Search results for "engineering.material"
showing 10 items of 2352 documents
Biomarker responses along a pollution gradient: Effects of pulp and paper mill effluents on caged whitefish
1995
Abstract Lake Saimaa (SE Finland) is a large oligotrophic lake receiving biologically treated effluent from a bleached kraft pulp and paper mill. Hatchery-reared juvenile whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus L. s.l.), a species known to feed on plankton and other particulates, were caged using a technique developed and optimized for this species and were exposed for one month in five downstream stations (3.3–16 km). Two reference stations (4.5–8.5 km) upstream from the effluent outlet were used. An exposure gradient of chlorinated organics was assessed by determining concentrations of conjugated chlorophenolics (CPs) in bile and CPs as well as extractable organic halogens (EOX) in gut lipids. Ac…
Influence of De-Icing Salt on K Supply and Street Trees Ecological Status in Riga, Latvia
2009
The study was conducted to evaluate the toxic effect of soil and plant pollution with Na and Cl− on K supply and ecological condition of the street trees (Tilia × vulgaris H.) in Riga during 2005 and 2007. The results revealed that the ecological status of street trees could be characterized as seriously injured due to high concentrations of Na and Cl− in soil (maxNa 1,568.1 mg/kg; maxCl 744.9 mg/kg) and lime leaves (maxNa 1.93%; maxCl 3.00%). The concentrations of Na and Cl− in lime leaves demonstrated a marked tendency to increase during summer, while the concentrations of K in leaves decreased (min. 0.15%). There were close correlations between the concentration of Na and Cl− in lime lea…
Preparation of Poly(l-lactic acid) Scaffolds by Thermally Induced Phase Separation: Role of Thermal History
2018
Abstract Poly-L-Lactic Acid (PLLA) scaffolds for tissue engineering were prepared via thermally induced phase separation of a ternary system PLLA/dioxane/tetrahydrofurane. An extension to solution of a previously developed method for solidification from the melt was adopted, the technique being based on a Continuous Cooling Transformation (CCT) approach, consisting in recording the thermal history of rapidly cooled samples and analysing the resulting morphology. Different foams were produced by changing the thermal history, the dioxane to THF ratio (50/50, 70/30, 90/10 v/v) and the polymer concentration (2, 2.5, 4 ° wt) in the starting ternary solution. Pore size, porosity, melting and crys…
Extracting parameters from semi-log plots of polycrystalline silicon PV modules outdoor I–V data: Double-exponential model revisited
2010
This paper presents a method for extracting physically meaningful parameters from measured I–V curves of PV modules. The 7-parameter double-exponential model is applied in the modeling. The method is based on linear fitting of semi-logarithmic plots. The paper demonstrates a new technique to estimate the series resistance of a module with high accuracy from such plots. As a result, also the reverse saturation current and the quality factor of the diffusion diode can be determined. The method is applied to outdoor I–V data from a test station with three similar, but not identical, polycrystalline-Si modules. The values of the series resistances found with this method deviate somewhat from th…
Bioinspired catechol-terminated self-assembled monolayers with enhanced adhesion properties
2013
The role of the catechol moiety in the adhesive properties of mussel proteins and related synthetic materials has been extensively studied in the last years but still remains elusive. Here, a simplified model approach is presented based on a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of upward-facing catechols thiol-bound to epitaxial gold substrates. The orientation of the catechol moieties is confirmed by spectroscopy, which also showed lack of significant amounts of interfering o-quinones. Local force-distance curves on the SAM measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM) shows an average adhesion force of 45 nN, stronger than that of a reference polydopamine coating, along with higher reproducibility …
Antimicrobial additives for poly(lactic acid) materials and their applications: current state and perspectives
2018
Poly(lactic acid)-based antimicrobial materials received considerable attention as promising systems to control microbial growth. The remarkable physicochemical properties of PLA such as renewability, biodegradability, and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for clinical use open up interesting perspectives for application in food packaging and biomedical materials. Nowadays, there is an increasing consumer demands for fresh, high-quality, and natural foods packaged with environmentally friendly materials that prolong the shelf life. The incorporation of antimicrobial agents into PLA-based polymers is likely to lead to the next generation of packaging materials. The development o…
Protein-Based Nanoparticles for the Delivery of Enzymes with Antibacterial Activity.
2018
Proteins represent a versatile biopolymer material for the preparation of nanoparticles due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low immunogenicity. This study presents a protein-based nanoparticle system consisting of high surface PEGylated lysozyme polyethylene glycol-modified lysozyme (LYZmPEG ). This protein modification leads to a solubility switch, which allows a nanoparticle preparation using a mild double emulsion method without the need of surfactants. The method allows the encapsulation of large hydrophilic payloads inside of the protein-based nanoparticle system. Native lysozyme (LYZ) was chosen as payload because of its innate activity as natural antibiotic. The mild…
Amphiphilic Copolymers Based on Poly[(hydroxyethyl)-d,l-aspartamide]: A Suitable Functional Coating for Biocompatible Gold Nanostars
2013
Novel amphiphilic copolymers have been synthesized based on a biocompatible poly(hydroxyethylaspartamide) (PHEA) backbone, bearing both anchoring groups for gold nanoparticles, such as thiols and disulfide, and conjugable moieties, such as amino groups, the latter as points suitable for appending further functional agents. The strategy was to functionalize α,β-poly[(N-2- hydroxyethyl)-d,l-aspartamide] (PHEA) with PEG2000-NH2 and with ethylenediamine (EDA) obtaining a partially pegylated copolymer with a large number of pendant primary amino groups. A fraction of the latter was conjugated with molecules bearing terminal thiol moieties such as 12-mercaptododecanoic acid (MDA) and disulfide gr…
Size- and coating-dependent uptake of polymer-coated gold nanoparticles in primary human dermal microvascular endothelial cells.
2012
A library-orientated approach is used to gain understanding of the interactions of well-defined nanoparticles with primary human endothelial cells, which are a key component of the vasculature. Fifteen sequentially modified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) based on three different core sizes (18, 35, 65 nm) and five polymeric coatings were prepared. The synthetic methodology ensured homogeneity across each series of particles to allow sequential investigation of the chemical features on cellular interactions. The toxicity of these nanoparticles, their uptake behavior in primary human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMECs), and quantification of uptake were all investigated. The results o…
Physico-chemical characterization of polyethylenes obtained in the presence of different catalysts containing alkoxyligands
1986
The effect of the kind and number of alkoxy ligands (OR) in organometallic Ti-Al catalyst on the properties of polyethylenes obtained i.e. molecular weight, mechanical and rheological properties, density, crystallinity, melting point, heat of fusion and number of chain branches was studied. Polyethylene obtained over Ti-Al catalyst with OR ligands has particularly high molecular weight, high density, better mechanical properties, higher resistance to heat, different rheological characteristics and lower number ot chain branches in comparison with standard HDPE. It is possible to control the polyethylene synthesis process and to obtain the polymer of required properties by selecting the OR …