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Sample records for rigid surfactant mesophase

  1. Mesophase Formation Stabilizes High-purity Magic-sized Clusters

    KAUST Repository

    Nevers, Douglas R.; Williamson, Curtis B.; Savitzky, Benjamin H; Hadar, Ido; Banin, Uri; Kourkoutis, Lena F.; Hanrath, Tobias; Robinson, Richard D.

    2018-01-01

    Magic-sized clusters (MSCs) are renowned for their identical size and closed-shell stability that inhibit conventional nanoparticle (NP) growth processes. Though MSCs have been of increasing interest, understanding the reaction pathways toward their nucleation and stabilization is an outstanding issue. In this work, we demonstrate that high concentration synthesis (1000 mM) promotes a well-defined reaction pathway to form high-purity MSCs (>99.9%). The MSCs are resistant to typical growth and dissolution processes. Based on insights from in-situ X-ray scattering analysis, we attribute this stability to the accompanying production of a large, hexagonal organic-inorganic mesophase (>100 nm grain size) that arrests growth of the MSCs and prevents NP growth. At intermediate concentrations (500 mM), the MSC mesophase forms, but is unstable, resulting in NP growth at the expense of the assemblies. These results provide an alternate explanation for the high stability of MSCs. Whereas the conventional mantra has been that the stability of MSCs derives from the precise arrangement of the inorganic structures (i.e., closed-shell atomic packing), we demonstrate that anisotropic clusters can also be stabilized by self-forming fibrous mesophase assemblies. At lower concentration (<200 mM or >16 acid-to-metal), MSCs are further destabilized and NPs formation dominates that of MSCs. Overall, the high concentration approach intensifies and showcases inherent concentration-dependent surfactant phase behavior that is not accessible in conventional (i.e., dilute) conditions. This work provides not only a robust method to synthesize, stabilize, and study identical MSC products, but also uncovers an underappreciated stabilizing interaction between surfactants and clusters.

  2. Mesophase Formation Stabilizes High-purity Magic-sized Clusters

    KAUST Repository

    Nevers, Douglas R.

    2018-01-27

    Magic-sized clusters (MSCs) are renowned for their identical size and closed-shell stability that inhibit conventional nanoparticle (NP) growth processes. Though MSCs have been of increasing interest, understanding the reaction pathways toward their nucleation and stabilization is an outstanding issue. In this work, we demonstrate that high concentration synthesis (1000 mM) promotes a well-defined reaction pathway to form high-purity MSCs (>99.9%). The MSCs are resistant to typical growth and dissolution processes. Based on insights from in-situ X-ray scattering analysis, we attribute this stability to the accompanying production of a large, hexagonal organic-inorganic mesophase (>100 nm grain size) that arrests growth of the MSCs and prevents NP growth. At intermediate concentrations (500 mM), the MSC mesophase forms, but is unstable, resulting in NP growth at the expense of the assemblies. These results provide an alternate explanation for the high stability of MSCs. Whereas the conventional mantra has been that the stability of MSCs derives from the precise arrangement of the inorganic structures (i.e., closed-shell atomic packing), we demonstrate that anisotropic clusters can also be stabilized by self-forming fibrous mesophase assemblies. At lower concentration (<200 mM or >16 acid-to-metal), MSCs are further destabilized and NPs formation dominates that of MSCs. Overall, the high concentration approach intensifies and showcases inherent concentration-dependent surfactant phase behavior that is not accessible in conventional (i.e., dilute) conditions. This work provides not only a robust method to synthesize, stabilize, and study identical MSC products, but also uncovers an underappreciated stabilizing interaction between surfactants and clusters.

  3. Driving Forces of the Self-Assembly of Supramolecular Systems: Partially Ordered Mesophases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shcherbina, M. A.; Chvalun, S. N.

    2018-06-01

    The main aspects are considered of the self-organization of a new class of liquid crystalline compounds, rigid sector-shaped and cone-shaped dendrons. Theoretical approaches to the self-assembly of different amphiphilic compounds (lipids, bolaamphiphiles, block copolymers, and polyelectrolytes) are described. Particular attention is given to the mesophase structures that emerge during the self-organization of mesophases characterized by intermediate degrees of ordering, e.g., plastic crystals, the rotation-crystalline phase in polymers, ordered and disordered two-dimensional columnar phases, and bicontinuous cubic phases of different symmetry.

  4. Constraint and flow: Poiseuille shear response of a surfactant ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Abstract. To minimize their free energy in aqueous solution, surfactant molecules self-assemble to form some basic morphologies – globular micelles, highly extended thead- like micelles and membrane bilayers – which themselves order to display a rich variety of mesophase symmetries and properties. In membrane ...

  5. Design, characterization, and biological evaluation of curcumin-loaded surfactant-based systems for topical drug delivery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fonseca-Santos B

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Bruno Fonseca-Santos, Aline Martins dos Santos, Camila Fernanda Rodero, Maria Palmira Daflon Gremião, Marlus Chorilli School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNESP – São Paulo State University, Araraquara, São Paulo Brazil Abstract: From previous studies, it has been found that curcumin exhibits an anti-inflammatory activity and is being used for the treatment of skin disorders; however, it is hydrophobic and has weak penetrating ability, resulting in poor drug transport through the stratum corneum. The aim of this study was to develop liquid crystalline systems for topical administration of curcumin for the treatment of inflammation. These liquid crystalline systems were developed from oleic acid, polyoxypropylene (5 polyoxyethylene (20 cetyl alcohol, and water as the surfactant, oil phase, and aqueous phase, respectively. These systems were characterized, and polarized light microscopy showed anisotropy with lamellar mesophases (Formulation 1 and hexagonal mesophases (Formulations 2 and 3, which were confirmed by the peak ratio measured using small-angle X-ray scattering. In addition, rheological tests revealed that the formulations exhibited gel-like behavior (G'>G'', as evidenced by the increased G' values that indicate structured systems. Texture profile analysis showed that hexagonal mesophases have high values of hardness, adhesiveness, and compressibility, which indicate structured systems. In vitro studies on bioadhesion revealed that the hexagonal mesophases increased the bioadhesiveness of the systems to the skin of the pig ear. An in vivo inflammation experiment showed that the curcumin-loaded hexagonal mesophase exhibited an anti-inflammatory activity as compared to the positive control (dexamethasone. The results suggest that this system has a potential to be used as a bioadhesive vehicle for the topical administration of curcumin. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that these systems can be used for the optimization of drug

  6. Molecularly Imprinted Microrods via Mesophase Polymerization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parisi, Ortensia Ilaria; Scrivano, Luca; Candamano, Sebastiano; Ruffo, Mariarosa; Vattimo, Anna Francesca; Spanedda, Maria Vittoria; Puoci, Francesco

    2017-12-28

    The aim of the present research work was the synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) with a rod-like geometry via "mesophase polymerization". The ternary lyotropic system consisting of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), water, and decanol was chosen to prepare a hexagonal mesophase to direct the morphology of the synthesized imprinted polymers using theophylline, methacrylic acid, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a drug model template, a functional monomer, and a crosslinker, respectively. The obtained molecularly imprinted microrods (MIMs) were assessed by performing binding experiments and in vitro release studies, and the obtained results highlighted good selective recognition abilities and sustained release properties. In conclusion, the adopted synthetic strategy involving a lyotropic mesophase system allows for the preparation of effective MIPs characterized by a rod-like morphology.

  7. Molecularly Imprinted Microrods via Mesophase Polymerization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ortensia Ilaria Parisi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present research work was the synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs with a rod-like geometry via “mesophase polymerization”. The ternary lyotropic system consisting of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS, water, and decanol was chosen to prepare a hexagonal mesophase to direct the morphology of the synthesized imprinted polymers using theophylline, methacrylic acid, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a drug model template, a functional monomer, and a crosslinker, respectively. The obtained molecularly imprinted microrods (MIMs were assessed by performing binding experiments and in vitro release studies, and the obtained results highlighted good selective recognition abilities and sustained release properties. In conclusion, the adopted synthetic strategy involving a lyotropic mesophase system allows for the preparation of effective MIPs characterized by a rod-like morphology.

  8. Mesophase behaviour of polyhedral particles

    KAUST Repository

    Agarwal, Umang; Escobedo, Fernando A.

    2011-01-01

    Translational and orientational excluded-volume fields encoded in particles with anisotropic shapes can lead to purely entropy-driven assembly of morphologies with specific order and symmetry. To elucidate this complex correlation, we carried out detailed Monte Carlo simulations of six convex space-filling polyhedrons, namely, truncated octahedrons, rhombic dodecahedrons, hexagonal prisms, cubes, gyrobifastigiums and triangular prisms. Simulations predict the formation of various new liquid-crystalline and plastic-crystalline phases at intermediate volume fractions. By correlating these findings with particle anisotropy and rotational symmetry, simple guidelines for predicting phase behaviour of polyhedral particles are proposed: high rotational symmetry is in general conducive to mesophase formation, with low anisotropy favouring plastic-solid behaviour and intermediate anisotropy (or high uniaxial anisotropy) favouring liquid-crystalline behaviour. It is also found that dynamical disorder is crucial in defining mesophase behaviour, and that the apparent kinetic barrier for the liquid-mesophase transition is much lower for liquid crystals (orientational order) than for plastic solids (translational order). © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

  9. Mesophase behaviour of polyhedral particles

    KAUST Repository

    Agarwal, Umang

    2011-02-13

    Translational and orientational excluded-volume fields encoded in particles with anisotropic shapes can lead to purely entropy-driven assembly of morphologies with specific order and symmetry. To elucidate this complex correlation, we carried out detailed Monte Carlo simulations of six convex space-filling polyhedrons, namely, truncated octahedrons, rhombic dodecahedrons, hexagonal prisms, cubes, gyrobifastigiums and triangular prisms. Simulations predict the formation of various new liquid-crystalline and plastic-crystalline phases at intermediate volume fractions. By correlating these findings with particle anisotropy and rotational symmetry, simple guidelines for predicting phase behaviour of polyhedral particles are proposed: high rotational symmetry is in general conducive to mesophase formation, with low anisotropy favouring plastic-solid behaviour and intermediate anisotropy (or high uniaxial anisotropy) favouring liquid-crystalline behaviour. It is also found that dynamical disorder is crucial in defining mesophase behaviour, and that the apparent kinetic barrier for the liquid-mesophase transition is much lower for liquid crystals (orientational order) than for plastic solids (translational order). © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

  10. Ferroelectric Nematic and Ferrielectric Smectic Mesophases in an Achiral Bent-Core Azo Compound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Jitendra; Prasad, Veena

    2018-03-22

    Here, we report the observation of ferroelectric nematic and ferrielectric smectic mesophases in an achiral bent-core azo compound consisting of nonsymmetrical molecules with a lateral fluoro substitution on one of the wings. These mesophases are enantiotropic in nature with fairly low transition temperatures and wide mesophase ranges. The liquid crystalline properties of this compound are investigated using polarizing optical microscope, differential scanning calorimeter, X-ray diffraction, and electro-optical studies. As revealed by X-ray diffraction measurements, the nematic mesophase is composed of skewed cybotactic clusters and, in the smectic mesophase, the molecules are tilted with respect to the layer normal. The polar order in these mesophases was confirmed by the electro-optical switching and dielectric spectroscopy measurements. The dielectric study in the nematic mesophase shows a single relaxation process at low frequency ( f interest is the fact that the smectic phase exhibits a field induced ferrielectric state, which can be exploited for designing of the potential optical devices due to multistate switching.

  11. HII mesophase as a drug delivery system for topical application of methyl salicylate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Xin; Chen, Yu-Lin; Jiang, Xiao-Jing; Wang, Sheng-Mei; Zhang, Ji-Wen; Gui, Shuang-Ying

    2017-03-30

    The main objective of this study was to develop reversed hexagonal (H II ) mesophase for transdermal delivery of methyl salicylate. The formulation was prepared, characterized and evaluated for its skin penetration in vitro and skin retention in vivo. Preliminary pharmacodynamics and skin irritation were also investigated. The formulation was identified as hexagonal structure. In vitro study exhibited that H II mesophase enhanced the skin permeation by delivering 2.61 times more methyl salicylate than the commercially available cream. Meanwhile, H II mesophase presented higher bioavailability as AUC (0-24) and AUC (0-∞) were 32.894μg·mL -1 and 32.935μg·mL -1 respectively, while the cream were 12.791μg·mL -1 and 12.970μg·mL -1 . Preliminary pharmacodynamics studies demonstrated that H II mesophase possessed anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects for inhibiting paw edema, granuloma and pain. MeSa H II mesophase showed no skin irritation on the normal rat skin. Thus, H II mesophase was considered as an effective delivery system for MeSa. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  12. Design, characterization, and biological evaluation of curcumin-loaded surfactant-based systems for topical drug delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fonseca-Santos, Bruno; Dos Santos, Aline Martins; Rodero, Camila Fernanda; Gremião, Maria Palmira Daflon; Chorilli, Marlus

    From previous studies, it has been found that curcumin exhibits an anti-inflammatory activity and is being used for the treatment of skin disorders; however, it is hydrophobic and has weak penetrating ability, resulting in poor drug transport through the stratum corneum. The aim of this study was to develop liquid crystalline systems for topical administration of curcumin for the treatment of inflammation. These liquid crystalline systems were developed from oleic acid, polyoxypropylene (5) polyoxyethylene (20) cetyl alcohol, and water as the surfactant, oil phase, and aqueous phase, respectively. These systems were characterized, and polarized light microscopy showed anisotropy with lamellar mesophases (Formulation 1) and hexagonal mesophases (Formulations 2 and 3), which were confirmed by the peak ratio measured using small-angle X-ray scattering. In addition, rheological tests revealed that the formulations exhibited gel-like behavior (G'>G″), as evidenced by the increased G' values that indicate structured systems. Texture profile analysis showed that hexagonal mesophases have high values of hardness, adhesiveness, and compressibility, which indicate structured systems. In vitro studies on bioadhesion revealed that the hexagonal mesophases increased the bioadhesiveness of the systems to the skin of the pig ear. An in vivo inflammation experiment showed that the curcumin-loaded hexagonal mesophase exhibited an anti-inflammatory activity as compared to the positive control (dexamethasone). The results suggest that this system has a potential to be used as a bioadhesive vehicle for the topical administration of curcumin. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that these systems can be used for the optimization of drug delivery systems to the skin.

  13. Mesophase properties after anthracene thermal exposure

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šugárková, Věra; Plevová, Eva; Kaloč, M.

    -, - (2008), s. 62-70. ISBN 978-80-248-1939-6 Grant - others:GA ČR GA105/00/1698 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30860518 Keywords : mesophase * anthracene * thermal behaviour * anisotropy Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry

  14. Ionic conductivity of N-alkyl pyridinium halides mesophases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meftah, Ahmed

    1980-01-01

    The quasi anhydrous N-alkyl pyridinium halides undergo at a temperature T c a phase transition from a crystalline isolating state to a conducting mesophase (σ = 3.10 -2 Ω -1 cm -1 ). The transition temperature depends on the nature on counter-ion and on the aliphatic chain length. The present study is devoted to the N-alkyl pyridinium chlorides, bromides and iodides varying the number of carbon atoms in the chain from ten to twenty two. The transition temperatures T c were found to increase from 30 deg. C up to 110 deg. C by a step of 10 deg. C for two added carbon atoms in the chain. The electrical measurements have shown that the conductivity of the mesophases which is ionic in origin is due to a large mobility of counter-ions in hydrophilic parts. At high frequencies (F > 10 3 Hz) ionic conductivity predominates in the bulk and does not depend on frequency. At low frequencies (F 3 Hz) the most important are interface phenomena depending on the square root of inverse frequency (ω -1/2 ) and being due to an electronic exchange limited by diffusion velocity of counter-ions. The electrical conductivity depends weekly on the chain length and the mesophases textures. The most conducting mesophase is the optically isotropic. The conductivity increases with increasing water content of the system and decreases with increasing atomic number of counter-ion. The diffusion measurements by radioactive tracers confirm the ionic character of charge carriers although the diffusion factors obtained by this method are largely higher than the calculated ones from the conductivity values. (author) [fr

  15. Photonic mesophases from cut rod rotators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stelson, Angela C.; Liddell Watson, Chekesha M., E-mail: cml66@cornell.edu [Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 (United States); Avendano, Carlos [Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom)

    2016-01-14

    The photonic band properties of random rotator mesophases are calculated using supercell methods applied to cut rods on a hexagonal lattice. Inspired by the thermodynamic mesophase for anisotropic building blocks, we vary the shape factor of cut fraction for the randomly oriented basis. We find large, stable bandgaps with high gap isotropy in the inverted and direct structures as a function of cut fraction, dielectric contrast, and filling fraction. Bandgap sizes up to 34.5% are maximized at high dielectric contrast for rods separated in a matrix. The bandgaps open at dielectric contrasts as low as 2.0 for the transverse magnetic polarization and 2.25 for the transverse electric polarization. Additionally, the type of scattering that promotes the bandgap is correlated with the effect of disorder on bandgap size. Slow light properties are investigated in waveguide geometry and slowdown factors up to 5 × 10{sup 4} are found.

  16. COUPLING THE ALKALINE-SURFACTANT-POLYMER TECHNOLOGY AND THE GELATION TECHNOLOGY TO MAXIMIZE OIL PRODUCTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Malcolm Pitts; Jie Qi; Dan Wilson

    2004-10-01

    Gelation technologies have been developed to provide more efficient vertical sweep efficiencies for flooding naturally fractured oil reservoirs or more efficient areal sweep efficiency for those with high permeability contrast ''thief zones''. The field proven alkaline-surfactant-polymer technology economically recovers 15% to 25% OOIP more oil than waterflooding from swept pore space of an oil reservoir. However, alkaline-surfactant-polymer technology is not amenable to naturally fractured reservoirs or those with thief zones because much of injected solution bypasses target pore space containing oil. This work investigates whether combining these two technologies could broaden applicability of alkaline-surfactant-polymer flooding into these reservoirs. A prior fluid-fluid report discussed interaction of different gel chemical compositions and alkaline-surfactant-polymer solutions. Gel solutions under dynamic conditions of linear corefloods showed similar stability to alkaline-surfactant-polymer solutions as in the fluid-fluid analyses. Aluminum-polyacrylamide, flowing gels are not stable to alkaline-surfactant-polymer solutions of either pH 10.5 or 12.9. Chromium acetate-polyacrylamide flowing and rigid flowing gels are stable to subsequent alkaline-surfactant-polymer solution injection. Rigid flowing chromium acetate-polyacrylamide gels maintained permeability reduction better than flowing chromium acetate-polyacrylamide gels. Silicate-polyacrylamide gels are not stable with subsequent injection of either a pH 10.5 or a 12.9 alkaline-surfactant-polymer solution. Neither aluminum citrate-polyacrylamide nor silicate-polyacrylamide gel systems produced significant incremental oil in linear corefloods. Both flowing and rigid flowing chromium acetate-polyacrylamide gels produced incremental oil with the rigid flowing gel producing the greatest amount. Higher oil recovery could have been due to higher differential pressures across cores. None of

  17. Hydrophobic nanoparticles promote lamellar to inverted hexagonal transition in phospholipid mesophases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulpett, Jennifer M; Snow, Tim; Quignon, Benoit; Beddoes, Charlotte M; Tang, T-Y D; Mann, Stephen; Shebanova, Olga; Pizzey, Claire L; Terrill, Nicholas J; Davis, Sean A; Briscoe, Wuge H

    2015-12-07

    This study focuses on how the mesophase transition behaviour of the phospholipid dioleoyl phosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) is altered by the presence of 10 nm hydrophobic and 14 nm hydrophilic silica nanoparticles (NPs) at different concentrations. The lamellar to inverted hexagonal phase transition (Lα-HII) of phospholipids is energetically analogous to the membrane fusion process, therefore understanding the Lα-HII transition with nanoparticulate additives is relevant to how membrane fusion may be affected by these additives, in this case the silica NPs. The overriding observation is that the HII/Lα boundaries in the DOPE p-T phase diagram were shifted by the presence of NPs: the hydrophobic NPs enlarged the HII phase region and thus encouraged the inverted hexagonal (HII) phase to occur at lower temperatures, whilst hydrophilic NPs appeared to stabilise the Lα phase region. This effect was also NP-concentration dependent, with a more pronounced effect for higher concentration of the hydrophobic NPs, but the trend was less clear cut for the hydrophilic NPs. There was no evidence that the NPs were intercalated into the mesophases, and as such it was likely that they might have undergone microphase separation and resided at the mesophase domain boundaries. Whilst the loci and exact roles of the NPs invite further investigation, we tentatively discuss these results in terms of both the surface chemistry of the NPs and the effect of their curvature on the elastic bending energy considerations during the mesophase transition.

  18. Calculations of critical micelle concentration by dissipative particle dynamics simulations: the role of chain rigidity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ming-Tsung; Vishnyakov, Aleksey; Neimark, Alexander V

    2013-09-05

    Micelle formation in surfactant solutions is a self-assembly process governed by complex interplay of solvent-mediated interactions between hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups, which are commonly called heads and tails. However, the head-tail repulsion is not the only factor affecting the micelle formation. For the first time, we present a systematic study of the effect of chain rigidity on critical micelle concentration and micelle size, which is performed with the dissipative particle dynamics simulation method. Rigidity of the coarse-grained surfactant molecule was controlled by the harmonic bonds set between the second-neighbor beads. Compared to flexible molecules with the nearest-neighbor bonds being the only type of bonded interactions, rigid molecules exhibited a lower critical micelle concentration and formed larger and better-defined micelles. By varying the strength of head-tail repulsion and the chain rigidity, we constructed two-dimensional diagrams presenting how the critical micelle concentration and aggregation number depend on these parameters. We found that the solutions of flexible and rigid molecules that exhibited approximately the same critical micelle concentration could differ substantially in the micelle size and shape depending on the chain rigidity. With the increase of surfactant concentration, primary micelles of more rigid molecules were found less keen to agglomeration and formation of nonspherical aggregates characteristic of flexible molecules.

  19. From antiferroelectricity to ferroelectricity in smectic mesophases ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    are not ferroelectric in the ground state, but upon alignment within an electric field .... Figure 3. Molecular organisation within polar smectic phases and possible ways to escape from a macroscopic polarisation in mesophases built up by polar layers. .... in which the molecules adapt a twisted orientation from the top to bottom.

  20. Characterization of a Biomimetic Mesophase Composed of Nonionic Surfactants and an Aqueous Solvent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adrien, V; Rayan, G; Reffay, M; Porcar, L; Maldonado, A; Ducruix, A; Urbach, W; Taulier, N

    2016-10-11

    We have investigated the physical and biomimetic properties of a sponge (L 3 ) phase composed of pentaethylene glycol monododecyl ether (C 12 E 5 ), a nonionic surfactant, an aqueous solvent, and a cosurfactant. The following cosurfactants, commonly used for solubilizing membrane proteins, were incorporated: n-octyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (β-OG), n-dodecyl-β-d-maltopyranoside (DDM), 4-cyclohexyl-1-butyl-β-d-maltoside (CYMAL-4), and 5-cyclohexyl-1-pentyl-β-d-maltoside (CYMAL-5). Partial phase diagrams of these systems were created. The L 3 phase was characterized using crossed polarizers, diffusion of a fluorescent probe by fluorescence recovery after pattern photobleaching (FRAPP), and freeze fracture electron microscopy (FFEM). By varying the hydration of the phase, we were able to tune the distance between adjacent bilayers. The characteristic distance (d b ) of the phase was obtained from small angle scattering (SAXS/SANS) as well as from FFEM, which yielded complementary d b values. These d b values were neither affected by the nature of the cosurfactant nor by the addition of membrane proteins. These findings illustrate that a biomimetic surfactant sponge phase can be created in the presence of several common membrane protein-solubilizing detergents, thus making it a versatile medium for membrane protein studies.

  1. Nanostructured mesophase electrode materials: modulating charge-storage behavior by thermal treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Hye Jeong; Kim, Saerona; Le, Thanh-Hai; Kim, Yukyung; Park, Geunsu; Park, Chul Soon; Kwon, Oh Seok; Yoon, Hyeonseok

    2017-11-16

    3D nanostructured carbonaceous electrode materials with tunable capacitive phases were successfully developed using graphene/particulate polypyrrole (PPy) nanohybrid (GPNH) precursors without a separate process for incorporating heterogeneous species. The electrode material, namely carbonized GPNHs (CGPNHs) featured a mesophase capacitance consisting of both electric double-layer (EDL) capacitive and pseudocapacitive elements at the molecular level. The ratio of EDL capacitive element to pseudocapacitive element (E-to-P) in the mesophase electrode materials was controlled by varying the PPy-to-graphite weight (P w /G w ) ratio and by heat treatment (T H ), which was demonstrated by characterizing the CGPNHs with elemental analysis, cyclic voltammetry, and a charge/discharge test. The concept of the E-to-P ratio (EPR) index was first proposed to easily identify the capacitive characteristics of the mesophase electrode using a numerical algorithm, which was reasonably consistent with the experimental findings. Finally, the CGPNHs were integrated into symmetric two-electrode capacitor cells, which rendered excellent energy and power densities in both aqueous and ionic liquid electrolytes. It is anticipated that our approach could be widely extended to fabricating versatile hybrid electrode materials with estimation of their capacitive characteristics.

