Polyether based amphiphiles for delivery of active components

The bioavailability of hydrophobic drugs is critically dependent on the development of efficient and safe drug delivery vehicles. Nanoparticulate pharmaceutical carriers commonly used in delivery of active components are often non-ionic in nature. Among them polyether based amphiphiles have become increasingly relevant over the past decades. Polyether based amphiphiles exhibit good chemical stability, high water solubility, low toxicity, have decreased interaction with blood components, and are highly biocompatible; and thus have been applied in biomedical and pharmaceutical areas. The current review highlights the synthetic progression and biomedical applications of these non-ionic polyether-based amphiphilic architectures, some unresolved issues and challenges, along with the future perspective of polyether based nanocarriers for delivery of active components.     

Design and synthesis of perfluorinated amphiphilic copolymers: Smart nanomicelles for theranostic applications

Since decades, varieties of amphiphilic polymers have been widely investigated for improving aqueous solubility and bioavailability of the hydrophobic drugs. The upcoming approach is to develop more efficient advanced nano-carrier molecules capable of more than drug delivery. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of some novel carrier molecules with multiple applications including drug encapsulation, drug delivery and diagnosis (imaging). Copolymers were synthesized using dimethyl 5-hydroxy/aminoisophthalate, poly(ethylene glycols) and Candida antarctica lipase (CAL-B, Novozym 435). CAL-B selectively catalyses the trans esterification reaction under solvent less condition using primary hydroxyls of poly(ethylene glycols) and leaving behind phenolic hydroxyl for post polymerization modifications. The obtained copolymers were further tethered with perfluorinated aliphatic chains to make them amphiphilic. The synthesized materials were investigated for their micellar behavior, temperature dependent stability (in aqueous solution), encapsulation capacity, and imaging potential by measuring the sensitivity of these perfluorinated materials towards ¹⁹F NMR in NMR tube. It was observed that perfluorinated amphiphilic copolymers could encapsulate up to 14% (by wt) of hydrophobic drug and showed decent ¹⁹F NMR signals even at a very low concentration. Therefore, these perfluorinated copolymers hold considerable potential for further investigation as advanced nano-carrier molecules for biomedical applications.     

PBT/Thermoplastic Elastomer Blends—Mechanical,Morphological, and Rheological Characterization

The blends of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) with thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) at a blending composition of 10–30 wt.% TPE were prepared with an objective to enhance impact toughness of PBT. Two different grades of PBT were selected based on carboxyl end group and viscosity. Melting behavior, mechanical properties, morphology, and rheology of the blends were studied. At all levels of TPE, PBT showed negligible changes in its melting and crystallization temperature; however, percentage crystallinity decreased with an increase in the amount of thermoplastic elastomer. The notched as well as unnotched Izod impact strength of PBT increased with the incorporation of TPE, the increase being about 47% (unnotched) and 54% (notched) with low molecular weight PBT and 18% (unnotched) and 70% (notched) with high molecular weight PBT at 10% TPE level. The tensile strength and tensile modulus of the blends decreased steadily as the weight percent of TPE increased. Analysis of the tensile data using predicted theories indicated that at TPE levels of 30 wt.%, the blends cannot take excessive stress because the interfacial adhesion is lowered. Small angle light scattering (SALS) studies of the samples indicated the decreased rate of crystallization and, hence, an increase in spherulitic radius in the presence of TPE. The increasing incorporation of TPE in PBT/TPE blends increased the shear thinning behavior and hence eased processability.     

Enterprise Systems: Challenges and Opportunities for Information Systems Education

This paper presents a perspective on “learning” in managing information, applied to enterprise systems. As its name suggests, an enterprise system encompasses a total view of all parts (functions, sub‐systems) of the complete whole (organization, system). This approach of designing solutions for system component within the overall framework of the total system offers unique challenges and opportunities for designing, developing and implementing information systems. To meet its mandate, information systems education should offer a multidisciplinary learning environment especially in engineering and sciences curriculum where it is not adequately emphasized. A framework that is designed to deliver a comprehensive learning environment for the entire academic community has been proposed.     

Effect of surface laser texture on friction properties of nickel-based composite

Laser surface texturing (LST) was performed on the nickel-based composites by a Nd:YAG pulsed laser and the regular-arranged dimples with diameter of 150 μm were fabricated on their surfaces. The textured surfaces were smeared with molybdenum disulfide powder. The tribological properties of the textured and filled composites were investigated by carrying out sliding wear tests against an alumina ball as a counterface using a high temperature ball-on-disk tribometer. The tests were conducted at a sliding speed of 0.4 m/s and at normal loads ranging from 20–100 N and from room temperature to 600 °C. The friction coefficient of nickel-based composite textured and smeared with molybdenum disulfide was found to reduce from 0.18 to 0.1 at the temperature range from 200 to 400 °C. The texture with a dimple density of 7.1% was observed to prolong wear life of MoS2 film by more than four times in comparison to the texture with other dimple densities. The lubricious oxide particles stored in the dimples reduce friction coefficient at elevated temperatures and compensate for the extra lubricant owing to the degradation of MoS₂ caused by its oxidation at high temperatures.     

Structural and Luminescence Studies on Barium Sodium Borosilicate Glasses Containing Uranium Oxides

Barium sodium borosilicate glasses containing different amounts of uranium oxides were prepared by conventional melt quench method and investigated for their structural aspects by ²⁹Si and ¹¹B MAS NMR technique combined with steady‐state luminescence and lifetime measurements. Based on MAS NMR studies, it is confirmed that uranium ions act as network modifier up to 15 wt% and beyond which a separate uranium containing phase is formed. From the luminescence studies, it is inferred that uranyl species is in a highly distorted environment. For more than 15 wt% uranium oxide incorporation, weaker U–O–U linkages are formed at the expense stronger U–O–Si/B linkages, as suggested by the excited state lifetime value of the uranyl species as well as red shift in emission peak maximum. For glass samples containing more than 25 wt% uranium oxides, crystalline barium uranium silicate gets phase separated from glass matrix as confirmed by XRD studies.     

Performance of ceramic-block fire stops for power cable installations

Fire losses due to cable fire in thermal power plants and industrial units are mounting. Fire in cable galleries is caused either by an external source or internal heating due to overloading or poor cable insulation. Most of the power cables are laid in groups that run on trays. In the event of fire, cable insulation melts and cable conductors come into contact and generate sparks. The resulting flame spreads through cables and engulf other groups of cables. This leads to damage in control rooms and distribution units that causes power generation disruption and plant shutdown.To minimize the damage and system disturbance due to fire, a new system for cable installation has been developed. The system involves construction of fire stop walls using fire-resistant cavity blocks, heat-resistant wool, and fire-resistant sealant.