Synthesis and characterization of poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone) grafted sodium alginate hydrogel beads for the controlled release of indomethacin

Graft copolymers of sodium alginate (NaAlg) with N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone were prepared using azobisisobutyronitrile as initiator. The graft copolymers (NaAlg‐g‐PVP) were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. Polymeric hydrogel beads of NaAlg and NaAlg‐g‐PVP were prepared by crosslinking method using glutaraldehyde (GA) as a crosslinker in the hydrochloric acid catalyst (HCl) and these beads were used to deliver anti‐inflammatory drug, indomethacin (IM). Chemical stability of the IM after encapsulation into beads was confirmed by FTIR. Preparation conditions of the NaAlg‐g‐PVP beads were optimized by considering the percentage entrapment efficiency, particle size, swelling capacity and their release data. In vitro release studies were performed in simulated gastric fluid (pH 1.2) for the initial 2 h, followed by simulated intestinal fluid (pH 7.4) for 4 h. Effects of GA concentration, exposure time to GA, drug/polymer (d/p) ratio, and concentration of HCl on the release of IM were discussed. It was observed that IM release from the beads decreased with increasing GA concentration and exposure time. IM release also decreases with increasing d/p ratio and HCl concentration. The highest IM release was obtained to be 77% for beads crosslinked with 0.027M GA. Swelling experiments were also performed to compute molecular mass between crosslinks of the beads. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Time-averaged behaviour of single and dual flying capacitor converters

The Single Flying Capacitor Converter (SFCC) and Dual Flying Capacitor Converter (DFCC) are two-quadrant power supplies for energy storage and transfer systems. They have applications in nuclear research and pulsed power systems in which superconductive coils are used. In this paper analytical expressions for the time-averaged behaviours of SFCC and DFCC are derived by using averaging technique. Because large superconductive magnet coils are used, time constants of the switched circuits are large enough compared to the switching period. Therefore, an averaged PWM switch equivalent circuit is substituted into the original converter circuits to find the averaged system equations. With this new insight in the averaged dynamics, their design and control can be optimized. Although DFCC has less coil current ripple compared to SFCC, the analysis will show that the averaged behaviours of both converters are the same.     

Performance analysis of dual-hop fixed-gain AF relaying systems with OSTBC over Nakagami-m fading channels

In this paper, we present outage probability and symbol error rate (SER) performance analyses of a dual-hop transmission using fixed-gain amplify-and-forward relaying in flat Nakagami-m fading channels. The system under consideration is equipped with multiple antennas at source and destination adopting orthogonal space-time block coding to provide transmit diversity and maximum ratio combining to provide receive diversity, respectively. For integer and half-integer m values, closed forms of exact outage probability and moment generating function (MGF) expressions are derived through cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the overall system signal-to-noise ratio. Closed-form exact SER expressions based on the overall CDF are obtained for binary phase shift keying, binary frequency shift keying and M-ary pulse amplitude modulation. Exact SER expressions based on the MGF method are also obtained for binary differential phase shift keying, M-ary phase shift keying and M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation. Moreover, the asymptotic diversity order analysis is performed through derivations of asymptotic outage probability and SER. Theoretical analyses are validated by Monte Carlo simulations showing perfect match between each other.     

Infrared drying of button mushroom slices

The effect of different infrared power levels on the drying kinetics of button mushrooms was investigated. Mushroom slices were dried at infrared power levels of 83, 125, 167, and 209 W. The power level affected the drying and rehydration characteristics of mushroom slices. Drying time was reduced from 300 min to 40 min as the infrared power level increased from 83 to 209W. Mathematical models frequently used to represent drying of agricultural products were fitted to experimental data of mushroom drying. The parabolic model was the best for representation of mushroom drying. Effective moisture diffusivity varied from 3.81×10^?10 to 4.20×10^?9 m²/s over the infrared power levels used. The activation energy was estimated using a modified Arrhenius-type equation and calculated to be 7.55 kW/kg.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel poly(dimethylsiloxane)/polyindole composites

A series of composites of polyindole (PIN) and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) were synthesized chemically using FeCl₃ as an oxidant agent in anhydrous media. The composites were characterized by FTIR and UV‐visible spectroscopies, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), elemental analysis, inductively coupled plasma‐optic emission spectroscopy (ICP‐OES), magnetic susceptibility, stress–strain experiments, and conductivity measurements. The conductivities of PIN at different temperatures were also measured and it was revealed that their conductivities were slightly increased with increasing temperature. Moreover, the freestanding films of PDMS/PIN composites were prepared by casting on glass Petri dishes to examine their stress–strain properties. From thermogravimetric analysis results it was found that PDMS/PIN composites were thermally more stable than PIN. Thermal stabilities of PDMS/PIN composites increased with increasing PIN content. It was found that the conductivities of PDMS/PIN composites depend on the indole content in the composites. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Synthesis,characterization, thermal stability,conductivity, and band gap of a new aromatic polyether containing an azomethine as a side