  2. Fast acquisition of multidimensional NMR spectra of solids and mesophases using alternative sampling methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesot, Philippe; Kazimierczuk, Krzysztof; Trébosc, Julien; Amoureux, Jean-Paul; Lafon, Olivier

    2015-11-01

    Unique information about the atom-level structure and dynamics of solids and mesophases can be obtained by the use of multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. Nevertheless, the acquisition of these experiments often requires long acquisition times. We review here alternative sampling methods, which have been proposed to circumvent this issue in the case of solids and mesophases. Compared to the spectra of solutions, those of solids and mesophases present some specificities because they usually display lower signal-to-noise ratios, non-Lorentzian line shapes, lower spectral resolutions and wider spectral widths. We highlight herein the advantages and limitations of these alternative sampling methods. A first route to accelerate the acquisition time of multidimensional NMR spectra consists in the use of sparse sampling schemes, such as truncated, radial or random sampling ones. These sparsely sampled datasets are generally processed by reconstruction methods differing from the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT). A host of non-DFT methods have been applied for solids and mesophases, including the G-matrix Fourier transform, the linear least-square procedures, the covariance transform, the maximum entropy and the compressed sensing. A second class of alternative sampling consists in departing from the Jeener paradigm for multidimensional NMR experiments. These non-Jeener methods include Hadamard spectroscopy as well as spatial or orientational encoding of the evolution frequencies. The increasing number of high field NMR magnets and the development of techniques to enhance NMR sensitivity will contribute to widen the use of these alternative sampling methods for the study of solids and mesophases in the coming years. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Lead(ii) soaps: crystal structures, polymorphism, and solid and liquid mesophases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Casado, F J; Ramos-Riesco, M; Rodríguez-Cheda, J A; Redondo-Yélamos, M I; Garrido, L; Fernández-Martínez, A; García-Barriocanal, J; da Silva, I; Durán-Olivencia, M; Poulain, A

    2017-07-05

    The long-chain members of the lead(ii) alkanoate series or soaps, from octanoate to octadecanoate, have been thoroughly characterized by means of XRD, PDF analysis, DSC, FTIR, ssNMR and other techniques, in all their phases and mesophases. The crystal structures at room temperature of all of the members of the series are now solved, showing the existence of two polymorphic forms in the room temperature crystal phase, different to short and long-chain members. Only nonanoate and decanoate present both forms, and this polymorphism is proven to be monotropic. At higher temperature, these compounds present a solid mesophase, defined as rotator, a liquid crystal phase and a liquid phase, all of which have a similar local arrangement. Since some lead(ii) soaps appear as degradation compounds in oil paintings, the solved crystal structures of lead(ii) soaps can now be used as fingerprints for their detection using X-ray diffraction. Pair distribution function analysis on these compounds is very similar in the same phases and mesophases for the different members, showing the same short range order. This observation suggests that this technique could also be used in the detection of these compounds in disordered phases or in the initial stages of formation in paintings.

  4. Coupling the Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer Technology and the Gelation Technology to Maximize Oil Production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Malcolm Pitts; Jie Qi; Dan Wilson; Phil Dowling; David Stewart; Bill Jones

    2005-12-01

    the fluid-fluid analyses with the exception of the xanthan gum-chromium acetate gels. Aluminum-polyacrylamide flowing gels are not stable to alkaline-surfactant-polymer solutions of either pH 10.5 or 12.9, either in linear corefloods or in dual separate radial core, common manifold corefloods. Chromium acetate-polyacrylamide flowing and rigid tonguing gels are stable to subsequent alkaline-surfactant-polymer solution injection. Rigid tonguing chromium acetate-polyacrylamide gels maintained permeability reduction better than flowing chromium acetate-polyacrylamide gels. Chromium acetate gels were stable to injection of alkaline-surfactant-polymer solutions at 72 F, 125 F and 175 F in linear corefloods. Chromium acetate-polyacrylamide gels maintained diversion capability after injection of an alkaline-surfactant-polymer solution in stacked; radial coreflood with a common well bore. Chromium acetate-polyacrylamide gel used to seal fractured core maintain fracture closure if followed by an alkaline-surfactant-polymer solution. Chromium acetate-xanthan gum rigid gels are not stable to subsequent alkaline-surfactant-polymer solution injection at 72, 125, and 175 F. Silicate-polyacrylamide gels are not stable with subsequent injection of either a pH 10.5 or a 12.9 alkaline-surfactant-polymer solution. Resorcinol-formaldehyde gels were stable to subsequent alkaline-surfactant-polymer solution injection. When evaluated in a dual core configuration, injected fluid flows into the core with the greatest effective permeability to the injected fluid. The same gel stability trends to subsequent alkaline-surfactant-polymer injected solution were observed. Aluminum citrate-polyacrylamide, resorcinol-formaldehyde, and the silicate-polyacrylamide gel systems did not produce significant incremental oil in linear corefloods. Both flowing and rigid tonguing chromium acetate-polyacrylamide gels and the xanthan gum-chromium acetate gel system produced incremental oil with the rigid tonguing

  5. Coupling the Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer Technology and The Gelation Technology to Maximize Oil Production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Malcolm Pitts; Jie Qi; Dan Wilson; Phil Dowling; David Stewart; Bill Jones

    2005-12-01

    the fluid-fluid analyses with the exception of the xanthan gum-chromium acetate gels. Aluminum-polyacrylamide flowing gels are not stable to alkaline-surfactant-polymer solutions of either pH 10.5 or 12.9, either in linear corefloods or in dual separate radial core, common manifold corefloods. Chromium acetate-polyacrylamide flowing and rigid tonguing gels are stable to subsequent alkaline-surfactant-polymer solution injection. Rigid tonguing chromium acetate-polyacrylamide gels maintained permeability reduction better than flowing chromium acetate-polyacrylamide gels. Chromium acetate gels were stable to injection of alkaline-surfactant-polymer solutions at 72 F, 125 F and 175 F in linear corefloods. Chromium acetate-polyacrylamide gels maintained diversion capability after injection of an alkaline-surfactant-polymer solution in stacked; radial coreflood with a common well bore. Chromium acetate-polyacrylamide gel used to seal fractured core maintain fracture closure if followed by an alkaline-surfactant-polymer solution. Chromium acetatexanthan gum rigid gels are not stable to subsequent alkaline-surfactant-polymer solution injection at 72, 125, and 175 F. Silicate-polyacrylamide gels are not stable with subsequent injection of either a pH 10.5 or a 12.9 alkaline-surfactant-polymer solution. Resorcinol-formaldehyde gels were stable to subsequent alkaline-surfactant-polymer solution injection. When evaluated in a dual core configuration, injected fluid flows into the core with the greatest effective permeability to the injected fluid. The same gel stability trends to subsequent alkaline-surfactant-polymer injected solution were observed. Aluminum citrate-polyacrylamide, resorcinol-formaldehyde, and the silicate-polyacrylamide gel systems did not produce significant incremental oil in linear corefloods. Both flowing and rigid tonguing chromium acetate-polyacrylamide gels and the xanthan gum-chromium acetate gel system produced incremental oil with the rigid tonguing

  6. Predicting for thermodynamic instabilities in water/oil/surfactant microemulsions: A mesoscopic modelling approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duvail, Magali, E-mail: magali.duvail@icsm.fr; Zemb, Thomas; Dufrêche, Jean-François [Institut de Chimie Séparative de Marcoule (ICSM), UMR 5257, CEA-CNRS-Université Montpellier 2-ENSCM, Site de Marcoule, Bâtiment 426, BP 17171, F-30207 Bagnols-sur-Cèze Cedex (France); Arleth, Lise [Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871 Frederiksberg C (Denmark)

    2014-04-28

    The thermodynamics and structural properties of flexible and rigid nonionic water/oil/surfactant microemulsions have been investigated using a two level-cut Gaussian random field method based on the Helfrich formalism. Ternary stability diagrams and scattering spectra have been calculated for different surfactant rigidities and spontaneous curvatures. A more important contribution of the Gaussian elastic constants compared to the bending one is observed on the ternary stability diagrams. Furthermore, influence of the spontaneous curvature of the surfactant points out a displacement of the instability domains which corresponds to the difference between the spontaneous and effective curvatures. We enlighten that a continuous transition from a connected water in oil droplets to a frustrated locally lamellar (oil in water in oil droplets) microstructure is found to occur when increasing the temperature for an oil-rich microemulsion. This continuous transition translated in a shift in the scattering functions, points out that the phase inversion phenomenon occurs by a coalescence of the water droplets.

  7. Hard Pd Nanorods in the Soft Surfactant Mixture of CTAB and Pluronics: Seedless Synthesis and Their Self-Assembly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Hyon-Min; Zink, Jeffrey I

    2018-04-10

    Seedless synthesis of Pd nanorods and their self-assembly into the layered smectic ordering are described. Aqueous Pluronic triblock copolymers (14.3-35.7%) are used as a soft template along with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide for inducing one-dimensional growth of Pd nanorods. Pluronic triblock copolymers are probably the most used polymer surfactants, and they are composed of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-poly(propylene oxide) (PPO)-PEO triblocks. Neither pH adjustment nor AgNO 3 and other additives, such as poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) and ethylene glycol, are required to obtain Pd nanorods. Sonochemical synthesis at 43 °C, followed by thermal annealing for 1 h at 65 °C produces Pd nanorods with the aspect ratio from 3.1 (17.9%, Pluronic L-64) to 6.7 (35.7%, Pluronic P-123). Two-dimensional self-assembly of the nanorods is observed, and both nematic ordering between the mesogens and smectic ordering between the layers is identified. Micellar hydrophobic PPO with hydrated PEO coronas are known to self-assemble into many crystalline orders, including cubic, hexagonal, lamellar, and inverse hexagonal mesophases, which extend into cylindrical micelles with increasing temperature. Relatively small size of Pluronic copolymers with regard to general polymers, but rather large size of their micelles and their tendency to organize into crystalline mesophases are thought to contribute to the anisotropic growth of Pd nanorods.

  8. Polymorphism and mesomorphism of oligomeric surfactants: effect of the degree of oligomerization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jurašin, D; Pustak, A; Habuš, I; Šmit, I; Filipović-Vinceković, N

    2011-12-06

    A series of cationic oligomeric surfactants (quaternary dodecyldimethylammonium ions with two, three, or four chains connected by an ethylene spacer at the headgroup level, abbreviated as dimer, trimer, and tetramer) were synthesized and characterized. The influence of the degree of oligomerization on their polymorphic and mesomorphic properties was investigated by means of X-ray diffraction, polarizing optical microscopy, thermogravimetry, and differential scanning calorimetry. All compounds display layered arrangements with interdigitated dodecyl chains. The increase in the degree of oligomerization increases the interlayer distance and decreases the ordering in the solid phase; whereas the dimer sample is fully crystalline with well-developed 3D ordering and the trimer and tetramer crystallize as highly ordered crystal smectic phases. The number of thermal phase transitions and sequence of phases are markedly affected by the number of dodecyl chains. Anhydrous samples exhibit polymorphism and thermotropic mesomorphism of the smectic type, with the exception of the tetramer that displays only transitions at higher temperature associated with decomposition and melting. All hydrated compounds form lyotropic mesophases showing reversible phase transitions upon heating and cooling. The sequence of liquid-crystalline phases for the dimer, typical of concentrated ionic surfactant systems, comprises a hexagonal phase at lower temperatures and a smectic phase at higher temperatures. In contrast, the trimer and tetramer reveal textures of the hexagonal phase. © 2011 American Chemical Society

  9. Effect of dipole moment and conformation on the mesophase behavior of di-laterally substituted phenylazophenyl benzoate liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naoum, M.M.; Ahmed, H.A.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Four homologous series of di-laterally substituted derivatives were prepared. → Measurement of the dipole moment and comparing it with those calculated for the various planner conformations. → Binary phase diagrams were constructed for mixtures made from any two analogues of different central lateral substituents. → Mesophase behavior is related to conformation. → The two molecules in all mixtures investigated are arranged in a back-to-face pattern. - Abstract: The dipole moments of the previously prepared 4-(3'-fluoro phenylazo)-2-(or 3-) substituted phenyl-4''-alkoxybenzoates (In a-d ), have been determined in benzene at 30 o C. The data obtained were compared with those theoretically calculated by molecular modeling program to deduce the most probable conformations for each individual homologous series. Probable conformations deduced were found to vary according to type and position of the lateral substituent attached to the central benzene ring. The results were used to correlate the mesophase behavior, in pure and mixed derivatives, with the conformation deduced for each series. Each homologous series, that have in common a lateral fluorine atom on the first terminal ring, differs from the other by a second lateral group substituted on the central ring. The latter group varies between 2-CH 3 , 3-CH 3 , 2-Cl and 3-CN groups. Within each homologous series, the number of carbons in the other terminal alkoxy group varies between 8 and 16 carbons. The study aims to investigate the steric effect of the spatial orientation of the central lateral substituent, based on deduced conformations, on the mesomorphic properties in their pure or mixed states. The mesophase behavior was investigated via differential scanning calorimetry, DSC, and mesophases identified by polarized light microscopy, PLM.

  10. Fast and facile preparation of CTAB based gels and their applications in Au and Ag nanoparticles synthesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Upadhyay, Ravi Kant, E-mail: rkupadhyay85@gmail.com [Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Gautam Budh Nagar, 201314 Uttar Pradesh (India); Soin, Navneet, E-mail: n.soin@bolton.ac.uk [Knowledge Centre for Materials Chemistry (KCMC), Institute for Materials Research and Innovation (IMRI), University of Bolton, Deane Road, Bolton BL3 5AB (United Kingdom); Saha, Susmita, E-mail: ssaha@bose.res.in [Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Material Sciences, S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Block JD, Sector III, Salt Lake, Kolkata 700 098 (India); Barman, Anjan, E-mail: abarman@bose.res.in [Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Material Sciences, S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Block JD, Sector III, Salt Lake, Kolkata 700 098 (India); Sinha Roy, Susanta, E-mail: susanta.roy@snu.edu.in [Department of Physics, School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Gautam Budh Nagar, 201314 Uttar Pradesh (India)

    2015-04-15

    We have demonstrated that the gel-like mesophase of Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) can be synthesized by judicial adjustment of water to surfactant molar ratio (W{sub 0}), without using any additional salts, gelating agents or co-surfactants. Gel formation was found to be highly dependent on the water to surfactant molar ratio (W{sub 0}), with the lowest value of W{sub 0} (41.5) resulting in rapid gel formation. Environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) analysis revealed that the gel was comprised of interconnected cylindrical structures. The presence of hydrogen bonding in the gel-like mesophase was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. Rheology measurements revealed that all the gel samples were highly viscoelastic in nature. Furthermore, Au and Ag containing CTAB gels were explored as precursors for the preparation of spherical Gold (Au) and Silver (Ag) nanoparticles using Sodium borohydride (NaBH{sub 4}) as reducing agent. The effects of NaBH{sub 4} concentration on the particle size and morphology of the Au and Ag nanoparticles have also been studied. - Highlights: • A facile synthesis of CTAB based gel-like mesophase is reported. • CTAB gels were obtained by adjusting water to surfactant molar ratio (W{sub 0}). • FTIR analysis revealed that hydrogen bonding plays a key role in gel formation. • Au, Ag nanoparticles were synthesized by using CTAB gel and NaBH{sub 4}.

  11. In situ mesophase transformation by zirconium chloride in fabrication of carbon/carbon composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Bo; Song, Huaihe; Chen, Xiaohong; Ma, Zhaokun; Yang, Xiaoguang; Xu, Zhenghui

    2012-01-01

    Carbon/carbon (C/C) composites were prepared using multiple cycle in situ mesophase densification in the presence of zirconium chloride. The mesophase transformation and the performance of C/C composites were investigated in detail. The results show that higher amount of ZrCl 4 and longer soaking time accelerate the condensation of aromatic hydrocarbons. Additionally, the XRD pattern and ash contents show that the ZrCl 4 is retained in the samples and transformed to t-ZrO 2 and m-ZrO 2 after carbonization. In all the composites, the bulk density increases with cycle times, and the flexural strength increases with bulk density. However, a decrease of flexural strength for low density composites was observed when increasing ZrCl 4 concentrations. This tendency is attributed to more ZrO 2 formation in the composites using 20 wt.% ZrCl 4 . Subsequently, these ZrO 2 particles produce interface defects in the matrix which decreases its strength. Attributed to the very low content of ZrO 2 in high density composites, there is no difference between the samples using 13 wt.% and 20 wt.% ZrCl 4 .

  12. Broad hexagonal columnar mesophases formation in bioinspired transition-metal complexes of simple fatty acid meta-octaester derivatives of meso-tetraphenyl porphyrins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Bin; Chen, Keyang; Deng, Yuchen; Chen, Jian; Liu, Chengjie; Cheng, Rongshi; Chen, Dongzhong

    2015-02-23

    A series of meta-substituted fatty acid octaester derivatives and their transition-metal complexes of meso- tetraphenyl porphyrins (TPP-8OOCR, with R = C(n-1)H(2n-1), n = 8, 12, or 16) have been prepared through very simple synthesis protocols. The thermotropic phase behavior and the liquid crystalline (LC) organization structures of the synthesized porphyrin derivatives were systematically investigated by a combination of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized optical microscopy (POM), and variable-temperature small-angle X-ray scattering/wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) techniques. The shorter octanoic acid ester substituted porphyrin (C8-TPP) did not show liquid crystallinity and its metal porphyrins exhibited an uncommon columnar mesophase. The lauric acid octaester (C12-TPP) and the palmitic acid octaester (C16-TPP) series porphyrins generated hexagonal columnar mesophase Colh. Moreover, the metal porphyrins C12-TPPM and C16-TPPM with M = Zn, Cu, or Ni, exhibited well-organized Colh mesophases of broad LC temperature ranges increasing in the order of TPPNiacid octaester porphyrins and their metal complexes very attractive for variant applications. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  13. Molecular motion of water molecules in lyotropic mesophases formed from fatty acid soaps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olszewski, K.J.; Pislewski, N.

    1980-01-01

    The results of study of self-diffusion coefficients and relaxation times for the mesophases formed from water mixtures of potassium laurate (denoted by C 12 K), myristate (C 14 K), and palmitate (C 16 K), are presented. The samples containing by weight 70% of soaps and 30% of water as well as samples containing 30% of soaps and 70% of water were examined. It allowed to obtain lamellar and middle phase respectively. (author)

  14. Phase transitions in surfactant monolayers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Casson, B.D.

    1998-01-01

    Two-dimensional phase transitions have been studied in surfactant monolayers at the air/water interface by sum-frequency spectroscopy and ellipsometry. In equilibrium monolayers of medium-chain alcohols C n H 2n+1 OH (n = 9-14) a transition from a two-dimensional crystalline phase to a liquid was observed at temperatures above the bulk melting point. The small population of gauche defects in the solid phase increased only slightly at the phase transition. A model of the hydrocarbon chains as freely rotating rigid rods allowed the area per molecule and chain tilt in the liquid phase to be determined. The area per molecule, chain tilt and density of the liquid phase all increased with increasing chain length, but for each chain length the density was higher than in a bulk liquid hydrocarbon. In a monolayer of decanol adsorbed at the air/water interface a transition from a two-dimensional liquid to a gas was observed. A clear discontinuity in the coefficient of ellipticity as a function of temperature showed that the transition is first-order. This result suggests that liquid-gas phase transitions in surfactant monolayers may be more widespread than once thought. A solid-liquid phase transition has also been studied in mixed monolayers of dodecanol with an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulphate) and with a homologous series of cationic surfactants (alkyltrimethylammonium bromides: C n TABs, n = 12, 14, 16). The composition and structure of the mixed monolayers was studied above and below the phase transition. At low temperatures the mixed monolayers were as densely packed as a monolayer of pure dodecanol in its solid phase. At a fixed temperature the monolayers under-went a first-order phase transition to form a phase that was less dense and more conformationally disordered. The proportion of ionic surfactant in the mixed monolayer was greatest in the high temperature phase. As the chain length of the C n TAB increased the number of conformational defects

  15. On the use of mesophase pitch for the preparation of hierarchical porous carbon monoliths by nanocasting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philipp Adelhelm, Karin Cabrera and Bernd M Smarsly

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A detailed study is given on the synthesis of a hierarchical porous carbon, possessing both meso- and macropores, using a mesophase pitch (MP as the carbon precursor. This carbon material is prepared by the nanocasting approach involving the replication of a porous silica monolith (hard templating. While this carbon material has already been tested in energy storage applications, various detailed aspects of its formation and structure are addressed in this study. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM, Hg porosimetry and N2 physisorption are used to characterize the morphology and porosity of the carbon replica. A novel approach for the detailed analysis of wide-angle x-ray scattering (WAXS from non-graphitic carbons is applied to quantitatively compare the graphene microstructures of carbons prepared using MP and furfuryl alcohol (FA. This WAXS analysis underlines the importance of the carbon precursor in the synthesis of templated porous carbon materials via the nanocasting route. Our study demonstrates that a mesophase pitch is a superior precursor whenever a high-purity, low-micropore-content and well-developed graphene structure is desired.

  16. Active Gating, Molecular Pumping, and Turnover Determination in Biomimetic Lipidic Cubic Mesophases with Reconstituted Membrane Proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Speziale, Chiara; Zabara, Alexandru Florian; Drummond, Calum John; Mezzenga, Raffaele

    2017-11-28

    Understanding the mechanisms controlling molecular transport in bioinspired materials is a central topic in many branches of nanotechnology. In this work, we show that biomolecules of fundamental importance in biological processes, such as glucose, can be transported in an active, controlled, and selective manner across macroscopic lipidic cubic mesophases, by correctly reconstituting within them their corresponding membrane protein transporters, such as Staphylococcus epidermidis (GlcP Se ). Importantly, by duly exploiting the symporter properties of GlcP Se of coupled glucose/H + transport, the diffusion of glucose can further be tuned by independent physiological stimuli, such as parallel or antiparallel pH gradients, offering an important model to study molecular exchange processes in cellular machinery. We finally show that by measuring the transport properties of the lipidic mesophases with and without the GlcP Se membrane protein reconstituted within, it becomes possible to determine its intrinsic conductance. We generalize these findings to other membrane proteins from the antiporters family, such as the bacterial ClC exchanger from Escherichia coli (EcClC), providing a robust method for evaluating the turnover rate of the membrane proteins in general.

  17. Multipulse NMR study of the lamellar mesophase of some liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jasinski, A.; Morris, P.G.; Mansfield, P.

    1977-01-01

    Multipulse NMR techniques have been used to investigate the dynamic jproperties of cesium perfluoro-octanoate (CsPFO) and ammonium perfluoro-octanoate (APFO) + water systems, which are liquid crystals, over a wide range of temperautre and concentration. Axially symmetric fluorine chemical shift tensors have been measured for the CF 2 and CF 3 groups by performing a rotation study of an aligned sample (50% CsPFO : 50% D 2 O) at room temperature. The order parameter S in the lamellar mesophase of 72,2% CsPFO : 27,8% D 2 O and 70% APFO : 30% D 2 O has been obtained over as temperature range 20 0 C - 85 0 C by fitting the multipulse spectra. (author)

  18. Molecular perspective on diazonium adsorption for controllable functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes in aqueous surfactant solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Shangchao; Hilmer, Andrew J; Mendenhall, Jonathan D; Strano, Michael S; Blankschtein, Daniel

    2012-05-16

    Functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) using diazonium salts allows modification of their optical and electronic properties for a variety of applications, ranging from drug-delivery vehicles to molecular sensors. However, control of the functionalization process remains a challenge, requiring molecular-level understanding of the adsorption of diazonium ions onto heterogeneous, charge-mobile SWCNT surfaces, which are typically decorated with surfactants. In this paper, we combine molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, experiments, and equilibrium reaction modeling to understand and model the extent of diazonium functionalization of SWCNTs coated with various surfactants (sodium cholate, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and cetyl trimethylammonium bromide). We show that the free energy of diazonium adsorption, determined using simulations, can be used to rank surfactants in terms of the extent of functionalization attained following their adsorption on the nanotube surface. The difference in binding affinities between linear and rigid surfactants is attributed to the synergistic binding of the diazonium ion to the local "hot/cold spots" formed by the charged surfactant heads. A combined simulation-modeling framework is developed to provide guidance for controlling the various sensitive experimental conditions needed to achieve the desired extent of SWCNT functionalization.

  19. Computational modeling of ring textures in mesophase carbon fibers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    de Andrade Lima Luiz Rogério Pinho

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Carbon fibers are widely used in many industrial applications due the fact of their excellent properties. Carbonaceous mesophases are liquid crystalline precursor materials that can be spun into high performance carbon fibers using the melt spinning process, which is a flow cascade consisting of pressure driven flow-converging die flow-free surface extensional spinline flow that modifies the precursor molecular orientation structure. Carbon fiber property optimization requires a better understanding of the principles that control the structure development during the fiber formation processes and the rheological processing properties. This paper presents the elastic and continuum theory of liquid crystalsand computer simulations of structure formation for pressure-driven flow of carbonaceous liquid crystalline precursors used in the industrial carbon fiber spinning process. The simulations results capture the formation of characteristic fiber macro-textures and provide new knowledge on the role of viscous and elastic effects in the spinning process.

