Improving the properties of water-borne pressure sensitive adhesives by using non-migratory surfactants

The adhesive performance of high solids content water-borne acrylic pressure sensitive adhesives synthesized using polymerizable surfactants (Latemul^®PD-104 and Sipomer^®Pam-200) or a polymerizable stabilizer (Sipomer^®Cops-1) has been studied. The use of a high pH during the polymerization process has a deleterious effect on the final adhesive properties because gel polymer is not formed. Interestingly, at low pH it is found that the surfactant concentration used during the polymerization process has also an effect on the polymer microstructure; the higher the surfactant concentration, the higher the final gel content of the latex. When polymerizable surfactants or a stabilizer are used the peel strength of the final films is considerably improved due to the surfactant incorporation into the polymer backbone and hence reduced surfactant migration to the air-film interface. Work of adhesion and shear adhesion failure temperature (SAFT) are not noticeably affected by surfactant migration but their performance is affected by the surfactant employed.     

A lyophilized etoposide submicron emulsion with a high drug loading for intravenous injection: preparation,evaluation, and pharmacokinetics in rats

Objective: To develop a submicron emulsion for etoposide with a high drug loading capacity using a drug–phospholipid complex combined with drug freeze-drying techniques. Methods: An etoposide–phospholipid complex (EPC) was prepared and its structure was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry analysis. A freeze-drying technique was used to produce lyophilized etoposide emulsions (LEPE), and LEPE was investigated with regard to their appearance, particle size, and zeta potential. The pharmacokinetic study in vivo was determined by the UPLC/MS/MS system. Results: It showed that EPC significantly improved the liposolubility of etoposide, indicating a high drug loading intravenous emulsion could be easily prepared by EPC. Moreover, the obtained loading of etoposide in the submicron emulsion was 3.0 mg/mL, which was three times higher than that of the previous liquid emulsions. The optimum cryoprotectant was trehalose (15%) in freeze-drying test. The median diameter, polydispersity index, and zeta potential of the optimum formulation of LEPE were 226.1 ± 5.1 nm, 0.107 ± 0.011, and ?36.20 ± 1.13 mV, respectively. In addition, these parameters had no significant change during 6 months storage at 4 ± 2°C. The main pharmacokinetic parameters exhibited no significant differences between LEPE and etoposide commercial solution except for area under the concentration–time curve and clearance. Conclusions: The stable etoposide emulsion with a high drug loading was successfully prepared, indicating the amount of excipients such as the oil phase and emulsifiers significantly decreased following administration of the same dose of drug, effectively reducing the metabolism by patients while increasing their compliance. Therefore, LEPE has a great potential for clinical applications.     

丙烯酸树脂/LDH纳米复合材料的合成及其耐老化性研究

主要采用成核/晶化隔离法制备纳米双羟基复合金属氧化物(LDH)并改性,再用乳液聚合法合成丙烯酸树脂/LDH纳米复合乳液。利用FTIR、SEM和材料试验机对其进行结构和力学性能表征。结果表明:最佳反应温度为80℃,反应时间为2.5 h,催化剂的用量为0.2 g。并在该条件下成功地合成了丙烯酸树脂/LDH纳米复合材料;并随着LDH含量的增加其成膜速度,膜的透明度,耐老化性都有所提高;但当LDH的含量超过一定值时,其各项性能呈下降趋势。当LDH的含量为3%时,复合材料的各项性能均达到了最佳状态。     

Nanoemulsion-based delivery systems for poorly water-soluble bioactive compounds: Influence of formulation parameters on Polymethoxyflavone crystallization

Polymethoxyflavones (PMFs) extracted from citrus peel exhibit potent anti-cancer activity, but are highly hydrophobic molecules with poor solubility in both water and oil at ambient and body temperature, which limits their bioavailability. The possibility of encapsulating PMFs within nanoemulsion-based delivery systems to facilitate their application in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products was investigated. The influence of oil type (corn oil, MCT, orange oil), emulsifier type (β-lactoglobulin, lyso-lecithin, Tween, and DTAB), and neutral cosolvents (glycerol and ethanol) on the formation and stability of PMF-loaded nanoemulsions was examined. Nanoemulsions (r < 100 nm) could be formed using high pressure homogenization for all emulsifier types, except DTAB. Lipid droplet charge could be altered from highly cationic (DTAB), to near neutral (Tween), to highly anionic (β-lactoglobulin, lyso-lecithin) by varying emulsifier type. PMF crystals formed in all nanoemulsions after preparation, which had a tendency to sediment during storage. The size, morphology, and aggregation of PMF crystals depended on preparation method, emulsifier type, oil type, and cosolvent addition. These results have important implications for the development of delivery systems for bioactive components that have poor oil and water solubility at application temperatures.     

