Encapsulation of ZnS:Mn2+ nanocrystals with diblock copolymers

The encapsulation of the nanocrystalline manganese‐doped zinc sulfide (ZnS:Mn) in poly(styrene‐b‐2vinylpyridine) (PS‐PVP) diblock copolymers is reported. Below the critical micelle concentration in the absence of nanocrystals (NCs), inverse micelles of PS‐PVP were induced by adding ZnS:Mn NCs, the presence of which was confirmed by scanning force microscope and dynamic light scattering. In toluene, a PS‐selective solvent, the less‐soluble PVP blocks preferentially surround the ligand‐coated ZnS:Mn NCs. For PS‐PVP encapsulated ZnS:Mn NCs, the ratio of blue emission to orange emission of ZnS:Mn NCs is dependent on both the concentration of PS‐PVP and the solvent quality. The pyridine of PVP blocks form complexes with the Zn atoms via the nitrogen lone pair and thus the sulfur vacancies are passivated. As a result, the defect‐related blue emission is selectively quenched even when the micelles are not formed. As the concentration of PS‐PVP encapsulating the ZnS:Mn NCs increases, the intensity of blue emission decreases. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 3227–3233, 2006     

Measurement and prediction of solubilities and diffusion coefficients of carbon dioxide in starch–water mixtures at elevated pressures

The solubility and diffusion coefficient of carbon dioxide in intermediate‐moisture starch–water mixtures were determined both experimentally and theoretically at elevated pressures up to 16 MPa at 50 °C. A high‐pressure decay sorption system was assembled to measure the equilibrium CO₂ mass uptake by the starch–water system. The experimentally measured solubilities accounted for the estimated swollen volume by Sanchez–Lacombe equation of state (S‐L EOS) were found to increase almost linearly with pressure, yielding 4.0 g CO₂/g starch–water system at 16 MPa. Moreover, CO₂ solubilities above 5 MPa displayed a solubility increase, which was not contributed by the water fraction in the starch–water mixture. The solubilities, however, showed no dependence on the degree of gelatinization (DG) of starch. The diffusion coefficient of CO₂ was found to increase with concentration of dissolved CO₂, which is pressure‐dependent, and decrease with increasing DG in the range of 50–100%. A free‐volume‐based diffusion model proposed by Areerat was employed to predict the CO₂ diffusivity in terms of pressure, temperature, and the concentration of dissolved CO₂. S‐L EOS was once more used to determine the specific free volume of the mixture system. The predicted diffusion coefficients showed to correlate well with the measured values for all starch–water mixtures. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 607–621, 2006     

Meshless simulation of equilibrium swelling/deswelling of pH‐sensitive hydrogels

Hydrogels have been widely used in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and Bio‐MEMS devices. In this article, the equilibrium swelling/deswelling of the pH‐stimulus cylindrical hydrogel in the microchannel is studied and simulated by the meshless method. The multi‐field coupling model, called multi‐effect‐coupling pH‐stimulus (MECpH) model, is presented and used to describe the chemical field, electric field, and the mechanical field involved in the problem. The partial differential equations (PDEs) describing these three fields are either nonlinear or coupled together. This multi‐field coupling and high nonlinear characteristics produce difficulties for the conventional numerical methods (e.g., the finite element method or the finite difference method), so an alternative—meshless method is developed to discretize the PDEs, and the efficient iteration technique is adopted to solve the nonlinear problem. The computational results for the swelling/deswelling diameter of the hydrogel under the different pH values are firstly compared with experimental results, and they have a good agreement. The influences of other parameters on the mechanical properties of the hydrogel are also investigated in detail. It is shown that the multi‐field coupling model and the developed meshless method are efficient, stable, and accurate for simulation of the properties of the stimuli‐sensitive hydrogel. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 326–337, 2006     

Reinforcement effect of MAA on nano‐CaCo3‐filled EPDM vulcanizates and possible mechanism

Methacrylic acid (MAA) was used as in situ surface modifier to improve the interface interaction between nano‐CaCO₃ particle and ethylene–propylene–diene monomer (EPDM) matrix, and hence the mechanical properties of nano‐CaCO₃‐filled EPDM vulcanizates. The results showed that the incorporation of MAA improved the filler–matrix interaction, which was proved by Fourier transformation infrared spectrometer (FTIR), Kraus equation, crosslink density determination, and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The formation of carboxylate and the participation of MAA in the crosslinking of EPDM indicated the strong filler–matrix interaction from the aspect of chemical reaction. The results of Kraus equation showed that the presence of MAA enhanced the reinforcement extent of nano‐CaCO₃ on EPDM vulcanizates. Crosslink density determination proved the formation of the ionic crosslinks in EPDM vulcanizates with the existence of MAA. The filler particles on tensile fracture were embedded in the matrix and could not be observed obviously, indicating that a strong interfacial interaction between the filler and the matrix had been achieved with the incorporation of MAA. Meanwhile, the presence of MAA remarkably increased the modulus and tensile strength of the vulcanizates, without negative effect on the high elongation at break. Furthermore, the ionic bond was thought to be formed only on filler surface because of the absolute deficiency of MAA, which resulted in the possible structure where filler particles were considered as crosslink points. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 1226–1236, 2006     

