Double‐hydrophilic block copolymer for encapsulation and two‐way pH change‐induced release of metalloporphyrins

A double hydrophilic block copolymer composed of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(4‐vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) was obtained through hydrolysis of diblock copolymer of poly(tert‐butyl acrylate) (PtBA) and P4VP synthesized using atom transfer radical polymerization. Water‐soluble micelles with PAA core and P4VP corona were observed at low (acidic) pH, while micelles with P4VP core and PAA corona were formed at high (basic) pH. Two metalloporphyrins, zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) and cobalt tetraphenylporphyrin (CoTPP), were used as model compounds to investigate the encapsulation of hydrophobic molecules by both types of micelles. UV–vis spectroscopic measurements indicate that micelles with P4VP core are able to entrap more ZnTPP and CoTPP as a result of the axial coordination between the transition metals and the pyridine groups. The study found that metalloporphyrins encapsulated by the micelles with PAA core could be released on pH increase, while those entrapped by the micelles with P4VP core could be released on pH decrease. This behavior originates from the two‐way pH change‐induced disruption of PAA‐b‐P4VP micelles. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 1734–1744, 2006     

Investigation of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone sulfone)/heteropolyacid composite membranes for high temperature fuel cell applications

The sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone sulfone) (SPEEKS)/heteropolyacid (HPA) composite membranes with different HPA content in SPEEKS copolymers matrix with different degree of sulfonation (DS) were investigated for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Composite membranes were characterized by Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). FTIR band shifts suggested that the sulfonic acid groups on the copolymer backbone strongly interact with HPA particles. SEM pictures showed that the HPA particles were uniformly distributed throughout the SPEEKS membranes matrix and particle sizes decreased with the increment of copolymers' DS. The holes were not found in SPEEKS‐4/HPA30 (consisting of 70% SPEEKS copolymers with DS = 0.8 and 30% HPA) composite membrane after composite membranes were treated with boiling water for 24 h. Thermal stabilities of the composite membranes were better than those of pure sulfonated copolymers membranes. Although the composite membranes possessed lower water uptake, it exhibited higher proton conductivity for SPEEKS‐4/HPA30 especially at high temperature (above 100 °C). Its proton conductivity linearly increased from 0.068 S/cm at 25 °C to 0.095 S/cm at 120 °C, which was higher than 0.06 S/cm of Nafion 117. In contrast, proton conductivity of pure SPEEKS‐4 membrane only increased from 0.062 S/cm at 25 °C to 0.078 S/cm at 80 °C. At 120 °C, proton conductivity decreased to poor 0.073 S/cm. The result indicated that composite membranes exhibited high proton conductivity at high temperature. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 1967–1978, 2006     

Independence of the brittle–ductile transition from the rubber particle size for impact‐modified poly(vinyl chloride)

A series of acrylic impact modifiers (AIMs) with different particle sizes ranging from 55.2 to 927.0 nm were synthesized by seeded emulsion polymerization, and the effect of the particle size on the brittle–ductile transition of impact‐modified poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) was investigated. For each AIM, a series of PVC/AIM blends with compositions of 6, 8, 10, 12, and 15 phr AIM in 100 phr PVC were prepared, and the Izod impact strengths of these blends were tested at 23 °C. For AIMs with particle sizes of 55.2, 59.8, 125.2, 243.2, and 341.1 nm, the blends fractured in the brittle mode when the concentration of AIM was lower than 10 phr, whereas the blends showed ductile fracture when the AIM concentration reached 10 phr. It was concluded that the brittle–ductile transition of the PVC/AIM blends was independent of the particle size in the range of 55.2–341.1 nm. When the particle size was greater than 341.1 nm, however, the brittle–ductile transition shifted to a higher AIM concentration with an increase in the particle size. Furthermore, the critical interparticle distance was found not to be the criterion of the brittle–ductile transition for the PVC/AIM blends. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 696–702, 2006     

Chiral separation of synthetic vicinal diol compounds by capillary zone electrophoresis with borate buffer and beta-cyclodextrin as buffer additive.

