0000000000061144
AUTHOR
Isidro S. Monzó
Modelling the Influence of Nanoparticles in the Phase Behaviour of an Epoxy/Polystyrene Mixture, 2
The influences of nanoparticle size and concentration on the thermodynamic behaviour of epoxy/polystyrene blends are evaluated in the framework of Ginzburg's simple analytical theory. Two approaches have been employed: NPEPO (for particles coated with epoxy groups) and NPFEN (for particles coated with phenyl groups). Using NPEPO, the particles are found to prefer the phase richer in epoxy, whereas the opposite occurs for NPFEN. The particles size significantly influences blend compatibility. When the particle radius Rp is about the same size as the radius of gyration R g of PS, the compatibility of blends increases with particle concentration, whereas for R p > R g , higher particle concent…
Elucidation of Carbohydrate Molecular Interaction Mechanism of Recombinant and Native ArtinM
[EN] The quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technique has been applied for monitoring the biorecognition of ArtinM lectins at low horseradish peroxidase glycoprotein (HRP) concentrations, using a simple kinetic model based on Langmuir isotherm in previous work.(18) The latter approach was consistent with the data at dilute conditions but it fails to explain the small differences existing in the jArtinM and rArtinM due to ligand binding concentration limit. Here we extend this analysis to differentiate sugar-binding event of recombinant (rArtinM) and native (jArtinM) ArtinM lectins beyond dilute conditions. Equivalently, functionalized quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (…
A thermodynamic approach to study hydrogen-bonding interactions in solvent/solvent/polymer ternary systems
Abstract A thermodynamic approach based on both the classical Flory–Huggins (FH) formalism and the association equilibria (AE) theory has been developed to study the solubility properties of a system formed by a proton-donor solvent (A), a proton-acceptor solvent (B) and a proton-acceptor polymer (C). The miscibility of this ternary system is attained by competitive specific interactions via hydrogen-bonding established between the hydroxyl and carbonyl interacting groups of either solvent–solvent (AB) or solvent–polymer (AC) system components. The binary AB and AC specific interactions and their dependence with the system composition as well as with the extent of the association equilibriu…
Modelling Monomer/Disc Composites Phase Behaviour
Summary: A model developed by Balazs' group to explain the phase behaviour of polymer/clay composites is extended to obtain an expression for the free energy of polymer/thin disc mixtures. Phase diagrams for monomer/disc mixtures are built by minimizing the free energy and calculating the chemical potentials of the three system components. Via the comparison of the diagrams, it is studied the effects of nanodisc size and interaction parameters on mixture stability and attained morphology. The performed predictions between monomers and discs give criteria that advance the properties of the mixture. Changes in monomer concentration and interaction parameters provide a means to prevent van der…
Modelling the hydrogen-bonding interactions in a copolymer/biodegradable homopolymer blend through excess functions
A recent theoretical approach based on the coupling of both the Flory-Huggins (FH) and the Association Equilibria thermodynamic (AET) theories was modified and adapted to study the miscibility properties of a multi- component system formed by two polymers (a proton-donor and a proton-acceptor) and a proton-acceptor solvent, named copolymer(A)/solvent(B)/polymer(C). Compatibility between polymers was mainly attained by hydrogen- bonding between the hydroxyl group on the phenol unit of the poly(styrene-co-vinyl phenol) (PSVPh) and the car- bonyl group of the biodegradable and environmentally friendly poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). However, the self- association of PSVPh and specific interacti…
Thermodynamic study on phase equilibrium of epoxy resin/thermoplastic blends
Abstract The experimental phase diagrams (cloud point curves) of three series of epoxy/thermoplastic blends, namely, epoxy/polystyrene (PS), epoxy/poly(ether sulfone) (PES), and epoxy/poly(ether imide) (PEI) as a function of molar mass and composition have been analysed from a thermodynamic point of view. A model based on the Flory–Huggins lattice theory considering the concentration dependence of the interaction parameter as predicted by Koningsveld was employed to determine the equilibrium compositions, and concentration and temperature dependent interaction parameters. Binodal, spinodal, and critical point data have been computed and show good agreement with experimental data.
