Preparation of novel bilayer hydrogels by combination of irradiation and freeze–thawing and their physical and biological properties

BACKGROUND: Hydrogels made by irradiation or freeze–thawing often exhibit poor mechanical strength; therefore we investigated a novel synthetic method to circumvent this detrimental effect. We report a series of novel bilayer poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/water‐soluble chitosan (ws‐chitosan)/glycerol hydrogels prepared by a combination of irradiation and freeze–thawing. Scanning electron microscopy morphology, swelling behavior, mechanical strength, elongation at break, PVA dissolution behavior and bovine serum albumin (BSA) release profile of the bilayer hydrogels were compared with those of hydrogels made by irradiation and freeze–thawing followed by irradiation. The cytotoxicity of the bilayer hydrogels was studied using a tetrazolium salt (MTT) assay. RESULTS: The novel bilayer hydrogels contain one layer made by freeze–thawing followed by irradiation and the other layer made by irradiation. The preparation method provides the two layers with good combination force in the wet state. However, the two layers are not combined very well in the freeze‐dried state due to the difference in microstructure. The bilayer hydrogels have large swelling capacity and good mechanical strength, and these properties can be varied by changing freeze–thawing cycles, irradiation doses and the relative thickness of the two layers. The PVA and BSA release behaviors show that the bilayer hydrogels have a small amount of dissolved PVA and can prolong the BSA release time. The MTT assay shows that extracts of the bilayer hydrogels are non‐toxic towards L929 mouse fibroblasts. CONCLUSION: The novel bilayer hydrogels prepared in this study show good physical properties with no cytotoxicity, indicating that they are suitable for biomedical applications, such as in wound dressings and drug delivery devices. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Immobilization of carbonic anhydrase by embedding and covalent coupling into nanocomposite hydrogel containing hydrotalcite

Poly(acrylic acid-co-acrylamide)/hydrotalcite (PAA-AAm/HT) nanocomposite hydrogels activated by N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) in the presence of N, N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) were used to immobilize carbonic anhydrase (CA) by embedding and covalent coupling. Cryo Scanning Electron Microscope (CryoSEM) proved the presence of free water in the porous network structures of the swollen hydrogels. Fluorescence microscopy indicated the existence of the immobilized enzyme in the hydrogels. Compared with un-activated hydrogels, activated hydrogels could improve the amount of the immobilization of enzyme, and maximum enzyme loading is about 4.6 mg/g of support for the activated hydrogels. The porous embedding and multi-point covalent linkage between enzyme and hydrogels strengthened the secondary structure stability of enzyme and thus enhanced enzyme stability in the presence of organic solvent and at high temperature. The immobilized enzyme in the activated hydrogel with enhanced structural stability offers great potential as a method to stabilize enzyme for various applications.     

浅析设计、材料和制造技术对提高金属针布质量的影响

从针布齿条的设计、材料和制造技术三方面入手，通过与国际先进技术水平产品对比找出差距，结合丰富的生产实践经验，分析了提高国产金属针布质量的途径。     

Release of fluorescent markers from phase‐separated gelatin‐maltodextrin hydrogels

Genipin‐crosslinked gelatin‐maltodextrin phase‐separated hydrogels consisting of gelatin‐continuous or bicontinuous microstructures were developed to regulate swelling and release behavior of four fluorescent markers of varying molecular weights [(fluorescein (332 Da) and FITC‐dextrans (FD) (4000–250,000 Da)]. Bicontinuous hydrogels showed significantly greater swelling than gelatin‐continuous hydrogels under all conditions (at pH 1.5 and 7.4 and three genipin/gelatin crosslinking ratios) (P < 0.05). With both microstructures, fluorescein showed the largest release rate and total release followed by FD 4000 Da, FD 40,000 Da, and FD 250,000 Da (P < 0.05). Marker molecular weight, pH, and crosslink ratio all affected the rate and amount of release. The mode of transport for the solvent and all markers was Fickian or slightly anomalous, with diffusional exponent (n) values ranging from 0.35 to 0.64. These results demonstrated that with the proper combination of crosslink density, solvent pH, and microstructure, hydrogels with a specified swelling behavior may be developed. This, coupled with a marker of appropriate size, can lead to controllable levels and rates of release. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Thermosensitive fibres of lyocell/poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide): multiparametric analysis for studying the graft copolymerization

The thermosensitive properties of the hydrogel poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAAm) together with the good mechanical properties of lyocell fibres make a combination of the two to be thought of as a smart textile. In the present study the optimal values of various parameters that control the grafting process of pNIPAAm onto lyocell fibres were determined considering the influence of the interaction between them. The copolymerization of pNIPAAm hydrogel onto lyocell fibres was performed in aqueous acidic medium using cerium(IV) as initiator. An experimental design was planned in order to study the effect of the interactions between some variables that affect the kinetics of the graft copolymerization: the cerium(IV) initiator concentration, the N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) monomer concentration and the liquor fibre‐to‐bath ratio. The results show that the interaction between the concentrations of NIPAAm and the initiator significantly affects the degree of grafting (DG), the optimum values being 1250 and 12.25 mmol L^?1, respectively. In contrast, the liquor ratio parameter shows no significant interaction with the other two variables studied, meaning that it acts independently but showing a proportional relationship with respect to the DG obtained. In addition, the presence of pNIPAAm in the copolymer obtained was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectral analysis. Moreover, the water sorption capacity, depending on the temperature, of the lyocell/pNIPAAm copolymer was studied, with an increase being observed when the DG is higher than 60% and also increasing with the temperature.© 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Hydrogels as a Potential Chromatographic System: Absorption,Speciation, and Separation of Chromium Species from Aqueous Media

