Preparation and characterization of polyurethane microcapsules containing n‐octadecane with styrene‐maleic anhydride as a surfactant by interfacial polycondensation

A series of polyurethane microcapsules containing a phase change material (PCM) of n‐octadecane was successfully synthesized by an interfacial polymerization in aqueous styrene‐maleic anhydride (SMA) dispersion with diethylene triamine (DETA) as a chain extender reacting with toluene‐2,4‐diisocyanate (TDI). The average diameter of microPCMs is in the range of 5–10 μm under the stirring speed of 3000–4000 rpm. Optical and SEM morphologies of microPCMs had ensured that the shell was regularly fabricated with the influence of SMA. FTIR results confirmed that the shell material was polyurethane and the SMA chains associated on core material reacted with TDI forming a part of shell material. The shell thickness was decreasing in the range of 0.31–0.55 μm with the molar ratio of DETA/TDI from 0.84 to 1.35 and the weight of core material increasing from 40 to 80% (wt %). By controlling the weight ratio of PCM as 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80% in microPCMs, it was found using DSC that the T_m and T_c of microPCMs were in the range of 29.8–31.0^oC and 21.1–22.0°C and an obvious phase change had been achieved nearly the same temperature range of that of PCM. The results from release curves of microPCM samples prepared by 1.4, 1.7, and 2.0 g of SMA indicated the release properties were affected by the amount of the dispersant, which attributed to the emulsion effect and shell polymerization structure. The above results suggest that the shell structure of microPCMs can be controlled and the properties of microPCMs determined by shell will perform proper practical usage. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 4996–5006, 2006     

Viscosities of nonelectrolyte liquid mixtures. I. binary mixtures containing p-dioxane

Viscosity measurements are reported for p-dioxans with cyclohexane, n-hexane, benzene, toluene, carbon tetrachloride, tetrachloroethane, chloroform, pentachloroethane, and ethyl acetate at 303.15 K. Excess Gibbs energies of activation G ^*E of viscous flow have been calculated with Eyring's theory of absolute reaction rates. The deviations of the viscosities from a linear dependence on the mole fraction and values of G ^*E for binary mixtures have been explained in terms of molecular interactions between unlike pairs. The Prigogine-Flory-Patterson theory has been used to estimate the excess viscosity, ln , and corresponding enthalpy ln _H, entropy ln _S, and free volume ln _v terms for binary mixtures of p-dioxane with cyclohexane, n-hexane, benzene, toluene, carbon tetrachloride, and chloroform. Estimates of excess viscosities from this theory for p-dioxane with benzene, toluene, and carbon tetrachloride are good, while for the other three mixtures they are poor. The local-composition thermodynamic model of Wei and Rowley estimates the excess viscosity quite well even for p-dioxane mixtures with cyclohexane and n-hexane.     

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Activate the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor and the Constitutive Androstane Receptor to Regulate Xenobiotic Metabolism in Human Liver Cells

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are environmental pollutants produced by incomplete combustion of organic matter. They induce their own metabolism by upregulating xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes such as cytochrome P450 monooxygenase 1A1 (CYP1A1) by activating the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). However, previous studies showed that individual PAHs may also interact with the constitutive androstane receptor (CAR). Here, we studied ten PAHs, different in carcinogenicity classification, for their potential to activate AHR- and CAR-dependent luciferase reporter genes in human liver cells. The majority of investigated PAHs activated AHR, while non-carcinogenic PAHs tended to activate CAR. We further characterized gene expression, protein abundancies and activities of the AHR targets CYP1A1 and 1A2, and the CAR target CYP2B6 in human HepaRG hepatoma cells. Enzyme induction patterns strongly resembled the profiles obtained at the receptor level, with AHR-activating PAHs inducing CYP1A1/1A2 and CAR-activating PAHs inducing CYP2B6. In summary, this study provides evidence that beside well-known activation of AHR, some PAHs also activate CAR, followed by subsequent expression of respective target genes. Furthermore, we found that an increased PAH ring number is associated with AHR activation as well as the induction of DNA double-strand breaks, whereas smaller PAHs activated CAR but showed no DNA-damaging potential.     

Supramolecular Nanofibers from Collagen-Mimetic Peptides Bearing Various Aromatic Groups at N-Termini via Hierarchical Self-Assembly

Self-assembly of artificial peptides has been widely studied for constructing nanostructured materials, with numerous potential applications in the nanobiotechnology field. Herein, we report the synthesis and hierarchical self-assembly of collagen-mimetic peptides (CMPs) bearing various aromatic groups at the N-termini, including 2-naphthyl, 1-naphtyl, anthracenyl, and pyrenyl groups, into nanofibers. The CMPs (R-(GPO)_n: n > 4) formed a triple helix structure in water at 4 °C, as confirmed via CD analyses, and their conformations were more stable with increasing hydrophobicity of the terminal aromatic group and peptide chain length. The resulting pre-organized triple helical CMPs showed diverse self-assembly into highly ordered nanofibers, reflecting their slight differences in hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance and configuration of aromatic templates. TEM analysis demonstrated that 2Np-CMP_n (n = 6 and 7) and Py-CMP₆ provided well-developed natural collagen-like nanofibers and An-CMP_n (n = 5–7) self-assembled into rod-like micelle fibers. On the other hand, 2Np-CMP₅ and 1Np-CMP₆ were unable to form nanofibers under the same conditions. Furthermore, the Py-CMP₆ nanofiber was found to encapsulate a guest hydrophobic molecule, Nile red, and exhibited unique emission behavior based on the specific nanostructure. In addition to the ability of CMPs to bind small molecules, their controlled self-assembly enables their versatile utilization in drug delivery and wavelength-conversion nanomaterials.     

Determination of heavy metals and volatile aromatic compounds in used engine oils and sludges

Assessment of contaminant releases during utilization of used oils is essential for the determination of environmental acceptability. These paper reports the results of the study examining a toxic metal leachability from used engine oil and sludge samples employing leaching test (TCLP). The leaching test indicated that lead in oil samples exceeded 5-ppm concentration level what qualified them as a toxic waste. The samples of contaminated sludge were found to contain high concentration of total lead, barium and chromium, but the leaching test showed concentration below regulatory limit. The total content of benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylenes (BETX), and naphthalene in used oil and sludge samples was also determined and was found not to be a significant factor to contamination.     

N-甲酰吗啉芳烃抽提塔试验研究

用小型碳钢筛板萃取塔进行了宽馏分重整脱庚烷油的N 甲酰吗啉抽提试验 ,考察了抽提温度、溶剂比、溶剂含水率对总芳烃收率及选择性的影响。结果表明 ,在抽提温度为 60℃、溶剂含水为 3 % (m )和溶剂比S/F =4(V)的抽提操作条件下 ,溶剂选择性较高 ,并可获得高的芳烃回收率     

不同分散染料微胶囊的制备及应用

采用原位聚合法进行双层造壁，对不同结构的分散染料进行胶囊化。将分散染料高速均化后，在pH=4～6时加入TMM，65℃保温1．5小时，再滴加一定量PEHMM，在75℃时保温2.5小时进行双层造壁、C.I.分散橙30染料胶囊的粒径平均值为13．53μm，中值8．732μm；C.I．分散蓝56微胶囊粒径平均值为36.3μm，中值24.87μm。胶囊染色结果显示：这两只染料性能优于传统染料，染色后其废液的吸光度分别为0.021和0.003，比传统染色废水的1.286和0.786低很多。     

Effects of substituted aromatic heterocyclic phosphate salts on properties,crystallization, and melting behaviors of isotactic polypropylene

Nucleation effects of 2,2′‐methylene‐bis (4,6‐di‐tert‐butylphenyl) phosphate metal salts as a nucleating agent for isotactic polypropylene (iPP) were investigated with differential scanning calorimeter and polarized optical microscope, and their effects on mechanical, optical, and heat resistance properties of iPP were also studied. The results showed that monovalent metal salts of substituted aromatic heterocyclic phosphate such as sodium salt, lithium salt, and potassium salt had a good performance. With 0.2 wt % of sodium salt, lithium salt, or potassium salt incorporated into iPP, the crystallization peak temperature of iPP could be increased by 13.5, 13.6, and 15.0°C, respectively; the mass fraction of crystallinity of iPP could be increased by about 5%; and crystallization rate was enhanced increasingly. Meanwhile the tensile strength and flexural modulus of iPP could be increased by about 10 and 30%, respectively, and the clarity and heat distortion temperature of iPP could also be improved significantly. But bivalent and trivalent metal salts of substituted aromatic heterocyclic phosphate had little effect on properties of iPP. Meanwhile the morphology study showed that the addition of monovalent sodium salt could decrease the spherulite size of iPP significantly. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 4868–4874, 2006     

Molecular dynamics model structures for the molten globule state of {alpha}-lactalbumin: aromatic residue clusters I and II

To model the molten globule structure of -lactalbumin, moleculardynamics (MD) simulations were carried out for the protein inexplicit water at high temperature. In these simulations, long-rangeCoulomb interactions were evaluated explicitly with an originalmethod (particle–particle and particle–cell: PPPC)to avoid artifacts caused by the cut-off. The MD simulationswere started from two initial conditions to verify that similarresults would be obtained. From the last 150 ps trajectoriesof the two MD simulations, two partially unfolded average structureswere obtained. These structures had the following common structuralfeatures which are characteristic of the molten globule state.The radii of gyration for these conformations were 7.4 and 9.6%larger than that of the native state. These values were almostthe same as the experimental value (9.6%) observed recentlyby small-angle X-ray scattering (Kataoka,M., Kuwajima,K., Tokunaga,F.and Goto,Y., 1997, Protein Sci., 6, 422–430). Furthermore,aromatic residues of clusters I and II in these structures werefar apart from each other except for Try103–Trp104. Thisresult is in good agreement with NMR experimental results forthe acid-denatured molten globule state (Alexandrescu et al.,1992, 1993); that is, NOE signals between the aromatic residueswere not observed, except for that of Try103–Trp104 inthe molten globule state. Other structural features of thesemodels for the molten globule state are discussed with referenceto native state structures.     

C8芳烃中二甲苯和乙苯的分离技术进展

论述了用于C8芳烃中二甲苯异构体以及乙苯分离的各种吸附分离技术进展,对各种工艺和特点以及工业应用状况进行了分析比较。详细介绍了目前国内C8芳烃吸附分离装置中的工业生产状况和面临的问题及挑战。提出应抓紧开发具有自主知识产权的C8芳烃吸附分离技术,尤其是开发一种对乙苯和二甲苯同时具有高选择性、高吸附能力、容易脱附的吸附剂,实现从C8芳烃中同时得到乙苯和二甲苯高纯度产品的目的,打破国外的技术垄断。