  20. Polarized light microscopy reveals physiological and drug-induced changes in surfactant membrane assembly in alveolar type II pneumocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haller, Thomas; Cerrada, Alejandro; Pfaller, Kristian; Braubach, Peter; Felder, Edward

    2018-05-01

    In alveolar type II (AT II) cells, pulmonary surfactant (PS) is synthetized, stored and exocytosed from lamellar bodies (LBs), specialized large secretory organelles. By applying polarization microscopy (PM), we confirm a specific optical anisotropy of LBs, which indicates a liquid-crystalline mesophase of the stored surfactant phospholipids (PL) and an unusual case of a radiation-symmetric, spherocrystalline organelle. Evidence is shown that the degree of anisotropy is dependent on the amount of lipid layers and their degree of hydration, but unaffected by acutely modulating vital cell parameters like intravesicular pH or cellular energy supply. In contrast, physiological factors that perturb this structure include osmotic cell volume changes and LB exocytosis. In addition, we found two pharmaceuticals, Amiodarone and Ambroxol, both of which severely affect the liquid-crystalline order. Our study shows that PM is an easy, very sensitive, but foremost non-invasive and label-free method able to collect important structural information of PS assembly in live AT II cells which otherwise would be accessible by destructive or labor intense techniques only. This may open new approaches to dynamically investigate LB biosynthesis - the incorporation, folding and packing of lipid membranes - or the initiation of pathological states that manifest in altered LB structures. Due to the observed drug effects, we further suggest that PM provides an appropriate way to study unspecific drug interactions with alveolar cells and even drug-membrane interactions in general. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Role of adsorbed surfactant in the reaction of aryl diazonium salts with single-walled carbon nanotubes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilmer, Andrew J; McNicholas, Thomas P; Lin, Shangchao; Zhang, Jingqing; Wang, Qing Hua; Mendenhall, Jonathan D; Song, Changsik; Heller, Daniel A; Barone, Paul W; Blankschtein, Daniel; Strano, Michael S

    2012-01-17

    Because covalent chemistry can diminish the optical and electronic properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), there is significant interest in developing methods of controllably functionalizing the nanotube sidewall. To date, most attempts at obtaining such control have focused on reaction stoichiometry or strength of oxidative treatment. Here, we examine the role of surfactants in the chemical modification of single-walled carbon nanotubes with aryl diazonium salts. The adsorbed surfactant layer is shown to affect the diazonium derivatization of carbon nanotubes in several ways, including electrostatic attraction or repulsion, steric exclusion, and direct chemical modification of the diazonium reactant. Electrostatic effects are most pronounced in the cases of anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate and cationic cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, where differences in surfactant charge can significantly affect the ability of the diazonium ion to access the SWCNT surface. For bile salt surfactants, with the exception of sodium cholate, we find that the surfactant wraps tightly enough such that exclusion effects are dominant. Here, sodium taurocholate exhibits almost no reactivity under the explored reaction conditions, while for sodium deoxycholate and sodium taurodeoxycholate, we show that the greatest extent of reaction is observed among a small population of nanotube species, with diameters between 0.88 and 0.92 nm. The anomalous reaction of nanotubes in this diameter range seems to imply that the surfactant is less effective at coating these species, resulting in a reduced surface coverage on the nanotube. Contrary to the other bile salts studied, sodium cholate enables high selectivity toward metallic species and small band gap semiconductors, which is attributed to surfactant-diazonium coupling to form highly reactive diazoesters. Further, it is found that the rigidity of anionic surfactants can significantly influence the ability of the surfactant layer to

  2. Surfactant phosphatidylcholine metabolism and surfactant function in preterm, ventilated lambs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jobe, A.H.; Ikegami, M.; Seidner, S.R.; Pettenazzo, A.; Ruffini, L.

    1989-01-01

    Preterm lambs were delivered at 138 days gestational age and ventilated for periods up to 24 h in order to study surfactant metabolism and surfactant function. The surfactant-saturated phosphatidylcholine pool in the alveolar wash was 13 +/- 4 mumol/kg and did not change from 10 min to 24 h after birth. Trace amounts of labeled natural sheep surfactant were mixed with fetal lung fluid at birth. By 24 h, 80% of the label had become lung-tissue-associated, yet there was no loss of label from phosphatidylcholine in the lungs when calculated as the sum of the lung tissue plus alveolar wash. De novo synthesized phosphatidylcholine was labeled with choline given by intravascular injection at 1 h of age. Labeled phosphatidylcholine accumulated in the lung tissue linearly to 24 h, and the labeled phosphatidylcholine moved through lamellar body to alveolar pools. The turnover time for alveolar phosphatidylcholine was estimated to be about 13 h, indicating an active metabolic pool. A less surface-active surfactant fraction recovered as a supernatant after centrifugation of the alveolar washes at 40,000 x g increased from birth to 10 min of ventilation, but no subsequent changes in the distribution of surfactant phosphatidylcholine in surfactant fractions occurred. The results were consistent with recycling pathway(s) that maintained surface-active surfactant pools in preterm ventilated lambs

  3. Persurf, a new method to improve surfactant delivery: a study in surfactant depleted rats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wolfram Burkhardt

    Full Text Available PURPOSE: Exogenous surfactant is not very effective in adults with ARDS, since surfactant does not reach atelectatic alveoli. Perfluorocarbons (PFC can recruit atelectatic areas but do not replace impaired endogenous surfactant. A surfactant-PFC-mixture could combine benefits of both therapies. The aim of the proof-of-principal-study was to produce a PFC-in-surfactant emulsion (Persurf and to test in surfactant depleted Wistar rats whether Persurf achieves I. a more homogenous pulmonary distribution and II. a more homogenous recruitment of alveoli when compared with surfactant or PFC alone. METHODS: Three different PFC were mixed with surfactant and phospholipid concentration in the emulsion was measured. After surfactant depletion, animals either received 30 ml/kg of PF5080, 100 mg/kg of stained (green dye Curosurf™ or 30 ml/kg of Persurf. Lungs were fixated after 1 hour of ventilation and alveolar aeration and surfactant distribution was estimated by a stereological approach. RESULTS: Persurf contained 3 mg/ml phospholipids and was stable for more than 48 hours. Persurf-administration improved oxygenation. Histological evaluation revealed a more homogenous surfactant distribution and alveolar inflation when compared with surfactant treated animals. CONCLUSIONS: In surfactant depleted rats administration of PFC-in-surfactant emulsion leads to a more homogenous distribution and aeration of the lung than surfactant alone.

  4. Manipulation and control of instabilities for surfactant-laden liquid film flowing down an inclined plane using a deformable solid layer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomar, Dharmendra S.; Sharma, Gaurav

    2018-01-01

    We analyzed the linear stability of surfactant-laden liquid film with a free surface flowing down an inclined plane under the action of gravity when the inclined plane is coated with a deformable solid layer. For a flow past a rigid incline and in the presence of inertia, the gas-liquid (GL) interface is prone to the free surface instability and the presence of surfactant is known to stabilize the free surface mode when the Marangoni number increases above a critical value. The rigid surface configuration also admits a surfactant induced Marangoni mode which remains stable for film flows with a free surface. This Marangoni mode was observed to become unstable for a surfactant covered film flow past a flexible inclined plane in a creeping flow limit when the wall is made sufficiently deformable. In view of these observations, we investigate the following two aspects. First, what is the effect of inertia on Marangoni mode instability induced by wall deformability? Second, and more importantly, whether it is possible to use a deformable solid coating to obtain stable flow for the surfactant covered film for cases when the Marangoni number is below the critical value required for stabilization of free surface instability. In order to explore the first question, we continued the growth rates for the Marangoni mode from the creeping flow limit to finite Reynolds numbers (Re) and observed that while the increase in Reynolds number has a small stabilizing effect on growth rates, the Marangoni mode still remains unstable for finite Reynolds numbers as long as the wall is sufficiently deformable. The Marangoni mode remains the dominant mode for zero and small Reynolds numbers until the GL mode also becomes unstable with the increase in Re. Thus, for a given set of parameters and beyond a critical Re, there is an exchange of dominant mode of instability from the Marangoni to free surface GL mode. With respect to the second important aspect, our results clearly demonstrate

  5. Self-Assembling, Stable Photonic Bend-Gap Phases in Emulsions of Chiral Nematics with Isotropic Fluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chien-Yueh; Petschek, R. G.

    1998-03-01

    We investigate the possible mesophases in emulsions of chiral nematic liquid crystals with immiscible isotropic fluids and surfactants. The interactions between the orientational fields of the chiral nematics and the surfactant membranes together with the topological constraints affect stability of micellar geometries and produce a new phase diagram. We compare the free energies of various candidate phases. Appropriate, likely realizable conditions on the surfactant and the pitch of the liquid crystal result in thermodynamically stable blue-phase like phases for a relatively wide range of parameters. Processing such emulsions may result in materials with photonic band gaps.

  6. The N-salicylidene aniline mesogen: Microscopic and macroscopic properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nesrullazade, A.

    2004-01-01

    The vast majority of compounds exhibiting Iiquid crystalline phases may be regarded as having a rigid molecular central group with one or two flexible terminal alkyl or alkyloxy chains. The N-saIicyIidene anilines are very interesting and important materials both from fundamental and application points of view. These materials are on the one hand the ligands used to obtain metal containing complexes and on the other hand they are materials having the thermotropic mesomorphism. In this work we present investigations of microscopic and macroscopic properties of the 4-(Octyloxy)-N-(4-hexylphenyl)-2-hydrobenzaIimine (8SA) compound which was synthesized by our group. The 8SA compound shows the smectic C and nematic mesophases. These mesophases are enantiotropic and display specific confocal and schlieren textures, respectively. Thermotropic and thermodynamical properties of the straight and reverse phase transitions between smectic C and nematic mesophases and between nematic mesophase and isotropic liquid have been investigated

  7. Conductometric study of sodium dodecyl sulfate - nonionic surfactant (Triton X-100, Tween 20, Tween 60, Tween 80 or Tween 85 mixed micelles in aqueous solution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ćirin Dejan M.

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study is concerned with the determination of the critical micelle concentration (cmc of mixed micelles of sodium dodecyl sulfate with one of five nonionic surfactants (Triton X-100, Tween 20, Tween 60, Tween 80 or Tween 85 from conductance measurements. Based on the calculated values of the β parameters we have noticed that SDS-nonionic surfactants mostly showed strong synergistic effect. It was found that nonionic surfactants with mainly longer and more hydrophobic tail show stronger interactions with hydrophobic part of SDS, thus expressing stronger synergism. In SDS-Tween 80 binary system the strongest synergistic effect was noticed. SDS-Tween 85 micellar system showed antagonistic effect, most probably because the presence of the double bond in its three hydrophobic tails (three C18 tails makes it sterically rigid.

  8. Properties of surfactant films in water-in-CO2 microemulsions obtained by small-angle neutron scattering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Ci; Sagisaka, Masanobu; James, Craig; Rogers, Sarah; Alexander, Shirin; Eastoe, Julian

    2014-12-01

    The formation, stability and structural properties of normal liquid phase microemulsions, stabilized by hydrocarbon surfactants, comprising water and hydrocarbon oils can be interpreted in terms of the film bending rigidity (energy) model. Here, this model is tested for unusual water-in-CO2 (w/c) microemulsions, formed at high pressure with supercritical CO2 (sc-CO2) as a solvent and fluorinated surfactants as stabilizers. Hence, it is possible to explore the generality of this model for other types of microemulsions. High Pressure Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (HP-SANS) has been used to study w/c microemulsions, using contrast variation to highlight scattering from the stabilizing fluorinated surfactant films: these data show clear evidence for spherical core-shell structures for the microemulsion droplets. The results extend understanding of w/c microemulsions since previous SANS studies are based only on scattering from water core droplets. Here, detailed structural parameters for the surfactant films, such as thickness and film bending energy, have been extracted from the core-shell SANS profiles revealed by controlled contrast variation. Furthermore, at reduced CO2 densities (∼0.7gcm(-3)), elongated cylindrical droplet structures have been observed, which are uncommon for CO2 microemulsions/emulsions. The implications of the presence of cylindrical micelles and droplets for applications of CO2, and viscosity enhancements are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Pulmonary surfactant and lung transplantation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Erasmus, Michiel Elardus

    1997-01-01

    Pulmonary surfactant lowers the surface tension at the air-water interface inside the alveolus. This is achieved by adsorption of surfactant phospholipids at the air-water interface, a process controlled by surfactant-associated proteins, such as SP-A. In this way, surfactant prevents collapse of

  10. Microemulsion-based lycopene extraction: Effect of surfactants, co-surfactants and pretreatments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amiri-Rigi, Atefeh; Abbasi, Soleiman

    2016-04-15

    Lycopene is a potent antioxidant that has received extensive attention recently. Due to the challenges encountered with current methods of lycopene extraction using hazardous solvents, industry calls for a greener, safer and more efficient process. The main purpose of present study was application of microemulsion technique to extract lycopene from tomato pomace. In this respect, the effect of eight different surfactants, four different co-surfactants, and ultrasound and enzyme pretreatments on lycopene extraction efficiency was examined. Experimental results revealed that application of combined ultrasound and enzyme pretreatments, saponin as a natural surfactant, and glycerol as a co-surfactant, in the bicontinuous region of microemulsion was the optimal experimental conditions resulting in a microemulsion containing 409.68±0.68 μg/glycopene. The high lycopene concentration achieved, indicates that microemulsion technique, using a low-cost natural surfactant could be promising for a simple and safe separation of lycopene from tomato pomace and possibly from tomato industrial wastes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Hydrostatic Pressurization of Lung Surfactant Microbubbles: Observation of a Strain-Rate Dependent Elasticity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Alec N; Borden, Mark A

    2017-11-28

    The microbubble offers a unique platform to study lung surfactant mechanics at physiologically relevant geometry and length scale. In this study, we compared the response of microbubbles (∼15 μm initial radius) coated with pure dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) versus naturally derived lung surfactant (SURVANTA) when subjected to linearly increasing hydrostatic pressure at different rates (0.5-2.3 kPa/s) at room temperature. The microbubbles contained perfluorobutane gas and were submerged in buffered saline saturated with perfluorobutane at atmospheric pressure. Bright-field microscopy showed that DPPC microbubbles compressed spherically and smoothly, whereas SURVANTA microbubbles exhibited wrinkling and smoothing cycles associated with buckling and collapse. Seismograph analysis showed that the SURVANTA collapse amplitude was constant, but the collapse rate increased with the pressurization rate. An analysis of the pressure-volume curves indicated that the dilatational elasticity increased during compression for both shell types. The initial dilatational elasticity for SURVANTA was nearly twice that of DPPC at higher pressurization rates (>1.5 kPa/s), producing a pressure drop of up to 60 kPa across the film prior to condensation of the perfluorobutane core. The strain-rate dependent stiffening of SURVANTA shells likely arises from their composition and microstructure, which provide enhanced in-plane monolayer rigidity and lateral repulsion from surface-associated collapse structures. Overall, these results provide new insights into lung surfactant mechanics and collapse behavior during compression.

  12. Structure and Conformational Dynamics of DMPC/Dicationic Surfactant and DMPC/Dicationic Surfactant/DNA Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maciej Kozak

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Amphiphilic dicationic surfactants, known as gemini surfactants, are currently studied for gene delivery purposes. The gemini surfactant molecule is composed of two hydrophilic “head” groups attached to hydrophobic chains and connected via molecular linker between them. The influence of different concentrations of 1,5-bis (1-imidazolilo-3-decyloxymethyl pentane chloride (gemini surfactant on the thermotropic phase behaviour of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC bilayers with and without the presence of DNA was investigated using Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR and circular dichroism (CD spectroscopies, small angle scattering of synchrotron radiation and differential scanning calorimetry. With increasing concentration of surfactant in DMPC/DNA systems, a disappearance of pretransition and a decrease in the main phase transition enthalpy and temperature were observed. The increasing intensity of diffraction peaks as a function of surfactant concentration also clearly shows the ability of the surfactant to promote the organisation of lipid bilayers in the multilayer lamellar phase.

  13. Surfactant Membrane Phases Containing Mixtures of Hydrocarbon and Fluorocarbon Surfactants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    de Campo, Liliana; Warr, G.G.

    2005-01-01

    Full text: We describe the structure and stability of sponge and lamellar phases comprising mixtures of hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon surfactants. Such mixtures can show limited miscibility with each other, forming for example coexisting populations of hydrocarbon rich and fluorocarbon rich micelles under some circumstances. Our system is based on the well-characterised lamellar and sponge phases of cetylpyridinium chloride, hexanol and 0.2M brine, into which the partially fluorinated surfactant N-1H,1H,2H,2H-tridecafluorooctylpyridinium chloride is incorporated. By probing the structures with SAXS (small angle x-ray scattering) and SANS (small angle neutron scattering) using contrast variation, and by characterizing the dynamic properties with dynamic light scattering, we will describe the effect of incorporating the fluorinated surfactant on the phase equilibria and properties of the surfactant membrane structures. (authors)

  14. Surfactant-Mediated Growth Revisited

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meyerheim, H. L.; Sander, D.; Popescu, R.; Pan, W.; Kirschner, J.; Popa, I.

    2007-01-01

    The x-ray structure analysis of the oxygen-surfactant-mediated growth of Ni on Cu(001) identifies up to 0.15 monolayers of oxygen in subsurface octahedral sites. This questions the validity of the general view that surfactant oxygen floats on top of the growing Ni film. Rather, the surfactant action is ascribed to an oxygen-enriched zone extending over the two topmost layers. Surface stress measurements support this finding. Our results have important implications for the microscopic understanding of surfactant-mediated growth and the change of the magnetic anisotropy of the Ni films

  15. Surfactants in tribology

    CERN Document Server

    Biresaw, Girma

    2014-01-01

    Surface science and tribology play very critical roles in many industries. Manufacture and use of almost all consumer and industrial products rely on the application of advanced surface and tribological knowledge. The fourth in a series, Surfactants in Tribology, Volume 4 provides an update on research and development activities connecting surfactants and tribological phenomena. Written by renowned subject matter experts, the book demonstrates how improved design of surfactants can be harnessed to control tribological phenomena. Profusely illustrated and copiously referenced, the chapters also

  16. Unique graphitized mesophase carbon microbead@niobium carbide-derived carbon composites as high performance anode materials of lithium-ion battery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuan, Xiulan; Cong, Ye; Yu, Yanyan; Li, Xuanke; Zhang, Jiang; Dong, Zhijun; Yuan, Guanming; Cui, Zhengwei; Li, Yanjun

    2017-01-01

    To meet the requirements of the energy storage materials for high energy density and high power density, unique niobium carbide-derived carbon (NbC-CDC) coated graphitized mesophase carbon microbead (GMCMB) composites (GMCMB@NbC-CDC) with core-shell structure were prepared by chlorinating the precursor of graphitization mesophase carbon microbead@niobium carbide. The microstructure of NbC-CDC was characterized as mainly amorphous carbon combined with short and curved sheets of graphene, and the order degree of carbon layers increases with the chlorination temperature. The composites exhibited a tunable specific surface area and micropore volume, with micropore size of 0.6∼0.7 nm. Compared with the pure GMCMB, the GMCMB@NbC-CDC composites manifested higher charge (726.9 mAh g"−"1) and discharge capacities (458.9 mAh g"−"1) at the first cycle, which was probably that Li ions could insert into not only carbon layers of GMCMB but also micropores of NbC-CDC. After 100 cycles, the discharge capacity of GMCMB@NbC-CDC chlorinated at 800 °C still kept 384.6 mAh g"−"1, which was much higher than that of the pure GMCMB (305.2 mAh g"−"1). Furthermore, the GMCMB@NbC-CDC composites presented better rate performance at higher current densities.

  17. Computational Design of High-χ Block Oligomers for Accessing 1 nm Domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Qile P; Barreda, Leonel; Oquendo, Luis E; Hillmyer, Marc A; Lodge, Timothy P; Siepmann, J Ilja

    2018-05-22

    Molecular dynamics simulations are used to design a series of high-χ block oligomers (HCBOs) that can self-assemble into a variety of mesophases with domain sizes as small as 1 nm. The exploration of these oligomers with various chain lengths, volume fractions, and chain architectures at multiple temperatures reveals the presence of ordered lamellae, perforated lamellae, and hexagonally packed cylinders. The achieved periods are as small as 3.0 and 2.1 nm for lamellae and cylinders, respectively, which correspond to polar domains of approximately 1 nm. Interestingly, the detailed phase behavior of these oligomers is distinct from that of either solvent-free surfactants or block polymers. The simulations reveal that the behavior of these HCBOs is a product of an interplay between both "surfactant factors" (headgroup interactions, chain flexibility, and interfacial curvature) and "block polymer factors" (χ, chain length N, and volume fraction f). This insight promotes the understanding of molecular features pivotal for mesophase formation at the sub-5 nm length scale, which facilitates the design of HCBOs tailored toward particular desired morphologies.

  18. Surfactant replacement therapy--economic impact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pejaver, R K; al Hifzi, I; Aldussari, S

    2001-06-01

    Surfactant replacement is an effective treatment for neonatal respiratory distress syndrome. (RDS). As widespread use of surfactant is becoming a reality, it is important to assess the economic implications of this new form of therapy. A comparison study was carried out at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Northwest Armed Forces Hospital, Saudi Arabia. Among 75 infants who received surfactant for RDS and similar number who were managed during time period just before the surfactant was available, but by set criteria would have made them eligible for surfactant. All other management modalities except surfactant were the same for all these babies. Based on the intensity of monitoring and nursing care required by the baby, the level of care was divided as: Level IIIA, IIIB, Level II, Level I. The cost per day per bed for each level was calculated, taking into account the use of hospital immovable equipment, personal salaries of nursing, medical, ancillary staff, overheads and maintenance, depreciation and replacement costs. Medications used, procedures done, TPN, oxygen, were all added to individual patient's total expenditure. 75 infants in the Surfactant group had 62 survivors. They spent a total of 4300 days in hospital. (av 69.35) Out of which 970 d (av 15.65 per patient) were ventilated days. There were 56 survivors in the non-surfactant group of 75. They had spent a total of 5023 days in the hospital (av 89.69/patient) out of which 1490 were ventilated days (av 26.60 d). Including the cost of surfactant (two doses), cost of hospital stay for each infant taking the average figures of stay would be SR 118, 009.75 per surfactant treated baby and SR 164, 070.70 per non-surfactant treated baby. The difference of 46,061 SR is 39.03% more in non-surfactant group. One Saudi rial = 8 Rs (approx at the time study was carried out.) Medical care cost varies from place to place. However, it is definitely cost-effective where surfactant is concerned. Quality adjusted

  19. Surfactant -- Where Are We in 2003?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    JF Lewis

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Surfactant research has progressed over the past several years to the extent that exogenous surfactant administration in patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS is now being evaluated. Unfortunately, clinical responses have been variable, and we now need to take a look at how surfactant is altered in this disease so that more effective treatment strategies can be developed. This review briefly discusses the biophysical and host defense properties of surfactant, the impact of mechanical ventilation (MV on the endogenous surfactant system and the most recent clinical data involving exogenous surfactant administration in patients with ARDS. Discussions regarding future directions of surfactant research both in ARDS and diseases other than acute lung injury are included.

  20. Thermodynamics of non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100-cationic surfactants mixtures at the cloud point

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Batigoec, Cigdem; Akbas, Halide; Boz, Mesut

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Non-ionic surfactants are used as emulsifier and solubilizate in such as textile, detergent and cosmetic. → Non-ionic surfactants occur phase separation at temperature as named the cloud point in solution. → Dimeric surfactants have attracted increasing attention due to their superior surface activity. → The positive values of ΔG cp 0 indicate that the process proceeds nonspontaneous. - Abstract: This study investigates the effects of gemini and conventional cationic surfactants on the cloud point (CP) of the non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 (TX-100) in aqueous solutions. Instead of visual observation, a spectrophotometer was used for measurement of the cloud point temperatures. The thermodynamic parameters of these mixtures were calculated at different cationic surfactant concentrations. The gemini surfactants of the alkanediyl-α-ω-bis (alkyldimethylammonium) dibromide type, on the one hand, with different alkyl groups containing m carbon atoms and an ethanediyl spacer, referred to as 'm-2-m' (m = 10, 12, and 16) and, on the other hand, with -C 16 alkyl groups and different spacers containing s carbon atoms, referred to as '16-s-16' (s = 6 and 10) were synthesized, purified and characterized. Additions of the cationic surfactants to the TX-100 solution increased the cloud point temperature of the TX-100 solution. It was accepted that the solubility of non-ionic surfactant containing polyoxyethylene (POE) hydrophilic chain was a maximum at the cloud point so that the thermodynamic parameters were calculated at this temperature. The results showed that the standard Gibbs free energy (ΔG cp 0 ), the enthalpy (ΔH cp 0 ) and the entropy (ΔS cp 0 ) of the clouding phenomenon were found positive in all cases. The standard free energy (ΔG cp 0 ) increased with increasing hydrophobic alkyl chain for both gemini and conventional cationic surfactants; however, it decreased with increasing surfactant concentration.

  1. MICROBIAL SURFACTANTS IN ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. P. Pirog

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available It was shown literature and own experimental data concerning the use of microbial surface active glycolipids (rhamno-, sophoro- and trehalose lipids and lipopeptides for water and soil purification from oil and other hydrocarbons, removing toxic heavy metals (Cu2+, Cd2+, Ni2+, Pb2+, degradation of complex pollution (oil and other hydrocarbons with heavy metals, and the role of microbial surfactants in phytoremediation processes. The factors that limit the use of microbial surfactants in environmental technologies are discussed. Thus, at certain concentrations biosurfactant can exhibit antimicrobial properties and inhibit microorganisms destructing xenobiotics. Microbial biodegradability of surfactants may also reduce the effectiveness of bioremediation. Development of effective technologies using microbial surfactants should include the following steps: monitoring of contaminated sites to determine the nature of pollution and analysis of the autochthonous microbiota; determining the mode of surfactant introduction (exogenous addition of stimulation of surfactant synthesis by autochthonous microbiota; establishing an optimal concentration of surfactant to prevent exhibition of antimicrobial properties and rapid biodegradation; research both in laboratory and field conditions.

