Preparation and mass spectrometric study of egg yolk antibody (IgY) against rabies virus

Rabies virus was used as the antigen to immunize laying chickens. Anti-rabies virus immunoglobulin Y(IgY) was isolated from yolks of the eggs laid by these chickens using a two-step salt precipitation and one-step gel filtration protocol. The purified IgY was reduced with dithiothreitol, and heavy chains (HC) and light chains (LC) were obtained. In addition, the purified IgY was digested with pepsin and the fragment with specific antigen binding properties (Fab) was produced. Using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS), the average molecular weights of IgY, HC, LC, and Fab were determined as 167 250, 65 105, 18 660, and 45,359 Da, respectively. IgY has two structural differences compared with mammalian IgGs. First, the molecular weight of the heavy chain of IgY is larger than that of its mammalian counterpart, while the molecular weight of the light chain of IgY is smaller. Second, upon pepsin digestion, anti-rabies virus IgY is degraded into Feb, in contrast to mammalian IgG, which has been reported to be degraded into F(ab')(2) under the same conditions. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Study of the conductivity and side chain mobility of a comb-like polymer electrolyte using the dynamic mechanical method

Using poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) as a backbone and poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether (PEGME) with different molecular weights as side chains, three comb-like polymers and their Li salt complexes were synthesized. The dynamic mechanical properties and conductivities were investigated. Results showed that the polymer electrolytes possess two glass transitions: alpha -transition and beta -transition, and the temperature dependence of the ionic conductivity shows WLF (Williams-Landel-Ferry) behavior. Based on the time-temperature equivalence principle, a master curve was constructed by selecting T-beta as reference temperature. The values of the WLF parameters (C-1 and C-2) were obtained and were found to be almost independent of the length of the PEGME side chain and the content of Li salt. By reference to T-0 = 50 degreesC. the relation between log tau (c) and c was found to be linear. The master curves are displaced progressively to higher frequencies as the molecular weight of the side chain is increased. The relation between log tau (n) and the molecular weight of the side chain is also linear. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Studies on the structure and properties of thermotropic liquid crystalline poly(aryl ether ketone)s

Series of thermotropic liquid crystalline poly (aryl ether ketone) s were synthesized by mucleophilic substitution reactions of 4,4'-biphenol and substituted hydroquinone with different difluoromonomers, The relationship between structure and properties of the novel copolymers was investigated. For the copolymers with liquid crystalline properties, their melting transition temperatures show no great change with increase the content of the crystal-disrupting unit. The reason is that the crystal phase is directly transformed from the ordered liquid crystal phase. Side-groups have important effect on mesophase stability, The temperature range of mesophase stability for the chloro-polymers is smaller than those of other series of copolymers (P-phenyl, t-butyl, methoxy, 3-trifluoromethylbenzene). This behavior indicates that the effect of geometric repulsive factor on the thermodynamic stability of the mesophase is much larger than that of the polarizability attractive factor. Different ordered liquid crystal phases are observed in the polymers with different molecular weights. At low molecular weight, highly ordered smectic liquid crystal phases form. With increasing the molecular weight, the ordered degree of the liquid crystals decreases, and only the nematic liquid crystal phase is observed in the polymer with higher molecular weight.

Polymerization of acrylonitrile with organolanthanides as single-component catalysts

Ind(2)Y(mu -Et)(2)AlEt2 and Ind(2)LnN(i-Pr)(2) (Ln = Y, Yb) were used as a single-component catalyst for the polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) respectively. The regularity of polymerization of AN and stereoregularity of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were also studied in both cases. Both catalysts can produce PAN with molecular weight from 10,000 to 30,000. In addition, the catalytic activity and molecular weights were increased by the addition of PhONa.

Mixing enthalpy and phase behavior of PEO/PVAc blends

Phase behaviors and heats of mixing of the miscible blends of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) with different molecular weights were investigated by DSC. A method proposed by Natasohn and Ebert et al. was adopted to estimate the binodal temperatures and the enthalpies of mixing from onset temperatures and values of areas of a series of endothermic peaks (corresponding to heats of demixing), respectively, in their heating scanning thermograms obtained with different heating rates. Phase diagrams and heats of mixing of this blending system were also predicted by using Sanchez-Lacombe lattice fluid theory. A very good agreement was obtained for both. phase behaviors and heats of mixing obtained with two different methods.

