Synthesis and in vitro characterization of a novel PAA-ATP conjugate

The objective of this study was to improve the multifunctional properties of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) by covalent attachment of 4-aminothiophenol (ATP) to its backbone. The permeation enhancing effect of PAA-ATP together with glutathione was evaluated in Ussing-type chambers using fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran as model compound. The mucoadhesive properties were evaluated in vitro on freshly excised porcine intestinal mucosa through the rotating cylinder method. The resulting conjugates PAA-ATP1 and PAA-ATP2 displayed 168 ± 35 and 426 ± 55 μmol immobilized free thiol groups per gram polymer, respectively. In addition, 279 ± 28 and 139 ± 22 μmol disulfide bonds per gram polymer, respectively, were identified on PAA-ATP1 and PAA-ATP2. Within disintegration studies in aqueous buffer solution, the modified polymers showed improved cohesive properties. Because of the immobilization of ATP, the swelling of PAA-ATP1 and PAA-ATP2 improved 12.0- and 17.8-fold, respectively. The adhesion times of the conjugates PAA-ATP1 and PAA-ATP2 were more than 20- and 30-fold increased in comparison to unmodified PAA. Furthermore, conjugates PAA-ATP1 and PAA-ATP2 exhibited a 1.86- and 2.07-fold higher permeation enhancing effect, respectively, over unmodified PAA. According to these results, PAA-ATP conjugates represent a very promising novel type of thiomer for the development of various mucoadhesive drug delivery systems.     

Thermoforming of film-based biomedical microdevices

For roughly ten years now, a new class of polymer micromoulding processes comes more and more into the focus both of the microtechnology and the biomedical engineering community. These processes can be subsumed under the term "microthermoforming". In microthermoforming, thin polymer films are heated to a softened, but still solid state and formed to thin-walled microdevices by three-dimensional stretching. The high material coherence during forming is in contrast to common polymer microreplication processes where the material is processed in a liquid or flowing state. It enables the preservation of premodifications of the film material. In this progress report, we review the still young state of the art of microthermoforming technology as well as its first applications. So far, the applications are mainly in the biomedical field. They benefit from the fact that thermoformed microdevices have unique properties resulting from their special, unusual morphology. The focus of this paper is on the impact of the new class of micromoulding processes and the processed film materials on the characteristics of the moulded microdevices and on their applications.     

Quinoline and derivatives at a tar oil contaminated site: hydroxylated products as indicator for natural attenuation?

LC-MS-MS analysis of groundwater of a tar oil contaminated site showed the occurrence of the N-heterocycles quinoline and isoquinoline as well as their hydroxylated and hydrogenated metabolites. The concentrations of the hydroxylated compounds, 2(1H)-quinolinone and 1(2H)-isoquinolinone, were significantly higher than those of the nonsubstituted parent compounds. Therefore, exclusive quantification of the parent compounds leads to an underestimation of the amount of N-heterocycles present in the groundwater. Microbial degradation experiments of quinoline and isoquinoline with aquifer material of the site as inocculum showed the formation of hydroxylated and hydrogenated products under sulfate-reducing conditions, the prevailing conditions in the field. However, since analyses of seven tar products showed that these compounds are also primary constituents, their detection in groundwater is found to be a nonsufficient indicator for the occurrence of biological natural attenuation processes. Instead, the ratio of hydroxylated to parent compound (R(metabolite)) is proposed as a useful indicator. We found that 65-83% of all groundwater samples showed R(metabolite) for 2(1 H)-quinolinone, 1(2H)-isoquinolinone, 3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-quinolinone, and 3,4-dihydro-1(2H)-isoquinolinone, which was higher than the highest ratio found in tar products. With respect to the observed partition coefficient between tar oil and water of 3.5 for quinoline and isoquinoline and 0.3 for 2(1H)-quinolinone and 1(2H)-isoquinolinone, the ratio in groundwater would be approximately 10 times higher than the ratio in tar oil. When paying attention to these two parameters, 19-31% of groundwater samples exceed the highest tar oil ratio. This indicates that biological processes take place in the     

