High Polymer Concentrations Research Articles

Plastic-Degrading Microbial Consortia from a Wastewater Treatment Plant

Plastic waste pollution has become a global crisis, with millions of tons of plastic expected to accumulate in landfills and in natural environments, posing a serious threat to wildlife and human health. As current recycling methods remain inefficient, there is an urgent need for innovative enzymatic solutions to break down plastics and enable a circular economy approach. In this study, we explore the plastic-degrading potential of microorganisms enriched from activated sludge (AS) sourced from a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP)—a known microplastic-contaminated industrial niche. Five microbial consortia (i.e., microbiomes) were enriched under selective pressure using low-carbon conditions and high concentrations of polyester polymers, including post-consumer PET, post-consumer PLA, and virgin PLA. Enrichment was performed for 100 days at 37 °C and 50 °C, followed by microbiomes isolation and metagenomic analysis to identify plastic-active bacteria and their enzymes. The results revealed that PLA polymers, but not post-consumer PET, were effectively degraded by the microbiomes, as confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC), showing significant molecular weight reduction compared to the abiotic controls. Microbial community analysis highlighted a distinct enrichment profile driven by the polymer composition and the temperature. At 50 °C, the Bacillales order became the predominant population, whereas at 37 °C, a more diverse community within the Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria phyla were selected. Nonetheless, the enriched microbial communities at both temperatures included phyla with members known for polyester degradation. Moreover, at 50 °C, enrichment of putative PET/PLA hydrolases was also observed. These findings suggest that AS microorganisms are a reservoir of polyester-active enzymes, particularly PLA-depolymerases, and hold promise for advancing biotechnological strategies to mitigate plastic pollution through re- and up-cycling.

Effects of Electrospinning Parameters on the Morphology of Electrospun Fibers

Hydrophobic electrospun membranes have a lot of applications in different fields. It is very difficult to increase the hydrophobicity of membranes for a specific application. This study investigates the effects of various electrospinning parameters on the morphology and hydrophobicity of polystyrene (PS) electrospun membranes. Polystyrene fibers were used as a reference for the study. Different parameters such as polymer concentrations, diameter of needles, and applied voltage were tested to study the influence on the hydrophobicity of electrospun fibers. Polystyrene fibers were electrospun at different concentrations from 5 to 20 wt.%, needles with a diameter from 0.5 to 3 mm were used, and voltage was applied between 8.06–16.05 kV. The surface morphology of polystyrene fibers and hydrophobicity were studied with a scanning electronic microscope and contact angle measurements. Based on the results of the study, higher polymer concentrations and voltages produce thinner fibers and more hydrophobic membranes. The results of this paper can be applied to the fabrication of different characteristic membranes for specific applications like water conservation, purification, and other fields.

Lateral migration of a deformable fluid particle in a square channel flow of viscoelastic fluid

Cross-stream migration of a deformable fluid particle is investigated computationally in a pressure-driven channel flow of a viscoelastic fluid via interface-resolved simulations. Flow equations are solved fully coupled with the Giesekus model equations using an Eulerian–Lagrangian method and extensive simulations are performed for a wide range of flow parameters to reveal the effects of particle deformability, fluid elasticity, shear thinning and fluid inertia on the particle migration dynamics. Migration rate of a deformable particle is found to be much higher than that of a solid particle under similar flow conditions mainly due to the free-slip condition on its surface. It is observed that the direction of particle migration can be altered by varying shear thinning of the ambient fluid. With a strong shear thinning, the particle migrates towards the wall while it migrates towards the channel centre in a purely elastic fluid without shear thinning. An onset of elastic flow instability is observed beyond a critical Weissenberg number, which in turn causes a path instability even for a nearly spherical particle. An inertial path instability is also observed once particle deformation exceeds a critical value. Shear thinning is found to be suppressing the path instability in a viscoelastic fluid with a high polymer concentration whereas it reverses its role and promotes path instability in a dilute polymer solution. It is found that migration of a deformable particle towards the wall induces a secondary flow with a velocity that is approximately an order of magnitude higher than the one induced by a solid particle under similar flow conditions.

