Poly(2-oxazoline)s with a 2,2′-Iminodiacetate End Group Inhibit and Stabilize Laccase

Poly(2-oxazoline)s (POxs) with 2,2′-iminodiacetate (IDA) end groups were investigated as inhibitors for laccase. The polymers with the IDA end groups are reversible, competitive inhibitors for this enzyme. The IC₅₀ values were found to be in a range of 1–3 mm . Compared with IDA alone, the activity was increased by a factor of more than 30; thus indicating that attaching a polymer chain to an inhibitor can already improve the activity of the former. The enzyme activity drops to practically zero upon increasing the concentration of the most active telechelic inhibitor, IDA-PEtOx₃₀-IDA (PEtOx: poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)), from 5 to 8 mm . This unusual behavior was investigated by means of dynamic light scattering, which showed specific aggregation above 5 mm . Furthermore, the laccase could be stabilized in the presence of POx-IDA, upon addition at a concentration of 20 mm and higher. Whereas laccase becomes completely inactive at room temperature after one week, the stabilized laccase is fully active for at least a month in aqueous solution.     

A Comparison between Direct and Indirect Laser Sintering of Metals

Layer manufacture technologies are gaining increasing attention in the manufacturing for the production of polymer mould tooling. Layer manufacture techniques can be used in this potential manufacturing area to produce tooling either indirectly or directly, and powder metal based layer manufacture systems are considered as an effective way of producing rapid tooling. Mechanical properties and accuracy are critical for tooling. This paper reports the results of an experimental study examining the potential of layer manufacturing processes to deliver production tooling for polymer manufacture. A comparison between indirectly selective laser sintering and directly selective laser sintering to provide the tooling was reported. Three main areas were addressed during the study： mechanical strength, accuracy, and build rate. Overviews of the results from the studies were presented.     

Thematic Mapper analysis to identify geomorphologic and sediment texture of El Tineh plain,north-western coast of Sinai,Egypt

Thematic Mapper data combined with field inspection are successfully applied to detect a wide variety of texture analysis of sediments and geomorphologic variability along the coastal plain of El Tineh bay at the north-western part of Sinai. Processing techniques used in this study include: image enhancement, principal component analysis (PCA), TM band ratios and supervised classification. The analysis of colour composites of PC1, PC2 and PC3, always encoded red, green and blue, respectively, combined with a colour composite of 3/1, 4/3 and 7/3 ratio images and supervised classification serve to identify six main geomorphologic features and also discriminate among 14 sediment textural classes along El Tineh coastal plain.     

Degradation of bond coat strength under thermal cycling—technical note

Degradation in bond strength of plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coatings under thermal cycling was evaluated by tensile adhesion tests. The bond strength and failure mode for two types of bond coat materials were examined. Two bond coats having the same substrate and top ceramic coat behaved differently due to differences in the thermal mismatch stress at an interface between the metallic bond coat and the ceramic top coat.     

A New Approach for Manufacturing a High Porosity Ti-6Al-4V Scaffolds for Biomedical Applications

Titanium and its alloys are currently considered as one of the most important metallic materials used in the biomedical applications, due to their excellent mechanical properties and superior biocompatibility. In the present study, a new effective method for fabricating high porosity titanium alloy scaffolds was developed. Porous Ti-6Al-4V scaffolds are successfully fabricated with porosities ranging from 30% to 70% using spaceholder and powder sintering technique. Based on its acceptable properties, spherical carbamide particles with different diameters （0.56, 0.8, and 1mm） were used as the space-holder material in the present investigation. The Ti-6Al-4V scaffolds porosity is characterized by using scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the scaffolds spherical-shaped pores are depending on the shape, size and distribution of the space-holder particles. This investigation shows that the present new manufacturing technique is promising to fabricate a controlled high porosity and high purity Ti-6Al-4V scaffolds for hard tissue replacement.     

Processing and mechanical properties of porous 316L stainless steel for biomedical applications

Highly porous 316L stainless steel parts were produced by using a powder metallurgy process, which includes the selective laser sintering（SLS） and traditional sintering. Porous 316L stainless steel suitable for medical applications was successfully fabricated in the porosity range of 40%-50% （volume fraction） by controlling the SLS parameters and sintering behaviour. The porosity of the sintered compacts was investigated as a function of the SLS parameters and the furnace cycle. Compressive stress and elastic modulus of the 316L stainless steel material were determined. The compressive strength was found to be ranging from 21 to 32 MPa and corresponding elastic modulus ranging from 26 to 43 GPa. The present parts are promising for biomedical applications since the optimal porosity of implant materials for ingrowths of new-bone tissues is in the range of 20%-59% （volume fraction） and mechanical properties are matching with human bone.     

Solid Lipid Nanoparticle-Based Calix[n]arenes and Calix-Resorcinarenes as Building Blocks: Synthesis,Formulation and Characterization

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) have attracted increasing attention during recent years. This paper presents an overview about the use of calix[n]arenes and calix-resorcinarenes in the formulation of SLNs. Because of their specific inclusion capability both in the intraparticle spaces and in the host cavities as well as their capacity for functionalization, these colloidal nanostructures represent excellent tools for the encapsulation of different active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in the area of drug targeting, cosmetic additives, contrast agents, etc. Various synthetic routes to the supramolecular structures will be given. These various routes lead to the formulation of the corresponding SLNs. Characterization, properties, toxicological considerations as well as numerous corresponding experimental studies and analytical methods will be also exposed and discussed.