Schrifttumsberichte

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

3D finite element modelling of multilateral junction wellbore stability

Wellbore failure can occur at different stages of operations. For example, wellbore collapse might happen during drilling and/or during production. The drilling process results in the removal of an already stressed rock material. If the induced stresses near the wellbore exceed the strength of rock, wellbore failure occurs. The production process also changes the effective stresses around the wellbore. Such changes in stresses can be significant for high drawdown pressures and can trigger wellbore failure. In this paper, the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion with a hyperbolic hardening is used. The model parameters are identified from triaxial compression tests. The numerical simulations of laboratory tests showed that the model can reproduce the mechanical behaviour of sandstone. In addition, the simulations of multilateral junction stability experiments showed that the model was able to reproduce yielding and failure at the multilateral junction for different levels of applied stresses. Finally, a numerical example examining multilateral junction stability in an open borehole during drilling and production is presented. The results illustrate the development of a localized failure zone proximate to the area where two wellbore tracks join, particularly on the side with a sharp approaching angle, which would significantly increase the risk of wellbore collapse at the junction.     

Beitrag zur rechnerischen Ermittlung der Löslichkeit der Niobphasen in Cr-Mo-Ni-Nb-Stählen

Beschreibung der möglichen Niobverbindungen mit Kohlenstoff, Stickstoff und Eisen sowie der tatsächlich auftretenden Niobverbindungen in Stählen. Berechnungen zur Vorhersage der Löslichkeit von Nitriden und Carbonitriden. Vergleich der Ergebnisse mit den Befunden bei der Isolierung der Niobverbindungen von Chrom-Molybdän-Nickel-Niob-Stählen.     

Allocation of exhaustible resources in oligopolistic markets : A dynamic game approach

Microeconomic studies of exhaustible resources have usually been restricted to the cases of monopoly and perfect competition. In these cases, however, strategic interactions between economic agents are ignored. Here the authors present a game- theoretic analysis of just these interactions in oligopolistic oil markets. Much less restrictive assumptions are made than in previous game-theoretic analyses: agents make decisions in each period on the basis of previous decisions by other agents. Two models are presented and their solutions and economic implications are discussed. In the first model, producers sell to final demand, in the second a producers' cartel sells to oil traders.     

Buchbesprechungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Multiphase Biomineralization: Enigmatic Invasive Siliceous Diatoms Produce Crystalline Calcite

Diatoms are considered unicellular eukaryotic organisms exclusively depositing biogenic silica. Heretofore there has been no report of calcification by these algae. Here it is shown that calcium carbonate within the stalks of Didymosphenia geminata, a nuisance species that has prolifically colonized streams and rivers globally, is biogenic in origin and occurs as a network of calcite nanofibers. The nanofibrous framework in the mineralized polysaccharide matrix imparts mechanical support to the stalks, providing stability in variable flow conditions. The results demonstrate that D. geminata possesses cellular and periplasmic carbonic‐anhydrases that contribute to carbon fixation and biomineralization, respectively. The activity of external carbonic‐anhydrase was more than 50% of the total activity, which points to its role in anchoring this bioeroding diatom on hard surfaces. The first evidence of multiphase biomineralization by diatoms that deposit both biogenic silica and crystalline biogenic calcite which are imparting distinct functional advantage to the organism is provided.     

Polarization-dependent vacuum-ultraviolet reflectometry using elliptically polarized synchrotron radiation

In the laboratory of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) at the Berlin electron-storage ring BESSY II, a procedure has been developed to investigate the dependence of vacuum-ultraviolet reflection on polarization. It is based on characterizing the elliptically polarized synchrotron radiation at PTB's normal-incidence monochromator beamline for reflectometry by means of polarization-sensitive photodetectors. For this purpose, the polarization dependency in the detector responsivity was determined at a small, low, solid angle of acceptance for the synchrotron radiation, i.e., within the orbital plane of the storage ring where the degree of linear polarization is known to be almost 100%. Our method allows the polarization dependence of reflection samples to be measured with relative standard uncertainties ranging from 2.4% to 11% in the spectral range between 60 and 160 nm. The method has been applied to the optimization of polarizing mirrors at the Lyman-alpha wavelength of 121.6 nm.