Search results for "Gels"
showing 10 items of 671 documents
Keratin/alginate hybrid hydrogels filled with halloysite clay nanotubes for protective treatment of human hair
2022
Keratin/alginate hydrogels filled with halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) have been tested for the protective coating of human hair. Preliminary studies have been conducted on the aqueous colloidal systems and the corresponding hydrogels obtained by using Ca2+ ions as crosslinkers. Firstly, we have investigated the colloidal properties of keratin/alginate/HNTs dispersions to explore the specific interactions occurring between the biomacromolecules and the nanotubes. Then, the rheological properties of the hydrogels have been studied highlighting that the keratin/alginate interactions and the subsequent addition of HNTs facilitate the biopolymer crosslinking. Finally, human hair samples have been t…
Natural eutectogels: sustainable catalytic systems for C–C bond formation reactions
2021
Natural eutecto gels were prepared combining properties of amino acids with the ones of deep eutectic solvents. Soft materials obtained were fully characterised determining the gel-sol transition temperatures and analysing mechanical and morphological features through rheological measurements and polarised optical microscopy. All eutecto gels were tested as catalytic reaction media for the enantioselective aldol reaction and, the best performing one was also used to carry out the Michael addition. In both cases, eutecto gels proved to have a great potential as sustainable reaction media, allowing to perform processes under mild conditions, obtaining excellent yields and, in some cases, also…
Numerical simulations of the kinetics of pulsed electron beam induced synthesis of nanogels in dilute aqueous polymer solutions
2018
Nanogel can be produced by irradiation of dilute aqueous polymer solutions. The nanogels are formed primarily through intramolecular radical-radical crosslinking reactions between two polymer radical sites.
Retention-release equilibrium of aroma compounds in polysaccharide gels: study by quantitative structure-activity/property relationships approach
2010
The nature and amount of constituents in food greatly influence aroma release. Pectins and carrageenans are common used thickeners, but their effect on the release of aroma compounds has been studied more frequently for non- homogeneous products than for thickeners separately. The purpose of this work was to study and compare their respective effects in simple model systems. In this way, the release of 13 aroma compounds was analysed by headspace analysis at equilibrium in pure water, i-carrageenan and pectin gels. To evaluate the influence of the chemical structure of aroma com- pounds on retention/release equilibrium between vapour phase and gels, we used a quantitative structure-activity…
About entangled networks of worm-like micelles: a rejected hypothesis
1996
We report new results from small-angle neutron scattering on d(1 2)-cyclohexane/lecithin/water micellar solutions performed as a function of the water content (w(o)), temperature (T) and dispersed phase volume fraction (phi). The data from dilute samples are interpretable in terms of the existence of giant cylindrical reverse micelles and are well fit with a core-shell model (that provides the micelle structure and dimensions) with values of 28 and 45 Angstrom for the inner core and the outer shell radii, almost independent on temperature and concentration. Such a result could appear consistent with the current idea that worm-like micelles are living polymers. On the contrary, the appearanc…
Gellan gum-based delivery systems of therapeutic agents and cells.
2020
The purpose of this review is to make a summary of high quality research trends using gellan gum (GG) as a polymeric constituent for the design of innovative drug delivery systems and devices for biomedical applications, such as cell therapy and regenerative medicine. The use of gellan gum is described both in its native form and as chemically functionalized derivatives or physically mixed with natural or synthetic materials. Starting from a systematic study of recent research works, the main properties of the native polysaccharide have been highlighted and therefore some improvements have been focused thanks to the design of chemically functionalized derivatives and the use of composite ma…
Optical sensors for ethanol vapor based on polystyrene opals infiltrated with hydrogel
2013
This paper deals with a novel class of optical sensors for ethanol vapor, based on polystyrene opals infiltrated with a hydrogel sensitive to ethanol. Optical characterization of such opals has been performed, proving their effectiveness as sensors
Oxygen permeability of hydrogel contact lenses with organosilicon moieties
2002
Oxygen transport through two extended wear (day and night) hydrogel contact lenses that contain organosilicon moieties (balafilcon A and lotrafilcon A) was studied in the hydrate (hydrogel) and dry (xerogel) states. The water uptake increased the oxygen permeability [(Dk)app] and transmissibility [Dk/L(av)] coefficients of the dry materials by about 70%. The (Dk)app for the hydrated lenses was determined following the so-called stack procedure. The values obtained were 107 +/- 4 barrer for balafilcon A and 141 +/- 5 barrer for lotrafilcon A, about 5-10 times larger than those previously reported for conventional (without organosilicon moieties) extended wear hydrogels contact lenses. The Dk…
Optical experiments on a crystallizing hard-sphere–polymer mixture at coexistence
2010
We report on the crystallization kinetics in an entropically attractive colloidal system using a combination of time resolved scattering methods and microscopy. Hard sphere particles are polystyrene microgels swollen in a good solvent (radius a=380nm, starting volume fraction 0.534) with the short ranged attractions induced by the presence of short polymer chains (radius of gyration rg = 3nm, starting volume fraction 0.0224). After crystallization, stacking faulted face centred cubic crystals coexist with about 5% of melt remaining in the grain boundaries. From the Bragg scattering signal we infer the amount of crystalline material, the average crystallite size and the number density of cry…