Search results for "PLASTICS"

Impact of molecular weight on the formation of electrosprayed chitosan microcapsules as delivery vehicles for bioactive compounds.

2016

The molecular weight of chitosan is one of its most determinant characteristics, which affects its processability and its performance as a biomaterial. However, information about the effect of this parameter on the formation of electrosprayed chitosan microcapsules is scarce. In this work, the impact of chitosan molecular weight on its electrosprayability was studied and correlated with its effect on the viscosity, surface tension and electrical conductivity of solutions. A Discriminant Function Analysis revealed that the morphology of the electrosprayed chitosan materials could be correctly predicted using these three parameters for almost 85% of the samples. The suitability of using elect…

Supramolecular Antioxidant Assemblies of Hyperbranched Polyglycerols and Phenols

2014

Natural Compounds as Sustainable Additives for Biopolymers

2020

In the last few decades, the interest towards natural compounds, coming from a natural source and biodegradable, for biopolymers is always increasing because of a public request for the formulation of safe, eco-friendly, and sustainable materials. The main classes of natural compounds for biopolymers are: (i) naturally occurring fillers (nFil), such as nano-/micro- sized layered alumino-silicate: halloysite, bentonite, montmorillonite, hydroxyapatite, calcium carbonate, etc.; (ii) naturally occurring fibers (nFib), such as wood and vegetable fibers; (iii) naturally occurring antioxidant molecules (nAO), such as phenols, polyphenols, vitamins, and carotenoids. However, in this short review, …

Continuous fractionation of poly[(dimethylimino)decamethylene bromide] and molecular weight dependence of the glass transition

1995

30 g of the ionene poly[(dimethylimino)decamethylene bromide] were fractionated by a continuous counter-current extraction method (CPF) using ethylene glycol monoethyl ether as the solvent and diisopropyl ether as the non-solvent component. The efficiency of the separation was checked by viscometry and gel-permeation chromatography (GPC) measurements. Eight fractions of different molar mass were prepared for differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) experiments. With bromide as counter-ion, the glass transition temperature of the ionene increases from ca. 60 to 85°C as the intrinsic viscosity of this material (in 0,4 M aqueous solutions of KBr at 25°C) rises from ca. 14 to 22 mL/g. When bromi…

Shear Induced Demixing and Rheological Behavior of Aqueous Solutions of Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)

2003

The interrelation between the phase separation behavior and the rheological performance of aqueous solutions of high molecular weight (M w = 1 600 kg/mol) poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) was investigated. The system demixes upon heating and the cloud point temperature, T cp decreases steadily with rising polymer concentration up to 10 wt.-%. The application of shear supports phase separation and reduces T cp markedly. This observation is interpreted in terms of destruction of intersegmental clusters formed in the quiescent state owing to favorable interactions. Intrinsic viscosities and Huggins coefficients as well as the viscosities, η at higher polymer concentrations are closely connected wit…

Mark-Houwink Parameters of Biosynthetic Poly(γ-glutamic acid) in Aqueous Solution

2001

A combined viscosity–light scattering–gel permeation chromatography (GPC) study was carried out on bacterially produced poly(γ-glutamic acid) (PGGA). PGGA samples with weight-average molecular weights ranging from 8×104 up to 8×105 g·mol–1 dissolved in phosphate buffer at 0.13 M ionic strength were used. It was found that the Mark–Houwink relation is acceptably obeyed, giving K and a values of 1.84×10–6 dL·g–1 and 1.16, respectively. As expected, GPC analysis showed that PGGA does not follow the universal calibration plot and that deviations can not be avoided by modifying the ionic strength.

Synthesis of Water-Soluble Copolymers Carrying Long-Chain (C12 to C30 ) Aliphatic Moieties

2011

Water-soluble copolymers from mono-1-alkyl itaconates and N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone are synthesized and characterized. Themono-1-alkyl itaconates are prepared from itaconic anhydride and the related alcohol: 1-dodecanol, 1-octadecanol, 1-docosanol, and 1-triacontanol. The mono-1-triacontyl itaconate is synthesized fromplant growth regulator policosanols extracted from Agave fourcrouydes, where 1-triacontanol is the major product. The reactivity ratios, calculated according to the Mao-Huglin method for copolymerizations conducted to medium-high conversions, indicate a tendency toward alternation for all copolymerization reactions. Water solubility of copolymers is provided as a function of copol…

Reduced protein adsorption on plastics via direct plasma deposition of triethylene glycol monoallyl ether

1997

The direct plasma-induced deposition of tri(ethylene glycol) monoallyl ether is reported. RF plasma polymerization of this monomer was carried out under both continuous wave (CW) and pulsed plasma operation. The major focus of this work was optimization of the degree of retention of the C-O-C bonds of the starting monomer during the deposition process. This successfully was accomplished using low RF power during the CW runs and low RF duty cycles during the pulsed plasma experiments. Spectroscopic analysis of the plasma films revealed a strong dependence of film composition on the RF power and duty cycles employed. In particular, an unusually high level of film chemistry compositional contr…

Towards the Generation of Self-Healing Materials by Means of a Reversible Photo-induced Approach

2011

Photo-induced reversibility as a tool for self-healing: a reversible photo-induced dendritic macromonomer was synthesized and proven to form networks with different features depending on the crosslinking conditions. While networks formed from aqueous systems exhibited a reversible change in their crosslinking degree, networks generated in bulk underwent fully reversibility. The latter was then exploited for generating self-healing materials by means of a photo-induced treatment.

Functionalization of Crosslinked Vesicles by Co-Self-Assembly of a Gelable Diblock Copolymer and Mercaptosilane

2008

Herein, a convenient and general method to simultaneously fix and functionalize polymeric vesicles with sulphydryl groups by the co-self-assembly of poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly[3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate] (PEO-b-PTESPMA) and 3-mercaptopropyltrialkoxysilane in an aqueous solution is reported. The presence of sulphydryl groups across the vesicle membrane has been confirmed by using an energy-filtered technique during TEM analysis and by capturing Au nanoparticles.