Application of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in determining arginine esterase from snake venom

Using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). The homogeneities and molecular weights of three arginine esterases from snake venom, which possessing therapeutic use in myocardial infarction, were determined and compared, MALDI-TOF-MS is possessed of high accuracy, high sensitivity and rapidity. MALDI-TOF-MS and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) can provide complementary and confirmatory results information. MALDI-TOF-MS can be directly used as an important method for the purification of snake venom complexes successfully.

Synthesis of aromatic polyimides in DMAc containing large amount of water and the properties thereof

A series of polyamic acids were prepared in N,N-dimethylactamide (DMAc) containing large amount of water, some of which contain the amount of water up to 25%. Their inherent viscosities decreased with the increase of water in DMAc, depending on the electronic properties of dianhydride and reaction condition. The molecular weights and mechanical properties of the polyimides thermally imidized from the polyamic acids were almost independent on the water content in solvent. The decomposition-resynthesis of polyamic acids during the curing was also investigated.

Matrixassisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectral study of saccharides

Matrixassisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectra of saccharides with three common matrixes were studied here. It is shown that Na+ and K+ play important roles in the determination of oligasaccharide molecule weight and the molecular weights (MW) of glucans(dextran) with MW more than 10 000 is determined successfully with the help of column chromatography, By comparing the effects of three matrixes in saccharide analysis and comparing positive-ion and negative-ion matrixassisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectra of oligo- and polysaccharides, the most suitable matrix for saccharide analysis, 2,5-dihydroxylbezonic acid (DHB), is selected and the ion formation processes of saccharides under matrix-assisted laser adsorption/ionization condition are clarified.

Preliminary investigations on polymerization catalysts composed of lanthanocene and methylaluminoxane

The polymerization of butadiene(Bd), isoprene(Ip) and styrene(St) has been examined using the six catalyst systems composed of lanthanocene, (C5H9Cp)(2)NdCl(I), (C5H9Cp)(2)SmCl(II), (MeCp)(2)SmOAr'(III), (Ind)(2)NdCl(IV), Me2Si(Ind)(2)NdCl(V) and (Flu)(2)NdCl(VI), and methylaluminoxane(MAO) respectively. All of them can be used to form the polyisoprene with molecular weights of 1 to 10 thousand and cis-1,4-unit contents of 41 to 47%. (I), (II) and (III) of them can be also used to form the polybutadiene with molecular weights of 10 to 20 thousand and cis-1,4-unit contents of 62 to 78%. In addition, the catalysts from (II) to (V) are still active for St polymerization and (II) of them gives a syndio -rich random polystyrene. It is noteworthy that (II) and (III) are active for homopolymerization of Bd, Ip and St in the same polymerization condition.

A novel rare earth coordination catalyst for polymerization of biodegradable aliphatic lactones and lactides

A novel rare earth coordination system composed of lanthanide trifluoroacetates Ln(CF3COO)(3) (Ln = Y, Yb, Nd, Tm, Ho, La, Pr) and triisobutylaluminium Al(i-Bu)(3) was used as catalyst for the polymerization of epsilon-caprolactone (CL), D,L-lactide (DLLA) and their copolymerization. The influence of temperature, time and catalyst concentration on polymerization yields and molecular weights of the polyesters have been studied. It was shown that the ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters catalysed by Ln(CF3COO)(3)/Al(i-Bu)(3) has some living character and the molecular weight of the polyester could be controlled by adjusting the molar ratio of monomer to catalyst. The DLLA/CL copolymer was synthesized by sequential addition of monomers and the structure of the copolyester was characterized by GPC, NMR and DSC. (C) 1998 SCI.