Characteristics of shear stress fluctuations in polymer solutions and their relation to turbulent structures in channel flows

In this study, the wall shear stress in the channel flow of polyacrylamide polymers was investigated through electrochemical experiments, and the effects of the polymer concentration were evaluated at different Reynolds numbers. The objective was to explore the relationship between the changes in the drag reduction and near-wall turbulence structure induced by the polymer. The experiments were conducted using polymer concentrations of 0, 20, 50, 100, and 150 ppm, and a drag reduction of approximately 23% was achieved at a bulk Reynolds number of Reb = 18 750. In the electrochemical method, the working electrode was arranged spanwise, and simultaneous measurements were performed for eight electrodes to discuss the scale of the near-wall low-speed streaks and burst events. A comprehensive analysis of the correlation of the wall shear stress in the streamwise direction and the cross-spectrum of two points in the spanwise direction revealed that large streamwise and spanwise scales of near-wall low-speed streaks were generated at high polymer concentrations. Furthermore, the results obtained using the variable interval time averaging technique indicated that polymer incorporation suppressed the wall shear stress fluctuations and weakened both the intensity and frequency of the bursting events.

Study on the Polymer Morphology and Electro-Optical Performance of Acrylate/Epoxy Resin-Based Polymer-Stabilized Liquid Crystals Based on Stepwise Photopolymerization.

Stepwise photopolymerization is a miraculous strategy modulating the polymer skeleton and electro-optical properties of light modulators based on liquid crystal/polymer composites. However, owing to the indistinct polymerization mechanism and curing condition discrepancy, the required polymer structures and electro-optical properties are hard to be controlled precisely. Herein, a novel polymer-stabilized liquid crystal film based on acrylate/epoxy resin is proposed, fabricated and the relationships between preparation process, polymer content, polymer morphology and electro-optical properties are studied. The in-situ photopolymerization of acrylate/epoxy resin liquid crystalline polymer is fulfilled using cation photo-initiator UV 6976. The distinct photopolymerization speed between acrylate and epoxy resin benefits the polymer morphology control, and with accurate containment of the polymerization process and polymer composition, the superior electro-optical properties at a higher polymer content are acquired. The polymer morphology and electro-optical properties are influenced by the polymer content and mass ratio between acrylate and epoxy resin. The best electro-optical properties among samples are attained by controlling the mass ratio between acrylate and epoxy resin to 1:1, integrating higher densities of scattering centers and lower anchoring effect. With higher polymer content, the strategy of increasing the mass ratio of E6M benefits the improvement of E-O properties for alleviating polymer density. This work provides insights to stepwise polymerization of liquid crystalline monomers and offers a fancy strategy for the preparation of novel liquid crystal dimming films.

Electro-Optic Response of Polymer-Stabilized Cholesteric Liquid Crystals with Different Polymer Concentrations.

Polymer-stabilized cholesteric liquid crystals (PSCLCs) have emerged as promising candidates for one-dimensional photonic lattices that enable precise tuning of the photonic band gap (PBG). This work systematically investigates the effect of polymer concentrations on the AC electric field-induced tuning of the PBG in PSCLCs, in so doing it explores a range of concentrations and provides new insights into how polymer concentration affects both the stabilization of cholesteric textures and the electro-optic response. We demonstrate that low polymer concentrations (≈3 wt. %) cause a blue shift in the short wavelength band edge, while high concentrations (≈10 wt. %) lead to a contraction and deterioration of the reflection band. Polarization optical microscopy was conducted to confirm the phase transition induced by the application of an electric field. The observations confirm that increased polymer concentration stabilizes the cholesteric texture. Particularly, the highly desired fingerprint texture was stabilized in a sample with 10 wt. % of the polymer, whereas it was unstable for lower polymer concentrations. Additionally, higher polymer concentrations also improved the dissymmetry factor and stability of the lasing emission, with the dissymmetry factor reaching the value of around 2 for samples with 10 wt. % of polymer additive. Our results provide valuable comprehension into the design of advanced PSCLC structures with tunable optical properties, enhancing device performance and paving the way for innovative photonic applications.

