0000000000256174
AUTHOR
Rainer Pommersheim
Flow chemistry: Imidazole-based ionic liquid syntheses in micro-scale
The quarternization of an N-atom in the 1-methyl-imidazole with different alkylating agents was investigated to form so-called Ionic Liquids. (3-Chloropropyl)-trimethoxysilane, 1-chlorobutane, diethyl sulfate and methyl trifluoromethanesulfonate were used as alkylating agents. Reaction kinetics range from very slow to instantaneous and the reaction heat from endothermal to extremely exothermal respectively. The reactions were performed under flow conditions using different types of microstructured reactors as well as pre-structurized reactants in the micro-scale. Unusual heat management with integrated heat pipes allow safer performing of highly exothermal reactions with comparably high thr…
Continuous-Flow Synthesis of Ni(0) Nanoparticles Using a Cone Channel Nozzle or a Micro Coaxial-Injection Mixer
To synthesize nickel(0) nanoparticles by wet chemical reduction using hydrazine with an average size distribution below 100 nm, two different reactor concepts were developed. With a cone channel nozzle, the reactant solutions were sprayed into a batch for further processing and reduction at elevated temperatures. Another concept uses a micro-coaxial injection mixer connected to a heated tube to establish a fully continuously operating reactor. To shorten the time for reduction of the nickel, salt temperatures up to 180 °C are applied. To avoid uncontrolled residence time, the whole system was pressurized up to 80 bar. Approximately 80 L reactant solution, i.e., 1 kg nickel(0) nanoparticles,…
Xenotransplantation of parathyroids in rats using barium-alginate and polyacrylic acid multilayer microcapsules
The integrity and function of encapsulated parathyroid tissue following xenotransplantation is limited by oxygen and nutrition supply and capsule fibrosis. Since some of these factors depend on stability and biocompatibility of the coating material, multilayer microcapsules have been developed. Parathyroid tissue pieces and digested single cells from pigs were encapsulated in barium-alginate and in polyacrylic acid (PAA) multilayer capsules. After 7 days of culture the function of the encapsulated cells were assessed. Subsequently, in a part of the cultured microcapsules the viability was directly assessed whereas the other part was transplanted in dark animal [DA] rats for 30 days. After e…
Immobilization of enzymes by multilayer microcapsules
A method is described to obtain a new type of microcapsules for immobilization of enzymes or living cells. The wall of these capsules consists of several layers of poly(ethyleneimine) and poly(acrylic acid). The idea is that diverging properties of the whole assembly can be better controlled when the membrane is built up by several consecutive steps, each being optimized with respect to a special property, for example, permeability or mechanical strength. The encapsulation of acidic phosphatase and the cleavage of p-nitrophenyl phosphate was used as a model system. The charged capsules were characterized by their enzymatic activity, as a function of membrane composition (number and sequence…
Biocompatibility of alginates for grafting: impact of alginate molecular weight.
Optimising microencapsulation technology towards the effective clinical transplantation has created the need for highly biocompatible alginates. Therefore, in this study the biocompatibility of different beads prepared from alginates with varying average molecular weight was examined. In some experiments the beads were covered with a multilayer membrane surrounded by an alginate layer. First of all, we found that beads made of a lower weight average alginate elicted a much stronger fibrotic response compared to beads made of a higher weight average alginate (LV-alginate > MV-alginate). The results were confirmed by the observation that the extent of tissue fibrosis was significantly increas…
Effect of media composition on long-term in vitro stability of barium alginate and polyacrylic acid multilayer microcapsules.
For a number of applications stability of microcapsules is a critical factor. Since the maintenance of polyelectrolyte complexes depends considerably on the ion composition we tested the physical properties of barium alginate capsules and searched for conditions to improve stability by a multilayer coating with polyethylenimine (PEI) and polyacrylic acid (PAA). Mechanical stability and diameters were determined in barium alginate capsules and compared with multilayer capsules. Multilayer coating resulted in smaller capsules than barium complexing alone. The difference was more pronounced when CaCl2 was used instead of NaCl during coating. Barium alginate capsules and application of CaCl2 du…
Multilayer capsules: a promising microencapsulation system for transplantation of pancreatic islets
In 1980, Lim and Sun introduced a microcapsule coated with an alginate/polylysine complex for encapsulation of pancreatic islets. Characteristic to this type of capsule is, that it consists of a plain membrane which is formed during a single procedural step. With such a simple process it is difficult to obtain instantly a membrane optimized with respect to all the properties requested for islet transplantation. To overcome these difficulties, it is recommended to build up the membrane in several consecutive steps, each optimized for a certain property. In this study, we have analysed such a multilayer microcapsule for the encapsulation of pancreatic islets. Therefore, empty and islet contai…