The 8th author’s name should be corrected as follows: Edvani Curti Muniz

Size control of therapeutic carriers in drug delivery systems has become important due to its relevance to biodistribution in the human body and therapeutic efficacy. To understand the dependence of particle size on the formation condition during nanoprecipitation method, we prepared nanoparticles from biodegradable, amphiphilic block copolymers and investigated the particle size and structure of the

In this work, we have developed a new type PR sample with properties comparable to those of samples sensitized with organic molecules. The PR sample sensitized with P3HT has consistently shown great photoconductivity, leading to a fast grating buildup speed of 163 ms, at low intensity of 30 mW/cm2. This sample brings the possibility of applications requiring video response rates one step closer.23

Conjugated PPV-derived block copolymers containing 2-ethylhexyloxynaphthalene unit were synthesized and characterized in this study. The resulting polymers were soluble in common organic solvents and showed good thermal stabilities. The weight-average molecular weights (M w ) of the copolymers ranged from 246,000 to 475,000 with PDIs of 1.3∼2.1. The optical properties of these polymers, measured both

We prepared side-chain liquid crystalline polymers comprising two monomeric units, one having a mesogenic side group that could form a smectic mesophase and the other having a phenolic group attached to the polymer backbone via a thermally reversible urethane bond. The urethane linkage between the isocyanate and phenol groups was stable at room temperature, but it cleaved to generate an isocyanate

The oral delivery of heparin is the preferred therapy in the treatment of patients with a high risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. New conjugates of heparin and sodium deoxycholate were synthesized in order to enhance the heparin absorption in the GI tract. After oral administration of DOC-heparin, the concentration in anti-FXa assay was increased with increasing amount of coupled

We evaluated the efficacy of pH-sensitive micelles, formed by methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(β-amino ester) (PEG-PAE), as carriers for paclitaxel (PTX), a drug currently used to treat various cancers. PTX was successful encapsulated by a film hydration method. Micelles encapsulated more than 70% of the PTX and the size of the PTX-encapsulated micelles (PTX-PM) was less than 150 nm. In vitro experiments

This study reports the preparation and characterization of nanohydrogels by using sodium alginate as a model material. Alginate nanohydrogels (ANH) were prepared by emulsification-diffusion method in a w/o system with 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholin as the lipophilic surfactant. The effects of the alginate to surfactant ratio and the remaining water contents on the mean particle size and swellability

The thermal decomposition behavior and degradation characteristics of four different thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers (TLCPs) were studied. The thermal decomposition behavior was determined by means of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) at different heating rates in nitrogen and air. The order of the thermal stability was as follows: multi-aromatic polyester > hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA)/hydroxynaphthoic

The electrical, morphological and rheological properties of melt and dry mixed composites of polyethylene (PE)/graphite (Gr), polypropylene (PP)/Gr and PP/nickel-coated carbon fiber (NCCF) were investigated as a function of filler type, filler content and processing temperature. The electrical conductivities of dry mixed PP/NCCF composites were increased with decreasing processing temperature. For

Fucoidan, a sulfated polysaccharide derived from brown seaweed, is an important material valued for its various biological functions, including anti-coagulation, anti-aging, and immune system support. In this study, we examined the potential of fucoidan as a novel emulsifying agent in BSA (bovine serum albumin)-stabilized emulsion at a neutral pH. We measured the dispersed oil-droplet size, surface

Supramolecular hydrogels were instantaneously fabricated by mixing aqueous solutions of α-cyclodextrins (α-CDs) and amphiphilic methoxy (polyethylene glycol) (MPEG)-ε-caprolactone (CL) oligomer, which was synthesized via the ring-opening polymerization of the CL monomer using low-molecular-weight MPEG (M n of MPEG=2,000 g/mol) as an initiator. The supramolecular structure of the hydrogels was revealed

Solid-state facilitated, olefin transport membranes were prepared by complexation of poly(styrene-b-isoprene-b-styrene) (SIS) block copolymer and silver salt. Facilitated olefin transport was not observed up to a silver mole fraction of 0.14, representing a threshold concentration, above which transport increased almost linearly with increasing silver salt concentration. This was because firstly the

The cure kinetics of the epoxy-layered, silicate nanocomposites were studied by differential scanning calorimetry under isothermal and dynamic conditions. The materials used in this study were o-cresol novolac epoxy resin and phenol novolac hardener, with organically modified layered silicates. Various kinetic parameters, including the reaction order, activation energy, and kinetic rate constants,