In this study, the oxidative polycondensation reaction conditions of 4‐[(4‐methylphenyl)iminomethyl]phenol (4‐MPIMP) were studied by using oxidants such as air O₂, H₂O₂, and NaOCl in an aqueous alkaline medium between 50 and 90°C. The structures of the synthesized monomer and polymer were confirmed by FTIR, UV–vis, ¹H–¹³C‐NMR, and elemental analysis. The characterization was made by TGA‐DTA, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and solubility tests. At the optimum reaction conditions, the yield of poly‐4‐[(4‐methylphenyl)iminomethyl]phenol (P‐4‐MPIMP) was found to be 28% for air O₂ oxidant, 42% for H₂O₂ oxidant, and 62% for NaOCl oxidant. According to the SEC analysis, the number–average molecular weight (M_n), weight–average molecular weight (M_w), and polydispersity index values of P‐4‐MPIMP were found to be 4400 g mol^?1, 5100 g mol^?1, and 1.159, using H₂O₂, and 4650 g mol^?1, 5200 g mol^?1, and 1.118, using air O₂, and 5100 g mol^?1, 5900 g mol^?1, and 1.157, using NaOCl, respectively. According to TG analysis, the weight losses of 4‐MPIMP and P‐4‐MPIMP were found to be 85.37% and 72.19% at 1000°C, respectively. P‐4‐MPIMP showed higher stability against thermal decomposition. Also, electrical conductivity of the P‐4‐MPIMP was measured, showing that the polymer is a typical semiconductor. The highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy levels and electrochemical energy gaps (E) of 4‐MPIMP and P‐4‐MPIMP were found to be ?5.76, ?5.19; ?3.00, ?3.24; 2.76 and 1.95 eV, respectively. According to UV–vis measurements, optical band gaps (E_g) of 4‐MPIMP and P‐4‐MPIMP were found to be 3.34 and 2.82 eV, respectively. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Synthesis,characterization and dielectric properties of nickel-based polyoxometalate/polyurethane composites

The aim of this study was to synthesis, characterization and investigation of the influence of the polyoxometalate concentrations (1, 3, 5 and 10 wt%) on chemical, thermal, physical and morphological properties of nickel-based polyoxometalate/polyurethane composite (Ni-POM/PU) materials. Firstly, nickel-based polyoxometalate (Ni-POM) compound has been synthesized and characterized through various spectroscopic techniques. Synthesized Ni-POM compounds have been used for preparation of polyurethane composites as a reinforcement. Three different Ni-POM/PU composites containing Ni-POM were prepared by solution mixing and casting techniques. The chemical structure and morphology of prepared Ni-POM/PU composite samples were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), elemental analysis and SEM techniques. Effects of Ni-POM on thermal stability, glass transition temperature, optical transparency, hydrophilicity and physical properties of polyurethane composites were examined. Thermal stabilities and glass temperatures of the materials have been checked by differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The SEM results confirmed the highly porous structure and the formation of Ni-POM structures in the polymer matrix. Synthesized composites showed high chemical stability, good processability, and low Tg values. The dielectric properties of the prepared Ni-POM/polyurethane composites were also investigated at room temperature. These results displayed that the dielectric constant of the POM/polyurethane composites decreased with the increase of the Ni-POM content in polymeric matrix.     

Comparison of melt extrusion and thermokinetic mixing methods in poly(ethylene terephthalate)/montmorillonite nanocomposites

The scope of this study consists in studying the effects of processing type on thermal stability of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and its nanocomposites prepared with organically modified clays. To achieve this goal, an intercalating agent was synthesized and montmorillonite type of clay modified with this intercalating agent was mixed with the PET by using melt extrusion and high‐shear thermokinetic mixing method. According to the results, manganese in the raw clay—though chemically bound—was found to be responsible for the decreased intrinsic viscosity (IV) values, i.e. decreased molecular weight in PET/organoclay nanocomposites. Besides, it was revealed that working on the thermokinetic mixer provided substantial contributions such as shorter processing times in comparison to the melt extrusion method, elimination of drying step before melt processing, which has been accepted as an inevitable process for PET so far, less thermal degradation because of short processing times, and more homogeneous and better dispersion of the clay particles in PET matrix phase. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Production of nano zinc borate (4ZnO·B2O3·H2O) and its effect on PVC

In this study, nano sized zinc borate powder with a formula of 4ZnO·B₂O₃·H₂O was synthesized using 2ZnO·3B₂O₃·3.0–3.5H₂O as a starting chemical which was produced using a wet chemical method. After dissolving 2ZnO·3B₂O₃·3.0–3.5H₂O in an ammonia solution, the clear solution was boiled until a white powder formed. The resultant powder was characterized with XRD, FTIR, TGA and TEM. XRD, FTIR and TGA results proved that the powder was belonged to the 4ZnO·B₂O₃·H₂O. Nano composites of 4ZnO·B₂O₃·H₂O–polyvinylchloride (PVC) were produced by injection moulding by adding 1 and 5 wt% zinc borate powders into PVC to enhance its flame retardancy. Limiting oxygen index (LOI) of virgin PVC increased from 41% to 47% and 54% for the 1 and 5 wt% zinc borate added PVC, respectively. Nano zinc borate addition into the PVC does not have considerable negative effect on the mechanical properties of zinc borate–PVC composites even at high amounts of 5 wt%.