Polymer/montmorillonite nanocomposites with improved thermal properties: Part II. Thermal stability of montmorillonite nanocomposites based on different polymeric matrixes.

In previous part of this work factors influencing the thermal stability of polymer nanocomposite materials were indicated, such as chemical constitution of organic modifier, filler content, nanocomposites’ structure and the processing- dependent degree of homogenization of nanofiller, were presented. In this part the basic changes in thermal behaviour of different polymeric matrixes (e.g. polyolefins, polyamides, poly(vinyl chloride) and styrene-containing polymers) upon addition of montmorillonite have been described. Brief description of the kinetics of the decomposition process in inert and oxidative environment, as well as analysis of volatile and condensed products of degradation, have also been present

Mild hydration of didecyldimethylammonium chloride modified DNA by 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance and by sorption isotherm

The gaseous phase hydration of deoxyribonucleic acid and didecyldimethylammonium chloride (C19H42ClN) complexes (DNA-DDCA) was observed using hydration kinetics, sorption isotherm, and high power nuclear magnetic resonance. Three bound water fractions were distinguished: (i) a very tightly bound water not removed by incubation over silica gel, (ii) a tightly bound water saturating with the hydration time t(1)(h) (0.596 +/- 0.04) h, and a loosely bound water fraction, (iii) with the hydration time t(2)(h) (20.9 +/- 1.3) h. Proton free induction decay was decomposed into the signal associated with the solid matrix of DNA-DDCA complex (T-2S approximate to 30 mu s) and two liquid signal components coming from tightly bound (T-2L1 approximate to 100 mu s) and from loosely bound water fraction (T-2L2 approximate to 1000 mu s)

Rehydration of CTMA modified DNA powders observed by NMR

The rehydration of salmon sperm deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride $(C_{19}H_{42}ClN)$ complexes was observed using hydration kinetics, sorption isotherm, and high power proton relaxometry (at 30 MHz). The hydration kinetics shows (i) a very tightly bound water not removed by incubation over silica gel ($A_0^{h}$ = 0.061 ± 0.004), (ii) a tightly bound water saturating at $A_1^{h}$ = 0.039 ± 0.011, with the hydration time $t_1^{h}$ = (1.04 ± 0.21) h, a loosely bound water fraction (iii) with the hydration time $t_2^{h}$ = (19.1 ± 3.2) h and the contribution progressively increasing with the air humidity. For the hydration at $p//p_0$ = 100%, after $t_0$ = (152.6 ± 2.5) h of incubation the swelling process begins. The swelling time was $t_3^{h}$ = (12.5 ± 5.4) h, and the swelling amplitude $A_3^{h}$ = 0.140 ± 0.016. The sorption isotherm is sigmoidal in form and is fitted by the Dent model with the mass of water saturating primary binding sites Δ M/$m_0$ = 0.102 ± 0.021. Proton free induction decay is a superposition of the immobilized proton signal (Gaussian, with $T_{2S}$* ≈ 30 μs) and two liquid signal components coming from tightly bound ($T_{2 L_1}$* ≈ 100 μs) and loosely bound water fraction with the amplitude proportional to the mass of water added ($T_{2 L_2}$* ≈ 1000 μs)

Influence of surfactant on dynamics of photoinduced motions and light emission of a dye-doped deoxyribonucleic

Pure deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is known to be soluble in water only and exhibits poor temperature stability. In contrary, it is well known that the complex of DNA - with cetyltrimethyl ammonium (CTMA) is insoluble in water but soluble in alcohols and can be processed into very good optical quality thin films by solution casting or spin deposition. Despite the success of DNA-CTMA, there is still need for new cationic surfactants which would extend the range of available solvents for DNA complex. We test and present experimental results of influence of new surfactants replacing CTMA in the DNA complex and based on benzalkonium chloride (BA) and didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDCA) on their optical properties. Particularly, we were interested in all optical switching and light generation in amplified spontaneous emission process in these materials

Photoinduced Gratings in Functionalized Azo-Carbazole Compounds in Picosecond Regime

We report results of diffraction grating inscription on thin films prepared from epoxy resin doped with azo-carbazole based dyes. Diffraction gratings were recorded at the wavelength 532 nm and monitored through intensity of first order of diffraction (632 nm). Atomic force microscope scans of the gratings show that a surface relief grating also appeared

Evaluation of the drug solubility and rush ageing on drug release performance of various model drugs from the modified release polyethylene oxide matrix tablets

Hydrophilic matrix systems are currently some of the most widely used drug delivery systems for controlled-release oral dosage forms. Amongst a variety of polymers, polyethylene oxide (PEO) is considered an important material used in pharmaceutical formulations. As PEO is sensitive to thermal oxidation, it is susceptible to free radical oxidative attack. The aim of this study was to investigate the stability of PEO based formulations containing different model drugs with different water solubility, namely propranolol HCl, theophylline and zonisamide. Both polyox matrices 750 and 303 grade were used as model carriers for the manufacture of tablets stored at 40 °C. The results of the present study suggest that the drug release from the matrix was affected by the length of storage conditions, solubility of drugs and the molecular weight of the polymers. Generally, increased drug release rates were prevalent in soluble drug formulations (propranolol) when stored at the elevated temperature (40 °C). In contrast, it was not observed with semi soluble (theophylline) and poorly soluble (zonisamide) drugs especially when formulated with PEO 303 polymer. This indicates that the main parameters controlling the drug release from fresh polyox matrices are the solubility of the drug in the dissolution medium and the molecular weight of the polymer. DSC traces indicated that that there was a big difference in the enthalpy and melting points of fresh and aged PEO samples containing propranolol, whereas the melting point of the aged polyox samples containing theophylline and zonisamide was unaffected