Application of ion exchange resin in floating drug delivery system

The purpose of this study was to explore the application of low-density ion exchange resin (IER) Tulsion(R) 344, for floating drug delivery system (FDDS), and study the effect of its particle size on rate of complexation, water uptake, drug release, and in situ complex formation. Batch method was used for the preparation of complexes, which were characterized by physical methods. Tablet containing resin with high degree of crosslinking showed buoyancy lag time (BLT) of 5-8 min. Decreasing the particle size of resin showed decrease in water uptake and drug release, with no significant effect on the rate of complexation and in situ complex formation for both preformed complexes (PCs) and physical mixtures (PMs). Thus, low-density and high degree of crosslinking of resin and water uptake may be the governing factor for controlling the initial release of tablet containing PMs but not in situ complex formation. However, further sustained release may be due to in situ complex formation.     

Tribological Behaviour of SiC Particle Reinforced Al–Si Alloy

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of SiC reinforcement along with immiscible element addition in spray formed Al–Si base alloy. The investigation is done for four different compositions, i.e., Al–Si base alloy, Al–Si/SiC, Al–Si–5Sn/SiC and Al–Si–10Sn/SiC composite. The dry sliding wear properties of base alloy and composites were investigated against EN 31 steel at five different normal loads (14.7, 24.5, 34.3, 44.1 and 53.9 N). The tests were carried out in dry sliding conditions with a sliding speed of 1.6 ms⁻¹ over pin-on-disc tribometer. Each composition is tested at four different temperatures 50, 75, 100 and 150 °C. To determine the wear mechanism, the worn surfaces of the samples were examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The composites emerge to be better wear resistant material than base alloy especially at higher loads. The optimum wear reduction was obtained in Al–Si–10Sn/SiC composite at all the different normal loads and temperatures.     

Synthesis and characterization of donor-acceptor type 4,4′-bis(2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)-based copolymers

A series of novel donor-acceptor type polymers based on 4,4′-bis(2,1,3-benzothiadiazole) were synthesized and characterized. Two soluble regioregular tail-to-tail and head-to-head coupled polymers, poly[7,7′-bis(3-octyl-2-thienyl)-4,4′-bis(2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)] poly[3TBB3T], and poly[7,7′-bis(4-octyl-2-thienyl)-4,4′-bis(2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)] poly[4TBB4T] were synthesized by FeCl₃-mediated oxidative polymerization. To further decrease the band gap of the polymers, vinylene spacers were incorporated into the polymer backbone by Stille coupling of the corresponding monomers and (E)-1,2-bis(tributylstannyl)ethene. A crystal structure of a monomer analog shows near planar arrangement of the aromatic units in the solid state. The optical properties of the monomers and polymers were investigated by steady-state absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry measurements indicate that the polymers could be employed as acceptor materials in polymer-polymer bulk heterojunction solar cells due to their low LUMO energy of about −4.0 eV. A maximum photovoltaic power conversion efficiency of about 0.3% was observed for a 1:1 blend of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (rr-P3HT) and poly[4TBB4T] and the origin of the moderate efficiency is discussed by interpreting the device current-voltage characteristics, external quantum efficiency and incident light intensity dependence of the power conversion efficiency.