Tetra-Peg Gels with Highly Concentrated Sulfolane-Based Electrolytes Exhibiting High Li-Ion Transference Numbers

To achieve high safety of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), non-flammable electrolytes and prevention of liquid electrolytes are desirable. Sulfolane (SL) is a thermally stable and non-flammable solvent, and can dissolve high concentration Li salts. Recently, highly concentrated electrolytes (HCEs) containing Li salts over 3 mol dm−3 have attracted much attention for their attractive properties such as high thermal stability and wide electrochemical windows. We previously reported that SL-based HCEs exhibit Liion hopping conduction mechanism.1,2 In SL-based HCEs, a unique solvation structure is formed in which different Li+ ions are cross-linked by the SL and anions. In the cross-linked structure, Li+ ions dynamically exchange the ligands (SL and anion) and diffuse/migrate faster than SL solvent and anion, leading to high transference numbers of Li+ ion (>0.5). The high transference number of Li+ is effective in suppressing the concentration polarization during high-rate charging and discharging of a LIB.Gelation of the HCEs can prevent the leakage of liquids and further improve the safety of LIBs. In the case of polymer gel electrolytes, liquid electrolytes are incorporated in the polymer network. Ionic conductivity of a gel electrolyte is generally lower than that of its parent liquid electrolyte. However, to prepare self-standing and mechanically robust gel electrolytes high polymer concentrations (typically over 20 wt%) are required. To achieve both high ionic conductivity and mechanical toughness of a gel electrolyte, the use of tetra-arm poly(ethylene glycol) (TPEG) has been proposed.3 TPEG gels obtained by the end-coupling reaction of two symmetrical TPEGs with different terminals exhibit excellent mechanical properties.4 TPEG forms a homogeneous polymer network, allowing the resulting gels to uniformly disperse external stresses. Consequently, TPEG gels possess excellent mechanical toughness even at low polymer concentrations (<10 wt%). In this work, we prepared self-standing TPEG gel membranes containing a high concentration LiN(SO2CF3)2/SL electrolyte.5 The mechanical, ion transport, and electrochemical properties of the gels were characterized. TPEG gels exhibited high transference numbers of Li+. The low polymer concentration and homogeneous polymer network in the gel electrolyte were useful in achieving both mechanical reliability and high Li+ transport ability. Li/LiCoO2 cell with a TPEG gel electrolyte membrane could discharge at a current density of 2.9 mA cm−2 despite the low ionic conductivity (0.26 mS cm−1) of the gel electrolyte. Acknowledgements : This study was partially supported by the JSPS KAKENHI (Grant No. JP19H05813, JP22H00340, and JP23K17370). References K. Dokko, et al, J. Phys. Chem. B, 2018, 122, 10736–10745.A. Nakanishi, et al., J. Phys. Chem. C, 2019, 123, 14229–14238.K. Fujii, et al., Soft Matter, 2012, 8, 1756–1759T. Sakai, et al., Macromolecules, 2008, 41, 5379–5384.N. Tasaki, et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2023, 25, 17793–17797

Harnessing Polar Interactions Tunes the Stability of Ultrathin Polymer Solution Films.

The stability of ultrathin (<100 nm) polymer films is essential in applications like protective coatings. On the contrary, their instability may actually be desirable for the emergence of self-assembled nanoscale patterns utilized in the fabrication of functional devices. Polymer solution films exhibit two distinct kinds of instabilities, viz., dewetting (long-wave) and decomposition (short-wave). Dewetting refers to the rupture of the continuous film to form isolated domains, while decomposition leads to phase separation within the polymer solution. The focus of this work is on leveraging polar interactions between the solute and solvent molecules to tune the stability of the film. A gradient dynamics-based thin film model is developed to investigate pattern formation in a thin polar polymer solution film. The Flory-Huggins theory is suitably modified by introducing a polar interaction parameter that depends upon the concentration of the polymer and the dipole moments of monomer (μ1) and solvent molecules (μ0). A linear stability analysis is performed to determine the characteristic length scale and growth rate of the instabilities. It is shown that the range of concentration space for the occurrence of the decomposition mode is directly affected by the Flory interaction parameter (χ0), μ0, and μ1, thereby serving as control parameters to tune the width of the concentration range. It is further shown that ignoring polar interactions may lead to incorrect predictions of the instability mode, including a complete loss of the decomposition mode. In addition, the long-wave dewetting length scale is found to decrease due to bulk dipolar interactions at higher polymer concentrations. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out to track the nonlinear evolution of the interface and concentration field for both the decomposition and dewetting modes of instability.

