Preparation of stable colloidal suspensions of superdisintegrants via wet stirred media milling

Superdisintegrants are cross-linked polymers that can be used as dispersants for fast release of drug nanoparticles from nanocomposite microparticles during in vitro and in vivo dissolution.Currently available superdisintegrant particles have average sizes of approximately 5-130 μm,which are too big for drug nanocomposite applications.Hence,production of stable superdisintegrant suspensions with less than5 μm particles is desirable.Here,we explore the preparation of colloidal suspensions of anionic and nonionic superdisintegrants using a wet stirred media mill and assess their physical stability.Sodium starch glycolate(SSG) and crospovidone(CP) were selected as representative anionic and nonionic superdisintegrants,and hydroxy propyl cellulose(HPC) and sodium dodecyl sulfate(SDS) were used as a steric stabilizer and a wetting agent/stabilizer,respectively.Particle sizing,scanning electron microscopy,and zeta potential measurements were used to characterize the suspensions.Colloidal superdisintegrant suspensions were prepared reproducibly.The extensive particle breakage was attributed to the swelling-induced softening in water.SSG suspensions were stable even in the absence of stabilizers,whereas CP suspensions required HPC-SDS for minimizing particle aggregation.These findings were explained by the higher absolute(negative) zeta potential of the suspensions of the anionic superdisintegrant(SSG) as compared with those of the nonionic superdisintegrant(CP).     

Rheology of physically evolving suspensions

The objective of this work was to investigate the modeling of the whole dynamic rheological behavior of physically evolving suspensions (e.g., polyvinyl chloride plastisols). The evolutions of the complex viscosity with time (isothermal) and with temperature (non-isothermal) were analyzed. To understand the physically involved phenomena, the determination of relationships between the solid volume fraction evolution and the rheological behavior was investigated. Firstly, the evolution of the volume fraction in relation with the variation of radii particle suspensions using a modified Avrami equation was determined. Actually, the rheological study of this physically evolving system is far too complicated due to the many factors involved in the evolving process. Consequently, a phenomenological law using Carreau–Yasuda equation and percolation laws combined with the evolution of the solid volume fraction is investigated to obtain the modeling of the whole dynamic rheological behavior at any frequency and temperature.     

Suspensions in turbulent liquid pipe flow: Kinetic modelling and added mass effects

We develop a Eulerian model for a particle suspension in fully developed turbulent liquid in a horizontal pipe. Virtual mass effects and hydrodynamic interactions are accounted for by an extension of the kinetic theory of Reeks and Swailes.     

Field dependence of the response of a magnetorheological suspension under steady shear flow and squeezing flow

A comparison was made of the behaviour of a magnetorheological suspension under steady shear flow and constant velocity squeezing flow. The strain rates and sample dimensions were chosen to be comparable in the two deformation modes, and the dependence of the mechanical properties on the magnetic flux density B was investigated. The measurements found that the mechanical response under squeezing flow scaled as B^0.91, whereas the response under shearing scaled as B^1.4, close to theoretical predictions. This difference of the field dependence between the shearing and squeezing flows was possibly due to the different microstructural rearrangement processes which occur in the two deformation modes.     

Corner flow of a suspension of rigid rods

Stress singularities in the neighbourhood of sharp corners can be a source of severe problems in the numerical simulation of non-Newtonian flows leading to loss of convergence with grid refinement (G.G. Lipscombe, R. Kennings and M.M. Denn, J. Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech., 24 (1987) 85 [1]). For Newtonian flows the nature of this singularity is given by the analysis of Dean and Montagnon (W.R. Dean and P.E. Montagnon, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A., 308 (1949) 199 [2]) in terms of similarity solutions. In this paper we extend this similarity analysis to a suspension of rigid rods. In the limit of nearly full extension the FENE constitutive model has the same behaviour as such a suspension. Our analysis predicts the possibility of lip vortices but their behaviour is somewhat inconsistent with those observed experimentally.     

