Electrocatalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid by norepinephrine embedded in lipid cast film at glassy carbon electrode

A stable lipid cast film was made by casting a lipid in chloroform onto a glassy carbon electrode. We imbedded a new mediator norepinephrine into this lipid cast film, which was considered as a biological membrane model. Through electro catalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid by this system, the anodic overpotential was reduced by about 250 mV compared with that obtained at a bare glassy carbon electrode. The electrochemical behavior of norepinephrine in the cast film was controlled by diffusion. The obtained diffusion coefficient of ascorbic acid was 1.87 x 10(-5) cm 2 s(-1). The catalytic current increased linearly with the concentration of ascorbic acid in the range from 0.5 to 10 mM. Using cyclic voltammetry, we obtained two peaks for ascorbic acid and uric acid in the same solution. The separation between the two peaks is about 147 mV. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oxidation of NADH by dopamine incorporated in lipid film cast onto a glassy carbon electrode

Stable lipid film was made by casting lipid in chloroform onto a glassy carbon electrode. This model of a biological membrane was used to investigate the oxidation of dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) by dopamine. After this electrode had been immersed in dopamine solution for 10 h, it was found that some dopamine had been incorporated in the film. The cyclic voltammogram was obtained for the oxidation of 2.0 X 10(-3) mol 1(-1) NADH with dopamine incorporated in the films. All electrochemical experiments were performed in 0.005 mol 1(-1) phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) containing 0.1 mol 1(-1) NaCl without oxygen. The oxidation current increased gradually with successive sweeps and reached steady state. It was a different phenomenon from previous results. The anodic overpotential was reduced by about 130 mV compared with that obtained at a bare glassy carbon electrode. The diffusion coefficient for 2.0 X 10(-3) mol 1(-1) NADH was 6.7 X 10(-6) cm(2) s(-1). (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

STUDIES ON MORPHOLOGY OF SOLUTION-CAST FILMS OF IPP/APP BLENDS

Morphologies of solution-cast films of iPP/aPP blends have been studied by means of electron microscopy and X-ray scattering techniques. Microscopic observation showed that solution-cast film of iPP consists of two kinds of structural regions, cross-hatched and lath-liked structures. The addition of small amount of aPP (less than or equal to 30%) into iPP did not change iPP's characteristic crystallization behavior. It is noticed that when the content of aPP in its blend was over 80%, iPP formed a very loosely woven-like network composed of very long lamellae with wide-angle lamellar branchings. The X-ray data showed that aPP did not cocrystallize with iPP.

EPITAXIAL CRYSTALLIZATION OF HIGH-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE ON POLYPROPYLENE IN SOLUTION-CAST FILMS

Epitaxial crystallization of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) on isotactic polypropylene (iPP) in solution-cast films has been investigated by electron microscopy. The specimen-tilt technique of electron microscopy has been used to study the structural relationship between HDPE and iPP crystals. HDPE exhibits different crystalline morphologies in the two basic types of iPP spherulite textures, cross-hatched and lathlike regions. In the former, the crystallographic c axis of HDPE lamellae is in the film plane, while in the latter, the c axis of HDPE crystallites is at an angle of about 50-degrees with the normal of the film. In both structural regions of iPP, however, the contact planes of epitaxial growth are (0 1 0) for iPP and (1 0 0) for HDPE.

WATER-SOLUBLE AND AMPHIPHILIC POLYMERS .6. A STUDY ON THE SURFACE-COMPOSITION OF CAST FILMS OF PST/PMAA AND PEO-PST-PEO BLOCK POLYMERS BY XPS

Thin films of PSt/PMAA and PEO-PSt-PEO block polymers were deposited on a polystyrene substrate by solution adsorption (with or without solvent treatment), and the film surfaces were characterized by means of XPS. Direct solvent - casting of PEO-PSt-PEO from benzene solutions resulted in PSt-rich surfaces, whereas PMAA richer surfaces were obtained for PSt/PMAA films cast from DMF solutions. Moreover, solvent treatment after casting had profound effect on the film surface composition. Treatment with water markedly increased the surface concentration of polar PEO segments. In the case of PSt-PMAA block polymers, the PSt content on the surface increased in the order of water < ethanol < cyclohexane < petroleum ether, the last-named giving films with almost pure PSt surface. It is well worth noticing that the bulk composition had little to do with the surface composition for both PSt/PMAA and PEO-PSt-PEO block polymers within the composition range investigated when subsequent solvent treatment was applied.

In vitro drug release studies of polymeric freeze-dried wafers and solvent-cast films using paracetamol as a model soluble drug

Drug dissolution and release characteristics from freeze-dried wafers and solvent-cast films prepared from sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) have been investigated to determine the mechanisms of drug release from the two systems. The formulations were prepared by freeze-drying (wafers) or drying in air (films), the hydrated gel of the polymer containing paracetamol as a model soluble drug. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine differences between the physical structure of the wafers and films. Dissolution studies were performed using an exchange cell and drug release was measured by UV spectroscopy at 242 nm. The effects of drug loading, polymer content and amount of glycerol (films) on the release characteristics of paracetamol were investigated. The release profiles of paracetamol from the wafers and films were also compared. A digital camera was used to observe the times to complete hydration and dissolution of the wafers containing different amounts of CMC and how that impacts on drug release rates. Both formulations showed sustained type drug release that was modelled by the Korsmeyer–Peppas equation. Changes in the concentration of drug and glycerol (films) did not significantly alter the rate of drug release while increasing polymer content significantly decreased the rate of drug release from both formulations. The results show that the rate of paracetamol release was faster from the wafers than the corresponding films due to differences in their physical structures. The wafers which formed a porous network, hydrated faster than the more dense and continuous, (non-porous) sheet-like structure of the films.

Development and mechanical characterization of solvent-cast polymeric films as potential drug delivery systems to mucosal surfaces

Solvent-cast films from three polymers, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), sodium alginate (SA), and xanthan gum, were prepared by drying the polymeric gels in air. Three methods, (a) passive hydration, (b) vortex hydration with heating, and (c) cold hydration, were investigated to determine the most effective means of preparing gels for each of the three polymers. Different drying conditions [relative humidity - RH (6-52%) and temperature (3-45 degrees C)] were investigated to determine the effect of drying rate on the films prepared by drying the polymeric gels. The tensile properties of the CMC films were determined by stretching dumbbell-shaped films to breaking point, using a Texture Analyser. Glycerol was used as a plasticizer, and its effects on the drying rate, physical appearance, and tensile properties of the resulting films were investigated. Vortex hydration with heating was the method of choice for preparing gels of SA and CMC, and cold hydration for xanthan gels. Drying rates increased with low glycerol content, high temperature, and low relative humidity. The residual water content of the films increased with increasing glycerol content and high relative humidity and decreased at higher temperatures. Generally, temperature affected the drying rate to a greater extent than relative humidity. Glycerol significantly affected the toughness (increased) and rigidity (decreased) of CMC films. CMC films prepared at 45 degrees C and 6% RH produced suitable films at the fastest rate while films containing equal quantities of glycerol and CMC possessed an ideal balance between flexibility and rigidity.