Rodrigues, Letícia; Schneider, Fabian; Zhang, Xiaohan; Larsson, Elin; Moodie, Lindon W. K.; Dietz, Hendrik; Papadakis, Christine M.; Winter, Gerhard; Lundmark, Richard; Hubert, Madlen
Cellular uptake of self-assembled phytantriol-based hexosomes is independent of major endocytic machineries
Despite increasing interests in non-lamellar liquid crystalline dispersions, such as hexosomes, for drug delivery, little is known about their interactions with cells and mechanism of cell entry. Here we examine the cellular uptake of hexosomes based on phytantriol and mannide monooleate by HeLa cells using live cell microscopy in comparison…
Morphological Evolution of Poly(solketal methacrylate)-block-polystyrene Copolymers in Thin Films
Yu, Duk Man; Smith, Darren M.; Kim, Hyeyoung; Mapas, Jose Kenneth D.; Rzayev, Javid; Russell, Thomas P.
The morphological evolution of the lamellar microdomains in the thin films of symmetric poly(solketal methacrylate-b-styrene) (PSM-b-PS) copolymers that can be converted into poly(glycerol monomethacrylate-b-styrene) (PGM-b-PS) copolymers through acid hydrolysis reaction was investigated. This simple chemical transformation was performed in the solid state using trifluoroacetic acid vapor,
Microwave-assisted DielsAlder polycondensation of proton conducting poly(phenylene)s
Adamski, Michael; Skalski, Thomas J. G.; Xu, Shaoyi; Killer, Miho; Schibli, Eric M.; Frisken, Barbara J.; Holdcroft, Steven
An exploratory microwave-assisted synthesis of a promising proton-conducting, DielsAlder poly(phenylene) is reported and comprehensively compared against a traditional, thermal polymerization approach. A 24-fold reduction in reaction time is achieved by microwave synthesis. Characterization of polymers prepared by microwave-assisted synthesis vs. the thermal approach reveals little difference in
Poly(bis-arylimidazoliums) possessing high hydroxide ion exchange capacity and high alkaline stability
Fan, Jiantao; Willdorf-Cohen, Sapir; Schibli, Eric M.; Paula, Zoe; Li, Wei; Skalski, Thomas J. G.; Sergeenko, Ania Tersakian; Hohenadel, Amelia; Frisken, Barbara J.; Magliocca, Emanuele; Mustain, William E.; Diesendruck, Charles E.; Dekel, Dario R.; Holdcroft, Steven
The hydroxide anion exchange polymers are key materials of solid polymer electrolyte devices that operate under alkaline conditions. Here the authors show the rational design of such polymers that exhibit high ion exchange capacity and exceptional stability under highly caustic
Improving Processing, Crystallization, and Performance of Poly-l-lactide with an Amide-Based Organic Compound as Both Plasticizer and Nucleating Agent
Leoné, Nils; Roy, Manta; Saidi, Sarah; de Kort, Gijs; Hermida-Merino, Daniel; Wilsens, Carolus H. R. M.
In this work, we report on a novel hydrogen-bonding compound, N,N?-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)terephthalamide (BHET), and its potential as additive in poly-l-lactide (PLA). Although the hydroxyl groups of BHET can participate in transesterification with the PLA matrix, we demonstrate through gel permeation chromatography that extrusion at 200 °C does not result in a…
Effect of side chain and backbone length on lamellar spacing in polystyrene-block-poly(dimethyl siloxane) brush block copolymers
Fei, Huafeng; Yavitt, Benjamin M.; Kopanati, Gayathri; Watkins, James J.
We report the synthesis of polystyrene-block-poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PS-b-PDMS) brush block copolymers (BBCPs) through sequential ROMP of norbornene-modified macromonomers (-NB) and explore the effect of side chain length (Nsc) and total backbone degree of polymerization (Nbb) on the self-assembly of lamellar morphologies. Group I (PS-NB Mn = 2.9 kg/mol, PDMS-NB Mn…
Power Law Relaxations in Lamellae Forming Brush Block Copolymers with Asymmetric Molecular Shape
Yavitt, Benjamin M.; Fei, Hua-Feng; Kopanati, Gayathri N.; Winter, H. Henning; Watkins, James J.
We report the linear viscoelasticity of densely grafted poly(styrene)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) diblock bottlebrush block copolymers (dbBB) of equal mass fraction over a wide range of backbone degree of polymerization (Nbb = 21119). The difference in side chain length (PS Mn = 2.9 kg/mol, PEO Mn = 5 kg/mol) produces an…
Synergistic effects from super-small sized TiO2 and SiOx nanoparticles within TiO2/SiOx/carbon nanohybrid lithium-ion battery anode
Wang, Xiaoyan; Xia, Yonggao; Zuo, Xiuxia; Schaper, Simon J.; Yin, Shanshan; Ji, Qing; Liang, Suzhe; Yang, Zhaohui; Xia, Senlin; Xiao, Ying; Zhu, Jin; Müller-Buschbaum, Peter; Cheng, Ya-Jun
TiO2/SiOx/carbon nanohybrid consisting of super-small sized TiO2 and SiOx nanoparticles is in situ formed within the in situ formed carbon matrix using difunctional methacrylate monomers as solvent and carbon source. The relative composition of TiO2 and SiOx is systematically tuned by varying the feeding mass ratio of the precursors (TEOS/TTIP)…
Thermally Conductive and Electrically Insulating PVP/Boron Nitride Composite Films for Heat Spreader
Liu, Y.; Wang, N.; Ye, L.; Zehri, A.; Nylander, A.; Nkansah, A.; Lu, H.; Liu, J.
Thermally conductive materials with electrically insulating properties have been extensively investigated for thermal management of electronic devices. The combined properties of high thermal conductivity, structural stability, corrosion resistance and electric resistivity make hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) a promising candidate for this purpose. Theoretical studies have revealed that h-BN has a
Liquid Crystal Elastomer Waveguide Actuators
Kuenstler, Alexa S.; Kim, Hyunki; Hayward, Ryan C.
While most photomechanical materials developed to date have relied on free-space illumination to drive actuation, this strategy fails when direct line-of-site access is precluded. In this study, waveguided light is harnessed by liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) nanocomposites to drive actuation. Using photo-chemical reduction of gold salts to plasmonic nanoparticles, prescription…