Chemical modification of titanium/titanium oxide (Ti/TiO2) substrates has recently gained a great deal of attention because of the applications of Ti/TiO2-based materials to biomedical areas. The reported modification methods generally involve passive coating of Ti/TiO2 substrates with protein-resistant materials, and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) has proven advantageous for bestowing a nonbiofouling

This study presents a microfluidic method for the production of monodisperse poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) microspheres using continuous droplet formation and in situ photopolymerization in microfluidic devices. We investigated the flow patterns for the stable formation of droplets using capillary number and the flow rate of the hexadecane phase. Under the stable region, the resulting microspheres showed

The cellulose smart material called electro-active paper (EAPap) is made by regenerating cellulose. However, the actuator performance is degraded at low humidity levels. To solve this drawback, EAPap bending actuators were made by activating wet cellulose films in three different room-temperature ionic liquids: 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexaflurophosphate (BMIPF6), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride

Thiol-stabilized gold nanoparticles ranging in size from 2 to 13 nm were synthesized using a two-phase reduction method. The thiol-stabilized gold nanoparticles formed micropatterns on a glass substrate through UV irradiation and chemical oxidation. Overall, the micro-pattern obtained through this simple procedure has great potential in the electronics industry.

Poly(1-oxo-2-phenyltrimethylene) was synthesized by palladium-catalyzed copolymerization of styrene and carbon monoxide in quaternary ammonium ionic liquids. The [Pd(bipy)2][PF6]2 compound had relatively more catalytic activity than [Pd(bipy)2][BF4]2 in ionic liquids. The catalytic activity of palladium (II) composite catalyst was superior to the catalyst formedin situ from palladium acetate, 2,2-bipyridyl

We have synthesized the SPION coated with CMC and investigated the stability in water,T 2 relaxation rate and cytotoxicity. The coating with CMC improved the stability in water and reduced the cytotoxicity to cell viability. Furthermore, the CMC-coated SPION showed superparamagnetic behaviors. The CMC-coated SPION may be used for cellular andin vivo imaging. When CMC are chemically modified for conjugation

The present study firstly describes the synthesis of novel, thermo-latent initiators based on xanthenyl phosphonium salts with different counter anions and phosphine moieties and secondly examines their efficiency in the bulk polymerization of glycidyl phenyl ether (GPE). The polymerization was performed with phosphonium salt initiators (I SbF6 ,I PF6 ,I AsF6 andI BF4 ) at ambient temperature to 200

This paper describes the simple nanopatterning of proteins on polyelectrolyte surfaces using microcontact printing with a nanopatternable, hydrophilic composite nanomold. The composite nanomold was easily fabricated by blending two UV-curable materials composed of Norland Optical Adhesives (NOA) 63 and poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEG-DMA). NOA 63 provided stable nanostructure formation and

We fabricated ordered micro/nano patterns induced by controlled dewetting on the topographically patterned PS/P4VP bilayer thin film. The method is based on utilizing microimprinting lithography to induce a topographically heterogeneous bilayer film that allows the controlled dewetting upon subsequent thermal annealing. The dewetting that was initiated strictly at the boundary of the thicker and thinner

High molecular weight (MW), 3-arm star poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with a narrow MW distribution (M n =570,000 g/mol, PDI=1.36) was successfully synthesized by activators regenerated by electron transfer (ARGET) atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The polymerization was carried out with a trifunctional initiator/CuBr2/N,N,N′,N′,N′-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) initiator/catalyst

New polyelectrolytes derived from poly(amide-sulfone)s and 1,5-dibromopentane were simultaneously fabricated on the electrode by the crosslinking reaction. The substrate was pretreated with a bromoalkyl-containing, silane-coupling agent to anchor the humidity-sensitive membrane to the substrate through the covalent bond. When the resistance dependence on the relative humidity of the crosslinked poly(amide-sulfone)s

A fluorescing, copolymer (Q)-bearing, quaternary ammonium pendant was mixed with excess natural salmon sperm DNA with a molecular weight of 1.3×106 (2,000 base pairs) to afford highly fluorescing, complex mixtures. The fluorescence life-time of the polymer Q was greatly increased when mixed with DNA: for the mixture of Q:DNA=1:750 the fast and slow decay lifetimes increased from ca. 10 to 100 ps and

