Controlling the water content of never dried and reswollen bacterial cellulose by the addition of water-soluble polymers to the culture medium

For the modification of medically useful biomaterials from bacterially synthesized cellulose, fleeces of Acetobacter xylinum have been produced in the presence of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0% (m/v) carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), methylcellulose (MC), and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), respectively, in the Hestrin-Schramm culture medium. The incorporation of the water-soluble polymers into cellulose and their influence on the structure, crystal modifications, and material properties are described. With IR and solid-state ¹³C NMR spectroscopy of the fleeces, the presence of the cellulose ethers and an increase in the amorphous parts of the cellulose modifications (NMR results) have been detected. The incorporation is represented by a higher product yield, too. As demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy, a porelike cellulose network structure forms in the presence of CMC and MC. This modified structure increases the water retention ability (expressed as the water content), the ion absorption capacity, and the remaining nitrogen-containing residues from the culture medium or bacteria cells. The water content of bacterial cellulose (BC) in the never dried state and the freeze-dried, reswollen state can be controlled by the CMC concentration in the culture solution. The freeze-dried, reswollen BC-CMC (2.0%) contains 96% water after centrifugation, whereas standard BC has only 73%. About 98% water is included in a BC-MC composite in the wet state, and about 93% is included in the reswollen state synthesized in the presence of 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0% MC. These biomaterial composites can be stored in the dried state and reswollen before use, reaching a higher water absorption than pure, never dried BC. The copper ion capacity of BC-CMC composites increases proportionally with the added amount of CMC. BC-CMC (0.5%) can absorb 3 times more copper ions than original BC. In the case of 0.5 and 1.0% PVA additions to the culture solution, this polymer cannot be detected in the cellulose fleeces after they are washed. Nevertheless the presence of PVA in the culture medium effects a decreased product yield, a retention of nitrogen-containing residues in the material during purification, a reduced water absorption ability, and a slightly higher copper ion capacity in comparison with original BC. The water content of freeze-dried, reswollen BC-PVA (0.5%) is only 62%. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 463–470, 2004     

Preparation of antimicrobial poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibers containing silver nanoparticles

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers containing Ag nanoparticles were prepared by electrospinning PVA/silver nitrate (AgNO₃) aqueous solutions, followed by short heat treatment, and their antimicrobial activity was investigated for wound dressing applications. Since PVA is a water soluble and biocompatible polymer, it is one of the best materials for the preparation of wound dressing nanofibers. After heat treatment at 155 °C for 3 min, the PVA/AgNO₃ nanofibers became insoluble, while the Ag⁺ ions therein were reduced so as to produce a large number of Ag nanoparticles situated preferentially on their surface. The residual Ag⁺ ions were reduced by subsequent UV irradiation for 3 h. The average diameter of the Ag nanoparticles after the heat treatment was 5.9 nm and this value increased slightly to 6.3 nm after UV irradiation. It was found that most of the Ag⁺ ions were reduced by the simple heat treatment. The PVA nanofibers containing Ag nanoparticles showed very strong antimicrobial activity. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2468–2474, 2006     

Ab initio modelling of crosslinking in polymers. A case of chains with furan rings

A quantum chemical model (Abinitio HF-MO and DFT-B3LYP) of polyfurfuryl alcohol crosslinking is shown. Two pathways were considered: (a) a Diels–Alder (D–A) reaction between a dihydrofuran moiety and a furan ring; (b) the addition reaction of electrophilic specimens on conjugated double bonds. The ability for the formation of D–A adducts (dienes and dienophiles) was investigated by the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) theory. Energy gaps between the FMO's of diene and dienophile structures suggest that the occurrence of the D–A reaction is possible. The results suggest that the carbons of the exo double bonds attached to dihydrofuran rings are the sites most likely to be attacked by electrophilic species, while the C₃ and C₄ atoms display the opposite tendency due to their low HOMO electron densities. Results of a thermochemical approach to these reactions at the MP2 level was in agreement with reactivity modelled by MO predictions.     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(vinyl alcohol)‐graft‐[poly(D,L‐lactide)/poly(D,L‐lactide‐co‐glycolide)] hydrogels