  2. Understanding geological processes: Visualization of rigid and non-rigid transformations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shipley, T. F.; Atit, K.; Manduca, C. A.; Ormand, C. J.; Resnick, I.; Tikoff, B.

    2012-12-01

    Visualizations are used in the geological sciences to support reasoning about structures and events. Research in cognitive sciences offers insights into the range of skills of different users, and ultimately how visualizations might support different users. To understand the range of skills needed to reason about earth processes we have developed a program of research that is grounded in the geosciences' careful description of the spatial and spatiotemporal patterns associated with earth processes. In particular, we are pursuing a research program that identifies specific spatial skills and investigates whether and how they are related to each other. For this study, we focus on a specific question: Is there an important distinction in the geosciences between rigid and non-rigid deformation? To study a general spatial thinking skill we employed displays with non-geological objects that had been altered by rigid change (rotation), and two types of non-rigid change ("brittle" (or discontinuous) and "ductile" (or continuous) deformation). Disciplinary scientists (geosciences and chemistry faculty), and novices (non-science faculty and undergraduate psychology students) answered questions that required them to visualize the appearance of the object before the change. In one study, geologists and chemists were found to be superior to non-science faculty in reasoning about rigid rotations (e.g., what an object would look like from a different perspective). Geologists were superior to chemists in reasoning about brittle deformations (e.g., what an object looked like before it was broken - here the object was a word cut into many fragments displaced in different directions). This finding is consistent with two hypotheses: 1) Experts are good at visualizing the types of changes required for their domain; and 2) Visualization of rigid and non-rigid changes are not the same skill. An additional important finding is that there was a broad range of skill in both rigid and non-rigid

  3. Dynamic covalent surfactants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Minkenberg, C.B.

    2012-01-01

    In this thesis the development of surfactant aggregates with fast exchange dynamics between the aggregated and non-aggregated state is described. Dynamic surfactant exchange plays an important role in natural systems, for instance in cell signaling, cell division, and uptake and release of cargo.

  4. Lung surfactant levels are regulated by Ig-Hepta/GPR116 by monitoring surfactant protein D.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taku Fukuzawa

    Full Text Available Lung surfactant is a complex mixture of lipids and proteins, which is secreted from the alveolar type II epithelial cell and coats the surface of alveoli as a thin layer. It plays a crucial role in the prevention of alveolar collapse through its ability to reduce surface tension. Under normal conditions, surfactant homeostasis is maintained by balancing its release and the uptake by the type II cell for recycling and the internalization by alveolar macrophages for degradation. Little is known about how the surfactant pool is monitored and regulated. Here we show, by an analysis of gene-targeted mice exhibiting massive accumulation of surfactant, that Ig-Hepta/GPR116, an orphan receptor, is expressed on the type II cell and sensing the amount of surfactant by monitoring one of its protein components, surfactant protein D, and its deletion results in a pulmonary alveolar proteinosis and emphysema-like pathology. By a coexpression experiment with Sp-D and the extracellular region of Ig-Hepta/GPR116 followed by immunoprecipitation, we identified Sp-D as the ligand of Ig-Hepta/GPR116. Analyses of surfactant metabolism in Ig-Hepta(+/+ and Ig-Hepta(-/- mice by using radioactive tracers indicated that the Ig-Hepta/GPR116 signaling system exerts attenuating effects on (i balanced synthesis of surfactant lipids and proteins and (ii surfactant secretion, and (iii a stimulating effect on recycling (uptake in response to elevated levels of Sp-D in alveolar space.

  5. Treatment with exogenous surfactant stimulates endogenous surfactant synthesis in premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bunt, JEH; Carnielli, VP; Janssen, DJ; Wattimena, JLD; Hop, WC; Sauer, PJ; Zimmermann, LJI

    2000-01-01

    Objective: Treatment of preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) with exogenous surfactant has greatly improved clinical outcome. Some infants require multiple doses, and it has not been studied whether these large amounts of exogenous surfactant disturb endogenous surfactant

  6. Surfactant nebulisation : lung function, surfactant distribution and pulmonary blood flow distribution in lung lavaged rabbits

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijk, Peter H.; Heikamp, A; Bambang Oetomo, Sidarto

    1997-01-01

    Objective: Surfactant nebulisation is a promising alternative to surfactant instillation in newborns with the respiratory distress syndrome. Although less surfactant is deposited in the lung, it improves gas exchange, probably due to a superior distribution. We hypothesize that a more uniform

  7. Surfactants from petroleum paraffin wax

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kassem, T.M.; Hussein, M.H.; El Sayed, A.S.

    Paraffin wax from Egyptian petroleum was purified and then oxidized to fatty acids which were esterified to form their methyl esters, fractionated and then hydrolysed. The obtained fatty acids were converted into the corresponding primary amines which were converted with ethylene oxide to form nonionic surfactants. The prepared primary amines were also converted into tertiary amines and then converted into cationic surfactants through condensation with benzyl chloride or 1-chloromethylnaphthalene. Also, amine oxide surfactants were prepared by oxidation of the tertiary amines with hydrogen peroxide. The surface active properties of all the prepared surfactants were determined, and the effect of their chemical structure on the surfactant properties are discussed in this paper.

  8. Rigid multibody system dynamics with uncertain rigid bodies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Batou, A., E-mail: anas.batou@univ-paris-est.fr; Soize, C., E-mail: christian.soize@univ-paris-est.fr [Universite Paris-Est, Laboratoire Modelisation et Simulation Multi Echelle, MSME UMR 8208 CNRS (France)

    2012-03-15

    This paper is devoted to the construction of a probabilistic model of uncertain rigid bodies for multibody system dynamics. We first construct a stochastic model of an uncertain rigid body by replacing the mass, the center of mass, and the tensor of inertia by random variables. The prior probability distributions of the stochastic model are constructed using the maximum entropy principle under the constraints defined by the available information. The generators of independent realizations corresponding to the prior probability distribution of these random quantities are further developed. Then several uncertain rigid bodies can be linked to each other in order to calculate the random response of a multibody dynamical system. An application is proposed to illustrate the theoretical development.

  9. Acute Pathophysiological Effects of Intratracheal Instillation of Budesonide and Exogenous Surfactant in a Neonatal Surfactant-depleted Piglet Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chia-Feng Yang

    2010-08-01

    Conclusions: Intratracheal instillation of surfactant or surfactant plus budesonide can improve oxygenation and pulmonary histologic outcome in neonatal surfactant-depleted lungs. The additional use of budesonide does not disturb the function of the exogenous surfactant. Intratracheal administration of a corticosteroid combined with surfactant may be an effective method for alleviating local pulmonary inflammation in severe RDS.

  10. Surfactant flooding of diesel-contaminated soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peters, R.W.; Montemagno, C.D.; Shem, L.; Lewis, B.A.

    1991-01-01

    At one installation, approximately 60,000 gallons of No. 2 diesel fuel leaked into the subsurface environment, with contamination at depths of 6 to 34 m below the surface. Argonne National Laboratory was contracted to perform treatability studies for site remediation. The treatability studies focused on four separate phases: (1) leachability studies on the various contaminated soil borings, (2) air stripping studies, (3) bioremediation studies, and (4) surfactant screening/surfactant flooding studies. This paper summarizes the fourth phase of this research program after initial surfactant screening of 21 surfactants. Three of the surfactants were used for the surfactant flooding studies; the results from that phase of the research program are described

  11. Study of conformation and dynamic of surfactant molecules in graphite oxide via NMR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ai, X.Q. [Jiangsu Second Normal University, College of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Nanjing (China); Ma, L.G. [Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, School of Electronic Engineering, Nanjing (China)

    2016-08-15

    The conformation and dynamic of surfactant in graphite oxide (GO) was investigated by solid-state {sup 13}C magic-angle-spinning NMR and {sup 1}H-{sup 13}C cross-polarization/magic-angle-spinning NMR spectra. The conformation ordering of the alkyl chains in the confined system shows strong dependence on its orientation. While the alkyl chains parallel to the GO layer in lateral monolayer arrangement are in gauche conformation in addition to a small amount of all-trans conformation, those with orientation radiating away from the GO in paraffin bilayer arrangement is in all-trans conformation in addition to some gauche conformation even though high-order diffraction peaks appears. NMR results suggest that the least mobile segment is located at the GO-surfactant interface corresponding to the N-methylene group. Further from it, the mobility of the alkyl chain increases. The terminal methyl and N-methyl carbon groups have the highest mobile. The chains in all-trans conformational state are characterized as more rigid than chains with gauche conformation; each segment of the confined alkyl chains with the lateral monolayer arrangement exhibits less mobility as compared to that with the paraffin bilayer arrangement. (orig.)

  12. Fluorescent visualization of a spreading surfactant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fallest, David W; Lichtenberger, Adele M; Fox, Christopher J; Daniels, Karen E, E-mail: kdaniel@ncsu.ed [Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 (United States)

    2010-07-15

    The spreading of surfactants on thin films is an industrially and medically important phenomenon, but the dynamics are highly nonlinear and visualization of the surfactant dynamics has been a long-standing experimental challenge. We perform the first quantitative, spatiotemporally resolved measurements of the spreading of an insoluble surfactant on a thin fluid layer. During the spreading process, we directly observe both the radial height profile of the spreading droplet and the spatial distribution of the fluorescently tagged surfactant. We find that the leading edge of a spreading circular layer of surfactant forms a Marangoni ridge in the underlying fluid, with a trough trailing the ridge as expected. However, several novel features are observed using the fluorescence technique, including a peak in the surfactant concentration that trails the leading edge, and a flat, monolayer-scale spreading film that differs from concentration profiles predicted by current models. Both the Marangoni ridge and the surfactant leading edge can be described to spread as R{approx}t{sup {delta}}. We find spreading exponents {delta}{sub H}{approx}0.30 and {delta}{sub {Gamma}}{approx}0.22 for the ridge peak and surfactant leading edge, respectively, which are in good agreement with theoretical predictions of {delta}=1/4. In addition, we observe that the surfactant leading edge initially leads the peak of the Marangoni ridge, with the peak later catching up to the leading edge.

  13. Surfactant screening of diesel-contaminated soil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peters, R.W.; Montemagno, C.D.; Shem, L.; Lewis, B.-A.

    1992-01-01

    At one installation in California, approximately 60,000 gal of No. 2 diesel fuel leaked into the subsurface environment, resulting in contamination at depths from 6 to 34 m below the surface. Argonne National Laboratory was contracted to perform treatability studies for site remediation. This paper summarizes a surfactant screening/surfactant flooding research program in which 22 surfactants were screened for their effectiveness in mobilizing the organics from the contaminated soil prior to bioremediation. Anionic surfactants resulted in the greatest degree of diesel mobilization. The most promising surfactants will be employed on contaminated soil samples obtained from the site

  14. Surfactant nebulization versus instillation during high frequency ventilation in surfactant-deficient rabbits

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijk, Peter H.; Heikamp, A; Bambang Oetomo, Sidarto

    Surfactant nebulization improves lung function at low alveolar doses of surfactant. However, efficiency of nebulization is low, and lung deposition seems to depend on lung aeration. High frequency ventilation (HFV) has been shown to improve lung aeration. We hypothesize that the combination of HFV

  15. Probing the Texture of the Calamitic Liquid Crystalline Dimer of 4-(4-Pentenyloxybenzoic Acid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maher A. Qaddoura

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The liquid crystalline dimer of 4-(4-pentenyloxybenzoic acid, a member of the n-alkoxybenzoic acid homologous series, was synthesized using potassium carbonate supported on alumina as catalyst. The acid dimer complex exhibited three mesophases; identified as nematic, smectic X1 and smectic X2. Phase transition temperatures and the corresponding enthalpies were recorded using differential scanning calorimetry upon both heating and cooling. The mesophases were identified by detailed texture observations by variable temperature polarized light microscopy. The nematic phase was distinguished by a fluid Schlieren texture and defect points (four and two brushes while the smectic phases were distinguished by rigid marble and mosaic textures, respectively.

  16. Solubilization of Hydrophobic Dyes in Surfactant Solutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Reza Tehrani-Bagha

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the use of surfactants for solubilization of hydrophobic organic dyes (mainly solvent and disperse dyes has been reviewed. The effect of parameters such as the chemical structures of the surfactant and the dye, addition of salt and of polyelectrolytes, pH, and temperature on dye solubilization has been discussed. Surfactant self-assemble into micelles in aqueous solution and below the concentration where this occurs—the critical micelle concentration (CMC—there is no solubilization. Above the CMC, the amount of solubilized dye increases linearly with the increase in surfactant concentration. It is demonstrated that different surfactants work best for different dyes. In general, nonionic surfactants have higher solubilization power than anionic and cationic surfactants. It is likely that the reason for the good performance of nonionic surfactants is that they allow dyes to be accommodated not only in the inner, hydrocarbon part of the micelle but also in the headgroup shell. It is demonstrated that the location of a dye in a surfactant micelle can be assessed from the absorption spectrum of the dye-containing micellar solution.

  17. Formation, thermodynamic properties, microstructures and antimicrobial activity of mixed cationic/non-ionic surfactant microemulsions with isopropyl myristate as oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bardhan, Soumik; Kundu, Kaushik; Das, Sajal; Poddar, Madhumita; Saha, Swapan K; Paul, Bidyut K

    2014-09-15

    Modification of the interface by blending of surfactants produces considerable changes in the elastic rigidity of the interface, which in turn affects the physicochemical properties of w/o microemulsions. Hence, it could be possible to tune the thermodynamic properties, microstructures and antimicrobial activity of microemulsions by using ionic/non-ionic mixed surfactants and polar lipophilic oil, which are widely used in biologically relevant systems. The present report was aimed at precise characterization of mixed cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and polyoxyethylene (23) lauryl ether microemulsions stabilized in 1-pentanol (Pn) and isopropyl myristate at different physicochemical conditions by employing phase studies, the dilution method, conductivity, DLS, FTIR (with HOD probing) and (1)H NMR measurements. Further, microbiological activities at different compositions were examined against two bacterial strains Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli at 303 K. The formation of mixed surfactant microemulsions was found to be spontaneous at all compositions, whereas it was endothermic at equimolar composition. FTIR and (1)H NMR measurements showed the existence of bulk-like, bound and trapped water molecules in confined environments. Interestingly, composition dependence of both highest and lowest inhibitory effects was observed against the bacterial strains, whereas similar features in spontaneity of microemulsion formation were also evidenced. These results suggested a close relationship between thermodynamic stability and antimicrobial activities. Such studies on polar lipophilic oil derived mixed surfactant microemulsions have not been reported earlier. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. NMR study of the dynamics of cationic gemini surfactant 14-2-14 in mixed solutions with conventional surfactants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Yan; Lu, Xing-Yu; Chen, Hong; Mao, Shi-Zhen; Liu, Mai-Li; Luo, Ping-Ya; Du, You-Ru

    2009-06-18

    Three kinds of conventional surfactants, namely, two nonionic surfactants [polyethylene glycol (23) lauryl ether (Brij-35) and Triton X-100 (TX-100)], one cationic surfactant [n-tetradecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (TTAB)], and an anionic surfactant [sodium n-dodecyl sulfate (SDS)}, were mixed into the quaternary ammonium gemini surfactant [C(14)H(29)N(+)(CH(3))(2)](2)(CH(2))(2).2Br(-) (14-2-14) in aqueous solution. The exchange rate constants between 14-2-14 molecules in the mixed micelles and those in the bulk solution were detected using two nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods: one-dimensional (1D) line shape analysis and two-dimensional (2D) exchange spectroscopy (EXSY). The results obtained from these two methods were consistent. Both showed that mixing a nonionic conventional surfactant, either Brij-35 or TX-100, enhanced the exchange process between the 14-2-14 molecules in the mixed micelles and those in the bulk solution. In contrast, the anionic surfactant SDS and the cationic surfactant TTAB slowed the process slightly.

  19. Pulmonary clearance of {sup 99m}Tc-DTPA in experimental surfactant dysfunction treated with surfactant installation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nilsson, K.; John, J.; Lachmann, B.; Robertson, B.; Wollmer, P.

    1997-02-01

    Background: Breakdown of the alveolo-capillary barrier is a characteristic feature of respiratory distress syndrome. Restoration of alveolo-capillary barrier function may be an important aspect of surfactant replacement therapy. We examined the effect of surfactant installation on alveolo-capillary barrier function in an experimental model of surfactant dysfunction by measuring pulmonary clearance of {sup 99m}Tc-DTPA. Methods: Nineteen rabbits were tracheotomized and mechanically ventilated. Surfactant dysfunction was induced by administration of a synthetic detergent in aerosol form. Detergent was given to 13 rabbits; seven rabbits were then treated with installation of natural surfactant, whereas six rabbits received saline. Six rabbits were used as untreated controls. An aerosol of {sup 99m}Tc-DTPA was administered to all animals and the pulmonary clearance was measured with a gamma camera. Results: {sup 99m}Tc-DTPA cleared from the lungs with a half-life of 71{+-}22 min in the control animals, 21.4{+-}7.4 min in the surfactant-treated animals and 5.8{+-}1.5 min in the saline-treated animals. The difference in half-life between groups was highly significant (P<0.001). There was no change in arterial oxygenation or compliance in controls or in animals treated with saline. In animals treated with surfactant, a small transient reduction in arterial oxygen tension and a more long-standing reduction in compliance were observed. Conclusion: Surfactant treatment thus significantly attenuated the effect of detergent treatment but did not restore alveolo-capillary transfer of {sup 99m}Tc-DTPA to normal. (AU) 26 refs.

  20. Surfactant protein A and surfactant protein D variation in pulmonary disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Grith Lykke; Husby, Steffen; Holmskov, Uffe

    2007-01-01

    Surfactant proteins A (SP-A) and D (SP-D) have been implicated in pulmonary innate immunity. The proteins are host defense lectins, belonging to the collectin family which also includes mannan-binding lectin (MBL). SP-A and SP-D are pattern-recognition molecules with the lectin domains binding...... lavage and blood have indicated associations with a multitude of pulmonary inflammatory diseases. In addition, accumulating evidence in mouse models of infection and inflammation indicates that recombinant forms of the surfactant proteins are biologically active in vivo and may have therapeutic potential...... in controlling pulmonary inflammatory disease. The presence of the surfactant collectins, especially SP-D, in non-pulmonary tissues, such as the gastrointestinal tract and genital organs, suggest additional actions located to other mucosal surfaces. The aim of this review is to summarize studies on genetic...

  1. Adsorption of dimeric surfactants in lamellar silicates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Balcerzak, Mateusz; Pietralik, Zuzanna [Department of Macromolecular Physics, Faculty of Physics, A. Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 85, 61-614 Poznań (Poland); Domka, Ludwik [Department of Metalorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, A. Mickiewicz University, Grunwaldzka 6, 60-780 Poznań (Poland); Skrzypczak, Andrzej [Institute of Chemical Technology, Poznań University of Technology, Berdychowo 4, 60-965 Poznań (Poland); Kozak, Maciej, E-mail: mkozak@amu.edu.pl [Department of Macromolecular Physics, Faculty of Physics, A. Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 85, 61-614 Poznań (Poland)

    2015-12-01

    Highlights: • The intercalation of dimeric surfactants changed the morphology of MMT samples. • XRD indicated structures formed by surfactant molecules in interlayer space. • The four-step thermal decomposition of dimeric surfactant, confirms intercalation. - Abstract: The adsorption of different types of cationic surfactants in lamellar silicates changes their surface character from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. This study was undertaken to obtain lamellar silicates modified by a series of novel dimeric (gemini) surfactants of different length alkyl chains and to characterise these organophilised materials. Synthetic sodium montmorillonite SOMASIF® ME 100 (M) and enriched bentonite of natural origin (Nanoclay – hydrophilic bentonite®) were organophilised with dimeric (gemini) surfactants (1,1′-(1,4-butanediyl)bis(alkoxymethyl)imidazolium dichlorides). As a result of surfactant molecule adsorption in interlamellar space, the d-spacing (d{sub 001}) increased from 0.97 nm (for the anhydrous structure) to 2.04 nm. A Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis of the modified systems reveals bands assigned to the stretching vibrations of the CH{sub 2} and CH{sub 3} groups and the scissoring vibrations of the NH group from the structure of the dimeric surfactants. Thermogravimetric (TG) and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) studies imply a four-stage process of surfactant decomposition. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images provide information on the influence of dimeric surfactant intercalation into the silicate structures. Particles of the modified systems show a tendency toward the formation of irregularly shaped agglomerates.

  2. Biodegradation of surfactant bearing wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chitra, S.; Chandran, S.; Sasidhar, P.; Lal, K.B.; Amalraj, R.V.

    1991-01-01

    In nuclear industry, during decontamination of protective wears and contaminated materials, detergents are employed to bring down the level of radioactive contamination within safe limits. However, the surfactant present in these wastes interferes in the chemical treatment process, reducing the decontamination factor. Biodegradation is an efficient and ecologically safe method for surfactant removal. A surfactant degrading culture was isolated and inoculated separately into simulated effluents containing 1% yeast extract and 5-100 ppm sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and 1% yeast extract and 5-100 ppm of commercial detergent respectively. The growth of the bacterial culture and the degradation characteristics of the surfactant in the above effluents were monitored under both dynamic and static conditions. (author). 6 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab

  3. Estimation hydrophilic-lipophilic balance number of surfactants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pawignya, Harsa, E-mail: harsa-paw@yahoo.co.id [Chemical Engineering Department Diponegoro University (Indonesia); Chemical Engineering Departement University of Pembangunan Nasional Yogyakarta (Indonesia); Prasetyaningrum, Aji, E-mail: ajiprasetyaningrum@gmail.com; Kusworo, Tutuk D.; Pramudono, Bambang, E-mail: Pramudono2004@yahoo.com [Chemical Engineering Department Diponegoro University (Indonesia); Dyartanti, Endah R. [Chemical Engineering Department Diponegoro University (Indonesia); Chemical Enginering Departement Sebelas Maret University (Indonesia)

    2016-02-08

    Any type of surfactant has a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance number (HLB number) of different. There are several methods for determining the HLB number, with ohysical properties of surfactant (solubility cloud point and interfacial tension), CMC methods and by thermodynamics properties (Free energy Gibbs). This paper proposes to determined HLB numbers from interfelation methods. The result of study indicated that the CMC method described by Hair and Moulik espesially for nonionic surfactant. The application of exess Gibbs free energy and by implication activity coefficient provides the ability to predict the behavior of surfactants in multi component mixtures of different concentration. Determination of HLB number by solubility and cloud point parameter is spesific for anionic and nonionic surfactant but this methods not available for cationic surfactants.

  4. Molecular Origin of Model Membrane Bending Rigidity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurtisovski, Erol; Taulier, Nicolas; Waks, Marcel; Ober, Raymond; Urbach, Wladimir

    2007-01-01

    The behavior of the bending modulus κ of bilayers in lamellar phases was studied by Small Angle X-ray Scattering technique for various nonionic C i E j surfactants. The bilayers are either unswollen and dispersed in water or swollen by water and dispersed in dodecane. For unswollen bilayers, the values of κ decrease with both an increase in the area per surfactant molecule and in the polar head length. They increase when the aliphatic chain length increases at constant area per surfactant molecule. Whereas for water-swollen membranes, the values of κ decrease as the content of water increases converging to the value of the single monolayer bending modulus. Such a behavior results from the decoupling of the fluctuations of the two surfactant membrane monolayers. Our results emphasize the determinant contribution of the surfactant conformation to κ

  5. Degradation of surfactants by sono-irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashokkumar, M.; Grieser, F.; Vinodgopal, K.

    2000-01-01

    Full text: The ultrasound induced decomposition of a commercially available polydisperse nonylphenol ethoxylate surfactant (Teric GN9) has been investigated. Nearly 90% mineralization and/or degradation into volatile products of the surfactant is achieved after sonication for 24 hours. Ultrasound has been found to be a useful tool to achieve a number of chemical processes. Linear and branched alkyl benzene sulfonates and alkyl nonylphenol ethoxylates are widely used surfactants which accumulated in the environment and contribute to a well-recognised pollution problem. We have investigated the use of ultrasound in the degradation of both types of surfactants with the aim of understanding the mechanism of degradation in order to optimise the decomposition process. In this presentation, we report on the sonochemical degradation of Teric GN9- polydisperse, a nonylphenol ethoxylate with an average of 9 ethylene oxide units. The ultrasound unit used for the degradation studies of the surfactant solutions was an Allied Signal (ELAC Nautik) RF generator and transducer with a plate diameter of 54.5 mm operated at 363 kHz in continuous wave mode at an intensity of 2 W/cm 2 . Ultrasound induced cavitation events generate primary radicals inside gas/vapour filled bubbles. Due to the extreme conditions (T ∼ 5000 K; P ∼ 100 atm) generated within the collapsing bubble, H and OH radicals are produced by the homolysis of water molecules, if water is the medium of sonication. These primary radicals attack the surfactant molecules adsorbed at the bubble/water interface. The initial rate of reaction of the surfactant was found to be dependent on the monomer concentration in solution below and above the critical micelle concentration of the surfactants. This result strongly suggests that the initial radical attack on the surfactants occurs at the cavitation bubble/solution interface, followed by oxidative decomposition and pyrolysis of volatile fragments of the surfactant within

  6. Poly(ethylene oxide) surfactant polymers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vacheethasanee, Katanchalee; Wang, Shuwu; Qiu, Yongxing; Marchant, Roger E

    2004-01-01

    We report on a series of structurally well-defined surfactant polymers that undergo surface-induced self-assembly on hydrophobic biomaterial surfaces. The surfactant polymers consist of a poly(vinyl amine) backbone with poly(ethylene oxide) and hexanal pendant groups. The poly(vinyl amine) (PVAm) was synthesized by hydrolysis of poly(N-vinyl formamide) following free radical polymerization of N-vinyl formamide. Hexanal and aldehyde-terminated poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) were simultaneously attached to PVAm via reductive amination. Surfactant polymers with different PEO:hexanal ratios and hydrophilic/hydrophobic balances were prepared, and characterized by FT-IR, 1H-NMR and XPS spectroscopies. Surface active properties at the air/water interface were determined by surface tension measurements. Surface activity at a solid surface/water interface was demonstrated by atomic force microscopy, showing epitaxially molecular alignment for surfactant polymers adsorbed on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. The surfactant polymers described in this report can be adapted for simple non-covalent surface modification of biomaterials and hydrophobic surfaces to provide highly hydrated interfaces.

  7. Surfactant screening of diesel-contaminated soil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peters, R.W.; Shem, L.; Montemagno, C.D.; Lewis, B.

    1991-01-01

    At one installation, approximately 60,000 gal of No. 2 diesel fuel leaked into the subsurface environment, with contamination at depths of 6 to 34 m below the surface. Argonne National Laboratory was contracted to perform treatability studies for site remediation. The treatability studies focused on four separate phases: (1) leachability studies on the various contaminated soil borings, (2) air stripping studies, (3) bioremediation studies, and (4) surfactant screening/surfactant flooding studies. This paper summarizes the fourth phase of the research program in which 21 surfactants were screened for possible use to mobilize the organics from the contaminated soil prior to bioremediation. Anionic surfactants resulted in the greatest degree of diesel mobilization. The most promising surfactants will be employed on actual contaminated soil samples obtained from the site

  8. The role of curvature in silica mesoporous crystals

    KAUST Repository

    Miyasaka, Keiichi

    2012-02-08

    Silica mesoporous crystals (SMCs) offer a unique opportunity to study micellar mesophases. Replication of non-equilibrium mesophases into porous silica structures allows the characterization of surfactant phases under a variety of chemical and physical perturbations, through methods not typically accessible to liquid crystal chemists. A poignant example is the use of electron microscopy and crystallography, as discussed herein, for the purpose of determining the fundamental role of amphiphile curvature, namely mean curvature and Gaussian curvature, which have been extensively studied in various fields such as polymer, liquid crystal, biological membrane, etc. The present work aims to highlight some current studies devoted to the interface curvature on SMCs, in which electron microscopy and electron crystallography (EC) are used to understand the geometry of silica wall surface in bicontinuous and cage-type mesostructures through the investigation of electrostatic potential maps. Additionally, we show that by altering the synthesis conditions during the preparation of SMCs, it is possible to isolate particles during micellar mesophase transformations in the cubic bicontinuous system, allowing us to view and study epitaxial relations under the specific synthesis conditions. By studying the relationship between mesoporous structure, interface curvature and micellar mesophases using electron microscopy and EC, we hope to bring new insights into the formation mechanism of these unique materials but also contribute a new way of understanding periodic liquid crystal systems. © 2012 The Royal Society.

  9. The role of curvature in silica mesoporous crystals

    KAUST Repository

    Miyasaka, Keiichi; Bennett, Alfonso Garcia; Han, Lu; Han, Yu; Xiao, Changhong; Fujita, Nobuhisa; Castle, Toen; Sakamoto, Yasuhiro; Che, Shunai; Terasaki, Osamu

    2012-01-01

    Silica mesoporous crystals (SMCs) offer a unique opportunity to study micellar mesophases. Replication of non-equilibrium mesophases into porous silica structures allows the characterization of surfactant phases under a variety of chemical and physical perturbations, through methods not typically accessible to liquid crystal chemists. A poignant example is the use of electron microscopy and crystallography, as discussed herein, for the purpose of determining the fundamental role of amphiphile curvature, namely mean curvature and Gaussian curvature, which have been extensively studied in various fields such as polymer, liquid crystal, biological membrane, etc. The present work aims to highlight some current studies devoted to the interface curvature on SMCs, in which electron microscopy and electron crystallography (EC) are used to understand the geometry of silica wall surface in bicontinuous and cage-type mesostructures through the investigation of electrostatic potential maps. Additionally, we show that by altering the synthesis conditions during the preparation of SMCs, it is possible to isolate particles during micellar mesophase transformations in the cubic bicontinuous system, allowing us to view and study epitaxial relations under the specific synthesis conditions. By studying the relationship between mesoporous structure, interface curvature and micellar mesophases using electron microscopy and EC, we hope to bring new insights into the formation mechanism of these unique materials but also contribute a new way of understanding periodic liquid crystal systems. © 2012 The Royal Society.

  10. Sporoderm development in Acer tataricum (Aceraceae): an interpretation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabarayeva, Nina I; Grigorjeva, Valentina V; Rowley, John R

    2010-11-01

    For the first time, the developmental events in the course of complicated exine structure establishment have been traced in detail with transmission electron microscope in the representative of Acer. A new look at unfolding events is suggested using the knowledge of a boundary field, colloid science. Our purpose was to find out whether the sequence of sporoderm developmental events represents, in essence, the sequence of self-assembling micellar mesophases, initiated by genomically given physicochemical parameters and induced by surfactant glycoproteins at increasing concentration. Indeed, the first units observed in the periplasmic space are globular ones (=spherical micelles) which become arranged into rod-like units (=cylindrical micelles). Then, twisted clusters of rodlets form a layer of procolumellae (middle micellar mesophase). The tectum emerges as an untwisting and merging of distal ends of procolumellae (distal untwist of micelle clusters). In the end of tetrad period, when a hydrophilic-hydrophobic switch occurs in the periplasmic space, the contrast reversal of the columellae corresponds to the change of normal micelles to reverse ones. The initiation of the foot layer and the endexine lamellae, with their typical central "white lines", corresponds to the next-"neat"-mesophase, with its typical central gaps between layers. Aperture sites during development show all the main micellar mesophases and their transitional forms. The data received have supported our previous hypothesis.

  11. Dilute Surfactant Methods for Carbonate Formations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kishore K. Mohanty

    2006-02-01

    There are many fractured carbonate reservoirs in US (and the world) with light oil. Waterflooding is effective in fractured reservoirs, if the formation is water-wet. Many fractured carbonate reservoirs, however, are mixed-wet and recoveries with conventional methods are low (less than 10%). The process of using dilute anionic surfactants in alkaline solutions has been investigated in this work for oil recovery from fractured oil-wet carbonate reservoirs both experimentally and numerically. This process is a surfactant-aided gravity drainage where surfactant diffuses into the matrix, lowers IFT and contact angle, which decrease capillary pressure and increase oil relative permeability enabling gravity to drain the oil up. Anionic surfactants have been identified which at dilute concentration of 0.05 wt% and optimal salinity can lower the interfacial tension and change the wettability of the calcite surface to intermediate/water-wet condition as well or better than the cationic surfactant DTAB with a West Texas crude oil. The force of adhesion in AFM of oil-wet regions changes after anionic surfactant treatment to values similar to those of water-wet regions. The AFM topography images showed that the oil-wetting material was removed from the surface by the anionic surfactant treatment. Adsorption studies indicate that the extent of adsorption for anionic surfactants on calcite minerals decreases with increase in pH and with decrease in salinity. Surfactant adsorption can be minimized in the presence of Na{sub 2}CO{sub 3}. Laboratory-scale surfactant brine imbibition experiments give high oil recovery (20-42% OOIP in 50 days; up to 60% in 200 days) for initially oil-wet cores through wettability alteration and IFT reduction. Small (<10%) initial gas saturation does not affect significantly the rate of oil recovery in the imbibition process, but larger gas saturation decreases the oil recovery rate. As the core permeability decreases, the rate of oil recovery reduces

  12. Surfactant gene polymorphisms and interstitial lung diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pantelidis Panagiotis

    2001-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Pulmonary surfactant is a complex mixture of phospholipids and proteins, which is present in the alveolar lining fluid and is essential for normal lung function. Alterations in surfactant composition have been reported in several interstitial lung diseases (ILDs. Furthermore, a mutation in the surfactant protein C gene that results in complete absence of the protein has been shown to be associated with familial ILD. The role of surfactant in lung disease is therefore drawing increasing attention following the elucidation of the genetic basis underlying its surface expression and the proof of surfactant abnormalities in ILD.

  13. Formation and characterization of zein-propylene glycol alginate-surfactant ternary complexes: Effect of surfactant type.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Lei; Sun, Cuixia; Wei, Yang; Zhan, Xinyu; Mao, Like; Gao, Yanxiang

    2018-08-30

    In this study, zein, propylene glycol alginate (PGA) and surfactant ternary complexes were fabricated by antisolvent co-precipitation method. Two types of surfactants (rhamnolipid and lecithin) were applied to generate zein-PGA-rhamnolipid (Z-P-R) and zein-PGA-lecithin (Z-P-L) ternary complexes, respectively. Results showed that the surfactant types significantly affected the properties of ternary complexes. The formation of ternary complexes was mainly due to the non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interaction and hydrophobic interactions among zein, PGA and surfactants. Moreover, the thermal stability of ternary complexes was enhanced with increasing the levels of both surfactants. Notably, ternary complex dispersions exhibited better stability against pH from 2 to 8. Furthermore, a compact network structure was observed in Z-P-R ternary complex, while Z-P-L ternary complex remained the spherical structure. These findings would provide new insights into the development of novel delivery system and expand the options, when zein-based complexes were utilized under different environment conditions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Biomimicry of surfactant protein C.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Nathan J; Johansson, Jan; Barron, Annelise E

    2008-10-01

    Since the widespread use of exogenous lung surfactant to treat neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, premature infant survival and respiratory morbidity have dramatically improved. Despite the effectiveness of the animal-derived surfactant preparations, there still remain some concerns and difficulties associated with their use. This has prompted investigation into the creation of synthetic surfactant preparations. However, to date, no clinically used synthetic formulation is as effective as the natural material. This is largely because the previous synthetic formulations lacked analogues of the hydrophobic proteins of the lung surfactant system, SP-B and SP-C, which are critical functional constituents. As a result, recent investigation has turned toward the development of a new generation of synthetic, biomimetic surfactants that contain synthetic phospholipids along with a mimic of the hydrophobic protein portion of lung surfactant. In this Account, we detail our efforts in creating accurate mimics of SP-C for use in a synthetic surfactant replacement therapy. Despite SP-C's seemingly simple structure, the predominantly helical protein is extraordinarily challenging to work with given its extreme hydrophobicity and structural instability, which greatly complicates the creation of an effective SP-C analogue. Drawing inspiration from Nature, two promising biomimetic approaches have led to the creation of rationally designed biopolymers that recapitulate many of SP-C's molecular features. The first approach utilizes detailed SP-C structure-activity relationships and amino acid folding propensities to create a peptide-based analogue, SP-C33. In SP-C33, the problematic and metastable polyvaline helix is replaced with a structurally stable polyleucine helix and includes a well-placed positive charge to prevent aggregation. SP-C33 is structurally stable and eliminates the association propensity of the native protein. The second approach follows the same design

  15. Dicyanamide Salts that Adopt Smectic, Columnar, or Bicontinuous Cubic Liquid-Crystalline Mesophases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Geonhui; Goossens, Karel; Shin, Tae Joo; Bielawski, Christopher W

    2018-04-25

    Although dicyanamide (i.e., [N(CN) 2 ] - ) has been commonly used to obtain low-viscosity, halogen-free, room-temperature ionic liquids, liquid-crystalline salts containing such anions have remained virtually unexplored. Here we report a series of amphiphilic dicyanamide salts that, depending on their structures and compositions, adopt smectic, columnar, or bicontinuous cubic thermotropic liquid-crystalline mesophases, even at room temperature in some cases. Their thermal properties were explored by polarized light optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis (including evolved gas analysis), and variable-temperature synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Comparison of the thermal phase characteristics of these new liquid-crystalline salts featuring "V-shaped" [N(CN) 2 ] - anions with those of structural analogues containing [SCN] - , [BF 4 ] - , [PF 6 ] - , or [CF 3 SO 3 ] - anions indicated that not only the size of the counterion but also its shape should be considered in the development of mesomorphic salts. Collectively, these discoveries may be expected to facilitate the design of thermotropic ionic liquid crystals that form inverted-type bicontinuous cubic and other sophisticated liquid-crystalline phases. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Remediation using trace element humate surfactant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Riddle, Catherine Lynn; Taylor, Steven Cheney; Bruhn, Debra Fox

    2016-08-30

    A method of remediation at a remediation site having one or more undesirable conditions in which one or more soil characteristics, preferably soil pH and/or elemental concentrations, are measured at a remediation site. A trace element humate surfactant composition is prepared comprising a humate solution, element solution and at least one surfactant. The prepared trace element humate surfactant composition is then dispensed onto the remediation site whereby the trace element humate surfactant composition will reduce the amount of undesirable compounds by promoting growth of native species activity. By promoting native species activity, remediation occurs quickly and environmental impact is minimal.

  17. Synthesis of carbohydrate-based surfactants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pemberton, Jeanne E.; Polt, Robin L.; Maier, Raina M.

    2016-11-22

    The present invention provides carbohydrate-based surfactants and methods for producing the same. Methods for producing carbohydrate-based surfactants include using a glycosylation promoter to link a carbohydrate or its derivative to a hydrophobic compound.

  18. Small angle neutron scattering study of doxorubicin–surfactant ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The binding affinity of doxorubicin within the micelle carrier is enhanced through complex formation of drug and anionic surfactant, aerosol OT (AOT). Electrostatic binding of doxorubicin with negatively charged surfactants leads to the formation of hydrophobic drug–surfactant complexes. Surfactant-induced partitioning of ...

  19. DNA compaction by azobenzene-containing surfactant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zakrevskyy, Yuriy; Kopyshev, Alexey; Lomadze, Nino; Santer, Svetlana; Morozova, Elena; Lysyakova, Ludmila; Kasyanenko, Nina

    2011-01-01

    We report on the interaction of cationic azobenzene-containing surfactant with DNA investigated by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and atomic force microscopy. The properties of the surfactant can be controlled with light by reversible switching of the azobenzene unit, incorporated into the surfactant tail, between a hydrophobic trans (visible irradiation) and a hydrophilic cis (UV irradiation) configuration. The influence of the trans-cis isomerization of the azobenzene on the compaction process of DNA molecules and the role of both isomers in the formation and colloidal stability of DNA-surfactant complexes is discussed. It is shown that the trans isomer plays a major role in the DNA compaction process. The influence of the cis isomer on the DNA coil configuration is rather small. The construction of a phase diagram of the DNA concentration versus surfactant/DNA charge ratio allows distancing between three major phases: colloidally stable and unstable compacted globules, and extended coil conformation. There is a critical concentration of DNA above which the compacted globules can be hindered from aggregation and precipitation by adding an appropriate amount of the surfactant in the trans configuration. This is because of the compensation of hydrophobicity of the globules with an increasing amount of the surfactant. Below the critical DNA concentration, the compacted globules are colloidally stable and can be reversibly transferred with light to an extended coil state.

  20. Viscosity of the oil-in-water Pickering emulsion stabilized by surfactant-polymer and nanoparticle-surfactant-polymer system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Tushar; Kumar, G. Suresh; Chon, Bo Hyun; Sangwai, Jitendra S.

    2014-11-01

    Information on the viscosity of Pickering emulsion is required for their successful application in upstream oil and gas industry to understand their stability at extreme environment. In this work, a novel formulation of oil-in-water (o/w) Pickering emulsion stabilized using nanoparticle-surfactant-polymer (polyacrylamide) system as formulated in our earlier work (Sharma et al., Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 2014) is investigated for rheological stability at high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) conditions using a controlled-strain rheometer. The nanoparticle (SiO2 and clay) concentration is varied from 1.0 to 5.0 wt%. The results are compared with the rheological behavior of simple o/w emulsion stabilized by surfactant-polymer system. Both the emulsions exhibit non-Newtonian shear thinning behavior. A positive shift in this behavior is observed for surfactant-polymer stabilized emulsion at high pressure conditions. Yield stress is observed to increase with pressure for surfactant-polymer emulsion. In addition, increase in temperature has an adverse effect on the viscosity of emulsion stabilized by surfactant-polymer system. In case of nanoparticle-surfactant-polymer stabilized o/w emulsion system, the viscosity and yield stress are predominantly constant for varying pressure and temperature conditions. The viscosity data for both o/w emulsion systems are fitted by the Herschel-Bulkley model and found to be satisfactory. In general, the study indicates that the Pickering emulsion stabilized by nanoparticle-surfactant-polymer system shows improved and stable rheological properties as compared to conventional emulsion stabilized by surfactant-polymer system indicating their successful application for HPHT environment in upstream oil and gas industry.

  1. Binding of cationic surfactants to humic substances

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ishiguro, M.; Tan, W.; Koopal, L.K.

    2007-01-01

    Commercial surfactants are introduced into the environment either through waste products or site-specific contamination. The amphiphilic nature of both surfactants and humic substances (HS) leads to their mutual attraction especially when surfactant and HS are oppositely charged. Binding of the

  2. The two-body problem of a pseudo-rigid body and a rigid sphere

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristiansen, Kristian Uldall; Vereshchagin, M.; Gózdziewski, K.

    2012-01-01

    n this paper we consider the two-body problem of a spherical pseudo-rigid body and a rigid sphere. Due to the rotational and "re-labelling" symmetries, the system is shown to possess conservation of angular momentum and circulation. We follow a reduction procedure similar to that undertaken...... in the study of the two-body problem of a rigid body and a sphere so that the computed reduced non-canonical Hamiltonian takes a similar form. We then consider relative equilibria and show that the notions of locally central and planar equilibria coincide. Finally, we show that Riemann's theorem on pseudo......-rigid bodies has an extension to this system for planar relative equilibria....

  3. Rigid Body Sampling and Individual Time Stepping for Rigid-Fluid Coupling of Fluid Simulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaokun Wang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we propose an efficient and simple rigid-fluid coupling scheme with scientific programming algorithms for particle-based fluid simulation and three-dimensional visualization. Our approach samples the surface of rigid bodies with boundary particles that interact with fluids. It contains two procedures, that is, surface sampling and sampling relaxation, which insures uniform distribution of particles with less iterations. Furthermore, we present a rigid-fluid coupling scheme integrating individual time stepping to rigid-fluid coupling, which gains an obvious speedup compared to previous method. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.

  4. Surfactants tailored by the class Actinobacteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kügler, Johannes H.; Le Roes-Hill, Marilize; Syldatk, Christoph; Hausmann, Rudolf

    2015-01-01

    Globally the change towards the establishment of a bio-based economy has resulted in an increased need for bio-based applications. This, in turn, has served as a driving force for the discovery and application of novel biosurfactants. The class Actinobacteria represents a vast group of microorganisms with the ability to produce a diverse range of secondary metabolites, including surfactants. Understanding the extensive nature of the biosurfactants produced by actinobacterial strains can assist in finding novel biosurfactants with new potential applications. This review therefore presents a comprehensive overview of the knowledge available on actinobacterial surfactants, the chemical structures that have been completely or partly elucidated, as well as the identity of the biosurfactant-producing strains. Producer strains of not yet elucidated compounds are discussed, as well as the original habitats of all the producer strains, which seems to indicate that biosurfactant production is environmentally driven. Methodology applied in the isolation, purification and structural elucidation of the different types of surface active compounds, as well as surfactant activity tests, are also discussed. Overall, actinobacterial surfactants can be summarized to include the dominantly occurring trehalose-comprising surfactants, other non-trehalose containing glycolipids, lipopeptides and the more rare actinobacterial surfactants. The lack of structural information on a large proportion of actinobacterial surfactants should be considered as a driving force to further explore the abundance and diversity of these compounds. This would allow for a better understanding of actinobacterial surface active compounds and their potential for biotechnological application. PMID:25852670

  5. Surfactants tailored by the class Actinobacteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johannes H Kügler

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Gloablly, the drive towards the establishment of a bio-based economy has resulted in an increased need for bio-based applications. This, in turn, has served as a driving force for the discovery and application of novel biosurfactants. The class Actinobacteria represents a vast group of microorganisms with the ability to produce a diverse range of secondary metabolites, including surfactants. Understanding the extensive nature of the biosurfactants produced by actinobacterial strains can assist in finding novel biosurfactants with new potential applications. This review therefore presents a comprehensive overview of the knowledge available on actinobacterial surfactants, the chemical structures that have been completely or partly elucidated, as well as the identity of the biosurfactant-producing strains. Producer strains of not yet elucidated compounds are discussed, as well as the original habitats of all the producer strains, which seems to indicate that biosurfactant production is environmentally driven. Methodology applied in the isolation, purification and structural elucidation of the different types of surface active compounds, as well as surfactant activity tests, are also discussed. Overall, actinobacterial surfactants can be summarized to include the dominantly occurring trehalose-comprising surfactants, other non-trehalose containing glycolipids, lipopeptides and the more rare actinobacterial surfactants. The lack of structural information on a large proportion of actinobacterial surfactants should be considered as a driving force to further explore the abundance and diversity of these compounds. This would allow for a better understanding of actinobacterial surface active compounds and their potential for biotechnological application.

  6. Development and application of photosensitive device systems to studies of biological and organic materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gruner, S.M.; Reynolds, G.T.

    1990-01-01

    This report discusses the following basic research accomplishments: new x-ray structure determination methods were developed and applied to biomembrane lipid phases; a novel mechanism for general anesthesia was proposed; the elastic properties of membranes were investigated, both theoretically and experimentally; the effects of high pressures on membranes were studied; neutron diffraction was used to probe mesophase structure; and novel lipid and surfactant systems are characterized. Also discussed are instrumentation accomplishments

  7. Development and application of photosensitive device systems to studies of biological and organic materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gruner, S.M.; Reynolds, G.T.

    1990-07-12

    This report discusses the following basic research accomplishments: new x-ray structure determination methods were developed and applied to biomembrane lipid phases; a novel mechanism for general anesthesia was proposed; the elastic properties of membranes were investigated, both theoretically and experimentally; the effects of high pressures on membranes were studied; neutron diffraction was used to probe mesophase structure; and novel lipid and surfactant systems are characterized. Also discussed are instrumentation accomplishments.

  8. In vitro surfactant structure-toxicity relationships: implications for surfactant use in sexually transmitted infection prophylaxis and contraception.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ângela S Inácio

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The need for woman-controlled, cheap, safe, effective, easy-to-use and easy-to-store topical applications for prophylaxis against sexually transmitted infections (STIs makes surfactant-containing formulations an interesting option that requires a more fundamental knowledge concerning surfactant toxicology and structure-activity relationships. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We report in vitro effects of surfactant concentration, exposure time and structure on the viability of mammalian cell types typically encountered in the vagina, namely, fully polarized and confluent epithelial cells, confluent but non-polarized epithelial-like cells, dendritic cells, and human sperm. Representatives of the different families of commercially available surfactants--nonionic (Triton X-100 and monolaurin, zwitterionic (DDPS, anionic (SDS, and cationic (C(nTAB (n = 10 to 16, C(12PB, and C(12BZK--were examined. Triton X-100, monolaurin, DDPS and SDS were toxic to all cell types at concentrations around their critical micelle concentration (CMC suggesting a non-selective mode of action involving cell membrane destabilization and/or destruction. All cationic surfactants were toxic at concentrations far below their CMC and showed significant differences in their toxicity toward polarized as compared with non-polarized cells. Their toxicity was also dependent on the chemical nature of the polar head group. Our results suggest an intracellular locus of action for cationic surfactants and show that their structure-activity relationships could be profitably exploited for STI prophylaxis in vaginal gel formulations. The therapeutic indices comparing polarized epithelial cell toxicity to sperm toxicity for all surfactants examined, except C(12PB and C(12BZK, does not justify their use as contraceptive agents. C(12PB and C(12BZK are shown to have a narrow therapeutic index recommending caution in their use in contraceptive formulations. CONCLUSIONS

  9. Next Generation Surfactants for Improved Chemical Flooding Technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Laura Wesson; Prapas Lohateeraparp; Jeffrey Harwell; Bor-Jier Shiau

    2012-05-31

    The principle objective of this project was to characterize and test current and next generation high performance surfactants for improved chemical flooding technology, focused on reservoirs in the Pennsylvanian-aged (Penn) sands. In order to meet this objective the characteristic curvatures (Cc) of twenty-eight anionic surfactants selected for evaluation for use in chemical flooding formulations were determined. The Cc values ranged from -6.90 to 2.55 with the majority having negative values. Crude oil samples from nine Penn sand reservoirs were analyzed for several properties pertinent to surfactant formulation for EOR application. These properties included equivalent alkane carbon numbers, total acid numbers, and viscosity. The brine samples from these same reservoirs were analyzed for several cations and for total dissolved solids. Surfactant formulations were successfully developed for eight reservoirs by the end of the project period. These formulations were comprised of a tertiary mixture of anionic surfactants. The identities of these surfactants are considered proprietary, but suffice to say the surfactants in each mixture were comprised of varying chemical structures. In addition to the successful development of surfactant formulations for EOR, there were also two successful single-well field tests conducted. There are many aspects that must be considered in the development and implementation of effective surfactant formulations. Taking into account these other aspects, there were four additional studies conducted during this project. These studies focused on the effect of the stability of surfactant formulations in the presence of polymers with an associated examination of polymer rheology, the effect of the presence of iron complexes in the brine on surfactant stability, the potential use of sacrificial agents in order to minimize the loss of surfactant to adsorption, and the effect of electrolytes on surfactant adsorption. In these last four studies

  10. The Molecular Era of Surfactant Biology

    OpenAIRE

    Whitsett, Jeffrey A.