Hydrogels with highly charged forms and amphiphilic character, based on an anionic monomer 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propansulfonic acid sodium salt (AMPSNa) and a cationic monomer 3-acrylamidopropyltrimethylammoniumchloride (APTMACl), were synthesized via a photo-polymerization technique and investigated for potential use in the separation of chromium species with different oxidation states. They were used for three main purposes. First, a single chromium species was successfully removed from an aqueous medium in the presence of other forms using the appropriate design and synthesis of the hydrogels. Secondly, the copolymerized p(AMPSNa-co-APTMACl) hydrogels were used to remove two chromium species simultaneously from an aqueous medium. Lastly, in addition to speciation of the chromium species, their separation and removal by an externally applied magnetic field using magnetically responsive hydrogels was demonstrated.     

水凝胶在医学领域的热点研究及应用

水凝胶是一种具有三维网络结构的新型功能高分子材料.它以其含水量高、溶胀快、柔软、具有橡胶般的粘稠性和良好的生物相容性等而得到广泛应用及研究.主要介绍近几年水凝胶在生物医学领域的研究热点及水凝胶在生物医学领域应用的最新进展.     

AM与HEMA共聚制备水凝胶接触镜材料及其溶胀性能

采用丙烯酰胺(AM)与甲基丙烯酸β-羟乙酯(HEMA)进行本体共聚制备水凝胶接触镜材料,研究了水凝胶的溶胀性能及其温度和pH值敏感性。结果表明,引发剂过氧化苯甲酰(BPO)用量为反应单体总质量的0.3%、反应温度80℃,产物溶胀之后为无色透明的玻璃状水凝胶;共聚物水凝胶具有较好的pH值敏感性,水凝胶在酸性溶液中溶胀,在碱性溶液中收缩:含有AM的水凝胶,其pH值敏感性较大:随AM的含量增大,共聚物水凝胶的溶胀速度和饱和含水量增大,随温度升高,水凝胶的饱和含水量下降,共聚物水凝胶中AM的含量对其温度敏感性无显著影响:SEM照片显示,AM与HEMA共聚物存在均匀的纤维状结构,并且共聚物中AM的含量越大,这种纤维状结构越大、越明显。     

Preparation and characterization of eugenol‐grafted chitosan hydrogels and their antioxidant activities

The hydrogels composed of chitosan and eugenol were prepared to enhance and sustain antioxidant activities. The vinyl groups of eugenol monomer were directly grafted on the amino groups of chitosan, using ceric ammonium nitrate. The graft of eugenol onto chitosan was confirmed by using Fourier‐transform infrared and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies. Results from the swelling behavior, thermal stability, and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction revealed that the equilibrium water content decreased with increase of graft yields, because of the hydrophobicity of eugenol, although the introduction of eugenol as a side chain disturbed the ordered arrangement of chitosan's crystalline structure. The eugenol‐grafted chitosan hydrogels showed lower pH sensitivity in comparison with chitosan alone, because the amino groups, which were pH sensitive, of chitosan were grafted with eugenol. The scavenging activity of the tested hydrogels increased with graft yield of eugenol, because phenolic groups in the eugenol could play a major role as potent free‐radical terminators, in the results of improved antioxidant activity in eugenol‐grafted chitosan hydrogel in comparison with chitosan alone. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99:3500–3506, 2006     

移动云计算的任务迁移方法

移动设备在移动过程中受到网络波动的影响很大,由于工作流中任务会传输到云端执行,会带来传输与接收的能耗,再加上所处云域中微云受到不同请求数、剩余资源等因素的影响,造成了微云响应延迟、任务等待执行时间延迟和网络活跃能量损耗,再加上异构网络对数据传输造成的切换延迟影响,使任务迁移延迟更加严重,所以在上传与接收阶段采用延时传输的策略,在保证总完成时间的基础上减少传输时间;在任务迁移阶段提出了微云跳跃选择算法和网络切换算法相结合的MJSA-NHA算法,通过跳跃选择找到合适的微云以减少不必要的响应与等待延迟,并且通过切换网络空闲—活跃状态减少网络能量损耗;并在延时传输基础上加入移动速度调节算法(MSAA),在发生网络变化过程中变换移动设备的速度,这样可以在减少网络切换次数的同时减少网络切换延迟。实验结果证明,延时传输策略比Random算法在总完成时间和移动端总能耗问题上优化了很多;MJSA-NHA比MuSIC算法、task delegation和code-offloading在迁移时间上分别优化了66%~86%、36%~56%和5%~8%,在能耗方面分别优化了56%~78%、25%~46%和6%~8%;MSAA比MuSIC算法、task delegation和code-offloading在网络切换延迟上优化了50%。