Search results for "Chemical engineering"

Antibacterial chitosan-based blends with ethylene–vinyl alcohol copolymer

2010

Abstract This study reports for the first time about the formulation, morphology, water barrier and the antimicrobial activity of high and low molecular weight chitosonium-acetate based solvent-cast blends with ethylene–vinyl alcohol (EVOH) copolymers. The blends based on the low molecular weight chitosan grade showed enhanced phase morphology, transparency, enhanced water barrier properties, up to 86% water permeability reduction compared to pure chitosonium-acetate films, as well as excellent antimicrobial activity. When the fraction of low molecular weight chitosan exceeded the phase inversion in the blend, phase segregation became noticeable but good interfacial adhesion was still obser…

Hydrogen-Bonded Aggregates of Oligoaramide−Poly(ethylene glycol) Block Copolymers

2010

Rod−coil copolymers with an oligomeric rod aggregate on a nanometer length scale, which is important for many applications like e.g. organic photovoltaics. However, this aggregation behavior and the driving forces such as hydrogen bonding and π−π interactions, as well as the role of side groups, are not yet fully understood. Here, we investigated these noncovalent interactions in oligo(p-benzamide)−poly(ethylene glycol) (OPBA−PEG) copolymers using solid-state NMR supported by wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and polarization optical microscopy (POM). It was found that longer OPBAs form layered β-sheet-like aggregates and that these are stabilized …

Rheological properties of progesterone microemulsions: Influence of xanthan and chitosan biopolymer concentration

2008

In this preformulations study, rheological properties of microemulsions with progesterone (1%) were studied to analyze the effect of xanthan and chitosan at different concentrations (0.5–3%). Steady shear and oscillatory rheological properties were analyzed using a controlled stress rheometer. Steady shear data were satisfactorily adjusted to the Carreau model. For all preparations, shear-thinning behavior was observed. Zero shear viscosity (η0) increased with the biopolymer concentration. The results from dynamic experiments showed the behavior of all preparations with xanthan gum and those of chitosan to be characteristic of weak gels and liquid-like solutions, respectively. The correlati…

Time-resolved rheology as a tool to monitor the progress of polymer degradation in the melt state - Part I: Thermal and thermo-oxidative degradation …

2015

Abstract Thermal and thermo-oxidative degradation of polyamide 11 (PA11) in the melt state (T = 215 °C) are studied by resorting to time-resolved mechanical spectroscopy. Such an approach allows to elude the changes in the rheological properties occurring while testing, thus enabling the rigorous study of polymer degradation in the melt state. Different concurrent degradation reactions in oxidative (air) and non-oxidative (N2) environment are promptly guessed by studying the time evolutions of rheological functions. In particular, changes in the zero-frequency complex viscosity reflects changes in the average molecular weight, while the appearance of a yield stress in the complex viscosity …

Designing Medical Devices Based on Silicon Polymeric Material with Controlled Release of Local Anesthetics

2012

The drug delivery systems that are the object of this article take the form of a polymer matrix made of silicone containing a drug. These devices can be used as patches for local dermal applications releasing the drug in a controlled manner. The model active agent, lidocaine hydrochloride was chosen from the range of local anesthetics. When the drug is restricted to the surface, it is released more rapidly than when it is allowed to spread evenly throughout the silicon structure. When hydrophilic polymers such as PVA and HEC are mixed in with the lidocaine hydrochloride and deposited on the surface of the polymer matrix, we observed that the burst effect was eliminated without modifying the…

Processing and adjusting the hydrophilicity of poly(oxymethylene) (co)polymers: nanoparticle preparation and film formation

2016

Handling the insoluble POM: the preparation of nanoparticles based on hyperbranched-linear-hyperbranched ABA triblock copolymers with variable hydrophilicity and composed of short hyperbranched polyglycerol (hbPG) as the A-blocks and linear poly(oxymethylene) (POM) as a B-block is described. The POM-hbPG-nanoparticles with diameters in the range of 190 to 250 nm were generated in a convenient process, combining the solvent evaporation process with the miniemulsion technique, a water borne handling for POM-copolymers. Furthermore, the film formation properties of the nanoparticles were investigated by deposition on silicon and subsequent sintering, which leads to films with a thickness in th…

1995

Redoxactive liquid crystalline (LC) side group polymers were prepared by copolymerization of liquid crystalline acrylates and ferrocene-containing acrylates. The corresponding liquid crystalline ionomers were synthesized by a reversible redox reaction. The incorporation of tetra-alkylated ferrocene derivatives leads to LC polymers with reduced redox potential. These polymers can be oxidized under mild conditions to the corresponding ionomers, which are much more stable in solution than LC ionomers containing monoalkylated ferrocenium ions. Dynamic mechanical measurements and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) perfomed on LC ionomers prove the existence of ionic superstructures (clusters) w…

Durability of a strach-based biodegradable polymer

2007

Abstract The photo-oxidation and the photo-stabilization of a commercial biodegradable polymer have been investigated in order to establish the possibility of using this polymer as raw material for films for agriculture. The degradation has been followed by measuring the mechanical properties as a function of photo-oxidation time and in particular by following the elongation at break. The virgin polymer, made from maize starch and a synthetic biodegradable polyester, shows poor resistance to the UV irradiation as observed by the fast decay of the elongation at break, but the presence of small amounts of conventional UV stabilizers strongly improves the durability of this polymer. The UV sta…

1996

Combined LC-polymers possess the structural properties of both LC main chain and LC side chain polymers. Beneath this structural speciality, their broad LC-phases and their polymorphism (different smectic phases and one nematic phase as a function of temperature) make them interesting. Crucial to an understanding of them is the fact that main chain and side chain mesogens orient parallel to each other and interact cooperatively to form the LC-phase. Due to this synergism the temperature range of the LC-phase is much broader than that of the corresponding LC main chain and LC side chain polymers. This interplay of main chain and side chain mesogens allows structures to be designed with prefe…

Rheological behavior and thermal stability of poly(phenylene sulfide)/vectra-B950 blends

1994

Blends of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) with a commercial, wholly aromatic, liquid crystalline polymer (LCP), Vectra-B950, have been prepared by melt-blending. Their rheological behavior has been studied in order to determine if the LCP displays a processing aid ability, and under what conditions it gives rise to potentially reinforcing fibrils dispersed in the PPS matrix. The problem of the thermal stability of PPS/LCP blends, which has been considered by some authors as the main obstacle to the production of usable materials due to the evolution of gaseous substances during processing, has been discussed. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.