Development of Polymer Network of Phenolic and Epoxies Resins Mixed with Linseed Oil: Pilot Study

Epoxy resin was mixed with phenolic resins in different percentages by weight. Composite 40/60 means the proportion by weight of epoxy resin is 40%. It was found that only composites 50/50 and 40/60 could be cured in ambient conditions. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that only these two composites form interpenetrating polymer network. The addition of linseed oil to the two resins results also in the formation of interpenetrating network irrespective of proportion by weight of the resins; the mechanical properties will only be better when the percentage by weight of epoxy resin is higher; the aim of reducing cost and at the same time maintaining the mechanical properties cannot be fully achieved because epoxy resin is much more expensive than its counterpart.     

Validation of a Method for Quantitation of Soybean Lectin in Commercial Varieties

Soybean agglutinin (SBA) protein, also known as soybean lectin, is regarded as an anti‐nutrient due to its negative effect on the ability of monogastric animals to gain weight following consumption of raw soybean seed. Historically, SBA has been measured using a time‐consuming and cumbersome hemagglutination procedure. The objective of our research was to obtain a validated methodology that is precise and accurate in the measurement of SBA while allowing minimally equipped laboratories to effectively conduct the analysis, thus our focus was on evaluating an existing commercially available ELISA, an enzyme‐linked‐lectin‐assay (ELLA), and a hybrid ELISA/ELLA. A new ELLA technique that can detect and quantify lectins was chosen and modified specifically for the quantitation of SBA in soybean seed. The proposed ELLA methodology is similar to a standard sandwich ELISA, and uses polyacrylamide‐linked N‐acetylgalactosamine (Gal–NAc–PAA) for a capture phase and the biotinylated version (Gal–NAc–PAA–Biotin) for detection. Based upon the validation data, the ELLA method can precisely and accurately determine soybean lectin levels in soybean seed. The validated ELLA method was used to quantify SBA in nine commercial soybean varieties introduced between 1972 and 2008 and demonstrated that the natural variability of SBA is subject to the effects of genotype and environment.     

Materials and Wireless Microfluidic Systems for Electronics Capable of Chemical Dissolution on Demand

Electronics that are capable of destroying themselves, on demand and in a harmless way, might provide the ultimate form of data security. This paper presents materials and device architectures for triggered destruction of conventional microelectronic systems by means of microfluidic chemical etching of the constituent materials, including silicon, silicon dioxide, and metals (e.g., aluminum). Demonstrations in an array of home‐built metal‐oxide‐semiconductor field‐effect transistors that exploit ultrathin sheets of monocrystalline silicon and in radio‐frequency identification devices illustrate the utility of the approaches.     

Synthesis of SiBNC-Al ceramics with different aluminum contents via polymer-derived method

This study reports the synthesis of three types of aluminium (Al)-modified polyborosilazane ceramic precursors (PBSAZ) from C₈H₁₉Al/HSiCl₃/HMDZ/BCl₃ and their thermal conversion to SiBNC-Al ceramics at 1000°C. FT-IR, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) are used to characterize the structures and properties of the PBSAZ. PBSAZ is found to be built up of the Si─N─B framework, with Al successfully introduced into the ceramic network structures. The ceramic yield is 63.5 wt.% for the Al-poor polymers (PBSAZ-5) and 65.1 wt.% for the Al-rich polymers (PBSAZ-1). The high-temperature cracking behavior and the crystal phase structures of the ceramics were characterized by XRD and Raman, which revealed that SiBNC-Al ceramics contained Si₄N₃, SiC, and AlN (+SiC) crystals after heat treatment at 1600°C. The oxidation behavior of SiBNC and SiBNC-Al ceramics at 1500°C shows that the introduction of Al improves the quality of the oxide layer, effectively suppresses the oxide layer cracking phenomenon, and reduces gas bubble generation.