New unsaturated polyesters as injectable drug carriers

New unsaturated polyesters of poly(fumaric acid-glycol-sebacic acid) copolymers and poly(maleic anhydride-glycol-sebacic acid) copolymers were prepared by melt polycondensation of the corresponding mixed monomers: sebacic anhydride, fumaric acid or maleic anhydride and glycol. Methyl-methacrylate (MMA) was used as crosslinker and dimer acid was used as thinner.In vitro studies showed that those copolymers are degradable in phosphate buffer at 37 °C and poly(fumaric acid-glycol-sebacic acid) has proper drug release rate as drug carriers. The biocompatibility of poly(fumaric acid-glycol-sebacic acid) copolymers under mice skin was also evaluated; macroscopic observation and microscopic analysis demonstrated that the copolymer is biocompatible and well tolerated in vivo. The injected poly(fumaric acid-glycol-sebacic acid) [molar ratio M_{fumaric acid}:M_glycol:M_{sebacic acid} = 1.75:2.20:0.25] containing 5% adriamycin hydrochloride (ADM) in the mice bearing Sarcoma-180 tumor exhibited a good antitumor efficacy. The volume doubling time (VDT) (18 ± 2.5 days) of the tumor growth by this treatment was longer than that (7 ± 0.9 days) by the subcutaneous injection of ADM.     

Effect of Hyperbranched Polyester on Modification of Epoxy Resins Cured with Anhydride

Epoxy resins are widely used in coatings, adhesives and polymer composites, but the applications of cured epoxy resins are often restricted by their poor toughness. HBP can be used as toughener to improve the toughness of epoxy resins due to its high-dens…     

Effect of surface treatment on the Hamaker constant of intermediate modulus carbon fibers

The Hamaker constant of unsized intermediate modulus carbon fibers was evaluated by contact angle measurement following the Fowkes theory of interfacial energetics. The effects of a surface treatment (performed by the manufacturer) and an oxygen plasma treatment (performed by us), both of oxidizing nature, proved to slightly increase the value of the Hamaker constant to a level that enhanced by about 9% the Lifshitz-van der Waals contribution to the theoretical adhesion force between the fiber and an epoxy matrix. A possible explanation of the observed increase of the Hamaker constant is the higher contribution to the overall Lifshitz-van der Waals interaction of Keesom (orientation) and Debye (induction) forces.     

Fully aromatic liquid crystalline homopolyesters and copolyesters of 1,1′-binaphthyl-4,4′-diol

A series of fully aromatic, thermotropic polyesters based on 1,1′-binaphthyl-4,4′-diol, BND, was prepared by the melt polycondensation method and characterized for their thermotropic behavior by a variety of experimental techniques. The homopolymer of BND with terephthalic acid formed a nematic melt at 353°C. In contrast, the polyester from BND and 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid had a melting transition, T_m, above 400°C, so it was not possible with the equipment available to determine whether it formed a nematic melt. All of the copolymers of BND formed nematic melts at much lower T_m values than those of its respective homopolymers, as expected, because of the copolymerization effect of the added monomer. Moreover, all of the copolymers had higher glass transition temperatures, T_g, than those of other liquid crystalline polyesters and higher thermal stabilities. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Polymeric phosphonium salts as a novel class of cationic biocides. V. Synthesis and antibacterial activity of polyesters releasing phosphonium biocides

Polyesters were prepared which retained phosphonium biocides as counter ions of sodium sulfonate moieties incorporated into the polymers, and surface antibacterial activity of the polyester films against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was explored. These films exhibited a high surface antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli, particularly against S. aureus, and the activity was affected by the structure and the compositional ratio of the phosphonium salts. Amount of the released phosphonium salts was very small, so that liberation of the phosphonium biocides can be expected to occur over a long period. Morphological changes of the cells of S. aureus and E. coli in contact with the polyester films were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the surface antibacterial activity of the polyester films was rather bacteriostatic than bactericidal as evidenced by no morphological changes of the bacterial cells in contact with the phosphonium biocides © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Sol-gel-derived micron scale optical fibers for chemical sensing

We report for the first time on the preparation of organically-doped room temperature processed sol-gel-derived micron scale optical fibers as platforms for chemical- and bio-sensors. Micron scale optical fibers are drawn from fluorescent dye-doped tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)-derived sol-gel solution processed under ambient conditions. Such a simple methodology to entrap organic and even bioactive species within the optical fiber offers many advantages over more conventional ways of immobilizing organic probes for the development of optical sensors. Specifically, we report on the photophysical properties of fluorescein (a pH sensitive fluorescent dye) and rhodamine 6G (R6G; laser dye) entrapped within sol-gel-derived optical fibers. We present the preliminary results on the viability of such doped optical fibers for chemical sensing. Our results demonstrate that a fluorescein-doped sol-gel-derived optical fiber responds to ammonia and acid vapors with a response time of 1–2 seconds.     

Rheological behavior in blends of PET with ionomeric polyester

The rheological behavior and the morphology in blends of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with ionomeric polyester were investigated over a wide range of different blending ratios. The ionomeric polyester is derived from PET modified through copolycondensation with sulfonate moiety, sodiosulfo isophthalate (Na-SIP), iso-phthalic acid (IPA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG). The results showed that the apparent viscosity and non-Newtonian index of the PET/ionomeric polyester blend system had a nonlinearity change with the change of the blend ratio of PET/ionomeric polyester. The anomaly of the viscous flow activation energy change was found as the content of ionomeric polyester was about 40% (w/w) in the blend system, suggesting the presence of physical cross-linked structure formed by strong polar tangling points and the phase separation owing to poor compatibility between the PET and ionomeric polyester. The morphology and thermal behavior of the blends were observed, respectively, with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and atomic force microscopy (AMF).     

