Isotactic polypropylene hollow microfibers prepared by CO2 laser‐thinning

An isotactic polypropylene hollow microfiber was continuously produced by using a carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser‐thinning method. To prepare the hollow microfiber continuously, the apparatus used for the thinning of the solid fiber was improved so that the laser can circularly irradiate to the hollow fiber. Original hollow fiber with an outside diameter (OD) of 450 μm and an internal diameter (ID) of 250 μm was spun by using a melt spinning machine with a specially designed spinneret to produce the hollow fiber. An as‐spun hollow fiber was laser‐heated under various conditions, and the OD and the ID decreased with increasing the winding speed. For example, when the hollow microfiber obtained by irradiating the CO₂ laser to the original hollow fiber supplied at 0.30 m min^?1 was wound up at 800 m min^?1, the obtained hollow microfiber had an OD of 6.3 μm and an ID of 2.2 μm. The draw ratio calculated from the supplying and the winding speeds was 2667‐fold. The hollow microfibers obtained under various conditions had the hollowness in the range of 20–30%. The wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction patterns of the hollow microfibers showed the existence of the highly oriented crystallites. Further, the OD and ID decreased, and the hollowness increased by drawing hollow microfiber obtained with the laser‐thinning. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 2600–2607, 2006     

Influence of Metal Ions on the Order-Disorder Transition Temperature of the Ba-M-O (M: La, Y, In, or Ga) System

Preparation of BaLa₂O₄, B_a3,Y₄O₉, B_a,In₂O₅, and Ba₃Ga₂O₆ powders and their sintering were investigated in Ar or air. These sintered bodies with perovskite-related structure were synthesized by reaction sintering, using mixed powders in the atomic ratios of Ba/La = 1, Ba/Y = 0.75, Ba/In = 1, and Ba/Ga = 1.5. The order-disorder transition temperatures of the BaLa₂O₄, Ba₃Y₄O₉, Ba₂In₂O₅, and Ba₃Ga₂O₆ sintered bodies were 270°, 350°, 880°, and 123O^oC, respectively. It was found that the temperatures were influenced by the ionic radius of cations in B sites, and the transition temperatures decreased with increasing ionic radius.     

Synthesis and properties of bismaleimide resins containing ether bonds

New bismaleimides containing ether bonds were prepared. The thermal properties of the bismaleimides were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The effects of structure of the bismaleimides and curing conditions on the thermal and mechanical properties of the cured resins such as initial decomposition temperature (T_d), glass transition temperature (T_g), and flexural strength were studied. The introduction of ether bonds to bismaleimide resins decreased the brittleness of the resins without reductions in their heat-resistant properties.     

Production of antimicrobially active silk proteins by use of metal‐containing dyestuffs

The work presented here discusses a new technique for preparing silk fibers and films with persistent antimicrobial activity through use of metallic dyestuffs during the fiber dyeing process. The length of the silk fibers investigated contracted when the fibers were immersed in concentrated neutral salt solutions, such as calcium or potassium nitrate, at elevated temperature levels. The birefringence and molecular orientation of the silk fibroin molecules became less ordered by the action of the neutral salt solutions, resulting in increased dyestuff absorption. Subsequently, contracted silk fibers were dyed with metallic dyestuffs containing Cr or Cu for the purpose of obtaining silk fibers with antimicrobial activity. Silk fibers dyed with metallic dyestuffs showed significant antimicrobial activity against the plant pathogen Cornebacterium and the human pathogen Coli bacillus. Tensile strength of the silk fibers after the salt shrinking and dyeing processes did not show a significant change, whereas the elongation at break was increased slightly. The techniques described here for preparing significantly active antimicrobial silk fibers are effective and economic ways of providing new materials for industrial and biomedical applications. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 1181–1188, 2002     

Thermal Expansion Behavior of the Si3N4-Whisker-Reinforced Soda-Borosilicate Glass Matrix Composite

Thermal expansion behaviors of a Si₃N₄-whisker-reinforced sodaborosilicate glass matrix composite are studied. An abrupt increase of the coefficient of thermal expansion is observed and is attributed to formation of crystobalite in the sodaborosilicate glass matrix. This thermal expansion behavior is discussed with special reference to the phase transformation of the crystobalite.     