The investigation on capillary electrophoretic enantioseparation of six synthetic compounds containing vicinal diol groups has been undertaken to acquire the optimum conditions using native beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) as chiral selector and borate as a background electrolyte. The separation was carried out in an uncoated capillary (58.5 cm x 75 microm i.d., effective length 48.5 cm) and the effects of several important factors were investigated in detail. The results showed that beta-CD as a chiral selector exhibited good enantioselectivity and that the enantioseparation was greatly influenced by the structure of the diols, the borate concentration and the buffer pH. The optimum performance was obtained for the chiral vicinal diols under the conditions of 200 mM borate buffer of pH 9.8 containing 1.7% beta-CD at an applied voltage of 15 kV and a capillary temperature of 20 degrees C. Under the conditions, four diols were baseline separated with fast analysis time and the good theoretical plate numbers (above 10 x 10(4)) and favorable migration-time reproducibilities (RSDs below 3.0%) were obtained. The separation results were satisfactory.     

A highly sensitive and rapid assay for protein determination in human urine and penicillin using a Rayleigh light-scattering technique with benzeneazo-8-acetylamino-1-naphthol-3,6-disulfonic acid sodium salt.

A simple and sensitive method was conducted for the determination of trace amounts of proteins with benzeneazo-8-acetylamino-1-naphthol-3,6-disulfonic acid sodium salt (azophloxine, AP) using a Rayleigh light-scattering (RLS) technique. At pH 2.60 and in the presence of an emulsifier OP microemulsion, the RLS of AP can be greatly enhanced by proteins, owing to the interaction between AP and protein. The enhanced intensity is proportional to the concentration of proteins. Four proteins, including bovine serum albumin (BSA), human serum albumin (HSA), lysozyme (Lys) and gamma globulin (gamma-G) have been tested. For example, the linear range of BSA was 0 - 0.06 microg mL(-1) with detection limits of 2.38 ng mL(-1). The method was applied to the analysis of protein in human urine and penicillin samples with satisfactory results. The relative standard deviation was in all instances less than 4.0%, and the recovery was in the range of 97.5 - 104%.     

Effect of a low magnetic field on crystallinity and magnetic susceptibility of molecular magnet {NBu4[FeCr(ox)3]}x (NBu4=tetra( n-butyl) ammonium ion; ox=oxalate ion)

Molecular magnet {NBu₄[Fe Cr(ox)₃]}_x (NBu₄⁺=tetra(n-buty1) ammonium ion; ox²⁻=oxalate ion) was synthesized under an applied low magnetic field of 0.3 T in comparison to that synthesized without a field. Their crystallinities, morphologies and magnetic properties were characterized by using the X-ray diffractionmeter, the transmission electron microscope, and a superconducting quantum interference device. It is found that the average size of particles synthesized under the applied field appears larger than that synthesized without a field. Moreover, its crystallinity, morphology and magnetic susceptibility have also been improved. However, its chemical structure and ferromagnetic phase transition temperature T_c do not change. Possible reasons to explain this effect are also discussed.     

On the existence theorem of non-trivial periodic solution of periodic systems of high order

In this paper, we consider nonlinear and nonautonomous systems with the trivial solution:dx/dt=f(t, x), x∈R~nwhere f(t+ω,x)+f(t, x), f(t, 0)=0. By using the theory of Brouwer topological degree, we obtainthe existence theorem of nontrivial ω-periodic solution. Finally the applied example of the theoremis cited.     

Vibrational circular dichroism: a new spectroscopic tool for biomolecular structural determination

Vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) in the past two decades has developed into a powerful new structural tool. A concise review of the applications of VCD to determine the structures of various biological molecules, namely peptides and proteins, nucleic acids and carbohydrates, is provided.