Bio-based polyester-polyurethane foams: synthesis and degradability by Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus clavatus

In this article, the degradability by Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus clavatus of three bio-based polyurethane (PU) foams is compared to previous degradability studies involving a Pseudomonas sp. bacterium and similar initial materials (Spontón et al. in Int. Biodet. Biodeg. 85:85-94, 2013, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibiod.2013.05.019 ). First, three new polyester-polyurethane foams were prepared from mixtures of castor oil (CO), maleated castor oil (MACO), toluene diisocyanate (TDI), and water. Then, their degradation tests were carried out in an aqueous medium, and employing the two mentioned fungi, after their isolation from the environment. From the degradation tests, the following was observed: (a) the insoluble (and slightly collapsed) foams exhibited free hydroxyl, carboxyl, and amine moieties; and (b) the water soluble (and low molar mass) compounds contained amines, carboxylic acids, and glycerol. The most degraded foam contained the highest amount of MACO, and therefore the highest concentration of hydrolytic bonds. A basic biodegradation mechanism was proposed that involves hydrolysis and oxidation reactions.

Latex of immunodiagnosis for detecting the Chagas disease: II. Chemical coupling of antigen Ag36 onto carboxylated latexes

A novel immunodiagnosis reagent for detecting the Chagas Disease was developed, by chemical coupling of antigen Ag36 of Trypanosoma cruzi onto two (carboxylated and core-shell) latexes. The coupling reactions involved the use of a carbodiimide intermediate. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used as a model protein for determining the appropriate conditions for its physical and chemical coupling. BSA showed an increased adsorption onto the base carboxylated latexes, with respect to a PS latex without carboxyl groups. The chemical bonding experiments only involved the carboxylated latexes. With BSA, the final density of covalently bound protein was 2.30 mg/m(2). In addition, around 55% of the total linked protein was chemically coupled, and the reaction was little affected by the pH. With Ag36, the final density of covalently bound protein was 2.44 mg/m(2), around 80% of the total linked protein was chemically coupled, and the chemical coupling was maximum at pH = 5 (i.e., close to the isoelectric point).

Latex of immunodiagnosis for detecting the Chagas disease. I. Synthesis of the base carboxylated latex

This article investigates the synthesis of two (monodisperse, carboxylated, and core-shell) latexes, through a batch and a semibatch emulsion copolymerizations of styrene (St) and methacrylic acid (MAA) onto polystyrene latex seeds. A mathematical model of the process was developed that predicts conversion, average particle size, and surface density of carboxyl groups. The model was adjusted to the batch reaction measurements, and then it was used in the design of the semibatch experiment. The semibatch reaction involved an initial homopolymerization of St followed by instantaneous addition of MAA-St-initiator. Compared with the batch reaction results, the semibatch policy more than doubled the surface density of carboxyl groups. The second part of this series describes the development of an immunodiagnosis latex-protein complex for detecting the Chagas disease, by coupling an antigen of Trypanosoma cruzi onto the produced carboxylated latexes.

Estimation of band broadening in size-exclusion chromatography. I. A method based on analyzing narrow standards with a molar mass-sensitive detector

A method is proposed for estimating the (asymmetrical and non-uniform) band broadening function (BBF) in size-exclusion chromatography (SEC). The following data are required: the molar mass calibration and the concentration- and molar mass chromatograms of a set of narrow standards. In the narrow range of each standard, the BBF is uniform but skewed. Each uniform BBF is estimated through a nonlinear optimization procedure that compares one (of the two) measured chromatograms with its theoretical prediction based on the other chromatogram. The method is validated with numerical examples that simulate the analyses of narrow standards exhibiting log-normal and Poisson weight chain length distributions. The BBF can be assumed of arbitrary shape, or represented by an exponentially-modified Gaussian (EMG). From the uniform BBF estimate, the true polydispersity of the standard can be determined. The global non-uniform BBF is obtained by interpolation between a set of uniform BBFs covering a wide range of elution volumes.