    2014-01-01

    Advances in the physiology, biochemistry, molecular and cell biology of the pulmonary surfactant system transformed the clinical care and outcome of preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome. The molecular era of surfactant biology provided genetic insights into the pathogenesis of pulmonary disorders, previously termed “idiopathic” that affect newborn infants, children and adults. Knowledge related to the structure and function of the surfactant proteins and their roles in alveolar ...

  11. Nanoparticle-enabled delivery of surfactants in porous media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nourafkan, Ehsan; Hu, Zhongliang; Wen, Dongsheng

    2018-06-01

    The adsorption of surfactants on the reservoir rocks surface is a serious issue in many energy and environment related areas. Learning from the concept of drug delivery in the nano-medicine field, this work proposes and validates the concept of using nanoparticles to deliver a mixture of surfactants into a porous medium. TiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) are used as carriers for a blend of surfactants mixtures including anionic alkyl aryl sulfonic acid (AAS) and nonionic alcohol ethoxylated (EA) at the optimum salinity and composition conditions. The transport of NPs through a core sample of crushed sandstone grains and the adsorption of surfactants are evaluated. By using TiO 2 NPs, the adsorption of surfactant molecules can be significantly reduced, i.e. half of the initial adsorption value. The level of surfactant adsorption reduction is related to the NPs transport capability through the porous medium. An application study shows that comparing to surfactant flooding alone, the total oil recovery can be increased by 7.81% of original oil in place (OOIP) by using nanoparticle bonded surfactants. Such work shows the promise of NP as an effective surfactant carrier for sandstone reservoirs, which could have many potential applications in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and environmental remediation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Rigidly foldable origami gadgets and tessellations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Thomas A.; Lang, Robert J.; Magleby, Spencer P.; Howell, Larry L.

    2015-01-01

    Rigidly foldable origami allows for motion where all deflection occurs at the crease lines and facilitates the application of origami in materials other than paper. In this paper, we use a recently discovered method for determining rigid foldability to identify existing flat-foldable rigidly foldable tessellations, which are also categorized. We introduce rigidly foldable origami gadgets which may be used to modify existing tessellations or to create new tessellations. Several modified and new rigidly foldable tessellations are presented. PMID:26473037

  13. Comparison of rSP-C surfactant with natural and synthetic surfactants after late treatment in a rat model of the acute respiratory distress syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Häfner, Dietrich; Germann, Paul-Georg; Hauschke, Dieter

    1998-01-01

    In a previous paper we showed that an SP-C containing surfactant preparation has similar activity as bovine-derived surfactants in a rat lung lavage model of the adult respiratory distress syndrome. In this study surfactant was given ten minutes after the last lavage (early treatment). In the present investigation we were interested how different surfactant preparations behave when they are administered 1 h after the last lavage (late treatment). Four protein containing surfactants (rSP-C surfactant, bLES, Infasurf and Survanta) were compared with three protein-free surfactants (ALEC, Exosurf and the phospholipid (PL) mixture of the rSP-C surfactant termed PL surfactant) with respect to their ability to improve gas exchange in this more stringent model when surfactant is given one hour after the last lavage. For better comparison of the surfactants the doses were related to phospholipids. The surfactants were given at doses of 25, 50 and 100 mg kg−1 body weight. The surfactants were compared to an untreated control group that was only ventilated for the whole experimental period. Tracheotomized rats (8–12 per dose and surfactant) were pressure-controlled ventilated (Siemens Servo Ventilator 900C) with 100% oxygen at a respiratory rate of 30 breaths min−1, inspiration expiration ratio of 1 : 2, peak inspiratory pressure of 28 cmH2O at positive endexpiratory pressure (PEEP) of 8 cmH2O. Animals were ventilated for one hour after the last lavage and thereafter the surfactants were intratracheally instilled. During the whole experimental period the ventilation was not changed. Partial arterial oxygen pressures (PaO2, mmHg) at 30 min and 120 min after treatment were used for statistical comparison. All protein containing surfactants caused a dose-dependent increase of the reduced PaO2 values at 30 min after treatment. The protein-free surfactants showed only weak dose-dependent increase in PaO2 values at this time. This difference between the

  14. Surfactant modified clays’ consistency limits and contact angles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S Akbulut

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available This study was aimed at preparing a surfactant modified clay (SMC and researching the effect of surfactants on clays' contact angles and consistency limits; clay was thus modified by surfactants formodifying their engineering properties. Seven surfactants (trimethylglycine, hydroxyethylcellulose  octyl phenol ethoxylate, linear alkylbenzene sulfonic acid, sodium lauryl ether sulfate, cetyl trimethylammonium chloride and quaternised ethoxylated fatty amine were used as surfactants in this study. The experimental results indicated that SMC consistency limits (liquid and plastic limits changedsignificantly compared to those of natural clay. Plasticity index and liquid limit (PI-LL values representing soil class approached the A-line when zwitterion, nonionic, and anionic surfactant percentageincreased. However, cationic SMC became transformed from CH (high plasticity clay to MH (high plasticity silt class soils, according to the unified soil classification system (USCS. Clay modifiedwith cationic and anionic surfactants gave higher and lower contact angles than natural clay, respectively.

  15. Probing dynamics and mechanism of exchange process of quaternary ammonium dimeric surfactants, 14-s-14, in the presence of conventional surfactants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jun; Jiang, Yan; Chen, Hong; Mao, Shi Zhen; Du, You Ru; Liu, Mai Li

    2012-12-27

    In this Article, we investigated effects of different types of conventional surfactants on exchange dynamics of quaternary ammonium dimeric surfactants, with chemical formula C(14)H(29)N(+)(CH(3))(2)- (CH(2))(s)-N(+)(CH(3))(2)C(14)H(29)·2Br(-), or 14-s-14 for short. Two nonionic surfactants, TritonX-100 (TX-100) and polyethylene glycol (23) laurylether (Brij-35), and one cationic surfactant, n-tetradecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (TTAB), and one ionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) were chosen as typical conventional surfactants. Exchange rates of 14-s-14 (s = 2, 3, and 4) between the micelle form and monomer in solution were detected by two NMR methods: one-dimensional (1D) line shape analysis and two-dimensional (2D) exchange spectroscopy (EXSY). Results show that the nonionic surfactants (TX-100 and Brij-35), the cationic surfactant (TTAB), and the ionic surfactant (SDS) respectively accelerated, barely influenced, and slowed the exchange rate of 14-s-14. The effect mechanism was investigated by the self-diffusion experiment, relaxation time measurements (T(2)/T(1)), the fluorescence experiment (I(1)/I(3)) and observed chemical shift variations. Results reveal that, nonionic conventional surfactants (TX-100 and Brij-35) loosened the molecule arrangement and decreased hydrophobic interactions in the micelle, and thus accelerated the exchange rate of 14-s-14. The cationic conventional surfactant (TTAB) barely changed the molecule arrangement and thus barely influenced the exchange rate of 14-s-14. The ionic conventional surfactant (SDS) introduced the electrostatic attraction effect, tightened the molecule arrangement, and increased hydrophobic interactions in the micelle, and thus slowed down the exchange rate of 14-s-14. Additionally, the two-step exchange mechanism of 14-s-14 in the mixed solution was revealed through interesting variation tendencies of exchange rates of 14-s-14.

  16. Effects of Surfactant on Geotechnical Characteristics of Silty Soil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahman, Z.A.; Sahibin, A.R.; Lihan, T.; Idris, W.M.R.; Sakina, M.

    2013-01-01

    Surfactants are often used as a cleaning agent for restoration of oil-contaminated soil. However the effect of surfactant on the geotechnical properties of soil is not clearly understood. In this study, the effects of surfactant on silty soil were investigated for consistency index, compaction, permeability and shear strength. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was used in this study to prepare the surfactant-treated soil. Our results showed that the soil with added surfactant exhibited a decrease in liquid and plastic limit values. Maximum dry densities increased and optimum moisture contents decreased as contents of added surfactant were increased. The presence of surfactant assists the soil to achieve maximum density at lower water content. The addition of surfactant decreased the permeability of soil from 6.29 x 10 -4 to 1.15 x 10 -4 ms -1 . The shear strength of soil with added surfactant was examined using the undrained unconsolidated triaxial tests. The results showed that the undrained shear strength, Cu was significantly affected, decreased from 319 kPa to 50 kPa for soil with 20 % of added surfactant. The results of this study showed that the presence of surfactant in soil can modify the mechanical behaviour of the soil. (author)

  17. Physico-chemical study of new non-ionic surfactants. Influence of ions on aggregation properties; Etude physico-chimique de nouveaux tensioactifs complexants thermoreversibles. Influence d'ions reconnus et non reconnus sur les proprietes d'agregation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coulombeau, H

    2003-01-01

    New di-block thermo-sensitive metal chelating surfactants have been synthesised. They are based on polyethoxylated non-ionic surfactants (CiEj). A lysine block is linked either to the extremity of a CiEj (surfactant 2) or in a branched position (surfactant 1). These molecules retain the cloud point and the surface-active properties exhibited by the CiEj surfactants. Moreover they possess good complexing properties towards certain ions, which allows them to be successfully applied to cloud point extraction. In both cases, the cloud point and the area per headgroup at the air-water interface are higher than those of the analogous CiEj, which shows the hydrophilic contribution of the lysine block. Macroscopic properties (phase diagrams) and microscopic properties (shape of the aggregates and interactions between them) of the water-surfactant systems have been studied at ambient temperature. Small angle X-Rays scattering (SAXS) and small angle neutrons scattering (SANS) have shown that the new di-block surfactants form spherical micelles at low concentrations. The influence of non complexed salts on the new surfactants is the same as on classical CiEj: salting-in and salting-out phenomena occur according to the Hofmeister series. The effect of a complexed ion, uranyl cation, is however unusual: it leads to a sphere to rod transition, in turn lowering significantly the cloud point, which goes against the expectations on basis of the Hofmeister series. Finally, a preliminary study of ternary mixtures, water-surfactant 1-oil, is presented. It revealed the formation of microemulsions and pointed out that the surfactant film is then a lot more rigid than that formed with classical CiEj. (author)

  18. Surfactant-enhanced control of track-etch pore morphology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Apel', P.Yu.; Blonskaya, I.V.; Didyk, A.Yu.; Dmitriev, S.N.; Orelovich, O.L.; Samojlova, L.I.; Vutsadakis, V.A.; Root, D.

    2000-01-01

    The influence of surfactants on the process of chemical development of ion tracks in polymers is studied. Based on the experimental data, a mechanism of the surfactant effect on the track-etch pore morphology is proposed. In the beginning of etching the surfactant is adsorbed on the surface and creates a layer that is quasi-solid and partially protects the surface from the etching agent. However, some etchant molecules diffuse through the barrier and react with the polymer surface. This results in the formation of a small hole at the entrance to the ion track. After the hole has attained a few annometers in diameter, the surfactant molecules penetrate into the track and cover its walls. Further diffusion of the surfactant into the growing pore is hindered. The adsorbed surfactant layer is not permeable for large molecules. In contrast, small alkali molecules and water molecules diffuse into the track and provide the etching process enlarging the pore. At this stage the transport of the surfactant into the pore channel can proceed only due to the lateral diffusion in the adsorbed layer. The volume inside the pore is free of surfactant molecules and grows at a higher rate than pore entrance. After a more prolonged etching the bottle-like (or 'cigar-like') pore channels are formed. The bottle-like shape of the pore channels depends on the etching conditions such as alkali and surfactant concentration, temperature, and type of the surfactant. The use of surfactants enables one to produce track-etch membranes with improved flow rate characteristics compared with those having cylindrical pores with the same nominal pore diameters

  19. Open lung ventilation preserves the response to delayed surfactant treatment in surfactant-deficient newborn piglets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Veenendaal, Mariëtte B.; van Kaam, Anton H.; Haitsma, Jack J.; Lutter, René; Lachmann, Burkhard

    2006-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: Delayed surfactant treatment (>2 hrs after birth) is less effective than early treatment in conventionally ventilated preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome. The objective of this study was to evaluate if this time-dependent efficacy of surfactant treatment is also present

  20. Influence of surfactants in forced dynamic dewetting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henrich, Franziska; Fell, Daniela; Truszkowska, Dorota; Weirich, Marcel; Anyfantakis, Manos; Nguyen, Thi-Huong; Wagner, Manfred; Auernhammer, Günter K; Butt, Hans-Jürgen

    2016-09-20

    In this work we show that the forced dynamic dewetting of surfactant solutions depends sensitively on the surfactant concentration. To measure this effect, a hydrophobic rotating cylinder was horizontally half immersed in aqueous surfactant solutions. Dynamic contact angles were measured optically by extrapolating the contour of the meniscus to the contact line. Anionic (sodium 1-decanesulfonate, S-1DeS), cationic (cetyl trimethylammonium bromide, CTAB) and nonionic surfactants (C 4 E 1 , C 8 E 3 and C 12 E 5 ) with critical micelle concentrations (CMCs) spanning four orders of magnitude were used. The receding contact angle in water decreased with increasing velocity. This decrease was strongly enhanced when adding surfactant, even at surfactant concentrations of 10% of the critical micelle concentration. Plots of the receding contact angle-versus-velocity almost superimpose when being plotted at the same relative concentration (concentration/CMC). Thus the rescaled concentration is the dominating property for dynamic dewetting. The charge of the surfactants did not play a role, thus excluding electrostatic effects. The change in contact angle can be interpreted by local surface tension gradients, i.e. Marangoni stresses, close to the three-phase contact line. The decrease of dynamic contact angles with velocity follows two regimes. Despite the existence of Marangoni stresses close to the contact line, for a dewetting velocity above 1-10 mm s -1 the hydrodynamic theory is able to describe the experimental results for all surfactant concentrations. At slower velocities an additional steep decrease of the contact angle with velocity was observed. Particle tracking velocimetry showed that the flow profiles do not differ with and without surfactant on a scales >100 μm.

  1. Dimeric Surfactants: Promising Ingredients of Cosmetics and Toiletries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naveen Kumar

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Surfactants are an essential ingredient for cosmetic, toiletries and personal care products for enhancing their performance. Dimeric surfactants demonstrate superiority compared to conventional surfactants in all areas of application. Dimeric surfactants are extremely promising for utilization in various cosmetic formulations viz. shampoo, lotions, creams, conditioners etc. These surfactants possess extremely unique surface properties viz. lower surface tension, unique micellization, low critical micelle concentration (CMC and antimicrobial activity, higher solubilization etc. Dimerics enhance the performances of cosmetics in an extraordinary manner and provide eco-friendly preparations for human epidermis.

  2. Structural study of surfactant-dependent interaction with protein

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mehan, Sumit; Aswal, Vinod K., E-mail: vkaswal@barc.gov.in [Solid State Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400 085 (India); Kohlbrecher, Joachim [Laboratory for Neutron Scattering, Paul Scherrer Institut, CH-5232 PSI Villigen (Switzerland)

    2015-06-24

    Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) has been used to study the complex structure of anionic BSA protein with three different (cationic DTAB, anionic SDS and non-ionic C12E10) surfactants. These systems form very different surfactant-dependent complexes. We show that the structure of protein-surfactant complex is initiated by the site-specific electrostatic interaction between the components, followed by the hydrophobic interaction at high surfactant concentrations. It is also found that hydrophobic interaction is preferred over the electrostatic interaction in deciding the resultant structure of protein-surfactant complexes.

  3. Effect of double-tailed surfactant architecture on the conformation, self-assembly, and processing in polypeptide-surfactant complexes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Junnila, Susanna; Hanski, Sirkku; Oakley, Richard J; Nummelin, Sami; Ruokolainen, Janne; Faul, Charl F J; Ikkala, Olli

    2009-10-12

    This work describes the solid-state conformational and structural properties of self-assembled polypeptide-surfactant complexes with double-tailed surfactants. Poly(L-lysine) was complexed with three dialkyl esters of phosphoric acid (i.e., phosphodiester surfactants), where the surfactant tail branching and length was varied to tune the supramolecular architecture in a facile way. After complexation with the branched surfactant bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate in an aqueous solution, the polypeptide chains adopted an alpha-helical conformation. These rod-like helices self-assembled into cylindrical phases with the amorphous alkyl tails pointing outward. In complexes with dioctyl phosphate and didodecyl phosphate, which have two linear n-octyl or n-dodecyl tails, respectively, the polypeptide formed antiparallel beta-sheets separated by alkyl layers, resulting in well-ordered lamellar self-assemblies. By heating, it was possible to trigger a partial opening of the beta-sheets and disruption of the lamellar phase. After repeated heating/cooling, all of these complexes also showed a glass transition between 37 and 50 degrees C. Organic solvent treatment and plasticization by overstoichiometric amount of surfactant led to structure modification in poly(L-lysine)-dioctyl phosphate complexes, PLL(diC8)(x) (x = 1.0-3.0). Here, the alpha-helical PLL is surrounded by the surfactants and these bottle-brush-like chains self-assemble in a hexagonal cylindrical morphology. As x is increased, the materials are clearly plasticized and the degree of ordering is improved: The stiff alpha-helical backbones in a softened surfactant matrix give rise to thermotropic liquid-crystalline phases. The complexes were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering, transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, polarized optical microscopy, and circular dichroism.

  4. The Biophysical Function of Pulmonary Surfactant

    OpenAIRE

    Rugonyi, Sandra; Biswas, Samares C.; Hall, Stephen B.

    2008-01-01

    Pulmonary surfactant lowers surface tension in the lungs. Physiological studies indicate two key aspects of this function: that the surfactant film forms rapidly; and that when compressed by the shrinking alveolar area during exhalation, the film reduces surface tension to very low values. These observations suggest that surfactant vesicles adsorb quickly, and that during compression, the adsorbed film resists the tendency to collapse from the interface to form a three-dimensional bulk phase....

  5. Physicochemical investigation of mixed surfactant microemulsions: water solubilization, thermodynamic properties, microstructure, and dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bardhan, Soumik; Kundu, Kaushik; Saha, Swapan K; Paul, Bidyut K

    2013-12-01

    In this contribution, we report on a systematic investigation of phase behavior and solubilization of water in water-in-heptane or decane aggregates stabilized by mixtures of polyoxyethylene (20) cetyl ether (Brij-58) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactants with varying compositions in conjugation with 1-pentanol (Pn) at fixed surfactant(s)/Pn ratio and temperature. Synergism in water solubilization was evidenced by the addition of CTAB to Brij-58 stabilized system in close proximity of equimolar composition in both oils. An attempt has been made to correlate composition dependent water solubilization and volume induced conductivity studies to provide insight into the solubilization mechanism of these mixed systems. Conductivity studies reveal the ascending curve in water solubilization capacity-(Brij-58:CTAB, w/w) profile as the interdroplet interaction branch indicating percolation of conductance and the descending curve is a curvature branch due to the rigidity of the interface in these systems. The microstructure of these systems as a function of surfactant composition has been determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) measurements. FTIR study reveals increase and decrease in relative population of bound and bulk-like water, respectively, with increase in Brij-58:CTAB (w/w). DLS measurements showed that the droplet hydrodynamic diameter (Dh) decreases significantly with the increase in Brij-58:CTAB (w/w). Further, the interfacial composition and energetic parameters for the transfer of Pn from bulk oil to the interface were evaluated by the dilution method. Formation of temperature-insensitive microemulsions and temperature invariant droplet sizes are evidenced in the vicinity of the equimolar composition. The results are interpreted in terms of a proposed mechanism. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Nuclear magnetic resonance studies of conformations and molecular interactions in lyotropic mesophases - Applications to solubilization problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caniparoli, Jean-Philippe

    1988-01-01

    After having determined the structural properties of smectic liquid crystals made from double chain surfactants/water binary systems, residual anisotropic interactions and relaxation times measurements were used to investigate the molecular ordering. Phosphorus, deuterium and nitrogen NMR of the surfactant molecules evidenced their high degree of order and the strong anisotropy of their motions. Quantitative results depended on the surfactant polar head -phosphate or ammonium-, while they displayed little variations with the hydrocarbon tail size. The marked dependence of the order and dynamics of small solutes in a lamellar phase on their hydrophilic or hydrophobic behaviour was shown using the same methods. By means of para-magnetically induced relaxation, it was proved that the non-polar solute benzene is located in the organic domain of the liquid crystalline matrix. (author) [fr

  7. ADSORPTION OF SURFACTANT ON CLAYS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Surfactants used to enhance remediation of soils by soil washing are often lost in the process. Neither the amount nor the cause of this loss is known. It is assumed that clays present in the soil are responsible for the loss of the surfactant. In this papere, adsorption prope...

  8. Splash Dynamics of Falling Surfactant-Laden Droplets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sulaiman, Nur; Buitrago, Lewis; Pereyra, Eduardo

    2017-11-01

    Splashing dynamics is a common issue in oil and gas separation technology. In this study, droplet impact of various surfactant concentrations onto solid and liquid surfaces is studied experimentally using a high-speed imaging analysis. Although this area has been widely studied in the past, there is still not a good understanding of the role of surfactant over droplet impact and characterization of resulting splash dynamics. The experiments are conducted using tap water laden with anionic surfactant. The effects of system parameters on a single droplet impingement such as surfactant concentration (no surfactant, below, at and above critical micelle concentration), parent drop diameter (2-5mm), impact velocity and type of impact surface (thin and deep pool) are investigated. Image analysis technique is shown to be an effective technique for identification of coalescence to splashing transition. In addition, daughter droplets size distributions are analyzed qualitatively in the events of splashing. As expected, it is observed that the formation of secondary droplets is affected by the surfactant concentration. A summary of findings will be discussed.

  9. Recovering hydrocarbons with surfactants from lignin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Naae, D.G.; Whittington, L.E.; Ledoux, W.A.; Debons, F.E.

    1988-11-29

    This patent describes a method of recovering hydrocarbons from an underground hydrocarbon formation penetrated by at least one injection well and at least one production well, which comprises: injecting into the formation through an injection well a surfactant slug comprising about 0.1% to about 10% by weight of surfactants produced from lignin, the surfactants produced by placing lignin in contact with water, converting the lignin into low molecular weight lignin phenols by reducing the lignin in the presence of a reducing agent of carbon monoxide or hydrogen creating a reduction reaction mixture comprising oil soluble lignin phenols, the reduction occurring at a temperature greater than about 200/sup 0/C and a pressure greater than about 100 psi, recovering the oil soluble lignin phenols from the reduction mixture, and converting the lignin phenols into lignin surfactants by a reaction selected from the group consisting of alkoxylation, sulfonation, sulfation, aklylation, sulfomethylation, and alkoxysulfation; injecting into the formation through the injection well a drive fluid to push the surfactant slug towards a production well; and recovering hydrocarbons at the production well.

  10. Tile-based rigidization surface parametric design study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giner Munoz, Laura; Luntz, Jonathan; Brei, Diann; Kim, Wonhee

    2018-03-01

    Inflatable technologies have proven useful in consumer goods as well as in more recent applications including civil structures, aerospace, medical, and robotics. However, inflatable technologies are typically lacking in their ability to provide rigid structural support. Particle jamming improves upon this by providing structures which are normally flexible and moldable but become rigid when air is removed. Because these are based on an airtight bladder filled with loose particles, they always occupy the full volume of its rigid state, even when not rigidized. More recent developments in layer jamming have created thin, compact rigidizing surfaces replacing the loose volume of particles with thinly layered surface materials. Work in this area has been applied to several specific applications with positive results but have not generally provided the broader understanding of the rigidization performance as a function of design parameters required for directly adapting layer rigidization technology to other applications. This paper presents a parametric design study of a new layer jamming vacuum rigidization architecture: tile-based vacuum rigidization. This form of rigidization is based on layers of tiles contained within a thin vacuum bladder which can be bent, rolled, or otherwise compactly stowed, but when deployed flat, can be vacuumed and form a large, flat, rigid plate capable of supporting large forces both localized and distributed over the surface. The general architecture and operation detailing rigidization and compliance mechanisms is introduced. To quantitatively characterize the rigidization behavior, prototypes rigidization surfaces are fabricated and an experimental technique is developed based on a 3-point bending test. Performance evaluation metrics are developed to describe the stiffness, load-bearing capacity, and internal slippage of tested prototypes. A set of experimental parametric studies are performed to better understand the impact of

  11. Structural properties and release of insulin-loaded reverse hexagonal (HII) liquid crystalline mesophase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mishraki-Berkowitz, Tehila; Aserin, Abraham; Garti, Nissim

    2017-01-15

    Insulin loading into the H II mesophases was examined as a function of its concentration, with addition of glycerol as a cosolvent and with addition of phosphatidylcholine (PC) as a structural stabilizer. The structural properties, the molecular interactions, the viscoelastic properties, and the dynamic behavior were investigated by SAXS, ATR-FTIR, and rheological measurements. Insulin release was then monitored and analyzed. Insulin incorporation into the H II systems shrank the cylinders as it competed with the lipids in water-bonding. Insulin interrupted the interface while increasing τ max and creating a more solid-like response. Upon addition of PC, cooperative flow behavior was detected, which is probably the reason for increase in insulin cumulative release from 28% to 52% after 300 min. In the presence of glycerol, the system was less cooperative but insulin was more compactly folded, resulting in a slight improvement in insulin release (up to 6%). Addition of both PC and glycerol caused the maximum release (55%). The addition of additives into the H II system demonstrates how structural modifications can improve insulin release, and influence future design of encapsulated drug delivery systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Influence of metacide - surfactant complexes on agricultural crops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orynkul Esimova

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The complexes based on surfactants and polyhexamethyleneguanidine hydrochloride (metacide are important for agriculture. This paper considers compositions of known bactericidal metacide with different surfactants: anionic surfactant sodium dodecylsulphate (DDSNa and nonionic surfactant Tween 80 (monooleate of oxyethylenated anhydrosorbitols. The effect of individual components and associates of metacide and surfactants on productivity and infection of cereals was studied. According to the study, the highest productivity and infection rate were shown by the associate of metacide and Tween-80. At concentration of Tween-80 in aqueous solution equal to 0.001% in combination with metacide, efficiency was 98% at 0% infection. The surface tension and the wetting of metacide, DDSNa, Tween-80, and associates of metacide with surfactants were studied. In comparison with individual components, metacide-DDSNa and metacide-Tween-80 associates have higher surface activity.

  13. Physicochemical characteristics of PFC surfactants for dry decontamination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oh, Won Jin; Lee, Chi Woo [Korea University, Seoul (Korea)

    2001-04-01

    Even the trace amount of the used nuclear fuels of high radioactivity are hazardous to the earth and humans. Perfluorocarbons and perfluorocarbon surfactants are emerging to be efficient chemicals in the dry decontamination process of the used fuels of high radioactivity. The theme was undertaken to increase the knowledge on perfluorocarbon surfactants to develop the perfluorocarbon system in the dry decontamination process in Korea. Several cationic and anionic pfc surfactants were synthesized. Effects of pfc surfactants on electrochemical etching of silicon were investigated to form porous silicons. Forces were measured between silicon surfaces and AFM tip in the absence and presence of pfc surfactants. 7 refs., 10 figs. (Author)

  14. Tunable, antibacterial activity of silicone polyether surfactants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Madiha F; Zepeda-Velazquez, Laura; Brook, Michael A

    2015-08-01

    Silicone surfactants are used in a variety of applications, however, limited data is available on the relationship between surfactant structure and biological activity. A series of seven nonionic, silicone polyether surfactants with known structures was tested for in vitro antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli BL21. The compounds varied in their hydrophobic head, comprised of branched silicone structures with 3-10 siloxane linkages and, in two cases, phenyl substitution, and hydrophilic tail of 8-44 poly(ethylene glycol) units. The surfactants were tested at three concentrations: below, at, and above their Critical Micelle Concentrations (CMC) against 5 concentrations of E. coli BL21 in a three-step assay comprised of a 14-24h turbidometric screen, a live-dead stain and viable colony counts. The bacterial concentration had little effect on antibacterial activity. For most of the surfactants, antibacterial activity was higher at concentrations above the CMC. Surfactants with smaller silicone head groups had as much as 4 times the bioactivity of surfactants with larger groups, with the smallest hydrophobe exhibiting potency equivalent to sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Smaller PEG chains were similarly associated with higher potency. These data link lower micelle stability and enhanced permeability of smaller silicone head groups to antibacterial activity. The results demonstrate that simple manipulation of nonionic silicone polyether structure leads to significant changes in antibacterial activity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Use of surfactants for the remediation of contaminated soils: A review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mao, Xuhui; Jiang, Rui; Xiao, Wei; Yu, Jiaguo

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The recent advances in use of surfactant for soil remediation are reviewed. • The mechanisms of surfactant-based soil remediation are discussed. • A review on the application of different types of surfactants is made. • The future research direction of surfactant-based technologies is suggested. - Abstract: Due to the great harm caused by soil contamination, there is an increasing interest to apply surfactants to the remediation of a variety of contaminated soils worldwide. This review article summarizes the findings of recent literatures regarding remediation of contaminated soils/sites using surfactants as an enhancing agent. For the surfactant-based remedial technologies, the adsorption behaviors of surfactants onto soil, the solubilizing capability of surfactants, and the toxicity and biocompatibility of surfactants are important considerations. Surfactants can enhance desorption of pollutants from soil, and promote bioremediation of organics by increasing bioavailability of pollutants. The removal of heavy metals and radionuclides from soils involves the mechanisms of dissolution, surfactant-associated complexation, and ionic exchange. In addition to the conventional ionic and nonionic surfactants, gemini surfactants and biosurfactants are also applied to soil remediation due to their benign features like lower critical micelle concentration (CMC) values and better biocompatibility. Mixed surfactant systems and combined use of surfactants with other additives are often adopted to improve the overall performance of soil washing solution for decontamination. Worldwide the field studies and full-scale remediation using surfactant-based technologies are yet limited, however, the already known cases reveal the good prospect of applying surfactant-based technologies to soil remediation

  16. Use of surfactants for the remediation of contaminated soils: A review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mao, Xuhui, E-mail: clab@whu.edu.cn [School of Resource and Environmental Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072 (China); Jiang, Rui; Xiao, Wei [School of Resource and Environmental Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072 (China); Yu, Jiaguo, E-mail: jiaguoyu@yahoo.com [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Material Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070 (China)

    2015-03-21

    Highlights: • The recent advances in use of surfactant for soil remediation are reviewed. • The mechanisms of surfactant-based soil remediation are discussed. • A review on the application of different types of surfactants is made. • The future research direction of surfactant-based technologies is suggested. - Abstract: Due to the great harm caused by soil contamination, there is an increasing interest to apply surfactants to the remediation of a variety of contaminated soils worldwide. This review article summarizes the findings of recent literatures regarding remediation of contaminated soils/sites using surfactants as an enhancing agent. For the surfactant-based remedial technologies, the adsorption behaviors of surfactants onto soil, the solubilizing capability of surfactants, and the toxicity and biocompatibility of surfactants are important considerations. Surfactants can enhance desorption of pollutants from soil, and promote bioremediation of organics by increasing bioavailability of pollutants. The removal of heavy metals and radionuclides from soils involves the mechanisms of dissolution, surfactant-associated complexation, and ionic exchange. In addition to the conventional ionic and nonionic surfactants, gemini surfactants and biosurfactants are also applied to soil remediation due to their benign features like lower critical micelle concentration (CMC) values and better biocompatibility. Mixed surfactant systems and combined use of surfactants with other additives are often adopted to improve the overall performance of soil washing solution for decontamination. Worldwide the field studies and full-scale remediation using surfactant-based technologies are yet limited, however, the already known cases reveal the good prospect of applying surfactant-based technologies to soil remediation.

  17. Surfactant-Polymer Interaction for Improved Oil Recovery; FINAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gabitto, Jorge; Mohanty, Kishore K.

    2002-01-01

    The goal of this research was to use the interaction between a surfactant and a polymer for efficient displacement of tertiary oil by improving slug integrity, oil solubility in the displacing fluid and mobility control. Surfactant-polymer flooding has been shown to be highly effective in laboratory-scale linear floods. The focus of this proposal is to design an inexpensive surfactant-polymer mixture that can efficiently recover tertiary oil by avoiding surfactant slug degradation and viscous/heterogeneity fingering

  18. Surfactant properties of human meibomian lipids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mudgil, Poonam; Millar, Thomas J

    2011-03-25

    Human meibomian lipids are the major part of the lipid layer of the tear film. Their surfactant properties enable their spread across the aqueous layer and help maintain a stable tear film. The purpose of this study was to investigate surfactant properties of human meibomian lipids in vitro and to determine effects of different physical conditions such as temperature and increased osmolarity, such as occur in dry eye, on these properties. Human meibomian lipids were spread on an artificial tear solution in a Langmuir trough. The lipid films were compressed and expanded to record the surface pressure-area (Π-A) isocycles. The isocycles were recorded under different physical conditions such as high pressure, increasing concentration and size of divalent cations, increasing osmolarity, and varying temperature. Π-A isocycles of meibomian lipids showed that they form liquid films that are compressible and multilayered. The isocycles were unaffected by increasing concentration or size of divalent cations and increasing osmolarity in the subphase. Temperature had a marked effect on the lipids. Increase in temperature caused lipid films to become fluid, an expected feature, but decrease in temperature unexpectedly caused expansion of lipids and an increase in pressure suggesting enhanced surfactant properties. Human meibomian lipids form highly compressible, non-collapsible, multilayered liquid films. These lipids have surfactants that allow them to spread across an aqueous subphase. Their surfactant properties are unaffected by increasing divalent cations or hyperosmolarity but are sensitive to temperature. Cooling of meibomian lipids enhances their surfactant properties.

  19. Surfactant selection for a liquid foam-bed photobioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janoska, Agnes; Vázquez, María; Janssen, Marcel; Wijffels, René H; Cuaresma, María; Vílchez, Carlos

    2018-02-01

    A novel liquid foam-bed photobioreactor has been shown to hold potential as an innovative technology for microalgae production. In this study, a foam stabilizing agent has been selected which fits the requirements of use in a liquid foam-bed photobioreactor. Four criteria were used for an optimal surfactant: the surfactant should have good foaming properties, should not be rapidly biodegradable, should drag up microalgae in the foam formed, and it should not be toxic for microalgae. Ten different surfactants (nonionic, cationic, and anionic) and two microalgae genera (Chlorella and Scenedesmus) were compared on the above-mentioned criteria. The comparison showed the following facts. Firstly, poloxameric surfactants (Pluronic F68 and Pluronic P84) have acceptable foaming properties described by intermediate foam stability and liquid holdup and small bubble size. Secondly, the natural surfactants (BSA and Saponin) and Tween 20 were easily biodegraded by bacteria within 3 days. Thirdly, for all surfactants tested the microalgae concentration is reduced in the foam phase compared to the liquid phase with exception of the cationic surfactant CTAB. Lastly, only BSA, Saponin, Tween 20, and the two Pluronics were not toxic at concentrations of 10 CMC or higher. The findings of this study indicate that the Pluronics (F68 and P84) are the best surfactants regarding the above-mentioned criteria. Since Pluronic F68 performed slightly better, this surfactant is recommended for application in a liquid foam-bed photobioreactor. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2018. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  20. History of surfactant up to 1980.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Obladen, Michael

    2005-01-01

    Remarkable insight into disturbed lung mechanics of preterm infants was gained in the 18th and 19th century by the founders of obstetrics and neonatology who not only observed respiratory failure but also designed devices to treat it. Surfactant research followed a splendid and largely logical growth curve. Pathological changes in the immature lung were characterized in Germany by Virchow in 1854 and by Hochheim in 1903. The Swiss physiologist von Neergard fully understood surfactant function in 1929, but his paper was ignored for 25 years. The physical properties of surfactant were recognized in the early 1950s from research on warfare chemicals by Pattle in Britain and by Radford and Clements in the United States. The causal relationship of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and surfactant deficiency was established in the USA by Avery and Mead in 1959. The Australian obstetrician Liggins induced lung maturity with glucocorticoids in 1972, but his discovery was not fully believed for another 20 years. A century of basic research was rewarded when Fujiwara introduced surfactant substitution in Japan in 1980 for treatment and prevention of RDS. Copyright 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel

  1. Adsorption of anionic surfactants in limestone medium during oil recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Canbolat, Serhat; Bagci, Suat [Middle East Technical Univ., Dept. of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Ankara (Turkey)

    2004-07-15

    Foam-forming surfactant performance was evaluated by several experimental methods (interfacial tension, foam stability, corefloods) using commercial surfactants. There is considerable interest in the use of foam-forming surfactants for mobility control in water flood. To provide effective mobility control, the injected surfactant must propagate from the injection well toward the production well. One of the important parameters affecting propagation of foam-forming surfactant through the reservoir is the retention of surfactant due to its adsorption on reservoir rock. The determination of the adsorption of foam-forming surfactants in limestone reservoirs is important for the residual oil recovery efficiency. Adsorption measurements, recovery efficiencies, and surfactant and alkaline flooding experiments carried out with the representative of the selected surfactants alkaline solutions, linear alkyl benzene sulphonic acid (LABSA), sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES), and NaOH in a limestone medium. These surfactants were selected with respect to their foaming ability. Calibration curves formed by pH measurements were used to determine the correct adsorption amount of the used surfactants and recovery efficiency of these surfactants compared with base waterflooding. The results showed that LABSA adsorbed more than SLES in limestone reservoirs. The recovery efficiency of SLES was higher than the recovery efficiency of LABSA, and they decreased the recovery efficiency with respect to only the water injection case. (Author)

  2. Use of surfactants for the remediation of contaminated soils: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Xuhui; Jiang, Rui; Xiao, Wei; Yu, Jiaguo

    2015-03-21

    Due to the great harm caused by soil contamination, there is an increasing interest to apply surfactants to the remediation of a variety of contaminated soils worldwide. This review article summarizes the findings of recent literatures regarding remediation of contaminated soils/sites using surfactants as an enhancing agent. For the surfactant-based remedial technologies, the adsorption behaviors of surfactants onto soil, the solubilizing capability of surfactants, and the toxicity and biocompatibility of surfactants are important considerations. Surfactants can enhance desorption of pollutants from soil, and promote bioremediation of organics by increasing bioavailability of pollutants. The removal of heavy metals and radionuclides from soils involves the mechanisms of dissolution, surfactant-associated complexation, and ionic exchange. In addition to the conventional ionic and nonionic surfactants, gemini surfactants and biosurfactants are also applied to soil remediation due to their benign features like lower critical micelle concentration (CMC) values and better biocompatibility. Mixed surfactant systems and combined use of surfactants with other additives are often adopted to improve the overall performance of soil washing solution for decontamination. Worldwide the field studies and full-scale remediation using surfactant-based technologies are yet limited, however, the already known cases reveal the good prospect of applying surfactant-based technologies to soil remediation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Silica micro- and nanoparticles reduce the toxicity of surfactant solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ríos, Francisco; Fernández-Arteaga, Alejandro; Fernández-Serrano, Mercedes; Jurado, Encarnación; Lechuga, Manuela

    2018-04-20

    In this work, the toxicity of hydrophilic fumed silica micro- and nanoparticles of various sizes (7 nm, 12 nm, and 50 μm) was evaluated using the luminescent bacteria Vibrio fischeri. In addition, the toxicity of an anionic surfactant solution (ether carboxylic acid), a nonionic surfactant solution (alkyl polyglucoside), and a binary (1:1) mixture of these solutions all containing these silica particles was evaluated. Furthermore, this work discusses the adsorption of surfactants onto particle surfaces and evaluates the effects of silica particles on the surface tension and critical micellar concentration (CMC) of these anionic and nonionic surfactants. It was determined that silica particles can be considered as non-toxic and that silica particles reduce the toxicity of surfactant solutions. Nevertheless, the toxicity reduction depends on the ionic character of the surfactants. Differences can be explained by the different adsorption behavior of surfactants onto the particle surface, which is weaker for nonionic surfactants than for anionic surfactants. Regarding the effects on surface tension, it was found that silica particles increased the surface activity of anionic surfactants and considerably reduced their CMC, whereas in the case of nonionic surfactants, the effects were reversed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. NMR studies of macroscopic and microscopic properties of liquid crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hughes, J.R.

    1998-03-01

    The work presented is concerned with studies of orientational order in liquid crystals and the behaviour of certain mesophases. The experimental technique used in common with all the work is deuterium NMR spectroscopy. Much of the work involves studies of the orientational order of deuteriated solute molecules dissolved in liquid crystal solvents. Chapter 1 gives an introduction to liquid crystals followed by a quantitative description of orientational order. Deuterium NMR in liquid crystals is described and an outline of the molecular field theory behind the orientational order of a rigid, biaxial solute in a uniaxial mesophase is given. In Chapter 2 a novel type of mesophase induction is studied using NMR, where a solute induces up to two extra phases in a discotic mesogen depending on its concentration. The purpose of this work is to try to gain an understanding into the mechanism of the phase induction involved. Chapter 3 is concerned primarily with the macroscopic behaviour of the nematic phase formed by a semi-rigid main-chain polymer in solution. Of particular interest is the study of the reorientation of the monodomain, once the director has been rotated with respect to the magnetic field of the NMR spectrometer. A mesogen which has been claimed to exhibit a biaxial nematic phase is studied in Chapter 4, in order to determine the symmetry of the phase using NMR. Finally, Chapter 5 deals with the differing behaviour of a liquid crystal monomer and its dimer dissolved in common nematic solvents in order to determine whether this agrees with molecular field theory. (author)

  5. Rigidity and symmetry

    CERN Document Server

    Weiss, Asia; Whiteley, Walter

    2014-01-01

    This book contains recent contributions to the fields of rigidity and symmetry with two primary focuses: to present the mathematically rigorous treatment of rigidity of structures, and to explore the interaction of geometry, algebra, and combinatorics. Overall, the book shows how researchers from diverse backgrounds explore connections among the various discrete structures with symmetry as the unifying theme.  Contributions present recent trends and advances in discrete geometry, particularly in the theory of polytopes. The rapid development of abstract polytope theory has resulted in a rich theory featuring an attractive interplay of methods and tools from discrete geometry, group theory, classical geometry, hyperbolic geometry and topology.  The volume will also be a valuable source as an introduction to the ideas of both combinatorial and geometric rigidity theory and its applications, incorporating the surprising impact of symmetry. It will appeal to students at both the advanced undergraduate and gradu...

  6. Synergism and Physicochemical Properties of Anionic/Amphoteric Surfactant Mixtures with Nonionic Surfactant of Amine Oxide Type

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blagojević, S. M.; Pejić, N. D.; Blagojević, S. N.

    2017-12-01

    The physicochemical properties of initial formulation, that is anionic/amphoteric surfactants mixture SLES/AOS/CAB (sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES), α-olefin sulfonates (AOS) and cocamidopropyl betaine (CAB) at ratio 80 : 15 : 5) with nonionic surfactant of amine oxide type (lauramine oxide (AO)) in various concentration (1-5%) were studied. To characterize the surfactants mixture, the critical micelle concentration (CMC), surface tension (γ), foam volume, biodegradability and irritability were determined. This study showed that adding of AO in those mixtures lowered both γ and CMC as well as enhanced SLES/AOS/CAB foaming properties, but did not significantly affect biodegradability and irritability of initial formulation. Moreover, an increase in AO concentration has a meaningful synergistic effect on the initial formulation properties. All those results indicates that a nonionic surfactant of amine oxide type significantly improves the performance of anionic/amphoteric mixed micelle systems, and because of that anionic/amphoteric/nonionic mixture can be used in considerably lower concentrations as a cleaning formulation.

  7. Surfactant therapy in late preterm infants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murat Yurdakök

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Late preterm (LPT neonates are at a high risk for respiratory distress soon after birth due to respiratory distress syndrome (RDS, transient tachypnea of the newborn, persistent pulmonary hypertension, and pneumonia along with an increased need for surfactant replacement therapy, continuous positive airway pressure, and ventilator support when compared with the term neonates. In the past, studies on outcomes of infants with respiratory distress have primarily focused on extremely premature infants, leading to a gap in knowledge and understanding of the developmental biology and mechanism of pulmonary diseases in LPT neonates. Surfactant deficiency is the most frequent etiology of RDS in very preterm and moderately preterm infants, while cesarean section and lung infection play major roles in RDS development in LPT infants. The clinical presentation and the response to surfactant therapy in LPT infants may be different than that seen in very preterm infants. Incidence of pneumonia and occurrence of pneumothorax are significantly higher in LPT and term infants. High rates of pneumonia in these infants may result in direct injury to the type II alveolar cells of the lung with decreasing synthesis, release, and processing of surfactant. Increased permeability of the alveolar capillary membrane to both fluid and solutes is known to result in entry of plasma proteins into the alveolar hypophase, further inhibiting the surface properties of surfactant. However, the oxygenation index value do not change dramatically after ventilation or surfactant administration in LPT infants with RDS compared to very preterm infants. These finding may indicate a different pathogenesis of RDS in late preterm and term infants. In conclusion, surfactant therapy may be of significant benefit in LPT infants with serious respiratory failure secondary to a number of insults. However, optimal timing and dose of administration are not so clear in this group. Additional

  8. Charging and Screening in Nonpolar Solutions of Nonionizable Surfactants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behrens, Sven

    2010-03-01

    Nonpolar liquids do not easily accommodate electric charges, but surfactant additives are often found to dramatically increase the solution conductivity and promote surface charging of suspended colloid particles. Such surfactant-mediated electrostatic effects have been associated with equilibrium charge fluctuations among reverse surfactant micelles and in some cases with the statistically rare ionization of individual surfactant molecules. Here we present experimental evidence that even surfactants without any ionizable group can mediate charging and charge screening in nonpolar oils, and that they can do so at surfactant concentrations well below the critical micelle concentration (cmc). Precision conductometry, light scattering, and Karl-Fischer titration of sorbitan oleate solutions in hexane, paired with electrophoretic mobility measurements on suspended polymer particles, reveal a distinctly electrostatic action of the surfactant. We interpret our observations in terms of a charge fluctuation model and argue that the observed charging processes are likely facilitated, but not limited, by the presence of ionizable impurities.

  9. Is surfactant a promising additive drug in ALI/ARDS-patients?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schultz, MJ; Kesecioglu, J

    The rationale for surfactant replacement therapy in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is to restore the normal composition of the surfactant system, as well as to overcome ongoing inactivation of present surfactant. Indeed, surfactant replacement therapy call normalize the

  10. Is surfactant a promising additive drug in ALI/ARDS-patients?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schultz, Marcus J.; Kesecioglu, Jozef

    2004-01-01

    The rationale for surfactant replacement therapy in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is to restore the normal composition of the surfactant system, as well as to overcome ongoing inactivation of present surfactant. Indeed, surfactant replacement therapy call normalize the

  11. Maintained inspiratory activity during proportional assist ventilation in surfactant-depleted cats early after surfactant instillation: phrenic nerve and pulmonary stretch receptor activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schaller Peter

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Inspiratory activity is a prerequisite for successful application of patient triggered ventilation such as proportional assist ventilation (PAV. It has recently been reported that surfactant instillation increases the activity of slowly adapting pulmonary stretch receptors (PSRs followed by a shorter inspiratory time (Sindelar et al, J Appl Physiol, 2005 [Epub ahead of print]. Changes in lung mechanics, as observed in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome and after surfactant treatment, might therefore influence the inspiratory activity when applying PAV early after surfactant treatment. Objective To investigate the regulation of breathing and ventilatory response in surfactant-depleted young cats during PAV and during continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP early after surfactant instillation in relation to phrenic nerve activity (PNA and the activity of PSRs. Methods Seven anesthetized, endotracheally intubated young cats were exposed to periods of CPAP and PAV with the same end-expiratory pressure (0.2–0.5 kPa before and after lung lavage and after surfactant instillation. PAV was set to compensate for 75% of the lung elastic recoil. Results Tidal volume and respiratory rate were higher with lower PaCO2 and higher PaO2 during PAV than during CPAP both before and after surfactant instillation (p Conclusion PSR activity and the control of breathing are maintained during PAV in surfactant-depleted cats early after surfactant instillation, with a higher ventilatory response and a lower breathing effort than during CPAP.

  12. Ecotoxicological characterization of polyoxyethylene glycerol ester non-ionic surfactants and their mixtures with anionic and non-ionic surfactants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ríos, Francisco; Fernández-Arteaga, Alejandro; Lechuga, Manuela; Fernández-Serrano, Mercedes

    2017-04-01

    This paper reports on a study that investigated the aquatic toxicity of new non-ionic surfactants derived from renewable raw materials, polyoxyethylene glycerol ester (PGE), and their binary mixtures with anionic and non-ionic surfactants. Toxicity of pure PGEs was determined using representative organisms from different trophic levels: luminescent bacteria (Vibrio fischeri), microalgae (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata), and freshwater crustaceans (Daphnia magna). Relationships between toxicity and the structural parameters such as unit of ethylene oxide (EO) and hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) were evaluated. Critical micellar concentration (CMC) in the conditions of the toxicity test was also determined. It was found that the toxicity of the aqueous solutions of PGE decreased when the number of EO units in the molecule, HLB, and CMC increased. PGEs showed lower CMC in marine medium, and the toxicity to V. ficheri is lower when the CMC was higher. Given their non-polar nature, narcosis was expected to be the primary mode of toxic action of PGEs. For the mixture of surfactants, we observed that the mixtures with PGE that had the higher numbers of EO units were more toxic than the aqueous solutions of pure surfactants. Moreover, we found that concentration addition was the type of action more likely to occur for mixtures of PGE with lower numbers of EO units with non-ionic surfactants (alkylpolyglucoside and fatty alcohol ethoxylate), whereas for the mixture of PGE with lower EO units and anionic surfactant (ether carboxylic derivative), the most common response type was response addition. In case of mixtures involving amphoteric surfactants and PGEs with the higher numbers of EO units, no clear pattern with regard to the mixture toxicity response type could be observed.

  13. Synthesis and properties evaluation of sulfobetaine surfactant with double hydroxyl

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Ming; Luo, Gang; Zhang, Ze; Li, Sisi; Wang, Chengwen

    2017-09-01

    A series of sulfobetaine surfactants {N-[(3-alkoxy-2-hydroxyl)propoxy] ethyl-N,N-dimethyl-N-(2-hydroxyl)propyl sulfonate} ammonium chloride were synthesized with raw materials containing linear saturated alcohol, N,N-dimethylethanolamine, sodium 3-chloro-2-hydroxyl propane sulfonic acid and epichlorohydrin. The molecule structures of sulfobetaine surfactants were characterized by FTIR, 1HNMR and elemental analysis. Surface tension measurements can provide us information about the surface tension at the CMC (γCMC), pC20, Γmax and Amin. The pC20 values of sulfobetaine surfactants increase with the hydrophobic chain length increasing. Amin values of the surfactants decrease with increasing hydrophobic chain length from 10 to 14. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) and surface tension (γCMC) values of the sulfobetaine surfactants decrease with increasing hydrophobic chain length from 10 to 16. The lipophilicity of surfactant was enhanced with the increase of the carbon chain, however, the ability of anti-hard water was weakened. The minimum oil/water interfacial tension of four kinds of sulfobetaine surfactants is 10-2-10-3 mN/m magnitude, which indicates that the synthesized bis-hydroxy sulfobetaine surfactants have a great ability to reduce interfacial tension in the surfactant flooding system. The surface tension (γCMC) values of synthesized surfactants were lower compared with conventional anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfonate.

