Fouling and protein adsorption effect of low-temperature plasma treatment of membrane surfaces

Adsorption of proteins and the effect of the chemical nature of membrane surfaces on protein adsorption were investigated using¹⁴C-tagged albumin and several microporous membranes (polyvinilydene fluoride, PVDF; nylon; polypropylene, PP; and polycarbonate, PC). The membrane surfaces were modified by exposing them to low-temperature plasma of several different monomers (n-butane, oxygen, nitrogen alone or as mixtures) in a radiofrequency plasma reactor. Transients in the permeability of albumin solutions through the membranes and changes in flux of distilled water through the membranes before and after adsorption of albumin were used to investigate the role of protein adsorption on membrane fouling. The results show that the extent of adsorption of albumin on hydrophobic membranes was considerably more than that on hydrophilic membranes. The hydrophilic membranes were susceptible to electrostatic interactions and less prone to fouling. A pore-blocking model was successfully used to correlate the loss of water flux through pores of defined geometry     

Synthesis of well-defined polymers with protected silanol groups by atom transfer radical polymerization and their use for the fabrication of polymeric nanoparticles

Copper-mediated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of a protected silanol group-holding methacrylate, methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MOPS), was investigated. In a dry condition using carefully distilled solvent and monomer, the polymerization proceeded in a living fashion providing a low-polydispersity polymer with a predicted molecular weight. The ATRP in conjunction with the sequential monomer addition of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and MOPS afforded a block copolymer of the type PMMA-b-poly(MMA-r-MOPS). The heat treatment of a solution of the block copolymer in the presence of a catalytic amount of ammonia gave a polymeric core-shell nanoparticle with a shell of PMMA moieties and a core of the poly(MMA-r-MOPS) blocks cross-linked via the condensation of the trimethoxysilane groups of the MOPS moieties.     

缩聚反应合成侧链液晶聚合物

侧链液晶聚合物的合成方法,可归纳为3类:一是烯基的单体,如甲基丙烯酸酯,或丙烯酸酯,氯代丙烯酸酯等,经自由基聚合反应,阴离子聚合反应及甲基丙烯酸酯的基团转移聚合反应,得到侧链液晶聚合物;二是变性反应,如聚硅氧烷与丙烯酸酯介     

Nanocomposite materials from latex and cellulose whiskers

Composite materials were processed by casting a mixture of aqueous suspensions of latex and microfibrils. These microfibrils, or whiskers, are extracted from a sea animal and are monocrystals of cellulose, with an aspect ratio around 100 and an average diameter of 20 nm. It has been found that the mechanical properties (shear modulus) are increased by more than two orders of magnitude in the rubbery state of the polymeric matrix, when the whisker content was 6% (w/w). This very large effect is discussed on the basis of different types of mechanical models and it is concluded that these whiskers form a rigid network, probably linked by hydrogen bonds. The formation of this network is assumed to be governed by a percolation mechanism.     

Method of immobilization of carboxymethyl-dextran affects resistance to tissue and cell colonization

Coatings from carboxymethylated dextrans (CMDs) were fabricated, analyzed by XPS, and investigated for their ability to inhibit corneal epithelial tissue outgrowth and bovine corneal epithelial cell attachment and growth. CMDs with differing degrees of carboxymethyl substitution and various molecular weights were synthesized by the solution reaction of dextrans with bromoacetic acid under different reactant ratios. The CMD compounds thus obtained were attached onto aminated surfaces produced in two ways: by the plasma deposition of a coating from n-heptylamine vapour, and by the plasma deposition of an acetaldehyde coating onto whose surface aldehyde groups the polyamine compounds polylysine, polyethyleneimine and polyallylamine were immobilized to provide platforms for CMD immobilization. XPS spectra showed that the latter route produced thicker coatings than the former approach. CMD molecules attached directly onto the plasma-fabricated amine surface supported some tissue migration; the extent of carboxymethyl substitution and the molecular weight of the CMDs had little influence. For CMDs immobilized via polyamine spacers, on the other hand, tissue outgrowth was completely inhibited, and again there were no discernible effects from the extent of carboxymethyl substitution and the molecular weight of the CMDs. In assays involving cell attachment and growth, analogous observations were found. Thus, the mode of immobilization of these polysaccharide coatings is the dominant factor in their anti-fouling performance, suggesting that optimization of the architecture of polysaccharide coatings may be an important factor for maximizing their cell-repellent abilities.     

Synthesis and photochemistry of side-chain liquid crystal polymers based on cinnamate esters

The syntheses of three methacrylate monomers with cinnamate ester side-chains and of a further monomer with a corresponding cinnamide side-chain are described. Two of the monomers, with isomeric structures, were thermotropic liquid crystals. Although the clearing points were very similar the crystal melting points differed by 8°C. One compound also exhibited a monotropic smectic phase, behavior not shown by its isomer. The other two monomers were not liquid crystalline. The monomers were polymerized by free radical polymerization, both as homopolymers and as copolymers with methyl methacrylate. In the case of one of the mesogenic ester monomers, copolymers with a cyanophenyl benzoate monomer were also prepared. Three of the four monomers formed thermotropic liquid crystalline homopolymers and the copolymers with the benzoate monomer were also liquid crystalline. The monomers were considered as photoactive components of polymeric liquid crystals. As a preliminary investigation of their photochemistry, copolymers with methyl methacrylate were prepared and irradiated in solution with a broad-band source. Under these conditions two of the materials show a facile photo-Fries rearrangement of the aryl cinnamate ester group. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

PREPARATION OF MICROGEL-EPOXY RESIN TWO-PHASE POLYMERS BY IN SITU POLYMERIZATION~*

Microgel-epoxy resin two-phase polymers were prepared by in situ copolymerization of ethylenic monomers with unsaturated polyesters. The choice of monomers and the effect of monomer concentration on microgel particle size were discussed. Agglomeration of particles played a significant role in the early stage of polymerization. The microgel dispersion in epoxy resin was stable after the finish of polymerization. Upon curing the particles remained well dispersed.     

Syntheses and Crystal Structure of Erbium(Ⅲ) Coordination Polymers with Two Flexible Double Betaine Ligands

1INTR0DUCTI0NLanthanidecarboxylatecomplexeshavebeenwidelystudiedt1iandm0starefoundtoexhibitavarietyofdimericorinfinitechainstructures.Recentstudiesinourlaboratoryhavedem0nstratedthattheprototypetertiaryaminebetaine(Me,N CHzC0z-)anditsderivativesareusefulinthegenerationoflanthanidecarb0xylate-likecomplexeswithnewstructuralfeaturesduetotheiroverallchargeneutralityandpossibleinclusionofvariouskindsofcounteranionsinthestructuret2~4i.Thelan-thanidecomplexesisolatedsofarhavebeenfoundtobemononu…     

Syntheses and Characterizations of Novel One-dimensional Coordination Polymers Self-assembled from Co(NCS)_2 and Flexible Diester-bridged Pyridine-based Ligands

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Conductive characteristics of radical‐bearing polythiophenes using a microcomb‐shaped electrode

The electric conductivity of π‐conjugated and radical‐bearing polymers, i.e., polythiophenes bearing pendant galvinoxyl and phenoxyl radical groups, was measured using a microcomb‐shaped electrode. The electric conductivity was found to be enhanced by the radical content in the polymer. The infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopies suggested a structural change from an aromatic form to a quinoid one in the polythiophene backbone by the phenoxyl radical generation. The effect of the pendant galvinoxyl radical's unpaired electron on the electric conductivity of the polythiophene was discussed by comparing the conductivity of a radical‐bearing polystyrene and a polythiophene mixed with low‐molecular radical molecules. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.