Contamination by larger particles of two almost-uniform latices: analysis by combined dynamic light scattering and turbidimetry

Multiangle dynamic light scattering (MDLS) and turbidimetry (T) were applied (both individually and combined) for determining the contamination by larger particles of two almost-uniform polystyrene (PS) latices. Latex 1 was synthesized in our laboratories, and it contained a main population diameter of 340 nm together with a small fraction of larger particles. This latex was used as the base material for producing an immunoassay kit. Latex 2 was obtained by a simple blend of two uniform PS standards. The proposed data treatment calculates the diameter and number fraction of the large particles contamination assuming that the PSDs are bimodal. The calculation involves minimizing the errors between the measurements and their theoretical predictions. When analyzed by combined MDLS-T, the contamination of Latex 1 involved number fraction 0.6% and particle diameter 865 nm. The T average diameter is a function of the measurement wavelength, and the highest deviations of this average to an increasing contamination by large particles were always observed at the higher wavelengths. The DLS average diameter is a function of the measurement angle, but in this case it is impossible to determine a priori the angle of observation that provides the largest deviation of this average diameter to an increasing contamination.

Latex particle size distribution by dynamic light scattering: novel data processing for multiangle measurements

Multiangle dynamic light scattering (DLS) provides a better estimate of particle size distributions (PSD) than single-angle DLS. However, multiangle data treatment requires appropriate weighting of each autocorrelation measurement prior to calculation of the PSD. The weighting coefficients may be directly obtained from (i). the autocorrelation baselines or (ii). independent measurement of the average light intensity by elastic light scattering. However, the propagation of errors associated with such procedures may intolerably corrupt the PSD estimate. In this work, an alternative recursive least-squares calculation is proposed that estimates the weighting coefficients on the basis of the complete autocorrelation measurement. The method was validated through a numerical example that simulates the analysis of a polystyrene latex with a bimodal PSD and with "measurements" taken at 10 detection angles. The ill-conditioned nature of the problem determines that the "true" PSD cannot be recovered, even in the absence of errors. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to determine the effect of errors in the weighting coefficients on the PSD recoveries.

Latex Particle Size Distribution by Dynamic Light Scattering: Computer Evaluation of Two Alternative Calculation Paths

Two calculation paths for estimating the particle size distribution (PSD) of a polymer latex from single-angle dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements are evaluated on the basis of a numerical example. In the more common "double-step method," two calculation steps are applied, with the intermediate estimation of the particle light intensity distribution (PLID). In the "single-step method," the calculation is performed in one operation. From the specification of several PSDs, a mathematical model is used to produce the synthetic measurements. An iterative procedure was applied for determining the diameter range and the number of PSD points. The inversion operations were carried out using a regularization technique. For narrow distributions with diameters in the range 100-1000 nm, the PSD and the PLID are similar in shape, and both calculation paths produce similar results. For broad PSDs in the range 100-1000 nm, and for arbitrary PSDs in the range 10-100 nm (i.e., in the Rayleigh region), the single-step method proved preferable. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

Particle Size Distribution of SBR and NBR Latexes by UV-VIS Turbidimetry near the Rayleigh Region

This paper deals with data treatment problems that arise when turbidimetry is employed to estimate the particle size distribution (PSD) of soft polymer latexes with low diameter limits around 40 nm. Scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering were used as comparison techniques. Industrial latexes of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and of acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) were investigated. The data treatment involved the use of Mie's Model to obtain an average diameter and/or the complete PSD. For estimating the complete PSD, a least squares optimization (with an imposed distribution shape) and a numerical deconvolution procedure (without assumptions on the distribution shape) were attempted. A synthetic example was solved to investigate the limits of the applied numerical methods. For the polymer refractive index functions, Cauchy's Law was used — and its adequate adjustment proved essential for good turbidimetric estimations. A reasonable agreement between the turbidity measurements and the other independent estimations was verified. For the SEM observations, the soft latexes were hardened by irradiation before observation, but negligible diameter variations were detected.