Rheological properties of suspensions of polyethylene-coated aluminum nanoparticles

Ultrafine aluminum powder was identified as very promising fuels for novel energetic materials formulations. However, the large specific surface area of this powder facilitates its oxidation and greatly reduces its shelf life. Therefore, different coating processes were proposed to solve this problem. The rheology of viscous suspensions of nanoparticles still remains poorly understood and the effect of the coating of such particles on the flow behavior is even more difficult to assess. We have studied the rheology of ultrafine aluminum suspensions in three low molecular weight polymers of different viscosities: a hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene, a polypropylene glycol, and a polysiloxane. The nanosize aluminum powder was previously coated by a thin layer of high-density polyethylene using an in situ polymerization process. The rheological characterization of the suspensions was conducted by the means of steady and oscillatory shear flow measurements for noncoated and coated particles. The effect of the coating process on the rheology of the suspensions is discussed in terms of the interactions between the particles and the suspending fluids.     

Investigation of fiber motion near solid boundaries in simple shear flow

In this paper, fiber motion near a planar wall was investigated using a planar shear flow apparatus. Fibers were placed (one at a time) perpendicular to the flow direction at various locations throughout the flow field. The location and orientation of each fiber versus time was measured, using an image processing system, until the fiber aligned with the flow direction. When the centroid of the fiber was located at distances greater than a fiber length from the wall, Jeffery's equations governing particle motion were verified. For distances less than a fiber length and greater than a fiber diameter from the wall, the fiber experienced an increased rate of rotation. In this regime, the motion of the fiber could be described by Jeffery's equations if an increased effective shear rate was used. The effective shear rate was found to increase logarithmically with decreasing separation distance. The wall effect was higher for longer aspect ratio fibers and was also a function of orientation; fibers oriented perpendicular to the wall rotated faster than those oriented parallel to the wall at the same separation distance. Once the fiber aligned with the flow direction, it ceased to rotate within the field of view. In this orientation, the wall had a stabilizing effect on the fiber. In efforts to relate the increase in shear rate to the aspect ratio of the fiber and the separation distance between the fiber and a solid wall, a translation model based on the work of De Mestre and Russel was explored. This model allows one to quantify the increase in shear rate experienced by the fiber due to the presence of a wall or obstruction in the flow field. However, the model has its limitations and care should be taken when applying this model outside its realm of validity. When compared to experimental data, the translation model provides a very good estimate of the increased shear rate experienced by the fiber when it is located less than 2/3 of a fiber length from a planar wall. Received: 20 April 2000 Accepted: 28 September 2000     

α-Fe粉体浓悬浮体系的制备及磁流变效应

报道使用价格低廉的还原铁粉制备磁性粒子浓悬浮体系,对体系磁流变效应进行研究,并研究了磁性颗粒尺寸和氧化物对悬浮体系力学性质及沉降稳定性的影响.     

大麦花药培养及其胚性悬浮细胞系的高频快速建立

研究了（1）在低温预处理过程中,不同相对湿度对大麦花药出愈率的影响;（2）低温处理愈伤组织对植株分化的影响;（3）高频快速建立大麦胚性悬浮细胞系,结果表明,低温预处理的较大相对湿度能明显促进花药的出愈率,低温处理愈伤组织能提高绿苗率,以7周龄的花药胚性愈伤组织为起始材料高频快速建立了均质,分散性好的胚性悬浮细胞系,建立频率约为25%～50%,已8～9周龄的花药胚性愈伤组织作为起始材料,难以建立胚性悬浮细胞系。     

A chiral axial next nearest neighbour xy-model for antiferroelectric liquid crystals

We describe a chiral axial next nearest neighbour xy-model to account for the various subphases exhibited by antiferroelectric liquid crystals made of chiral rod-like molecules. The assumed form of the interlayer interactions is based on physical processes which are discussed. Using a discrete model, the predicted sequence of transitions is SmA-SmC-SmC-FI_H-FI_I-FI_L-SmC ^* A, where FI stands for a ferriphase, as seen in many compounds. The ferri and SmC phases are characterized by relatively large angles between the c-vectors of successive layers and occur only when the compounds have high optical purity. The calculated field induced structures exhibit a plateau of the apparent tilt angle at , where is the tilt angle of the molecules in the ferriphase. The conoscopic figures in the presence of a field and ellipsometric parameters in the absence of a field have also been generated, which agree extremely well with the experimental results. Recent anomalous X-ray scattering studies prove the xy-character of the configurations, though the commensurate structures that are found in the ferriphase require an extension of the model to include lock-in terms. Received 23 August 1999