In summary, we have synthesized p-conjugated dendrimers in which donors and acceptors are covalently linked and demonstrated that they exhibited a clear electrical bistability. It is suggested that the electrical bistability would be due to charge transfer between donor and acceptor. The resistance of the device in the OFF state was more than four orders of magnitude higher than that in the ON state

Platinum (Pt) nanoparticles were prepared by the liquid-phase reduction of tetraammineplatinum (II) chloride ([Pt(NH3)4]Cl2) using Nafion as a stabilizer under various conditions of the Nafion phase. This method is novel in its use of electrostatic interactions between the Pt complex ions and sulfonic groups in the hydrated Nafion molecules. The synthesized Pt nanoparticles of the recast film system

The discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has opened up exciting opportunities for the development of novel materials with desirable properties. The superior mechanical properties and excellent electrical conductivity make CNTs a good filler material for composite reinforcement. However, the dispersal of CNTs in a polymer solution or melt is difficult due to their tendency to agglomerate. Many attempts

Recently, the multi-screening of target materials has been made possible by the development of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging method. To adapt this method to biochemical analysis, the multi-patterning technology of protein microarrays is required. Among the different methods of fabricating protein microarrays, the microfluidic platform was selected due to its various advantages over other

Chemical modification of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with functional polymers has recently gained a great deal of attention because of the potential application of MNPs toin vivo andin vitro biotechnology. The potential use of MNPs as capturing agents and sensitive biosensors has been intensively investigated because MNPs exhibit good separation-capability and binding-specificity for biomolecules

One-step seeded polymerization was used to prepare 7∼10 μm of crosslinked monodisperse spheres with four crosslinking agents using 4.68 μm poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) seed particles in aqueous-alcoholic media in the absence of the swelling process. The crosslinking agents used were ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), allyl methacrylate (AMA), 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) and trimethylolpropane

Solution-based, direct-write patterning by an automated, computer-controlled, inkjet technique is of particular interest in a wide variety of industrial fields. We report the construction of three-dimensional (3D), micropatterned structures by polymer inkjet printing. A piezoelectric, drop-on-demand (DOD) inkjet printing system and a common polymer, PVA (poly(vinyl alcohol)), were explored for 3D construction

Noble thermosensitive nanoparticles, based on a PNIPAAm-co-AA core and a chitosan shell structure, were designed and synthesized for the controlled release of the loaded drug. PNIPAAm nanoparticles containing a carboxylic group on their surface were synthesized using emulsion polymerization. The carboxylic groups were conjugated with the amino group of a low molecular weight, water soluble chitosan

Core-shell hydrogel nanocomposite was fabricated by encapsulating a silica-gold nanoshell (SGNS) with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) (PNIPAM-co-AAc) copolymer. The oleylamine-functionalized SGNS was used as a nanotemplate for the shell-layer growth of hydrogel copolymer. APS (ammonium persulfate) was used as a polymerization initiator to produce a hydrogel-encapsulated SGNS (H-SGNS). The

TiCl(O-i-Pr)3/SiO2 and Ti(O-i-Pr)4/SiO2 were prepared by immobilizing chlorotitanium (IV) isopropoxide (TiCl(O-i-Pr)3) and titanium (IV) isopropoxide (Ti(O-i-Pr)4), to pretreated silica. The effect of the polymerization reaction conditions on the catalytic activity and characteristics of the resulting PLA were investigated. The catalytic conversion, molecular weight and polydispersity index (PDI) of

A new π-conjugated polymer, poly[(2-methoxy-(5-(2-(4-oxyphenyl)-5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole)-hexyloxy))-1,4-phenylene-1,2-ethenylene-alt-(10-hexyl-3,7-phenothiazine)-1,2-ethenylene] (PTOXDPPV), was synthesized by the Heck coupling reaction. The electron transporting unit, conjugated 1,3,4-oxadiazole (OXD), is attached on the main chain via linear 1,6-hexamethylenedioxy chain. The band gap and photoluminescence

The synthesis and the characterization of crosslinked ABC triblock copolymer, i.e. polystyrene-b-poly (hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-b-poly(styrene sulfonic acid), (PS-b-PHEMA-b-PSSA) is reported. PS-b-PHEMA-b-PSSA triblock copolymer at 20:10:70 wt% was sequentially synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The middle block was crosslinked by sulfosuccinic acid (SA) via the esterification

An unusual strategy to generate an ordered network polymer from the self-assembly of reactive coil-rod-coil molecules was successfully achieved. The bicontinuous cubic structure of molecule4 was maintained by cross-linking the photo-polymerization self-assembly of4 in the liquid crystalline state. The result suggests that an approach to control a reactive supramolecular molecule structure and conversion

