Native casein micelles as nanocarriers for β‐carotene: pH‐and temperature‐induced opening of the micellar structure

To apply native casein micelles (CM) as nanocarriers for lipophilic substances in non‐ or low‐fat food products, they have to be conditioned before loading. In this study, an experimental set‐up for the production and loading of CM was developed. Microfiltration was used to separate CM from skimmed milk. To identify optimal loading conditions temperatures (2, 20, 40 °C), pH values (6.8 and 5.5) and holding times (5, 15, 30, 60 min) were varied. The release of calcium, phosphate and protein from the micellar phase as well as static light scattering and transmission electron microscopy showed that CM were optimally primed at 2 °C and a pH of 5.5 for 5 min. Therefore, loading with β‐carotene was performed under those conditions. After the back‐extraction of β‐carotene, the photometrical analyses revealed total recovery rates of >79% whereby 94% of it was associated with the native CM.     

Plasmatechnische Werkzeuge der Medizintechnik

Plasmatechnical tools of clinical/medical engineering Nowadays joint replacements by endoprotheses is a standard therapy. Plasma technology supports substancially the surface design of modern implants. The development of durable implants requires necessarily a multi disciplinary approach.     

Control of Lamellae Spacing During Freeze Casting of Ceramics Using Double-Side Cooling as a Novel Processing Route

A processing route for freeze-casting of particle suspensions is presented, where the microstructure development during the solidification process can be controlled precisely. For this purpose, the single-side cooling and double-side cooling methods are compared. A procedure will be shown to control the freezing process using the double-side cooling method. Our approach was to determine the freezing conditions in order to forecast the freezing velocity and to carry out an advanced directional solidification setup for the experimental realization. Using this setup and the theoretical knowledge, the microstructure development can be controlled during the whole freezing process over a length of several centimeters.     

Uniaxial compression of SiO2 glass cylinders: analysis using stress‐independent material coefficients

Glass cylinders made of the vitreous silica type Suprasil 1 were exposed to axial stress at nominal compressive strain rates from –10^–5 to –10^–2 per second in a servohydraulic press at constant temperatures ranging from 1273 K to 1648 K. Subsequently, the stress was allowed to relax. True viscoelasticity is applied for evaluation of the experimental results and closed‐form solutions demonstrate that the interpretation as a single‐element Maxwell model renders Young's modulus readily measurable along with the tensile viscosity. The significant contribution of elasticity is found to be inherent in glass even at elevated temperatures. This very distinct property did not receive general recognition before and has been neglected in the majority of earlier studies on glass upsetting. The analysis reveals that the Young's modulus decreases with a rise in temperature if the nominal strain rate is held fixed, and with a reduction in nominal strain rate at constant temperature. The viscosity can be characterized as a function of the temperature either by a Vogel‐Fulcher‐Tammann‐Hess equation or by an Arrhenian fit. The findings when fed into a FEM programme reproduce the recorded force histories quite well. However, the present study reveals that the experimental data of Young's modulus depend on the stress. The results prove unambiguously the failure of linear viscoelasticity for this particular loading case. The full implications are reserved for a subsequent publication dealing with important consequences for glass rheology.     

Fracture strength and microstructure of ODS tungsten alloys

In many high temperature applications tungsten is superior to molybdenum alloys. For structural components very often joining technology is the limiting factor. If brazing or welding is used ductility at room temperature has to be considered. Particularly when handling or transporting they run the risk of brittle fracture.     

Synthesis,structure, and thermal behavior of [Cu70Se35(PEt2Ph)24]

We investigated the molecular and crystal structure as well as the thermal behavior of [Cu₇₀Se₃₅(PEt₂Ph)₂₄] using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray powder diffractometry, and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The use of a He-cooled sample head in HRTEM makes possible for the first time the investigation of semiconductor cluster molecules under the extreme conditions of the experiment and, thus, comparison with the results of single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The lattice spacings and packing symmetry of the three-dimensional cluster molecule superlattice found in HRTEM are in good agreement with the ones determined by X-ray structure diffraction. The atomic ordering inside the cluster molecules, which resembles a hexagonal packing of the selenium atoms, could not be resolved in the HRTEM measurements, since upon irradiation with the electron beam the clusters start to move after a few seconds and the images go out of focus. This movement is possibly affected by cleavage processes of the phosphine ligands, as could be observed in thermal gravimetric analysis under comparably mild conditions. Powder diffraction measurements show that this cleavage of ligand molecules is accompanied by the formation of larger copper selenide cluster cores and ends up at high temperatures in the formation of bulk α-Cu₂Se.