Influence of the Copolymer Content on the Miscibility, Phase Behaviour and Morphology of a DGEBA/Polystyrene/Styrene-co-Maleic Anhydride Ternary Blend
The miscibility, phase behaviour and morphology of ternary systems, formed by a DGEBA-based epoxy resin, polystyrene (PS) and styrene-co-maleic anhydride (SMA) copolymers have been investigated through phase diagrams. The analysis has been done in the absence and in the presence of 4,4'-methylene bis(2,6-diethyl aniline) (MDEA) as curing agent. In both cases, the influence of the copolymer content on blend compatibility, has been discussed. The results show that miscibility is enhanced by the presence of SMA copolymer in the blend and as the MA content in the copolymer is increased (from 7 to 14wt.-%), due to specific H-bonding interactions between the H-donor hydroxyl groups on the epoxy r…
Ground and first excited electronic state interaction of FAD with some β-carboline derivatives
Abstract The spectrophotometric and thermodynamic properties of molecular complexes of flavine adenine dinucleotide (FAD) with some dihydro β-carboline derivatives have been investigated in aqueous solution. The molecular associations have been examined by means of electronic absorption spectra, since in each a new charge-transfer band has been located, and also the variation of the fluorescence emission of FAD on the solutions has been observed. The formation constants for the molecular complexes were determined from absorption data, using the Foster-Hammick-Wardley method. The quenching fluorescence phenomena observed in FAD is related to the concentration of the dihydro β-carboline deriv…
Modeling of the role of conformational dynamics in kinetics of the antigen-antibody interaction in heterogeneous phase.
[EN] A novel approach that may potentially be used to study biomolecular interactions including the simultaneous determination of structural and kinetic binding parameters is described in this Article for the first time. It allows a rigid distinction between the possible reaction mechanisms of biomolecular recognition, induced fit and conformational selection. The relative importance of the two pathways is determined not by comparing rate constants but the structural aspects of the interaction instead. So the exact location of antigen molecules with respect to the capture antibody is depicted experimentally, avoiding the use of X-ray crystallography. The proposed pattern is applied to study…
Study and comparison of interaction parameters and phase behavior of epoxy/polystyrene and epoxies copolymer polystyrene-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) blends
Thermodynamic studies in terms of phase separation behavior and interaction parameters, in mixtures of epoxy resins (thermoset materials) with thermoplastic additives, consisting of polystyrene (PS) or polystyrene-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) P(S-MMA) (with small proportion of MMA), have been carried out. It can be confirmed that the solubility of P(S-MMA) is an improvement on that of PS, with the prepolymer epoxy resins. Moreover, the interaction parameters are positive at temperatures in which phase separation is observed, but negative at temperatures in which the phase separation window disappears, in the corresponding phase diagram. POLYM. COMPOS., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engine…
Modelling the influence of nanoparticles in the phase behaviour of an epoxy/polystyrene mixture
Abstract The cloud point temperatures of four series of epoxy/polystyrene blends have been experimentally determined as a function of polymer mass and system composition. The phase diagrams show an UCST behaviour, increasing incompatibility as the molar mass increases. The Flory–Huggins theory with a concentration-dependent interaction parameter has been developed to study the compatibility of two polymers in presence of spherical nanoparticles. This theory has been first compared with the experimental cloud point curve in absence of nanoparticles, and secondly it has been used to predict the thermodynamic behaviour in presence of different volume fraction of nanoparticles. Nanoparticles co…
Treatment of poly(styrene-co-methacrylic acid)/poly(4-vinylpyridine) blends in solution under liquid–liquid phase-separation conditions. A new method for phase-separation data attainment from viscosity measurements
Phase diagrams are contributed for polymer mixture systems in solution. One polymer has proton-acceptor character and the other has growing proton-donor nature, which is reflected in the phase diagrams. Usually, these diagrams are obtained from size-exclusion chromatographic (SEC) measurements. A totally novel application, which is exposed in this report, is the construction of the phase diagram from the viscometric experiments of polymer mixtures. The evaluated binodal or cloud-point isotherms so built agree well with those from SEC. The results indicate an augmentation in the dimensions of donor polymer B, in the presence of acceptor polymer C, intensifying with the concentration of C, wh…
Ternary Polymer Solutions with Hydrogen Bonds, 2
Experimental ternary phase diagrams for ternary systems CHL/PS-MAA/PVPy with diverse MAA contents have been determined by GPC. The presence of MAA in the copolymers gives rise to specific interactions, by hydrogen bond formation between both polymeric components, so strong that the isotherm for the system with the highest MAA content so far studied, CHL/PS-MAA(8%)/PVPy, is representative of a complex coacervation situation. By applying the theoretical background deduced by coupling the Flory-Huggins lattice model to the AET developed for ternary polymeric systems SPP with specific intermolecular interactions (via hydrogen bonds), free energy surfaces for the CHL/PS-MAA/PVPy systems are cons…
Kinetics of the permanganate oxidation of formic acid in aqueous solution
The kinetics of the permanganate oxidation of formic acid in aqueous perchloric acid at 30°C were examined by the spectrophotometric method. The chemical reaction 2MnO + 3HCOOH + 2H+ 2MnO2 + 3CO2 + 4H2O, appears to proceed via several parallel reactions. The overall rate equation has been obtained by using statistical multilinear regression analysis of the 660 cases studied, and the presence in the rate equation of two new terms in relation to previous studies shows that both permanganate autocatalytic effects and acid media inhibition must be taken into account when the reaction proceeds at constant ionic strength.