This paper describes the out-of-plane order of a liquid crystalline (LC) methacrylate copolymer (3) comprised of a methacrylate (1) with a 4-styrylpyridine moiety as the photo-cyclodimerizable group and a benzoate moiety as the mesogenic group in the side chain, and another methacrylate (2) with a 4-(4-methoxyphenyl)benzoate moiety as the mesogenic group. The composition of1 and2 units in3 was estimated

The core/shell type structure of the highly crosslinked poly(glycidylmetharylate-co-divinylbenzene) microspheres prepared in the precipitation polymerization in acetonitrile was thoroughly verified by means of swelling,1H NMR, XPS, TEM and TGA measurements. In the XPS measurement, the higher the GMA content, the higher the oxygen content was observed, implying that the higher content of GMA is observed

Ethylene-1-butene copolymers were prepared with SiO2-supported TiCl4 catalyst by changing of 1-butene/ethylene molar ratio in feed, and the resulting copolymers were analyzed using temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF) and crystallization fractionation (Crystaf) methods to investigate the influence of C4/C2 molar ratio in feed on chemical compositional distribution and other parameters such

Copolymerization of St and St-POSS with and without 4-MeSt was carried out with half-titanocenes of Cp*TiCl3 catalyst and MMAO cocatalyst. The activity of catalyst and St-POSS content increased by the addition of 4-MeSt as the 3rd monomer. The characteristic crystalline peak of St/St-POSS copolymer was altered by incorporating of 4-MeSt. With increasing 4-MeSt contents, the glass transition temperature

The side chain liquid crystal triblock copolymers (TBCs), which underwent phase transitions below their decomposition temperature, were prepared by copolymerization of poly(n-butyl acrylate) and a comonomer containing the mesogenic azobenzene group. The physical properties of TBCs in the distinctive transition temperature ranges were investigated in terms of the liquid crystal (LC) content in the copolymers

Low viscosity aromatic hyperbranched polyester epoxy resin (HTBE) was synthesized by the reaction between epichlorohydrin (ECH) and carboxyl-end hyperbranched polyester (HTB) which was prepared from inexpensive materials A2 (1,4-butanediol glycol, BEG) and B3 (trimellitic anhydride, TMA) by pseudo one-step method. The molar mass of the HTB was calculated from its acid value by “Recursive Probability

Rheological behavior of natural hydrogel produced from seeds of threeSalvia spp. (S. miltiorrhiza (SM),S. sclarea (SS), S.viridis (SV)) was investigated by using a Rheometer equipped with a cone and plate geometry measuring system under never-dried condition. Different chemical contents of such hydrogels give significant effects on their rheological properties. Because of incomplete penetration of

This work has demonstrated that a novel amphiphilic poly(epichlorohydrine)-graft-polystyrene (PECH-g-PS) copolymer at 34:66 wt% was synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of styrene using PECH as a macroinitiator. The structure of the graft copolymer was characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) and FTIR spectroscopy, demonstrating that the “grafting from” method using

This research compared three methods for producing and processing nanocomposite polypropylene filament yarns with permanent antimicrobial efficiency. The three methods used to mix antimicrobial agents based on silver nano particles with PP were as follows: 1) mixing of PP powder and inorganic nanocomposite filler with the appropriate concentration using a twin-screw extruder and preparing granules

In this effort, we have prepared PDA suspensions derived from oligoethylene oxide-containing DA monomers and investigated their colorimetric responses to thermal stimulation. Depending on the DA monomers employed, the PDA supramolecules displayed different initial color changing temperatures. In general, DA monomers having larger headgroups result in the generation of colorimetrically less stable PDA

In emulsifier-free, emulsion polymerization with ionizable comonomer, the ionization of the comonomer is critical in determining the size of the final polymeric particles at sub-micrometer scale. In this study, polystyrene latex beads with carboxylates on the surface were synthesized using acrylic acid as a comonomer. Specifically, ammonium hydroxide was added to the emulsifier-free polymerization

In this study, we demonstrate that the biological unnatural amino acid incorporation method can be utilizedin vivo to synthesize an alkyne-terminated telechelic protein. Synthesis of terminally-functionalized polymers such as telechelic polymers is recognized to be important, since they can be employed usefully in many areas of biology and material science, such as drug delivery, colloidal dispersion