Thermodynamic anti-agglomeration based selenium-doped tin oxide network: Enhancing cycling stability of high-rate lithium storage

In this work, the grain line-cutting effect induced by selenium doping into SnO2 aggregation was proposed to prepare uniformly distributed SnO2/Se nanoparticles (SnO2/Se NPs) network with thermodynamic anti-agglomeration force during high-temperature sintering. These SnO2/Se NPs offers abundant active sites, reduced volume expansion and fast Li+ diffusion ability, especially the enhanced electronic conductivity due to oxygen vacancies introduced by doping. More importantly, the thermodynamic anti-agglomeration of SnO2/Se NPs effectively suppresses the Sn coarsening and Li2O/Sn phase segregation during repeated charge/discharge processes. Consequently, the SnO2/Se NPs anode delivers excellent reversible capacity of 515 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at 1 A g−1, and the SnO2/Se NPs||LiFePO4 full cells maintains a high-rate capacity of 109 mAh g−1 at 0.3 A g−1. The SnO2/Se NPs anode is compatible with high concentration polymer electrolyte (HCPE), which shows a capacity of 520 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.2 A g−1 in solid state batteries. This study provides a new insight for improving the cyclic stability of conversion-alloying anodes, offering their promising prospects for the full batteries and solid-state batteries.

Competing Effects of Temperature and Polymer Concentration on Evolution of Re-entrant Interactions in the Nanoparticle-Block Copolymer System.

An interesting evolution of the re-entrant interaction has been observed in an anionic silica nanoparticle (NP)-block copolymer (P85) dispersion due to mutually competing effects of temperature and polymer concentration. It has been demonstrated that a rise in the temperature leads to an evolution of attraction in the system, which interestingly diminishes on increasing the polymer concentration. Consequently, the system exhibits a re-entrant transition from repulsive to attractive and back to repulsive at a given temperature but with respect to the increasing polymer concentration, within a selected region of concentration and temperature. The intriguing observations have been elucidated based on the temperature/concentration-dependent modifications in the interactions governing the system, as probed by contrast-variation small-angle neutron scattering. The initial transition from the repulsive to attractive system is attributed to the temperature-driven enhancement in the hydrophobicity of the amphiphilic triblock copolymer (P85) adsorbed on nanoparticles. The strength and range of this attraction are found to be more than van der Waals attraction while relatively less than electrostatic interaction. At higher polymer concentrations, the saturation of polymer adsorption on nanoparticles introduces additional steric repulsion along with electrostatic interaction between their conjugates, effectively reducing the strength of the attraction. However, with a significant increase in temperature (>75 °C), the attraction again dominates the system, which eventually leads to the particle aggregation at all the measured polymer concentrations (>0.1 wt %). Our study provides useful inputs to develop smart NP-polymer composites having capabilities to respond to external stimuli such as temperature/concentration variation.

Experimental Evaluation of Performance of a Low-Initial-Viscosity Gel Flooding System.

In order to effectively adjust reservoir heterogeneity and further exploit the remaining oil, a new type of low-viscosity gel was prepared by adding a regulating agent, retarder, and reinforcing agent on the basis of a polymer + Cr3+ crosslinking system. The new gel has the advantages of low initial viscosity, a slow gel formation rate, and high strength after gel formation. The effectiveness of the gel was verified through three-layer core displacement experiments, and the injection scheme was optimized by changing the slug combination of the polymer and the gel. The results showed that the gel can effectively block the high-permeability layer and adjust reservoir heterogeneity. An injection of 0.1 pore volume (PV) low-initial-viscosity gel can improve oil recovery by 5.10%. By changing the slug combination of the gel and polymer, oil recovery was further increased by 3.12% when using an injection of 0.07 PV low-initial-viscosity gel +0.2 PV high-concentration polymer +0.05 PV low-initial-viscosity gel +0.5 PV high-concentration polymer.