Sesamin is a potent and specific inhibitor of Δ5 desaturase in polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis

Incubation with sesame oil increases the mycelial dihomo-γ-linolenic acid content of an arachidonic acid-producing fungus,Mortierella alpina, but decreases its arachidonic acid content [Shimizu, S., K. Akimoto, H. Kawashima, Y. Shinmen and H. Yamada (1989)J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 66, 237–241]. The factor causing these effects was isolated and identified to be (+)-sesamin. The results obtained in experiments with both a cell-free extract of the fungus and with rat liver microsomes demonstrated that (+)-sesamin specifically inhibits Δ5 desaturase at low concentrations, but does not inhibit Δ6, Δ9 and Δ12 desaturases. Kinetic analysis showed that (+)-sesamin is a noncompetitive inhibitor (K_i for rat liver Δ5 desaturase, 155 μM). (+)-Sesamolin, (+)-sesaminol and (+)-episesamin, also inhibited only Δ5 desaturases of the fungus and liver. These results demonstrate that (+)-sesamin and related lignan compounds present in sesame seeds or its oil are specific inhibitors of Δ5 desaturase in polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis in both microorganisms and animals. On leave from Suntory Ltd.     

Aspects of gasification and structure in cokes from coals

Cokes were prepared from nine coals of different rank and characterized by surface area measurement, reactivity to carbon dioxide at 1473K and Raman-laser spectroscopy. Rates of gasification of cokes on a unit surlface area basis (K¹ = g m^?2 min^?1) decreased with increasing rank of parent coal based on maximum oil reflectances. However rates of gasification could not be related to coke structure as measured by Raman-laser spectroscopy.     

Dynamic Mechanical Properties and Adhesive Strengths of Emulsion Polymer by Power Feed Technique, I

Dynamic mechanical properties and adhesive strengths of power feed copolymer and random copolymer synthesized using styrene or methyl methacrylate and n-butyl acrylate were investigated. Although the two systems were synthesized from the same raw materials, power feed copolymer had a very broad transition compared with random copolymer. This fact was explained by the fact that the system synthesized through power feed method was an alloy of copolymers which are a continuous series from monomer A rich copolymers to monomer B rich copolymers. The dynamic mechanical behavior of film cast from solution was almost the same as that of emulsion film, which indicated more extensive application of power feed copolymer. In the P(nBA/St) system, power feed copolymer maintained its adhesive strengths over a wide temperature range compared with random copolymer. The absolute value, however, was not so high. This was due to the low cohesive strengths of the films.     

Poly(p-tert-butoxycarbonyloxystyrene): a convenient precursor to p-hydroxystyrene resins

An efficient synthetic route to pure, high molecular weight poly(p-hydroxystyrene) is reported. The route involves synthesis of a new monomer, p-tert-butoxycarbonyloxystyrene, polymerization by radical initiation or by cationic initiation in liquid SO₂, followed by thermolysis or acidolysis of the tert-butoxycarbonyl protecting group. Porous, crosslinked resin beads containing the nucleophilic, phenol pendant group have been prepared in a similar fashion from the precursor terpolymer of p-tert-butoxycarbonyloxystyrene, styrene and divinylbenzene. The utility of this resin for solid-phase synthesis has been demonstrated.     

Charged ultrafiltration membrane for permeation of proteins

Polyacrylonitrile-g-poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) was synthesized photochemically and quaternized. The positively charged membranes made from the quaternized graftcopolymer showed high ultrafiltration rate for water by adding poly(vinyl alcohol) to casting solution and washing it out after the casting. In buffered saline solution, the permeability of the membranes was very small at pH below isoelectric point of albumin but increased markedly at higher pH. On the other hand, the permeability for γ-globulin was very small and did not show any pH dependence.