Miscibility of Blends of Biodegradable Polymers and Copolymers with Different Plasticizers
Miscibility between components of different plasticizer(A)/solvent(B)/biodegradable polymer(C) ternary systems with H-bonding has been compared. Systems were formed by two H-donor phenolic plasticizers, 4-nonylphenol (NP) and 4:4'-dihydroxydiphenylmethane (BPF); an H-acceptor solvent, epichlorohydrin (ECH); and H-acceptor poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) or poly[(3-hydroxybutyrate)-co-(3-hydroxyvalerate)] (PHBHV) copolymers. Blend miscibility is the result of the balance of three competitive H-bondings: plasticizer self-association (AA), plasticizer-solvent (AB) and plasticizer-polymer (AC) interassociations. The strength and extent of such specific interactions have been experimentally monito…
Conformational mobility of thianthrene-5-oxide.
[reaction: see text] Data on the apparent dipole moment of thianthrene-5-oxide (1) and (1)H NMR spectra in different solvents support the conformational mobility of 1, which flaps between two limit boat conformations with the sulfinyl group in pseudoequatorial and pseudoaxial positions, respectively. The conformational equilibrium of 1 occurs too fast for the (1)H NMR (500 MHz) time-scale even at -130 degrees C, and the equilibrium constant has not been determined. The apparent dipole moments of 1 in n-hexane and 1,4-dioxane and the (1)H NMR spectra of 1 and the model compounds cis- and trans-thianthrene-5,10-dioxides (2) and thianthrene (5) in different solvents and at various temperatures…
Mechanism of the oxidation of sulfides by dioxiranes: conformational mobility and transannular interaction in the oxidation of thianthrene 5-oxide.
The detailed study of the oxidation of thianthrene 5-oxide (1) with methyl(trifluoromethyl)dioxirane (5b) in different solvents and in the presence of (18)O isotopic tracers is reported. Thianthrene 5-oxide (1) is a flexible molecule in solution, and this property allows for transannular interaction of the sulfoxide group with the expected zwitterionic 7 and hypervalent 10-S-4 sulfurane 9 intermediates formed in the oxidation and biases the course of the reaction toward the monooxygenation pathway.
Mapping molecular binding by means of conformational dynamics measurements
[EN] Protein-protein interactions are key in virtually all biological processes. The study of these interactions and the interfaces that mediate them play a key role in the understanding of biological function. In particular, the observation of protein¿protein interactions in their dynamic environment is technically difficult. Here two surface analysis techniques, dual polarization interferometry and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring, were paired for real-time mapping of the conformational dynamics of protein¿ protein interactions. Our approach monitors this dynamics in real time and in situ, which is a great advancement within technological platforms for drug discover…
Evidence for Conformational Mechanism on the Binding of TgMIC4 with β-Galactose-Containing Carbohydrate Ligand
A deeper understanding of the role of sialic/desialylated groups during TgMIC4-glycoproteins interactions has importance to better clarify the odd process of host cell invasion by members of the apicomplexan phylum. Within this context, we evaluated the interaction established by recombinant TgMIC4 (the whole molecule) with sialylated (bovine fetuin) and desialylated (asialofetuin) glycoproteins by using functionalized quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). A suitable receptive surface containing recombinant TgMIC4 for monitoring β-galactose-containing carbohydrate ligand (limit of quantification ∼ 40 μM) was designed and used as biomolecular recognition platform t…