Localized high concentration polymer electrolyte enabling room temperature solid-state lithium metal batteries with stable LiF-rich interphases

Polyvinylidene fluoride hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-HFP) based polymer electrolyte shows mechanical flexibility, soft and intimidate physical contact and good electrochemical stability, however, low ionic conductivity at room temperature and unstable interphases against Li metal hinder its application. In this article, we propose a universal strategy to prepare localized high concentration polymer electrolytes (LHCPE) in which high concentration lithium salt (LiTFSI) dissolved in tiny residual solvent (DMF) and the PVDF-HFP serves as solid dilution. The LHCPE regulates the solvation structure of lithium ions with anions instead of DMF solvent, allowing more anions to coordinate with Li+ and forming amount contact ion pairs (CIPs) and aggregates (AGGs). As a result, high ionic conductivity (5.9 × 10−4 S cm−1) and low activation energy (0.10 eV) achieved. The LHCPE also induces the decomposition of anions-derived LiF-rich interphases, that is ionic conducive and mechanical robust, thereby greatly improving the charge transfer kinetics and stability towards Li metal anodes. Consequently, at 0.5 mA cm−2 and 0.25 mAh cm−2, stable and long-term cycling over 2000 h obtained under room temperature in Li//Li symmetric cells achieved. The full solid-state LFP//LHCPE//Li cells further exhibit excellent capacity retention of 82.83 % even after 1200 cycles at room temperature and a high rate of 8 C (1C=170 mA·g−1). Our work shed light on the design of high-performance polymer-based composite electrolytes by manipulating the Li solvation structure.

Gelation and Plugging Performance of Low-Concentration Partially Hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide/Polyethyleneimine System at Moderate Temperature and in Fractured Low-Permeability Reservoir.

HPAM/PEI gel is a promising material for conformance control in hydrocarbon reservoirs. However, its use in low-permeability reservoirs is limited by the high polymer concentrations present. In this study, the gelation performance of an HPAM/PEI system with HPAM < 2.0 wt.% was systematically investigated. The gelation time for HPAM concentrations ranging from 0.4 to 2.0 wt.% varied from less than 1 h to 23 days, with the highest gel strength identified as grade H. The hydrodynamic radius manifested the primary effect of HPAM on the gelation performance. Branched PEI provided superior gelation performance over linear PEI, and the gelation performance was only affected when the molecular weight of the PEI varied significantly. The optimal number ratio of the PEI-provided imine groups and the HPAM-provided carboxylic acid functional groups was approximately 1.6:1~5:1. Regarding the reservoir conditions, the temperature had a crucial effect on the hydrodynamic radius of HPAM. Salts delayed the gelation process, and the order of ionic influence was Ca2+ > Na+ > K+. The pH controlled the crosslinking reaction, primarily due to the protonation degree of PEI and the hydrolysis degree of HPAM, and the most suitable pH was approximately 10.5. Plugging experiments based on a through-type fracture showed that multi-slug plugging could significantly improve the plugging performance of the system, being favorable for its application in fractured low-permeability reservoirs.

Thiol-acrylate based polymer wall-stabilized cholesteric liquid crystal enables flexible bistable states light shutter

Bistable-states mode light shutter boost the applications in smart windows or transparent displays due to the significant energy efficiency. In this study, polymer wall-stabilized cholesteric liquid crystals (PWSCLC) with regular microstructures and outstanding electric field frequency-controlled bistability were prepared using non-liquid crystalline thiol-acrylate monomers system and polymerization under a photomask. The addition and proportion of the thiol monomer played an essential role in the morphology structures of the polymer network. Thanks to the effectively modulation of polymerization speed, periodic regular polymer wall morphology was obtained, which improved the transmittance and the long-term stability. Under a suitable voltage, repeatedly reversible switch between transparent and scattering states was successfully realized via frequency regulation, and both states remained stable for more than 10 days after removing electric field. Remarkably, the mechanical strength of the PSWCLC film was significantly improved due to the relatively high polymer concentration, proving feasibility for the flexible applications and large-scale preparation.