Strukturuntersuchungen an naßersponnenen Polyacrylnitrilfasern nach der Gefriertrocknung

Zusammenfassung An unterschiedlich verstreckten und hydrothermisch nachbehandelten, danach gefriergetrockneten Polyacrylnitril-Gelfasern (PAN) wurden Messungen der Röntgenkleinwinkelstreuung (RKWS), Röntgenweitwinkelstreuung (RWWS) und Tieftemperatur-Gassorption (TTGA) durchgeführt. Die RKWS-Messungen zeigen, daß sowohl in den isotropen als auch in den orientierten Proben eine exponentialstatistische Verteilung der Form und Größe der Inhomogenitäten (Hohlräume, Cluster) vorliegt, welche durch die Kohärenzlängel _c bestimmt wird. Eine erhöhte Röntgenabsorption wurde bei den verstreckten Proben festgestellt. Die Analyse der aus der Kohärenzlänge und den Volumsanteilen der Phasen berechneten charakteristischen RK WS-Parameter (z.B. innere Oberfläche, Durchschußlänge) ergibt, daß jede Behandlung der Gelfasern eine Zu- oder Abnahme der etwa gleich großen Hohlräume verursacht (nucleotic change). Das relative Ausmaß dieser Veränderungen wird besprochen.Der Vergleich mit den Ergebnissen der TTGA an den gleichen Fasern zeigt, daß die Tendenzen bei der spezifischen Oberfläche und dem Porenvolumen (Zu- bzw. Abnahme) bei beiden Methoden annähernd gleich sind. Die Absolutwerte des Hohlraumvolumens unterscheiden sich aber z.T. um den Faktor 40. Dies führt zur Schlußfolgerung, daß mit der RK WS Faserbereiche als Hohlräume erfaßt werden, die bei der TTGA nicht angezeigt werden, weil sie für das Meßgas unzugänglich sind.

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Structural studies on wet-spun freeze-dried polyacrylonitrile fibers

Summary Polyacrylonitrile fibers (PAN) were drawn to different extents, hydrothermally aftertreated, and at last freeze-dried. The products were studied by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), and low temperature gassorption (LTGS). The SAXS data show that the shape and the size of the inhomogeneities (voids, clusters) have an exponential statistical distribution determined by the correlation lengthl _c, both in the isotropic fibers and in the fiber-oriented ones. It has also been observed that stretching always causes a higher X-ray absorption. An analysis of the characteristic SAXS parameters (e.g., internal surface, mean chord length), which were calculated from the correlation length and the volume fractions of the phases, evidences that in all samples an augmentation or diminution of the number of the voids with nearly the same shape and size takes place (nucleotic change). Its relative number has been pointed out.Comparison with the results of the LTGS investigations at the same fibers shows that the tendencies of the specific surface and porosity (increase, decrease) are approximately the same with both methods. However, the absolute values of void volume differ in some cases by the factor 40. This leads to the conclusion that the SAXS method records domains of these fibers as voids which are not registered by LTGS (voids not accessible for the gas).

Herrn em.o.Univ. Prof. Dr.Josef Schurz zum 70. Geburtstag gewidmet     

Liquefaction of corn stover and preparation of polyester from the liquefied polyol

This research investigated a novel process to prepare polyester from corn stover through liquefaction and crosslinking processes. First, corn stover was liquefied in organic solvents (90 wt% ethylene glycol and 10 wt% ethylene carbonate) with catalysts at moderate temperature under atmospheric pressure. The effect of liquefaction temperature, biomass content, and type of catalyst, such H₂SO₄, HCl, H₃PO₄, and ZnCl₂, was evaluated. Higher liquefaction yield was achieved in 2 wt% sulfuric acid, 1/4 (w/w) stover to liquefying reagent ratio; 160°C temperature, in 2h. The liquefied corn stover was rich in polyols, which can be directly used as feedstock for making polymers without further separation or purification. Second, polyester was made from the liquefied corn stover by crosslinking with multifunctional carboxylic acids and/or cyclic acid anhydrides. The tensile strength of polyester is about 5 MPa and the elongation is around 35%. The polyester is stable in cold water and organic solvents and readily biodegradable as indicated by 82% weight loss when buried in damp soil for 10 mo. The results indicate that this novel polyester could be used for the biodegradable garden mulch film production.     

Degradation of crosslinked unsaturated polyesters in sub-critical water

The degradation of unsaturated polyesters crosslinked with styrene was performed in sub-critical water (SCW) in the absence and presence of organic additives. The unsaturated polyesters were de-crosslinked by hydrolysis of ester chains to form polystyrene derivatives on SCW treatment at 300 °C. With an increase in treating time, carboxylic acid groups in the polystyrene derivatives were turned into carboxylic anhydride groups in SCW. The de-crosslinking rate was much enhanced on SCW treatment in the presence of hydroxy compounds with a long alkyl chain and alkylamines, while carboxylic acids, benzenesulfonate salts, and quaternary ammonium salts were ineffective even though they had a long alkyl chain. The degree of de-crosslinking was reduced in the presence of diamines and amino acids because re-crosslinking at both ends of the additive molecules proceeded.