Search results for "bioengineering"
showing 10 items of 1963 documents
Rapid one-pot synthesis of tapered star copolymers via ultra-fast coupling of polystyryllithium chain ends
2019
Highly efficient stoichiometric coupling of sterically hindered polystyryllithium (PS-Li) chain ends was achieved using tetra[3-(chloro-dimethylsilyl)propyl]silane (TCDMSPS) as the linking agent. Based on the disparate reactivities of isoprene (I, rI = 11.0) and styrene (S, rS = 0.049) in the anionic copolymerization in nonpolar media, poly(isoprene0.5-grad-styrene0.5) (P(I0.5-grad-S0.5)) tapered 4-arm star copolymers were synthesized in only two steps. The tapered 4-arm star copolymers (Mtargetedw = 40 to 160 kg mol−1) were synthesized with high star functionalities f (Mw,star/Mw,arm = 3.68–3.98), low dispersity (Đ = 1.06–1.15) and minimal residual precursor content (2–8 wt%), avoiding fra…
Origin of nanostructural inhomogeneity in polymer-network gels
2017
Polymer-network gels often display nano- to microstructural spatial inhomogeneity of their polymer-segmental and crosslinking densities, especially if they are formed by uncontrolled free-radical crosslinking copolymerization of mono- and multifunctional monomers and crosslinkers. This structural complexity markedly affects their optical clarity, mechanical strength, and permeability, which is of central relevance for their performance in everyday-life and high-tech products. This review summarizes and inter-relates a rich amount of existing studies on the origin of this inhomogeneity. It arcs from early fundamental work in the 1990s, development and assessment of highly ideal and super tou…
Temperature Sensing in Cells Using Polymeric Upconversion Nanocapsules
2020
Monitoring local temperature inside cells is crucial when interpreting biological activities as enhanced cellular metabolism leads to higher heat production and is commonly correlated with the presence of diseases such as cancer. In this study, we report on polymeric upconversion nanocapsules for potential use as local nanothermometers in cells by exploiting the temperature dependence of the triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion phenomenon. Nanocapsules synthesized by the miniemulsion solvent evaporation technique are composed of a polymer shell and a liquid core of rice bran oil, hosting triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion active dyes as sensitizer and emitter molecules. The sens…
Transition to Reinforced State by Percolating Domains of Intercalated Brush-Modified Cellulose Nanocrystals and Poly(butadiene) in Cross-Linked Compo…
2013
The classic nanocomposite approach aims at percolation of low fraction of exfoliated individual reinforcing nanoscale elements within a polymeric matrix. By contrast, many of the mechanically excellent biological nanocomposites involve self-assembled and space-filled structures of hard reinforcing and soft toughening domains, with high weight fraction of reinforcements. Here we inspect a new concept toward mimicking such structures by studying whether percolation of intercalated domains consisting of alternating rigid and reinforcing, and soft rubbery domains could allow a transition to a reinforced state. Toward that, we present the functionalization of rigid native cellulose nanocrystals …
Thermomechanical Analysis of Isora Nanofibril Incorporated Polyethylene Nanocomposites
2021
The research on cellulose fiber-reinforced nanocomposites has increased by an unprecedented magnitude over the past few years due to its wide application range and low production cost. However, the incompatibility between cellulose and most thermoplastics has raised significant challenges in composite fabrication. This paper addresses the behavior of plasma-modified polyethylene (PE) reinforced with cellulose nanofibers extracted from isora plants (i.e., isora nanofibrils (INFs)). The crystallization kinetics of PE&ndash
Low Conductive Electrodeposited Poly(2,5-dimethoxyaniline) as a Key Material in a Double Lateral Heterojunction, for Sub-ppm Ammonia Sensing in Humid…
2019
We present a new device called a double lateral heterojunction (DLH) as an ammonia sensor in humid atmosphere. It combines polyaniline derivatives in their poor conducting state with a highly conductive molecular material, lutetium bisphthalocyanine, LuPc2. Polyaniline and poly(2,5-dimethoxyaniline) are electrodeposited on ITO interdigitated electrodes, leading to an original device that can be obtained only by electrochemistry and not by other solution processing techniques. Both polymers lead to highly conducting materials that require a neutralization step before their coverage by LuPc2. While the device based on polyaniline shows ohmic behavior, the nonlinear I- V characteristics of the…
Endocytotic uptake of HPMA-based polymers by different cancer cells: impact of extracellular acidosis and hypoxia.
2017
Daniel Gündel,1 Mareli Allmeroth,2 Sarah Reime,1 Rudolf Zentel,2 Oliver Thews1 1Institute of Physiology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), 2Institute of Organic Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany Background: Polymeric nanoparticles allow to selectively transport chemotherapeutic drugs to the tumor tissue. These nanocarriers have to be taken up into the cells to release the drug. In addition, tumors often show pathological metabolic characteristics (hypoxia and acidosis) which might affect the polymer endocytosis.Materials and methods: Six different N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA)-based polymer structures (homopolymer as well as…
Evaluation of polyalkylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles as a potential drug carrier: preparation, morphological characterization and loading capacity.
1993
Some physicochemical behaviours were investigated of polyethyl- (PECA) and polyisobutylcyanoacrylate (PICA), which, in recent years, have been proposed as nanoparticle colloidal systems for drug carrying. We observed the influence of preparation conditions, such as pH value and surfactant concentration, on parameters such as particle size and polymer molecular weight. Lower operating pH values (0-2) resulted in smaller nanoparticles than those prepared at pH 5.5. The polymer molecular weight was also a function of pH: low molecular weight at low pH and vice-versa. The surfactant concentration positively influenced main particle size and polymer molecular weight. These trends were independen…
Process parameters of microsphere preparation based on propylene carbonate emulsion-precursors.
2020
This study aimed for a detailed understanding of the impact of different process parameters involved during celecoxib-loaded microsphere preparation based on propylene carbonate emulsion-precursors.Microspheres were prepared by a modified emulsification-solvent extraction method. Performed investigations included polymer solubility and viscosity, microsphere size, morphology and stability, propylene carbonate content as well as celecoxib solid state, content and release.Rough-walled round microspheres with sizes between 21 µm and 122 µm and an internal sponge-like structure filled with residual propylene carbonate (content between 1.9 ± 0.1% and 6.7 ± 0.5% w/w) were obtained. Encapsulation …
Targeting cells of the immune system: mannosylated HPMA–LMA block-copolymer micelles for targeting of dendritic cells
2016
Background: Successful tumor immunotherapy depends on the induction of strong and sustained tumor antigen-specific immune responses by activated antigen-presenting cells (APCs) such as dendritic cells (DCs). Since nanoparticles have the potential to codeliver tumor-specific antigen and DC-stimulating adjuvant in a DC-targeting manner, we wanted to assess the suitability of mannosylated HPMA-LMA block polymers for immunotherapy. Materials & methods: Fluorescence-labeled block copolymer micelles derived from P(HPMA)-block-P(LMA) copolymers and according statistical copolymers were synthesized via RAFT polymerization, and loaded with the APC activator L18-MDP. Both types of copolymers wer…