Evaluation of Linear Amplitude Sweep data analysis techniques and failure criteria for High Polymer-Modified binders

High Polymer Modified Binders (HiPMBs) have gained attention for their resilience to environmental and traffic stressors, yet their fatigue cracking resistance remains insufficiently explored. Even though the Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS) test is an AASHTO standardized procedure, various data analysis techniques and failure criteria can be found in the literature. It is unclear whether they produce divergent results and whether any of them provide better insights into bitumen behavior. The research showcased in this paper aimed to assess the factors affecting the evaluation of HiPMBs' fatigue life through the LAS test. Additionally, asphalt concrete was produced with bitumen previously tested and subjected to Push-Pull (PP) fatigue cracking evaluation for direct comparison. Results show significant differences between analysis methods, regardless of the failure criteria applied. The methods that rely on the Viscoelastic Continuum Damage (VECD) analysis were affected by the inaccuracy of the material integrity function fitting. The failure criterion significantly impacts the ability to detect the benefits of the high polymer content, which becomes increasingly noticeable for failure criteria different from those suggested in the AASHTO specification. Meanwhile, the Fatigue Resistance Energy Index (FREI) approach has a great advantage of not being tight to the VECD formulations and was able to capture the differences between the Neat Binders (NBs) and the HiPMBs. As for the corresponding binders' performance on the HMA level, similarities in the ranking were noticed; however, no full agreement was recognized.

Anti-bacterial PVA@Ag/PVDF NF membrane made by filtration-coating plus in-situ reduction of NPs for dye removal

In this study, a filtration-coating method was developed to create a PVA layer on a PVDF membrane, and then silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were introduced by in-situ reduction to form an antibacterial PVA@Ag/PVDF NF membrane. The relationship between the rejection of dye by the membrane, the morphology of the coated PVA layer and its coating process parameters, such as polymer concentration, crosslinking ratio, vacuum pressure, and time, was investigated. The filtration-coating method facilitated the infiltration of PVA molecules into the porous channel of PVDF membrane, thus improved the stability of coated PVA. Meanwhile, it was observed that high vacuum pressure (1 bar), high polymer concentration (2%), and short filtration time (5 min) have a similar effect to low polymer concentration (1%) and long filtration time (10 min), which results in the formation of a dense layer structure (2–5 μm) on the membrane surface and leads to a high rejection rate but low flux. While filtration at low vacuum pressure (0.1 bar) leads to a thin PVA layer (<0.2μm), and PVA turns to appear on the entrance and surface of pore channel of membrane. The coated membrane showed a stable performance during 72 hrs filtration. Furthermore, Ag NPs were incorporated into PVA layer by the in-situ reduction method, the obtained membrane showed an enhanced dye rejection (92% for methyl blue), and a low salt rejection (NaCl 18%) and moderate flux (17.2 L·m−2·h−1 at 1 bar). Moreover, the composite membrane demonstrated excellent antibacterial properties (Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli). Overall, this work may present a novel approach to prepare new NF membrane.

Minimizing the polymer content of compressed transparent synthetic wood from renewable biomass sources: A comparative life cycle assessment

Transparent wood derived from renewable biomass resources has an enormous potential for utilizing in constructions, electrons devices, energy storage, etc. However, due to its high polymer content, the currently described transparent wood could not be developed in a sustainable manner. Herein, a feasible strategy for synthesizing compressed transparent wood was proposed to minimize the content of polymerized poly(methyl methacrylate) in composites, involving the poly(methyl methacrylate) partial-filling into the delignified wood and densification. This synthesis method prompted a substantial reduction of poly(methyl methacrylate) content (58.8%) in the obtained compressed transparent wood contrasted with the typical transparent wood (91.8% poly(methyl methacrylate) content). Besides, an ideal optical transmittance of 77.9% with 0.4 mm thickness and an optical haze of 49.2% with 0.7 mm thickness at 800 nm wavelength were achieved. Also, the improved tensile strength and flexural strength of compressed transparent wood were up to 85.0 MPa and 145.3 MPa, respectively. Additionally, a comparative life cycle assessment was conducted to assess the environmental impacts. The total environmental impact score was separately reduced by 23%, and 28% compared to the typical transparent wood and poly(methyl methacrylate) polymer, suggesting the feasibility of sustainable manufacture of transparent wood materials by decreasing polymer content. The compressed transparent wood also showed much lower thermal conductivities (0.28–0.31 W/mk) than glass and contributed to offering uniform illumination.