Metallocene copolymers of propene and 1‐hexene: The influence of the comonomer content and thermal history on the structure and mechanical properties

The relationships between the structure and properties have been established for copolymers of propylene and 1‐hexene synthesized with an isotactic metallocene catalyst system. The most important factor affecting the structure and properties of these copolymers is the comonomer content. The thermal treatment, that is, the rate of cooling from the melt, is also important. These factors affect the thermal properties, the degree of crystallinity, and therefore the structural parameters and the viscoelastic behavior. A slow cooling from the melt favors the formation of the γ phase instead of the α modification. Regarding the viscoelastic behavior, the β relaxation, associated with the glass‐transition temperature, is shifted to lower temperatures and its intensity is increased as the 1‐hexene content raises. The microhardness values are correlated with those of the storage modulus deduced from dynamic mechanical thermal analysis curves, and good linear relations have been obtained between these parameters. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 1253–1267, 2006     

Pyraflufen-ethyl residues in soil by solid phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection.

Solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure for cleanup followed by HPLC-UV method has been investigated for the determination of pyraflufen-ethyl residues in soil. The pesticide is extracted from the sample with acetone-water (80:20, v/v) and the extract is loaded onto an octadecyl (C(18)) column. The pesticide is eluted with acetonitrile and determined by HPLC with a UV detector. Using an acetone-water extraction followed by a C(18) cleanup, this method is characterized by recovery >90.1%, precision <5.8% RSD and sensitivity of 0.01 mg/kg. The proposed method has been successfully employed for the determination of the degradation dynamics of pyraflufen-ethyl in four agricultural soil samples under laboratory conditions.     

Gold ultra-microelectrode arrays: application to the steady-state voltammetry of hydroxide ion in aqueous solution.

Gold ultra-microelectrode arrays are used to explore the electrochemical oxidation of hydroxide ions and are shown to be analytical useful. Two types of ultra-microelectrode arrays are used; the first consist of 256 individual electrodes of 5 microm in radius, 170 of which are electrochemically active in a cubic arrangement which are separated from their nearest neighbour by a distance of 100 microm. The second array compromises 2597 electrodes of 2.5 microm in radius and of which 1550 of which are electrochemically active in a hexagonal arrangement separated by the nearest neighbour by 55 microm. Well defined voltammetric waves are found with peak currents proportional to the concentration of hydroxide ions in the range 50 microM to 1 mM. Detection limits of 20 microM using the 170 ultra-microelectrode and 10 microM with the 1550 ultra-microelectrode array are shown to be possible but with a higher sensitivity of 4 mA M(-1) observed using the 1550 ultra-microelectrode array compared to 1.2 mA M(-1) with the 170 ultra-microelectrode array.     

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%.     

Determination of 17 kinds of banned organochlorine pesticides in water by activated carbon fiber-solid phase microextraction coupled with GC-MS.

Activated carbon fiber (ACF) as extraction fiber for solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and its application for the analysis of banned organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were investigated. Firstly, ACF was activated by different concentration of zinc chloride, which indicated that ACF activated by 60% zinc chloride had a reasonable specific surface area, pore volume and pore distribution. Secondly, the parameters for the ACF-SPME procedure, the adsorption and desorption conditions, were also optimized when coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Thirdly, the ACF-SPME was used to analyze 17 kinds of OCPs in water. The linearity of most pesticides was found to be between 0.2 and 50 microg/l with GC-MS under the selected ion monitoring (SIM) acquisition mode. The limits of detection (LOD) at the sub microg/l were obtained. The work demonstrated here shows that ACF is a promising alternative for the SPME procedure.     

Fluorometric study on the interaction between lomefloxacin and bovine lactoferrin.

The binding of lomefloxacin to bovine lactoferrin (BLf) in a dilute aqueous solution was studied using fluorescence spectra. The binding constant (K) and the number of binding sites (n) were obtained by a fluorescence quenching method. The binding distance (r) and energy-transfer efficiency (E) between lomefloxacin and bovine lactoferrin were also obtained according to the mechanism of Fo?rster-type dipole-dipole nonradiative energy-transfer. The effect of lomefloxacin on the conformation of bovine lactoferrin was also analyzed by synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy. The interaction between lomefloxacin and bovine lactoferrin is strong. Lomefloxacin can affect the conformation of bovine lactoferrin to some degree.