Poly(D ,L ‐lactide) and poly(D ,L ‐lactide‐co‐glycolide) with various composition and with one methacrylate and one carboxylate end group were synthesized and grafted onto poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) via the carboxylate group. The graft copolymers were crosslinked via the methacrylate groups using a free radical initiator. The polymer networks were characterized by means of NMR and studied qualitatively by means of IR spectroscopy. The influence of the glycolide content in the polyester grafts and of the number of ester units in the grafts on thermal properties and swellability were studied as well. The high swellability in water is characteristic of all hydrogels. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed a single glass transition temperature that occurs in the range between 51 and 69 °C. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the networks showed the main loss in weight in the temperature range between 290 and 370 °C. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4536–4544, 2007     

Preparation of a new hydrophilic copolymer from a polylactone and the structure analyses

A new hydrophilic copolymer having three kinds of hydroxyl groups, i.e. primary OH on -hydroxy allyl alcohol component, secondary OH on cyclic hemiacetal component and tertiary OH on -hydroxy acrylate component, was prepared by reducing a ‘polylactone’, poly(1-oxa-2-oxobutane-1,4:3,3-tetrayl), with NaBH₄ in mixed solvents containing an alcohol. The structural analyses were performed by the solution ¹H NMR and the solid state ¹³C NMR spectroscopies of the reduced samples. The composition of the three components turned out to be variable to the alcohol species used for the mixed solvent.     

乙醇增敏光泽精－H_2O_2－Pb（Ⅱ）化学发光体系的研究及应用

本文研究了Ｈ＿２Ｏ＿２氧化光泽精发光反应及乙醇的敏化作用，发现加入乙醇可使铅催化Ｈ＿２Ｏ＿２，氧化光泽精的发光强度有较大幅度的增强；铅量在３×１０￣（－７）～８×１０￣（－５）ｇ／ｍＬ。范围内与发光强度成正比．方法检出限为０．１０μｇ／ｍＬ；对含４μｇ／ｍＬＰｂ（Ⅱ）１１次重复测定，其ＲＳＤ为２．３％．对３２种常见的阴阳离子进行了干扰实验，表明方法具有较好的选择性。本法应用于水样及沉积物标样中痕量铅的测定，结果良好。     

Absorption spectra and the nature of complexes in the polyvinyl Alcohol-Nickel (II) chloride system

We have used electronic spectroscopy in the 160–1100 nm range to study the polyvinyl alcohol-nickel(II) chloride system. Based on the results obtained, we hypothesize formation of mixed-ligand complexes of the type [Ni(H₂O)_6-nCl_n]^2-n (n = 0, 1,..., 5) in the polyvinyl alcohol matrix. Transformation of the coordination sphere as the NiCl₂ concentration changes is apparent both in the region of the d-d transition bands (350–1100 nm) and in the region of the charge transfer bands (160–250 nm). We propose assigning the absorption bands separated by mathematical treatment to complexes of specific compositions. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 1, pp. 136–138, January–February, 2006.     

还原温度对超细K－Co－Mo催化剂合成低碳醇性能的影响

 用溶胶－凝胶法合成了K－Co－Mo催化剂．样品经不同温度还原后，用于低碳醇的合成．XRD和HRTEM结果表明，样品是超细粒子，粒子尺寸为2～5nm．考察了催化剂的还原温度和反应条件对催化剂性能的影响．实验结果表明，还原温度对催化剂的活性有较大的影响，最佳还原温度为500℃．最佳反应温度范围为310～330℃．升高压力和空速可以提高醇的收率和选择性．在空速14400h－1，压力6．0MPa和温度310℃的条件下，醇的选择性为55．8％，收率为520．0g／（kg·h），MeOH／C2＋OH为0．27．催化剂稳定性良好，在200h的寿命实验中，活性基本不变．与文献中催化剂相比，超细K－Co－Mo催化剂对合成醇具有较高的活性和选择性，尤其是对C2＋OH的合成明显高于其他合成醇催化剂体系．     

罗丹明B-Mo(V)-SCN~--PVA体系荧光熄灭法测痕量钼

在聚乙烯醇存在下,用罗丹明B-Mo(V)-SCN~-荧光熄灭法测Mo,能消除过量的SCN-对罗丹明B的熄灭作用。加入聚乙烯醇后体系的荧光熄灭倍数比未加入时大14倍。此法灵敏度高、稳定性好、操作简便,检测下限0.12ng/ml Mo.可用于测水和头发中的钼。