Search results for "STABILITY"
showing 10 items of 3085 documents
Computation of Unstable Binodals Not Requiring Concentration Derivatives of the Gibbs Energy
1998
The equilibrium of three liquid phases in a binary mixture implies the existence of tie lines and binodals that are different from the normal experimentally observable ones. First of all, there are the metastable extensions of the binodal built up by S/S tie lines. These S/S tie lines fulfill the equilibrium condition of the minimum of the Gibbs energy of the entire two-phase system. Both coexisting phases are located within the meta(stable) region. There are two additional types of tie lines: U/U (maximum of the Gibbs energy; both end points within the unstable area) and U/S tie lines (saddle point; one end point within the (meta)stable, the other within the unstable region). All types of…
Liquid-vapour phase behaviour of a symmetrical binary fluid mixture
1998
Using Monte-Carlo simulation and mean field calculations, we study the liquid-vapour phase diagram of a square well binary fluid mixture as a function of a parameter $\delta$ measuring the relative strength of interactions between particles of dissimilar and similar species. The results reveal a rich variety of liquid-vapour coexistence behaviour as $\delta$ is tuned. Specifically, we uncover critical end point behaviour, a triple point involving a vapour and two liquids of different density, and tricritical behaviour. For a certain range of $\delta$, the mean field calculations also predict a `hidden' (metastable) liquid-vapour binodal.
Demixing time and temperature influence on porosity and interconnection of PLLA scaffolds prepared via TIPS
2009
Scaffolds suitable for tissue engineering applications were prepared by Thermally Induced Phase Separation (TIPS) starting from a ternary solution PLLA/ dioxane/water. The experimental protocol consisted of three consecutive steps, a first quench from the homogeneous solution to an appropriate demixing temperature (within the binodal region), a liquid-liquid demixing stage for a given time and a final quench from the demixing temperature to a low temperature (within the spinodal region). A large variety of morphologies, in terms of average pore size and interconnection were obtained upon modifying the demixing time and temperature, owing to the interplay of nucleation and growth processes d…
Recent advances of in-tube solid-phase microextraction
2015
Abstract In-tube solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is ideally suited to developing green extraction by combining miniaturization, automation and reduction of solvent consumption. SPME has been used for the analysis of environmental, biological, and food samples, and numerous works have shown the benefits of using SPME. However, for full development of in-tube SPME, effort is still needed to overcome limitations, such as low extraction efficiency, selectivity and mechanical stability. To achieve these objectives, research on in-tube SPME is mainly focused in two scenarios: (1) the coupling of in-tube SPME with new chromatographic modalities, such as miniaturized liquid chromatography; and, …
Biogenic Selenium Nanoparticles: A Fine Characterization to Unveil Their Thermodynamic Stability
2021
Among the plethora of available metal(loid) nanomaterials (NMs), those containing selenium are interesting from an applicative perspective, due to their high biocompatibility. Microorganisms capable of coping with toxic Se-oxyanions generate mostly Se nanoparticles (SeNPs), representing an ideal and green alternative over the chemogenic synthesis to obtain thermodynamically stable NMs. However, their structural characterization, in terms of biomolecules and interactions stabilizing the biogenic colloidal solution, is still a black hole that impairs the exploitation of biogenic SeNP full potential. Here, spherical and thermodynamically stable SeNPs were produced by a metal(loid) tolerant Mic…
Segmental duplication associated with evolutionary instability of human chromosome 3p25.1
2005
Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of human bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones to orangutan metaphase spreads localized a breakpoint between human chromosome 3p25.1 and orangutan chromosome 2 to a <30-kb interval. The inversion occurred in a relatively gene-rich region with seven genes within 500 kb. The underlying breakpoint is closely juxtaposed to validated genes, however no functional gene has been disrupted by the evolutionary rearrangement. An approximately 21-kb DNA segment at the 3p25.1 breakpoint region has been duplicated intrachromosomally and interchromosomally to multiple regions in the orangutan and human genomes, providing additional evidence for the role …
Enchytraeid population dynamics: Resource limitation and size-dependent mortality
2009
Abstract Enchytraeids are regarded as keystone soil organisms in forest ecosystems. Their abundance and biomass fluctuate widely. Predicting the consequences of anthropogenic disturbances requires an understanding of the mechanisms underlying enchytraeid population dynamics. Here I develop a simple model, which predicts that the type of dynamics is controlled by resource input rate. If fungal resource input is a discrete event once a year, an exponential growth phase is followed by starvation and sharp decline of enchytraeid abundance. Model simulations with three different forcing functions were compared to field data. Initial parameter values were obtained from various independent sources…
Trehalose effects on α-crystallin aggregates
2007
alpha-Crystallin in its native state is a large, heterogeneous, low-molecular weight (LMW) aggregate that under certain conditions may progressively became part of insoluble high-molecular weight (HMW) systems. These systems are supposed to play a relevant role in eye lens opacification and vision impairment. In this paper, we report the effects of trehalose on alpha-crystallin aggregates. The role of trehalose in alpha-crystallin stress tolerance, chaperone activity and thermal stability is studied. The results show that trehalose stabilizes the alpha-crystallin native structure, inhibits alpha-crystallin aggregation, and disaggregates preformed LMW systems not affecting its chaperone acti…
Colloidal stability of halloysite clay nanotubes
2019
Abstract The colloidal stability of halloysite clay nanotubes dispersion is reviewed showing the strategy and the mechanism to obtain stable systems in water and apolar solvents. The selective modification of halloysite inner/outer surfaces can be achieved by exploiting electrostatic interactions. The adsorption of anionic surfactants onto the halloysite cavity allows generating inorganic cylindrical micelles that can be separated from the solvent. On the other hand, the functionalization of halloysite shell by positively charged surfactants drives to obtain stable water-in-oil emulsions. The interactions with ionic and nonionic polymers alters the dispersability of halloysite due to electr…
Effects of halloysite content on the thermo-mechanical performances of composite bioplastics
2020
Abstract The aim of this study is the design and preparation of Mater-Bi/halloysite nanocomposite materials that could be employed as bioplastics alternative to the petroleum derived products. The biocomposite materials at variable halloysite content (from 0 to 30 wt%) were prepared by using the solvent casting method. We investigated the mechanical behaviour and the thermal properties of the prepared nanocomposites in order to estimate their suitability as biocompatible packaging materials. The thermo-mechanical characteristics were correlated to the nanocomposites' morphologies, which were studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). As a general result, the physico-chemical performance…