Creation of reduced fat foods: Influence of calcium-induced droplet aggregation on microstructure and rheology of mixed food dispersions

The impact of calcium-induced fat droplet aggregation on the microstructure and physicochemical properties of model mixed colloidal dispersions was investigated. These systems consisted of 2 wt% whey protein-coated fat droplets and 4 wt% modified starch granules heated to induce starch swelling (pH 7). Optical and confocal microscopy showed that the fat droplets were dispersed within the interstitial region between the swollen starch granules. The structural organisation of the fat droplets within these interstitial regions could be modulated by controlling the calcium concentration: (i) at a low calcium concentration the droplets were evenly distributed; (ii) at an intermediate calcium concentration they formed a layer around the starch granules; (iii) at a high calcium concentration they formed a network of aggregated droplets. Paste-like materials were produced when the fat droplets formed a three-dimensional network in the interstitial region. The properties of fat droplet–starch granule suspensions can be modulated by altering the electrostatic interactions to alter microstructure.     

Triplet harvesting in polyfluorene copolymer-based organic light emitting diodes through thermally activated reverse intersystem crossing

Recently, significant efforts have been made to develop highly efficient organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) employing reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) owing to its capability of harvesting non-emissive triplet states. Up to date, most of such emitters were small-molecular-weight materials that needed to be doped into a host material. Due to the advantages of ease device fabrication and excellent photoluminescent properties, polymer-based RISC emitters should be developed. In this study, we reported a polyfluorene-based copolymer of poly[{9,9-dioctyl-2,7-divinylene-fluorenylene-alt-co-{2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenyene}] (PFOPV), which is a solution-processable, non-doped, high-molecular-weight material exhibiting RISC characteristics. A systematical magneto-electroluminescence study joint by time-resolved spectra revealed that charge transfer (CT) states would be generated between PFO and MEH-PPV components of PFOPV, and triplet CT states can participate in RISC process and contribute significantly to the emission. The PFOPV device shows excellent EL performance with EL efficiency of 12.7 cd/A and EQE of 2.2%, which is about 10–15 times and 2–4 times higher than those of PFO (0.9 cd/A, 0.63%) and MEH-PPV (1.2 cd/A, 1.1%) homopolymer devices, respectively.     

丙烯酸β-环糊精酯共聚物对染料的吸附性能

以丙烯酸β-环糊精酯共聚物为吸附剂,采用分光光度法测定该吸附剂对亚甲基蓝和碱性品红溶液的静态吸附效果,考察了吸附时间、体系pH值等对吸附量的影响。结果表明:常温下,亚甲基蓝的较佳吸附条件为静态吸附时间约7h、体系pH=8.0时,最大吸附量达到166.3mg/g;碱性品红的较佳吸附条件为静态吸附时间约7h、体系pH=10时,最大吸附量达到137.9mg/g。该共聚物对亚甲基蓝染料吸附性能更好。     

Production and Emulsifying Effect of Polyglycerol and Fatty Acid Esters with Varying Degrees of Esterification

Esters with acyl groups can be formed by the esterification of polyglycerol. The purpose of the present study was to produce fatty acid esters [hexanoic (caproic), octanoic (caprylic), decanoic (capric), dodecanoic (lauric), tetradecanoic (myristic), hexadecanoic (palmitic), octadecanoic (stearic)] and polyglycerol (average number‐of degrees of polymerization of 5) with varying degrees of esterification and to examine their emulsifying properties. A number of fundamental catalysts of polyglycerol acylation reactions by methyl esters of carboxylic acid were studied, and sodium methoxide was found to be the best choice. The temperature rate of transesterification increased from 180 to 220 °C with the fatty acid chain alkyl residue. Synthesized mono‐, di‐, tri‐, tetra‐, and heptaesters of various fatty acids and polyglycerol provided the highest hydroxyl values from 15 to 815 mg KOH g^?1 and saponification values from 82 to 321 mg KOH g^?1. The emulsifying properties were assessed for all polyglycerol and fatty acid esters, with results showing maximum emulsifying effect for tri‐ and tetraesters of capric, lauric, and caprylic acids. Regardless of the hydrophilic–lipophilic balance value (HLB) of polyglycerol esters and carboxylic acid, a 4:1 ratio of sunflower oil to water formed a water‐in‐oil type emulsion. When mixing oil and water in a 1:1 ratio, mono‐ and diesters of polyglycerol formed an oil‐in‐water type emulsion, heptaesters formed a water‐in‐oil type emulsion, and tri‐ and tetraesters formed both of types of emulsions, depending on the length of the acid hydrocarbon radicals.     

Coalescence Behavior of Pure and Natural Fat Droplets Characterized via Micromanipulation

For two approaching oil droplets, a region of arrested coalescence lies between full coalescence and total stability. Here the fusion of two droplets begins, but they are stopped from fully relaxing into one spherical droplet. The internal rigidity of the solid fat network within each droplet can provide the resistance necessary to arrest the shape change driven by Laplace pressure. These intermediate doublet structures lead to the partially‐coalesced fat networks important for the desired physical properties of ice cream and whipped topping. The use of micromanipulation techniques allows coalescence events between two oil droplets to be microscopically observed. In this study, oil droplets composed of different fats were manipulated at varying elastic moduli, interfacial tension, and radii. It was seen that increasing the elastic moduli of the droplets or increasing droplet radii resulted in coalescence being arrested earlier. Under these experimental conditions, different interfacial tensions did not change the coalescence behavior between two oil droplets.