Synthesis and characterization of soluble polyimides from 1,1-bis(4-aminophenyl)cyclohexane derivatives

A series of novel aromatic diamines (1-3) containing kinked cyclohexylidene moieties was synthesized by a reaction of excess aniline and corresponding methyl-substituted cyclohexanone derivatives. The structures of (1-3) were identifield by H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR, and FT-IR. The polymers were synthesized from the obtained diamines and various aromatic dianhydrides by the conventional polycondensation reaction followed by chemical imidization as well as high-temperature one-step polymerization. The inherent viscosities and weight-average molecular weights of the resulting polyimides were in the ranges of 0.55-1.58 dL/g and (7.4-15.2) x 10(4) g/mol, respectively. The prepared polyimides showed excellent thermal stabilities and good solubility. All polymers were readily soluble in common organic solvents such as tetrahydrofuran, chloroform, tetrachloroethane, etc., and the glass transition temperatures were observed at 290-372 degrees C.

Studies on water-swellable elastomers .2. Thermal properties and crystalline behavior of amphiphilic graft copolymers with poly(ethylene glycol) side chains

The thermal properties and crystalline structure of the amphiphilic graft copolymers CR-g-PEG600, CR-g-PEG2000, and CR-g-PEG6000 using chloroprene rubber (CR) as the hydrophobic backbone and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) with different molecular weights as the hydrophilic side chains were studied by DSC and WAXD. The results showed that a distinct phase-separated structure existed in CR-g-PEGs because of the incompatibility between the backbone segments and the side-chain segments. For all the polymers studied, T-m2, which is the melting point of PEG crystalline domains in CR-g-PEG, decreased compared to that of the corresponding pure PEG and varied little with PEG content. For CR-g-PEG600 and CR-g-PEG2000, T-m1, which is the melting point of the CR crystalline domains, increased with increasing PEG content when the PEG content was not high enough, and at constant PEG content, the longer were the PEG side chains the higher was the T-m1. The crystallite size L-011 of CR in CR-g-PEGs increased compared to that of the pure CR and decreased with increasing PEG content. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Crystallization behaviour of poly(ether ether ketone)/poly(ether sulfone) block copolymer

The crystallization and melting behaviours of a multiblock copolymer comprising poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) and poly(ether sulfone) (PES) blocks whose number average molecular weights <((M)over bar (n)'s)> were 10 000 and 2900, respectively, were studied. The effect of thermal history on crystallization was investigated by wide-angle X-ray diffraction measurement. A differential scanning calorimeter was used to detect the thermal transitions and to monitor the energy evolved during the isothermal crystallization process from the melt. The results suggest that the crystallization of the copolymer becomes more difficult as compared with that of pure PEEK. The equilibrium melting point of the copolymer was found to be 357 degrees C, about 30 degrees C lower than that of pure PEEK. During the isothermal crystallization, relative crystallinity increased with crystallization time, following an Avrami equation with exponent n approximate to 2. The fold surface free energy for the copolymer crystallized from the melt was calculated to be 73 erg cm(-2), about 24 erg cm(-2) higher than that of pure PEEK. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Studies on water-swellable elastomer .1. Synthesis and characterization of amphiphilic polymer

A new amphiphilic polymer i.e., polyethylene glycol (PEG) grafted crystalline neoprene, which was used as compatibilizer to improve the compatibility of elastomer and water-absorbent resin, has been investigated. The synthesis was based on the reaction between chlorine in neoprene and sodium salts of PEG. PEGs with molecular weights of 600 and 2000 were used. The grafting percent and the PEG content were calculated through elemental analysis of chlorine in the resulted copolymers. The maximum grafting percent of copolymers was ca. 24.80%. The molecular parameters such as number-average molecular weight and the average number of grafting chains on one CR backbone were also calculated and discussed. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Phase behavior in mixtures of a homopolymer and a block copolymer .4. SALS and SAXS studies

Phase behavior of blends of poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) with four styrene-butadienestyrene (SBS) triblock copolymers, being of various molecular weights, architecture, and compositions, was investigated by small-angle light scattering. Small-angle X-ray scattering investigation was accomplished for one blend. Low critical solution temperature (LCST) and a unique phase behavior, resembling upper critical solution temperature (UCST), were observed. It was found that the architecture of the copolymer greatly influenced the phase behavior of the blends. Random phase approximation theory was used to calculate the spinodal phase transition curves of the ABA/C and BAB/C systems; LCST and resembling UCST phase behavior were observed as the parameters of the system changed. Qualitatively, the experimental and the theoretical results are consistent with each other. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.