Thermoplastic elastomer gels. I. Effects of composition and processing on morphology and gel behavior

Thermoplastic elastomer gels (TPEGs) composed of a poly[styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene] triblock copolymer and a low-volatility, midblock-compatible mineral oil have been investigated at different oil concentrations to ascertain the effect of composition on TPEG morphology and mechanical properties. The impact of thermal processing is also examined by comparing gels thermally quenched to 0°C or slowly cooled to ambient temperature. Transmission electron micrographs reveal that gels with 70 to 90 wt % oil exhibit styrenic micelles measuring ca. 24 nm in diameter. Variation in composition or cooling rate does not have any perceivable effect on micelle size or shape, whereas the rate at which the gels are cooled influences the extent of microstructural order and the time to rupture (t_R) at constant strain. Dynamic rheological testing confirms the presence of a physically crosslinked network at TPEG compositions ranging from 70 to 90 wt % oil, independent of cooling rate. Results presented here suggest that the dynamic elastic shear modulus (G′) scales as t^α_R where α varies from 0.41 to 0.59, depending on cooling rate. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. B Polym. Phys. 36: 2379–2391, 1998     

A new Na/Mg inverse crown ether

A `missing' member of the inverse crown ether family, namely μ₄‐oxo‐tetrakis(μ‐2,2,6,6‐tetra­methyl­piperidinido)­di­mag­nes­ium­(II)­disodium(I), [Na₂Mg₂O(C₉H₁₈N)₄], has been synthesized by blocking the alternative aromatic metallation route via the use of sterically hindered 1,3,5‐mesityl­ene as a solvent. [Na₂Mg₂O(NR₂)₄] (NR₂ is 2,2,6,6‐tetra­methyl­piperidinide) is shown to form a cationic planar eight‐membered ring with alternating metal and N atoms, which captures at its core an oxide guest that lies on an inversion centre [principal dimensions: Na—O = 2.2405 (11) Å, Na—N = 2.445 (3) and 2.572 (3) Å, Mg—O = 1.8673 (9) Å, and Mg—N = 2.032 (2) and 2.063 (2) Å].     

A Universal Cassette-Based System for the Dissolution of Solid Targets

Cyclotron-based radionuclides production by using solid targets has become important in the last years due to the growing demand of radiometals, e.g., ⁶⁸Ga, ⁸⁹Zr, ^43/47Sc, and ^52/54Mn. This shifted the focus on solid target management, where the first fundamental step of the radiochemical processing is the target dissolution. Currently, this step is generally performed with commercial or home-made modules separated from the following purification/radiolabelling modules. The aim of this work is the realization of a flexible solid target dissolution system to be easily installed on commercial cassette-based synthesis modules. This would offer a complete target processing and radiopharmaceutical synthesis performable in a single module continuously. The presented solid target dissolution system concept relies on an open-bottomed vial positioned upon a target coin. In particular, the idea is to use the movement mechanism of a syringe pump to position the vial up and down on the target, and to exploit the heater/cooler reactor of the module as a target holder. All the steps can be remotely controlled and are incorporated in the cassette manifold together with the purification and radiolabelling steps. The performance of the device was tested by processing three different irradiated targets under different dissolution conditions.     

Surface-controlled spatially heterogeneous physical properties of a supramolecular gel with homogeneous chemical composition

Controlling supramolecular self-assembly across multiple length scales to prepare gels with localised properties is challenging. Most strategies concentrate on fabricating gels with heterogeneous components, where localised properties are generated by the stimuli-responsive component. Here, as an alternative approach, we use a spiropyran-modified surface that can be patterned with light. We show that light-induced differences in surface chemistry can direct the bulk assembly of a low molecular weight gelator, 2-NapAV, meaning that mechanical gel properties can be controlled by the surface on which the gel is grown. Using grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering, we demonstrate that the origin of the different gel properties relates to differences in the architectures of the gels. This provides a new method to prepare a single domain (i.e., chemically homogeneous) hydrogel with locally controlled (i.e., mechanically heterogeneous) properties.

A mechanical pattern is created in a hydrogel film by pre-patterning the underlying surface chemistry. This allows spatial variation of the viscous component of the gel, controlling dissipative forces in the gel film without altering gel chemistry.