavior is consistent with a saturation-type hydrophobic driving-force contribution, which can be interpreted by the development of a liquidlike alkane environment in the adsorbed layer above a "critical" adsorbed amount.     

Structural and thermal study of asymmetric α-dioxime complexes of Co(III) with Cl and methyl-pyridines

Two new cobalt(III)-chelates, trans-bis(methyl-ethyl-dioximato)-chloro-β-picoline-cobalt (III) (1), and trans-bis(methyl-ethyl-dioximato)-chloro-3,4-lutidine-cobalt (III) (2) were obtained by oxidizing a mixture of CoCl₂, methyl-ethyl-dioxime and amines: β-picoline (3-methyl-pyridine) for (1) and 3,4-lutidine (3,4-dimethyl-pyridine) for (2). The crystal structure of (1) was determined by single crystal XRD (monoclinic, space group P2₁/c (No. 14) with a = 8.391(3) Å, b = 14.421(5) Å, c = 18.383(8) Å, β = 114.57(2)°, R = 0.0499), while both (1) and (2) were studied by middle and far FTIR spectroscopy, electrospray ionization (ESI) MS, powder XRD and thermal analysis (TG/DTA-MS). Melting of the related complexes 1 and 2 at 219 and 184 °C, respectively, results in an immediate chemical degradation of their whole structure and tarring of ligands.     

Adsorption of sugar surfactants at the air/water interface

The adsorption isotherms of n-decyl-β-D-glucoside (β-C(10)G(1)) as well as various n-alkyl-β-D-maltosides (β-C(n)G(2)) with n=8, 10, 12 and 14 were determined from surface tension measurements. Based on the analysis of the adsorption isotherms, the total free energy change of adsorption was determined and a novel method was proposed to determine the maximum adsorbed amount of surfactant. It can be concluded that the driving force for adsorption first increases with increasing adsorbed amount of the sugar surfactants and then levels off in a plateau. This peculiar behaviour is interpreted as formation of a thin liquid-like alkane film of overlapping alkyl chains at the air/water interface once a certain adsorbed amount is exceeded. The driving force of adsorption depends on the alkyl chain length only and is not affected by the type of the head group. The hydrophobic contribution to the standard free energy change of adsorption was compared with the values of sodium alkylsulfate and alkyltrimethylammonium bromide surfactants. This comparison reveals that the hydrophobic driving force of adsorption is the largest for the sodium alkylsulfates, whereas it is the same for the sugar surfactants and the alkyltrimethylammonium bromides.     

The role of liquid chromatography in proteomics

Proteomics represents a significant challenge to separation scientists because of the diversity and complexity of proteins and peptides present in biological systems. Mass spectrometry as the central enabling technology in proteomics allows detection and identification of thousands of proteins and peptides in a single experiment. Liquid chromatography is recognized as an indispensable tool in proteomics research since it provides high-speed, high-resolution and high-sensitivity separation of macromolecules. In addition, the unique features of chromatography enable the detection of low-abundance species such as post-translationally modified proteins. Components such as phosphorylated proteins are often present in complex mixtures at vanishingly small concentrations. New chromatographic methods are needed to solve these analytical challenges, which are clearly formidable, but not insurmountable. This review covers recent advances in liquid chromatography, as it has impacted the area of proteomics. The future prospects for emerging chromatographic technologies such as monolithic capillary columns, high temperature chromatography and capillary electrochromatography are discussed.     

Studies on stereoselective approaches to β-carboline derivatives

Transformation of β-carboline derivatives into optically active entities were studied and the de and ee values of the resulted compounds were detected. Dedicated to Professor Károly Lempert on his 80th birthday.     

Influence of salt and rinsing protocol on the structure of PAH/PSS polyelectrolyte multilayers

A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and dual polarization interferometry (DPI) have been utilized to study how the structure of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH)/poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) multilayers is affected by the rinsing method (i.e., the termination of polyelectrolyte adsorption). The effect of the type of counterions used in the deposition solution was also investigated, and the polyelectrolyte multilayers were formed in a 0.5 M electrolyte solution (NaCl and KBr). From the measurements, it was observed that thicker layers were obtained when using KBr in the deposition solution than when using NaCl. Three different rinsing protocols have been studied: (i) the same electrolyte solution as used during multilayer formation, (ii) pure water, and (iii) first a salt solution (0.5 M) and then pure water. When the multilayer with PAH as the outermost layer was exposed to pure water, an interesting phenomenon was discovered: a large change in the energy dissipation was measured with the QCM. This could be attributed to the swelling of the layer, and from both QCM and DPI it is obvious that only the outermost PAH layer swells (to a thickness of 25-30 nm) because of a decrease in ionic strength and hence an increase in intra- and interchain repulsion, whereas the underlying layers retain a very rigid and compact structure with a low water content. Interestingly, the outermost PAH layer seems to obtain very similar thicknesses in water independent of the electrolyte used for the multilayer buildup. Another interesting aspect was that the measured thickness with the DPI evaluated by a single-layer model did not correlate with the estimated thickness from the model calculations performed on the QCM-D data. Thus, we applied a two-layer model to evaluate the DPI data and the results were in excellent agreement with the QCM-D results. To our knowledge, this evaluation of DPI data has not been done previously.     

Thermal behavior of furosemide

Data from theoretical, thermal, and spectroscopic methods were compared in order to map a possible mechanism for the thermal decomposition of furosemide, a diuretic compound, in solid state. TG/DTG curves suggested a two-stage decomposition process. The first product of decomposition is water (m/z = 18), released due to a dimerization resulting in the formation of an amide. Then carbon dioxide (m/z = 44), nitroxide (m/z = 30), and 2-methyl-furanyl ion (m/z = 81) are released in the second stage. The chlorine substituted benzene ring, due to the double bond conjugated system, being the last fraction to decompose. Theoretical calculations presented are in agreement with experimental results.