Charged groups synergically enhance protein imprinting in amphoteric polyacrylamide cryogels

Proteins are amphoteric biopolymers with unevenly charged exterior surfaces. Taking this point fully into account could accomplish ingenious recognition systems for the biological macromolecues. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are good tools to study the interactions between polymeric matrices and template molecules. Here different protein imprinted cryogels were prepared. Imprinting factors (IFs) were determined with bovine serum albumin (BSA) as the template. The IF of the polymeric cryogel made from only acrylamide (AM) and N,N′‐methylenebisacrylamide (BisAM) is about 1.38. The introduction of charged monomers, either acrylic acid or diallylamine, would increase IFs obviously. One of the basic cryogels gave the maximum IF (about 2.0) of that type. As both acrylic acid and diallylamine were involved, IFs were further increased. An amphoteric cryogel with a suitable acid‐base ratio gave a high IF of about 3.7. Whatever used alone or both, too many added acidic or basic monomers resulted in IF reduction. Taking full advantage of charged groups in MIPs could be a good way to manipulate protein–polymer interactions. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43851.     

An amphoteric poly(VAc‐DBM‐AM‐DMAPS) emulsion focusing on the ecological sand‐fixing in salty desert: Structure and properties

In order to control the impacts of blown sand in salty desert, in this article, the amphoteric emulsion, for the first time, was applied as an ecological sand‐fixing material. This study started from the synthesis of the poly{vinyl acetate‐dibutyl maleate‐acrylamide‐co‐3‐[N‐(2‐methacroyloylethyl)‐N, N‐dimethylammonio]‐propane sulfonate} [P(VAc‐DBM‐AM‐DMAPS)] copolymer emulsion. Then, the structures, composition, thermal property of the emulsion were characterized by ¹H‐NMR, FTIR, and DSC, respectively. The basic properties of the emulsion and salt tolerance of the latex films were measured by using viscometer, dynamic light scattering, and laser Doppler electrophoresis also. And the sand‐fixing properties of the emulsion were evaluated. Finally, the influence of the emulsion on the growth of soil microbe and plants were discussed for understanding its ecological effect. The experimental results showed that the emulsion has been successfully synthesized and could be as an ecological sand‐fixing material. The related reason is that, first, the emulsion could significantly improve the compressive strength and water retaining; second, the emulsion had good thermal aging, freeze‐thaw stabilities and salt tolerance to withstand the changes in temperature and NaCl concentration of salty desert; third, the influence of the emulsion on the growth of plants and microbe of sand also showed a dependable ecological effect. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43715.     

Effects of Simulated Microstructure on the Creep Rupture of the Modified 9Cr-1Mo Steel

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance - Microstructures of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of a Gr. 91 steel weld were simulated to evaluate their effects on the creep life of the weld at...     

The development of poly(vinyl chloride) extrusions for a 14,000‐ton self‐supporting structure for the detection of neutrinos

The NOvA Neutrino Experiment has built a one‐of‐a‐kind self‐supporting plastic structure, potentially the largest ever built. The poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) structure serves as a neutrino detector and is composed of 28 individual blocks that measure 15.5 m (51 feet) high by 15.5 m (51 feet) wide by 2.1 m (7 feet) deep. The primary parts in the detector construction are 15.5‐m (51‐foot), 16‐cell PVC extrusions. These extrusions form the basis of the detector modules, which are laminated together in a crossed pattern to form the individual blocks and then filled with (mineral oil)–based liquid scintillator. The self‐supporting nature of the detector places important structural requirements on both the PVC formulation and the extrusions. Block assembly requirements impose narrow geometric tolerances. Because of the method of detecting neutrinos, the extrusions must possess exceptionally high reflectivity over a particular wavelength range. This requirement places additional restrictions on the components of the PVC formulation. Altogether, the PVC extrusions have to maintain important reflectivity characteristics, provide structural support to the detector, and meet relatively tight geometric requirements for assembly. In order to meet these constraints, a custom PVC formulation had to be created and extruded. We describe the purpose and requirements of the NOvA detector leading to the production of our unique PVC extrusion, summarize the research and development process, and discuss the lessons learned. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 22:368–376, 2016. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers