Superabsorbent hydrogel based on modified polysaccharide for removal of Pb2+ and Cu2+ from water with excellent performance

This contribution describes the absorption percentage of Pb²⁺ and Cu²⁺ from water by a superabsorbent hydrogel matrix (SH) made from an anionic polysaccharide copolymerized with acrylic acid (AAc) and acrylamide (AAm). Metal‐absorption tests, upon sequential pH variation, indicated that the SH has pH‐sensitivity for the absorption of both metals from solution, attributed to the functional ionic groups (? COOH) present in the AAc and arabic gum (AG) segments. At the pH 5.0, the SH exhibited good absorption capacity: 73.10% for Pb²⁺, 81.99% for Cu²⁺ in water and 63.64% for Pb²⁺, and 76.67% for Cu²⁺ in saline water with 0.1 mol kg^?1 ionic strength. A replicated 2² full factorial design with a central point was built to evaluate the maximum absorption capacity of the metals into the SH. It was found that both the interaction and main effects of the pH and the initial concentration of metal solution on absorption percentage of the metals were statistically significant. Surface response plots indicated that the absorption capacity of both metals into the SH may be appreciably improved by using the solutions with lower initial concentration of metal and with higher pH values. Metal‐absorption results demonstrated that the SH is a convenient material for absorption of Pb²⁺ and Cu²⁺ from pure aqueous and saline aqueous environments. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Preparation and properties of polyelectrolyte complex sponges composed of hyaluronic acid and chitosan and their biological behaviors

Polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) composed of chitosan and hyaluronic acid (HA) were prepared in various pH regions and at different weight ratios. At low pHs, there was a strong ionic interaction between NH groups in chitosan and both COO^? and COOH groups in HA due to the deprotonation of HA, whereas weak linkages were formed at high pHs because only the carboxyl groups of HA could interact with NH groups in chitosan. The formation of PECs resulted in a decrease in the crystallinity and thermal stability caused by the interactions between polyions. With variations in the degree of ionization of polyions at various pH conditions, novel PEC sponges were prepared by the freeze drying of PEC solutions. Furthermore, for the evaluation of the wound‐healing effect of PEC sponges with or without an antimicrobial agent (silver sulfadiazine), they were applied to a full‐skin defect of a Wistar rat in vivo. The histology and computerized morphometric analysis of the epidermal healing confirmed the proliferation of fibroblasts in the wound bed and a distinct reduction in infectious agents. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 925–932, 2003     

抗DNA单克隆抗体杂交瘤细胞株的建立及其抗体的鉴定

目的制备抗DNA单克隆抗体,用以建立特异、灵敏、简便的外源性DNA残留量测定方法。方法将小牛胸腺DNA与阳离子化的牛血清白蛋白通过Mannich反应连接成为完全抗原,免疫BALB/c小鼠得到的脾细胞与SP2/0小鼠骨髓瘤细胞融合,获得稳定分泌抗DNA单抗的杂交瘤细胞株,对抗体进行纯化、浓缩及鉴定。结果得到3株可稳定分泌抗DNA单抗的杂交瘤细胞株,单抗的ELISA间接效价分别为1∶4×103、1∶8×104和1∶1×103;亚型分别为IgM/κ、IgM/λ和IgM/κ;亲和力常数分别为3.96×108、4.04×109和1.26×108L/mol;3株细胞分泌的单抗与ctDNA、DH5αDNA、GS115DNA和H.S.DNA均有较高的结合能力,而对RNA、BSA和酪蛋白结合较弱或不能结合;3株细胞分泌的单抗识别3个不同的抗原表位;可检出4ng/ml以上的DNA。结论成功制备了3株细胞分泌的抗DNA单抗,为外源性DNA残留量免疫测定方法的深入研究奠定了基础。     

Host microhabitat location by stem-borer parasitoidCotesia flavipes: the role of herbivore volatiles and locally and systemically induced plant volatiles

The origin of olfactory stimuli involved in the host microhabitat location inCotesia flavipes, a parasitoid of stem-borer larvae, was investigated in a Y-tube olfactometer. The response of femaleC. flavipes towards different components of the plant-host complex, consisting of a maize plant infested with two or more larvae of the stem borerChilo partellus, was tested in dualchoice tests. The concealed lifestyle of the stem-borer larvae did not limit the emission of volatiles attractive to a parasitoid. A major source of the attractive volatiles from the plant-host complex was the stem-borer-injured stem, including the frass produced by the feeding larvae. Moreover, the production of volatiles attractive to a parasitoid was not restricted to the infested stem part but occurs systemically throughout the plant. The uninfested leaves of a stem-borer-infested plant were found to emit volatiles that attract femaleC. flavipes. We further demonstrate that an exogenous elicitor of this systemic plant response is situated in the regurgitate of a stem-borer larva. When a minor amount of regurgitate is inoculated into the stem of an uninfested plant, the leaves of the treated plant emit volatiles that attract femaleC. flavipes.     

Enzymatic degradation of thermoresponsive poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) grafted to carboxymethylcellulose copolymers

The enzymatic degradation of poly(N‐isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM) grafted to carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) copolymers with a cellulasic preparation (Trichoderma viride) was studied. The enzymatic activity of the cellulasic preparation against CMC and the grafted copolymers was determined by the Petterson–Porath method, while their reduced viscosity variation in the presence of the same preparation was also followed. It has been shown that the enzymatic degradation behavior depends on the copolymer composition and the reaction temperature. Reducing sugars analysis showed that the experimental values for the grafted copolymers were higher than the calculated ones. At 50°C, the enzymatic reaction is completed in about 20 min for the copolymers, whereas for CMC it takes more than 40 min. It can be concluded that their enzymatic degradation is facilitated by the presence of the PNIPAM grafts. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 1383–1386, 2003     

New results on PWARX model identification based on clustering approach

This paper deals with the problem of piecewise auto regressive systems with exogenous input(PWARX) model identification based on clustering solution. This problem involves both the estimation of the parameters of the affine sub-models and the hyper planes defining the partitions of the state-input regression. The existing identification methods present three main drawbacks which limit its effectiveness. First, most of them may converge to local minima in the case of poor initializations because they are based on the optimization using nonlinear criteria. Second, they use simple and ineffective techniques to remove outliers. Third, most of them assume that the number of sub-models is known a priori. To overcome these drawbacks, we suggest the use of the density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise(DBSCAN) algorithm. The results presented in this paper illustrate the performance of our methods in comparison with the existing approach. An application of the developed approach to an olive oil esterification reactor is also proposed in order to validate the simulation results.     

Improved methods for evaluating the molar mass distributions of cellulose in kraft pulp

Multi‐angle laser light scattering (MALLS) was used to characterize birch kraft pulps with respect to their absolute molecular mass distributions (MMDs). The pulps were dissolved in lithium chloride/N,N‐dimethylacetamide and separated by size exclusion chromatography (SEC). The weight‐average and number‐average molecular masses of the cellulose fractions of the pulps obtained from the absolute MALLS measurements were compared with the molar masses obtained by direct‐standard‐calibration relative pullulan standards. Discrepancies between the two detection methods were found, and two ways of correlating the relative pullulan molar masses to the absolute molar masses were examined. In the first method, the correlation was made over a large range of molecular masses. The second method correlated the molecular masses of the standards to the molecular masses of samples by the calculation of fictitious, cellulose‐equivalent molar masses of the standards. With the preferred second method, a more correct MMD of kraft pulp samples could, therefore, be obtained from an SEC system calibrated with narrow standards. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 1170–1179, 2003     

Enzyme catalyzed durable and authentic oriental lacquer: a natural microgel-printable coating by polysaccharide–glycoprotein–phenolic lipid complexes

The chemistry and technology of oriental lacquer, proof of long-term durability by a laboratory test, and morphological features of the closely packed shell (polysaccharides–glycoproteins)–core (polymerized urushiol) microgel particles, which are chiefly responsible for degradation due to efflorescence outdoors, are described. The dimerization mechanism of urushiol was demonstrated by separation of over 20 urushiol dimer derivatives. Physiological dimerization of urushiol in the lacquer is very much influenced by the humidity in drying, and the interaction of semiquinone radicals with metal ions, hydrophilic polysaccharides and amphipathic glycoproteins contained in the lacquer. A mechanism for renewable oriental lacquer is proposed, involving harmony of technology and nature within the lacquer tree plantations in south-east Asia. A brief review of studies of lacquer chemistry and synthetic coatings is given.     

Characterization of konjac glucomannan–quaternized poly(4‐vinyl‐N‐butyl) pyridine blend films and their preservation effect

Novel polymer blends were prepared from a mixture of 2 wt % konjac glucomannan and 4 wt % quaternized poly(4‐vinyl‐N‐butyl) pyridine (QPVP) in aqueous solution and dried at room temperature for 72 h. Their structure and properties were studied by infrared, wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. Thermal stability in the dry state was reduced with increasing content of QPVP. Compared with QPVP film, the tensile strength of the films was improved in the dry state. The maximum value of 12.74% tensile break elongation was reached when the content of QPVP was 30%. Structural analysis indicated that clear phase separation was observed when the content of QPVP was only 50%. Results from the filmcoating preservation experiments with lychee showed that this blend film had water‐holding ability. The fruit weight loss rate and rot rate both decreased in various degrees. The potential uses of these novel polymer films could be as preservative films. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 1868–1875, 2004     

Iodine-loaded poly(silicic acid) gellan nanocomposite mucoadhesive film for antibacterial application

Iodine-loaded poly(silicic acid) gellan nanocomposite film was fabricated and evaluated for antibacterial properties. Poly(silicic acid) nanoparticles were synthesized by condensation of silicic acid under alkaline conditions in the presence of polyvinyl pyrrolidone, phosphate ions, and molecular iodine. The nanoparticles were incorporated into gellan dispersion to prepare gellan nanocomposite film using the solvent casting method. The nanocomposite films were characterized by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray diffraction studies. The results of characterization studies indicated improved thermal stability and an increase in the degree of crystallinity. The scanning electron micrographs and energy dispersive X-ray spectrum confirmed the uniform dispersion of silica and iodine in the nanocomposite films. The analysis of physical and mechanical properties revealed the enhanced tensile strength, moisture resistance, and higher folding endurance of poly(silicic acid) gellan nanocomposite films as compared to gellan film. Further, the iodine-loaded poly(silicic acid) gellan nanocomposite films showed good antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli and effective mucoadhesive strength. The results indicate that iodine-loaded poly(silicic acid) gellan nanocomposite mucoadhesive film can be used for potential antibacterial applications in pharmaceuticals.