Application of ultrasonic surface waves in the detection of microcracks using the scanning heating laser source technique

This letter reports the application of the scanning heating laser source technique to detect microcracks that may be undetected by conventional methods.In the proposed approach,we monitor changes in the transmitted surface acoustic waves(SAWs) as a heating source is scanned over the crack.The experimental system for microcrack detection by a scanning heating laser source is obtained by exploiting the strong dependence of the transmission efficiency of acoustic pulses on the state of the contacts,whether open or closed,between the crack faces.Microcracks can be detected successfully by confirming the heating position at the point of maximal improvement of the transmission efficiency of the SAWs.     

Chitosan–silica nanoparticles catalyst (M@CS–SiO2) for the degradation of 1,1-dimethylhydrazine

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Hybrid materials of chitosan–silica (CS–SiO2) with nonprecious-metallic ions (Cu) immobilized on (Cu–M@CS–SiO2) were developed as green...     

Synthesis and characterization of a biodegradable ABC triblock terpolymer as co‐delivery carrier of doxorubicin and DNA

This study is aimed to develop a well‐defined ABC triblock terpolymer, poly(ethylethylene phosphate)‐block‐poly(ε‐caprolactone)‐block‐poly[2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PEEP‐b‐PCL‐b‐PDMAEMA), for co‐encapsulating anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) and DNA to form polyplexes. The terpolymer is first synthesized via a combination of ring‐opening polymerization and atom‐transfer radical polymerization techniques, and characterized by ¹H NMR and gel permeation chromatography. Subsequently, the self‐assembly behavior of the terpolymer and the micelles loaded with DOX or DNA are investigated by dynamic light scattering, ζ potential, transmission electron microscopy, and gel retardation assay, respectively. In vitro release study reveals that much more DOX is released at pH 5.0 than that at pH 7.4 in the same period. The simultaneous delivery of DOX and green fluorescent protein (GFP)‐labeled DNA is studied by a fluorescence microscope and the results demonstrate that both drug and GFP–DNA can be efficiently delivered into HeLa cells. This system presents a practical and promising carrier for the co‐delivery of drugs and genes. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 3005–3016     

Qualitative analysis of chemical constituents in traditional Chinese medicine analogous formula cheng‐Qi decoctions by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry

Cheng‐Qi decoctions (CQs), a group of analogous formulas, are well‐known traditional Chinese preparations used as purgative remedies to treat ‘internal heat’‐induced symptoms, which manifest as a bloated and painful abdomen, hard stools, fever and other clinical observations. In this study, HPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS and UPLC‐TOF‐MS were employed for separation and structural identification of constituents in CQs. As a result, a total of 90 compounds, including seven anthraquinones, 39 flavones, 21 glycosides, 11 stilbene glycosides, six organic acids, five coumarins and one lignans, were detected and tentatively identified in CQs extracts. The characterization results shed some light on the scientific foundation for clinical application of the CQ analogous formulas. Our results also indicate that the HPLC‐MS method is useful for the systemic identification of major constituents in traditional Chinese medicine formulas. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Studying Systematic Errors on Estimation Decision, Detection, and Quantification Limit on Micro-TLC

The decision limit (CCα), capability of detection (CCβ) and quantification limit (QL) are importance performance characteristics in method validation. The TLC-Scanner 3 from Camag provides the possibility to choose the slit dimension of light to determine the peak chromatogram of a substance. The influence of the slit dimension for determination of CCα, CCβ and QL of paracetamol has been carried out. Paracetamol was spotted onto plates of AL-TLC Si G 60 F254 by linomat 4 in the range of 50–400 ng/spot and 10–400 ng/band, then on twin chambers eluted with TAEA (toluene:acetone-ethanol:conc.ammonia, 45 + 45 + 7 + 3 v/v) for 45 mm. Eluted spots were scanned in different slit dimensions at 248 nm. The CCα, CCβ and QL of paracetamol were estimated through the linear regression (LRM) and signal-to-noise (S/N) methods. Slit lengths between 50 and 133 % of the band width of the spots, and with the noise factor of the slit under 2.6, produced good precision measurements of TLC-densitometry between plates, while slit lengths between 50 and 83 % of the band width of the spots introduced a higher sensitivity response of the detector. The estimated CCα, CCβ and QL were determined by how the data were collected, the analytical optical setting, and the usage method for the estimation of both validation parameters.     

Polymeric piezoelectric cantilever and tubular actuators

Electroactive polymers (EAPs) have attracted a great deal of attention in the last decade due to their unique properties that are applicable to many advanced applications. The present work aims to study the materials–property relationship of this class of materials, and thus facilitate the implementation of EAPs in more applications. The present work investigated the feasibility of adapting cantilever and tubular configurations to the polymeric piezoelectric actuators. The polarization and displacement of samples (fabricated from Poly(Vinyldene fluoride‐trifluroethylene) [P(VDF‐TrFE)] thin film) were measured under both dynamic and static driving conditions. The polarization loops for all the samples exhibit little hysteresis under weak field and the polarization changes linearly with voltage for most samples. The frequency‐dependent polarization behavior is consistent with the previous reported work. The displacements for both cantilever and tubular samples are also noted to be in agreement with the theoretical prediction. Significant displacement (1079 µm) was achieved for samples, even under weak field (60 MV/m). In summary, the results have suggested that the relationship between geometric variables and the performance is also applicable to polymeric materials. Thus, the constitutive relationship can also be applied as a guideline for designing and optimizing the polymeric actuators beyond P(VDF‐TrFE) copolymer materials. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.