Self-assembly mucoadhesive beads of κ-carrageenan/sericin for indomethacin oral extended release

Oral drug administration, especially when composed of mucoadhesive delivery systems, has been a research trend due to increased residence time and contact with the mucosa, potentially increasing drug bioavailability and stability. In this context, this study aimed to develop self-assembly mucoadhesive beads composed of blends of κ-carrageenan and sericin (κ-Car/Ser) loaded with the anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin (IND). We investigated the swelling, adhesion behaviour, and mechanical/physical properties of the beads, assessing their effects on cell viability, safety and permeation characteristics in both 2D and triple-culture model. The swelling ratio of the beads indicated pH-responsiveness, with maximum water absorption at pH 6.8, and strong mucoadhesion, increasing primarily with higher polymer concentrations. The beads exhibited thermal stability and no chemical interaction with IND, showing improved mechanical properties. Furthermore, the beads remained stable during accelerated and long-term storage studies. The beads were found to be biocompatible, and IND encapsulation improved cell viability (>70 % in both models, 79 % in VN) and modified IND permeation through the models (6.3 % for F5 formulation (κ-Car 0.90 % w/v | Ser 1.2 % w/v| IND 3.0 g); 10.9 % for free IND, p < 0.05). Accordingly, κ-Car/Ser/IND beads were demonstrated to be a promising IND drug carrier to improve oral administration while mitigating the side effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatories.

A novel hydrophilic modification method for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) hollow fiber membrane using sacrificial template

In order to enhance the hydrophilicity of PTFE hollow fiber membrane, high concentration of polymer was needed during the modifying process, but this method resulted in severe pore blockage of hollow fiber membrane with reduced water flux. Herein, we resolve the above contradiction by using cross-linkable poly (vinylpyrrolidone-co-γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane) (P (VP-co-KH570)) as hydrophilic polymer and calcium chloride as sacrificial template. The enhanced hydrophilicity and chemical washing resistance of PTFE hollow fiber membrane were achieved by the highly hydrophilic PVP segments and highly crosslinking density contributed by hydrolysis and condensation of the KH570 segments, respectively. The template is embedded in the polymer network formed in the membrane pores, and after template removal the previously occupied pores are released for water transport, thereby minimizing the loss of water flux. The high water flux (1477.14 ± 16.11 L/(m2·h)), superhydrophilicity (the water contact angle = 0°) and hydrophilic stability proved that PTFE hollow fiber membranes are successfully modified by the sacrificial template method. This work provides a facile strategy for designing hydrophilic PTFE hollow fiber membranes for water treatment.

Structure and activity of amphiphilic PEO-PPO-based polymeric micelles and gels incorporating host–guest complexes of miltefosine as novel formulations for the treatment of leishmaniasis

Hypothesis: Poloxamines are amphiphilic block copolymers that self-assemble forming polymeric micelles (PMs) and hydrogels. They have emerged as promising colloidal carriers for their potential in improving drug delivery and controlled release through their multi-responsive properties. Tetronic® 1307 (T1307) PMs and gels have been used herein as vehicles of host–guest complexes of cyclodextrins (CDs) and miltefosine (MF), an amphiphilic, anti-parasitic drug effective against leishmaniasis.Experiments: The association of MF to αCD, βCD, and HPβCD and the topology of the complexes have been fully characterized by NMR spectroscopy. Then, the structure of the complex-loaded PMs and hydrogels investigated using diffusion nuclear magnetic resonance (DOSY), small angle neutron scattering (SANS), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The antileishmanial activity of the constructs was evaluated against Leishmania major promastigotes and amastigotes, as well as their cytotoxicity in macrophages.Findings: All the CDs investigated form highly stable inclusion complexes with MF in a 2CD:1MF stoichiometry that lead to considerable proportions of complexed drug at high dilution, the HPβCD providing the highest stability and compatibility with the poloxamine. The complex incorporates preferentially into the hydrophilic shell of the PMs, inducing the elongation of the aggregates and the dehydration of the micellar core, formed mainly by the PPO blocks. At high concentration of polymer and physiological temperature, the complex-loaded PMs pack in a BCC-type paracrystal network. The micellar formulations of the CD-complexed MF reduced the cytotoxicity of the drug, while enhancing its antileishmanial activity. This approach could improve the currently available treatments, facilitating the administration of MF at lower concentrations and achieving relevant therapeutic effects, not only through the intravenous route, but also as topical formulations through injectable thermogels for the treatment of the cutaneous and mucocutaneous forms of the disease.