  14. Influence of chirality on the thermal and electric properties of the columnar mesophase exhibited by homomeric dipeptides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parthasarathi, Srividhya; Shankar Rao, D. S.; Prabhu, Rashmi; Yelamaggad, C. V.; Krishna Prasad, S.

    2017-10-01

    We present the first investigation of the influence of chirality on the thermal and electric properties in a biologically important homomeric dipeptide that exhibits a hexagonal columnar liquid crystal mesophase. The peptide employed has two chiral centres, and thus the two possible enantiopures are the (R,R) and (S,S) forms having opposite chirality. The measurements reported the span of the binary phase space between these two enantiopures. Any point in the binary diagram is identified by the enantiomeric excess Xee (the excess content of the R,R enantiopure over its S,S counterpart). We observe that the magnitude of Xee plays a pivotal role in governing the properties as evidenced by X-ray diffraction (XRD), electric polarization (Ps), dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) measurements, and the isotropic-columnar transition temperature. For example, XRD shows that while other features pointing to a hexagonal columnar phase remain the same, additional short-range ordering, indicating correlated discs within the column, is present for the enantiopures (Xee = ±1) but not for the racemate (Xee = 0). Similarly, an electric-field driven switching whose profile suggests the phase structure to be antiferroelectric is seen over the entire binary space, but the magnitude is dependent on Xee; interestingly the polarization direction is axial, i.e., along the column axis. DRS studies display two dielectric modes over a limited temperature range and one mode (mode 2) connected with the antiferroelectric nature of the columnar structure covering the entire mesophase. The relaxation frequency and the thermal behaviour of mode 2 are strongly influenced by Xee. The most attractive effect of chirality is its influence on the polar order, a measure of which is the magnitude of the axial polarization. This result can be taken to be a direct evidence of the manifestation of molecular recognition and the delicate interplay between chiral perturbations and the magnitude of the

  15. Birationally rigid varieties

    CERN Document Server

    Pukhlikov, Aleksandr

    2013-01-01

    Birational rigidity is a striking and mysterious phenomenon in higher-dimensional algebraic geometry. It turns out that certain natural families of algebraic varieties (for example, three-dimensional quartics) belong to the same classification type as the projective space but have radically different birational geometric properties. In particular, they admit no non-trivial birational self-maps and cannot be fibred into rational varieties by a rational map. The origins of the theory of birational rigidity are in the work of Max Noether and Fano; however, it was only in 1970 that Iskovskikh and Manin proved birational superrigidity of quartic three-folds. This book gives a systematic exposition of, and a comprehensive introduction to, the theory of birational rigidity, presenting in a uniform way, ideas, techniques, and results that so far could only be found in journal papers. The recent rapid progress in birational geometry and the widening interaction with the neighboring areas generate the growing interest ...

  16. Surfactant treatment before first breath for respiratory distress syndrome in preterm lambs: comparison of a peptide-containing synthetic lung surfactant with porcine-derived surfactant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van Zyl JM

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Johann M van Zyl,1 Johan Smith2 1Division of Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa; 2Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Tygerberg Children's Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa Background: In a recent study utilizing a saline-lavaged adult rabbit model, we described a significant improvement in systemic oxygenation and pulmonary shunt after the instillation of a novel synthetic peptide-containing surfactant, Synsurf. Respiratory distress syndrome in the preterm lamb more closely resembles that of the human infant, as their blood gas, pH values, and lung mechanics deteriorate dramatically from birth despite ventilator support. Moreover, premature lambs have lungs which are mechanically unstable, with the advantage of being able to measure multiple variables over extended periods. Our objective in this study was to investigate if Synsurf leads to improved systemic oxygenation, lung mechanics, and histology in comparison to the commercially available porcine-derived lung surfactant Curosurf® when administered before first breath in a preterm lamb model. Materials and methods: A Cesarean section was performed under general anesthesia on 18 time-dated pregnant Dohne Merino ewes at 129–130 days gestation. The premature lambs were delivered and ventilated with an expiratory tidal volume of 6–8 mL/kg for the first 30 minutes and thereafter at 8–10 mL/kg. In a randomized controlled trial, the two surfactants tested were Synsurf and Curosurf®, both at a dose of 100 mg/kg phospholipids (1,2-dipalmitoyl-L-α-phosphatidylcholine; 90% in Synsurf, 40% in Curosurf®. A control group of animals was treated with normal saline. Measurements of physiological variables, blood gases, and lung mechanics were made before and after surfactant and saline replacement and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180

  17. Surfactant use with nitrate-based bioremediation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilson, B.H.; Hutchins, S.R.; West, C.C.

    1995-01-01

    This study presents results of an initial survey on the effect of six surfactants on the biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in bioremediation applications using nitrate as the electron acceptor. Aquifer material from Park City, Kansas, was used for the study. The three atomic surfactants chosen were Steol CS-330, Dowfax 8390 and sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS); the three nonionic surfactants were T-MAZ-60, Triton X-100, and Igepal CO-660. Both Steol CS-330 and T-MAZ-60 biodegraded under denitrifying conditions. The Steol inhibited biodegradation of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, and trimethylbenzenes (BTEXTMB). Only toluene was rapidly degraded in the presence of T-MAZ-60. Biodegradation of all compounds, including toluene, appears to be inhibited by Dowfax 8390 and SDBS. No biodegradation of Dowfax 8390 or SDBS was observed. SDBS inhibited denitrification, but Dowfax 8390 did not. For the microcosms containing Triton X-100 or Igepal CO-660, removal of toluene, ethylbenzene, m-xylene, 1,3,5-TMB, and 1,2,4-TMB were similar to their removals in the no-surfactant treatment. These two surfactants did not biodegrade, did not inhibit biodegradation of the alkylbenzenes, and did not inhibit denitrification. Further studies are continuing with aquifer material from Eglin Air Force Base

  18. Foaming behaviour of polymer-surfactant solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cervantes-MartInez, Alfredo; Maldonado, Amir

    2007-01-01

    We study the effect of a non-ionic amphiphilic polymer (PEG-100 stearate also called Myrj 59) on the foaming behaviour of aqueous solutions of an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate or SDS). The SDS concentration was kept fixed while the Myrj 59 concentration was varied. Measurements of foamability, surface tension and electrical conductivity were carried out. The results show two opposite effects depending on the polymer concentration: foamability is higher when the Myrj 59 concentration is low; however, it decreases considerably when the polymer concentration is increased. This behaviour is due to the polymer adsorption at the air/liquid interface at lower polymer concentrations, and to the formation of a polymer-surfactant complex in the bulk at higher concentrations. The results are confirmed by surface tension and electrical conductivity measurements, which are interpreted in terms of the microstructure of the polymer-surfactant solutions. The observed behaviour is due to the amphiphilic nature of the studied polymer. The increased hydrophobicity of Myrj 59, compared to that of water-soluble polymers like PEG or PEO, increases its 'reactivity' towards SDS, i.e. the strength of its interaction with this anionic surfactant. Our results show that hydrophobically modified polymers have potential applications as additives in order to control the foaming properties of surfactant solutions

  19. Surfactant Sensors in Biotechnology; Part 1 – Electrochemical Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milan Sak-Bosnar

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available An overview on electrochemical surfactant sensors is given with special attention to papers published since 1993. The importance of surfactants in modern biotechnology is stressed out. Electrochemical sensors are usually divided according to the measured physical quantity to potentiometric, amperometric, conductometric and impedimetric surfactant sensors. The last ones are very few. Potentiometric surfactant sensors are the most numerous due to their simplicity and versatility. They can be used either as end-point titration sensors or as direct EMF measurement sensors, in batch or flow-through mode. Some amperometric surfactant sensors are true biosensors that use microorganisms or living cells.

  20. A level-set method for two-phase flows with soluble surfactant

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jian-Jun; Shi, Weidong; Lai, Ming-Chih

    2018-01-01

    A level-set method is presented for solving two-phase flows with soluble surfactant. The Navier-Stokes equations are solved along with the bulk surfactant and the interfacial surfactant equations. In particular, the convection-diffusion equation for the bulk surfactant on the irregular moving domain is solved by using a level-set based diffusive-domain method. A conservation law for the total surfactant mass is derived, and a re-scaling procedure for the surfactant concentrations is proposed to compensate for the surfactant mass loss due to numerical diffusion. The whole numerical algorithm is easy for implementation. Several numerical simulations in 2D and 3D show the effects of surfactant solubility on drop dynamics under shear flow.

  1. Performance enhancement of NdFeB nanoflakes prepared by surfactant-assisted ball milling at low temperature by using different surfactants

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Xiaoxin; Jin, Kunpeng; Wang, Fang; Fang, Qiuli; Du, Juan; Xia, Weixing; Yan, Aru; Liu, J. Ping; Zhang, Jian

    2017-02-01

    Hard magnetic NdFeB submicron and nanoflakes were successfully prepared by surfactant-assisted ball milling at room temperature (SABMRT) and low temperature (SABMLT) by using oleic acid (OA), oleylamine (OLA) and trioctylamine (TOA) as surfactant, respectively. Among the surfactants used, OA and OLA have similar effects on the morphology of the NdFeB nanoflakes milled at both room and low temperature. In the case of TOA, irregular micron-sized particles and submirco/nanoflakes were obtained for the NdFeB powders prepared by SABMRT and SABMLT, respectively. Samples prepared by SABMLT show better crystallinity and better degree of grain alignment than that prepared by SABMRT with the same surfactant. Comparing with the samples milled at RT, higher coercivity and larger remanence ratio were achieved in the NdFeB samples prepared at LT. The amounts of residual surfactants in final NdFeB powders were also calculated, which reveals that the final NdFeB powders milled at LT possess lower amount of residual surfactants than those milled at RT. It was found that lowering milling temperature of SABM would be a promising way for fabricating permanent magnetic materials with better hard magnetic properties.

  2. Controlling insulin release from reverse hexagonal (HII) liquid crystalline mesophase by enzymatic lipolysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mishraki-Berkowitz, Tehila; Cohen, Guy; Aserin, Abraham; Garti, Nissim

    2018-01-01

    In the present study we aimed to control insulin release from the reverse hexagonal (H II ) mesophase using Thermomyces lanuginosa lipase (TLL) in the environment (outer TLL) or within the H II cylinders (inner TLL). Two insulin-loaded systems differing by the presence (or absence) of phosphatidylcholine (PC) were examined. In general, incorporation of PC into the H II interface (without TLL) increased insulin release, as a more cooperative system was formed. Addition of TLL to the systems' environments resulted in lipolysis of the H II structure. In the absence of PC, the lipolysis was more dominant and led to a significant increase in insulin release (50% after 8h). However, the presence of PC stabilized the interface, hindering the lipolysis, and therefore no impact on the release profile was detected during the first 8h. Entrapment of TLL within the H II cylinders (with and without PC) drastically increased insulin release in both systems up to 100%. In the presence of PC insulin released faster and the structure was more stable. Consequently, the presence of lipases (inner or outer) both enhanced the destruction of the carrier, and provided sustained release of the entrapped insulin. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Rigidity of Glasses and Macromolecules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thorpe, M. F.

    1998-03-01

    The simple yet powerful ideas of percolation theory have found their way into many different areas of research. In this talk we show how RIGIDITY PERCOLATION can be studied at a similar level of sophistication, using a powerful new program THE PEBBLE GAME (D. J. Jacobs and M. F. Thorpe, Phys. Rev. E) 53, 3682 (1996). that uses an integer algorithm. This program can analyse the rigidity of two and three dimensional networks containing more than one million bars and joints. We find the total number of floppy modes, and find the critical behavior as the network goes from floppy to rigid as more bars are added. We discuss the relevance of this work to network glasses, and how it relates to experiments that involve the mechanical properties like hardness and elasticity of covalent glassy networks like Ge_xAs_ySe_1-x-y and dicuss recent experiments that suggest that the rigidity transition may be first order (Xingwei Feng, W. J.Bresser and P. Boolchand, Phys. Rev. Lett 78), 4422 (1997).. This approach is also useful in macromolecules and proteins, where detailed information about the rigid domain structure can be obtained.

  4. Poly(ethylene oxide) surfactant polymers

    OpenAIRE

    VACHEETHASANEE, KATANCHALEE; WANG, SHUWU; QIU, YONGXING; MARCHANT, ROGER E.

    2004-01-01

    We report on a series of structurally well-defined surfactant polymers that undergo surface-induced self-assembly on hydrophobic biomaterial surfaces. The surfactant polymers consist of a poly(vinyl amine) backbone with poly(ethylene oxide) and hexanal pendant groups. The poly(vinyl amine) (PVAm) was synthesized by hydrolysis of poly(N-vinyl formamide) following free radical polymerization of N-vinyl formamide. Hexanal and aldehyde-terminated poly (ethyleneoxide) (PEO) were simultaneously att...

  5. ASSOCIATION OF BRANCHED POLYETHYLENE IMINE WITH SURFACTANTS IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ismael C. Bellettini

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Three polymer-surfactant systems comprised of branched polyethylene imine (PEI with an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecylsulfate; SDS, a cationic surfactant (tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide; TTAB, and a zwitterionic surfactant (N-tetradecyl-N,N-dimethyl-3-ammonio-1-propanesulfonate; SB3-14 were studied based on the properties of surface tension, pyrene fluorescence emission, dynamic light scattering, pH, and zeta potential measurements. The critical aggregation concentration (cac and polymer saturation point (psp were determined for all three systems. The effect of these surfactants on the physico-chemical characteristics (diameter and surface charge of the complexes formed was determined. Polymer-surfactant interactions occurred in all of the systems studied, with the strongest interactions, electrostatic in nature, occurring in the SDS-PEI system. After the neutralization of the polymer charges with the addition of the surfactant, the hydrophobic effect started to control the interlacing of the polymer chains. For the PEI-TTAB system, a very dense film was formed at surfactant concentrations above 2.0 mmol L-1. In this case, the bromide counter-ion interacted with both the positively-charged PEI and the head of the surfactant, which is responsible for the formation of double layer coordination complexes. For the system composed of PEI and the zwitterionic surfactant, less cooperative associations occurred in comparison with the other systems.

  6. Rigidity-tuning conductive elastomer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shan, Wanliang; Diller, Stuart; Tutcuoglu, Abbas; Majidi, Carmel

    2015-06-01

    We introduce a conductive propylene-based elastomer (cPBE) that rapidly and reversibly changes its mechanical rigidity when powered with electrical current. The elastomer is rigid in its natural state, with an elastic (Young’s) modulus of 175.5 MPa, and softens when electrically activated. By embedding the cPBE in an electrically insulating sheet of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), we create a cPBE-PDMS composite that can reversibly change its tensile modulus between 37 and 1.5 MPa. The rigidity change takes ˜6 s and is initiated when a 100 V voltage drop is applied across the two ends of the cPBE film. This magnitude of change in elastic rigidity is similar to that observed in natural skeletal muscle and catch connective tissue. We characterize the tunable load-bearing capability of the cPBE-PDMS composite with a motorized tensile test and deadweight experiment. Lastly, we demonstrate the ability to control the routing of internal forces by embedding several cPBE-PDMS ‘active tendons’ into a soft robotic pneumatic bending actuator. Selectively activating the artificial tendons controls the neutral axis and direction of bending during inflation.

  7. Rigidity-tuning conductive elastomer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shan, Wanliang; Diller, Stuart; Tutcuoglu, Abbas; Majidi, Carmel

    2015-01-01

    We introduce a conductive propylene-based elastomer (cPBE) that rapidly and reversibly changes its mechanical rigidity when powered with electrical current. The elastomer is rigid in its natural state, with an elastic (Young’s) modulus of 175.5 MPa, and softens when electrically activated. By embedding the cPBE in an electrically insulating sheet of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), we create a cPBE–PDMS composite that can reversibly change its tensile modulus between 37 and 1.5 MPa. The rigidity change takes ∼6 s and is initiated when a 100 V voltage drop is applied across the two ends of the cPBE film. This magnitude of change in elastic rigidity is similar to that observed in natural skeletal muscle and catch connective tissue. We characterize the tunable load-bearing capability of the cPBE–PDMS composite with a motorized tensile test and deadweight experiment. Lastly, we demonstrate the ability to control the routing of internal forces by embedding several cPBE–PDMS ‘active tendons’ into a soft robotic pneumatic bending actuator. Selectively activating the artificial tendons controls the neutral axis and direction of bending during inflation. (paper)

  8. The effect of nanoparticle aggregation on surfactant foam stability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    AlYousef, Zuhair A; Almobarky, Mohammed A; Schechter, David S

    2018-02-01

    The combination of nanoparticles (NPs) and surfactant may offer a novel technique of generating stronger foams for gas mobility control. This study evaluates the potential of silica NPs to enhance the foam stability of three nonionic surfactants. Results showed that the concentration of surfactant and NPs is a crucial parameter for foam stability and that there is certain concentrations for strong foam generation. A balance in concentration between the nonionic surfactants and the NPs can enhance the foam stability as a result of forming flocs in solutions. At fixed surfactant concentration, the addition of NPs at low to intermediate concentrations can produce a more stable foam compared to the surfactant. The production of small population of flocs as a result of mixing the surfactant and NPs can enhance the foam stability by providing a barrier between the gas bubbles and delaying the coalescence of bubbles. Moreover, these flocs can increase the solution viscosity and, therefore, slow the drainage rate of thin aqueous film (lamellae). The measurements of foam half-life, bubble size, and mobility tests confirmed this conclusion. However, the addition of more solid particles or surfactant might have a negative impact on foam stability and reduce the maximum capillary pressure of coalescence as a result of forming extensive aggregates. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. On flexible and rigid nouns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rijkhoff, Jan

    2010-01-01

    classes. Finally this article wants to claim that the distinction between rigid and flexible noun categories (a) adds a new dimension to current classifications of parts of speech systems, (b) correlates with certain grammatical phenomena (e.g. so-called number discord), and (c) helps to explain the parts......This article argues that in addition to the major flexible lexical categories in Hengeveld’s classification of parts of speech systems (Contentive, Non-Verb, Modifier), there are also flexible word classes within the rigid lexical category Noun (Set Noun, Sort Noun, General Noun). Members...... by the flexible item in the external world. I will then argue that flexible word classes constitute a proper category (i.e. they are not the result of a merger of some rigid word classes) in that members of flexible word categories display the same properties regarding category membership as members of rigid word...

  10. Surfactant/detergent titration analysis method and apparatus for machine working fluids, surfactant-containing wastewater and the like

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Douglas D.; Hiller, John M.

    1998-01-01

    The present invention is an improved method and related apparatus for quantitatively analyzing machine working fluids and other aqueous compositions such as wastewater which contain various mixtures of cationic, neutral, and/or anionic surfactants, soluble soaps, and the like. The method utilizes a single-phase, non-aqueous, reactive titration composition containing water insoluble bismuth nitrate dissolved in glycerol for the titration reactant. The chemical reaction of the bismuth ion and glycerol with the surfactant in the test solutions results in formation of micelles, changes in micelle size, and the formation of insoluble bismuth soaps. These soaps are quantified by physical and chemical changes in the aqueous test solution. Both classical potentiometric analysis and turbidity measurements have been used as sensing techniques to determine the quantity of surfactant present in test solutions. This method is amenable to the analysis of various types of new, in-use, dirty or decomposed surfactants and detergents. It is a quick and efficient method utilizing a single-phase reaction without needing a separate extraction from the aqueous solution. It is adaptable to automated control with simple and reliable sensing methods. The method is applicable to a variety of compositions with concentrations from about 1% to about 10% weight. It is also applicable to the analysis of waste water containing surfactants with appropriate pre-treatments for concentration.

  11. Surfactant/detergent titration analysis method and apparatus for machine working fluids, surfactant-containing wastewater and the like

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, D.D.; Hiller, J.M.

    1998-02-24

    The present invention is an improved method and related apparatus for quantitatively analyzing machine working fluids and other aqueous compositions such as wastewater which contain various mixtures of cationic, neutral, and/or anionic surfactants, soluble soaps, and the like. The method utilizes a single-phase, non-aqueous, reactive titration composition containing water insoluble bismuth nitrate dissolved in glycerol for the titration reactant. The chemical reaction of the bismuth ion and glycerol with the surfactant in the test solutions results in formation of micelles, changes in micelle size, and the formation of insoluble bismuth soaps. These soaps are quantified by physical and chemical changes in the aqueous test solution. Both classical potentiometric analysis and turbidity measurements have been used as sensing techniques to determine the quantity of surfactant present in test solutions. This method is amenable to the analysis of various types of new, in-use, dirty or decomposed surfactants and detergents. It is a quick and efficient method utilizing a single-phase reaction without needing a separate extraction from the aqueous solution. It is adaptable to automated control with simple and reliable sensing methods. The method is applicable to a variety of compositions with concentrations from about 1% to about 10% weight. It is also applicable to the analysis of waste water containing surfactants with appropriate pre-treatments for concentration. 1 fig.

  12. Atrazine and Diuron partitioning within a soil-water-surfactant system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, P.; Keller, A.

    2006-12-01

    The interaction between pesticide and soil and water is even more complex in the presence of surfactants. In this study, batch equilibrium was employed to study the sorption of surfactants and the partitioning behaviors of Atrazine and Diuron within a soil-water-surfactant system. Five soils and four surfactants (nonionic Triton- 100, cationic Benzalkonium Chloride (BC), anionic Linear Alkylbenzenesulfonate (LAS), and anionic Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS)) were used. All surfactant sorption isotherms exhibited an initial linear increase at low surfactant concentrations but reached an asymptotic value as the surfactant concentrations increased. Among the surfactants, BC had the highest sorption onto all soils, followed by Triton-100 and then by LAS and SDS, implying that the nature of the charge significantly influences surfactant sorption. Sorption of either Triton-100 or BC was highly correlated with soil Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) while that of LAS and SDS was complicated by the presence of Ca2+ and Mg2+ in the aqueous phase and the CEC sites. Both LAS and SDS formed complexes with Ca2+ and Mg2+, resulting in a significant decrease in the detergency of the surfactants. At high surfactant concentrations and with micelles present in the aqueous phase, the micelles formed a more competitive partitioning site for the pesticides, resulting in less pesticide sorbed to the soil. At low Triton-100 and BC concentration, the sorption of the surfactants first resulted in less Atrazine sorption but more Diuron sorption, implying competition between the surfactants and Atrazine, which serves as an indirect evidence that there is a different sorption mechanism for Atrazine. Atrazine is a weak base and it protonates and becomes positively charged near particle surfaces where the pH is much lower than in the bulk solution. The protonated Atrazine may then be held on the CEC sites via electrostatic attraction. Triton-100, LAS and SDS sorbed on the soil showed similar

  13. Polyelectrolyte surfactant aggregates and their deposition on macroscopic surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voisin, David

    2002-01-01

    Oppositely charged surfactant and polyelectrolyte are present in hair shampoos and conditioners, together with particles (e.g. anti-dandruff agents for scalp) and droplets (e.g. silicone oil for the hair). These are normally formulated at high surfactant concentrations, beyond the flocculation region for the polyelectrolyte concentration used. However, on dilution with water, during application, flocs are formed which carry the particles and droplets to the scalp and hair. The addition of an anionic surfactant to an aqueous solution of cationic polyelectrolyte, at a given concentration, can lead to the formation of polyelectrolyte-surfactant 'particles', in which the surfactant 'binds' to the polyelectrolyte. This occurs from the critical association concentration (CAC), up to the surfactant concentration corresponding to maximum binding. Within this range of surfactant concentrations, the surfactant bound to the polyelectrolyte is thought to associate to form what might be termed 'internal micelles'. Each polyelectrolyte-surfactant particle in the region of the CAC, and just beyond, contains many polyelectrolyte chains, held together essentially by micelle bridges. These particles, however, remain net positively charged, and therefore stable. At the other end of the binding range of the surfactant, so many internal micelles are present that the polymer-surfactant particles are now net negatively charged. Indeed binding stops since no further micelles can be accommodated. Again, the particles are stable. However, there exists a range of surfactant concentrations, lying within the range referred to above, where the net charge is reduced sufficiently that the polymer-surfactant particles will flocculate to form much larger structures. The onset of this second range might be termed the 'critical flocculation concentration' (CFC), and the end, the 'critical stabilisation concentration' (CSC). In this work, the CFC and the CSC have been determined for mixtures of

  14. CT-3DRA registration for radiosurgery treatments: a comparison among rigid, affine and non rigid approaches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stancanello, J.; Loeckx, D.; Francescon, P.; Calvedon, C.; Avanzo, M.; Cora, S.; Scalchi, P.; Cerveri, P.; Ferrigno, G.

    2004-01-01

    This work aims at comparing rigid, affine and Local Non Rigid (LNR) CT-3D Rotational Angiography (CT-3DRA) registrations based on mutual information. 10 cranial and 1 spinal cases have been registered by rigid and affine transformations; while LNR has been applied to the cases where residual deformation must be corrected. An example of CT-3DRA registration without regularization term and an example of LNR using the similarity criterion and the regularization term as well as 3D superposition of the 3DRA before and after the registration without the regularization term are presented. All the registrations performed by rigid transformation converged to an acceptable solution. The results about the robustness test in axial direction are reported. Conclusions: For cranial cases, affine transformation endowed with threshold-segmentation pre-processing can be considered the most favourable solution for almost all registrations; for some cases, LNR provides more accurate results. For the spinal case rigid transformation is the most suitable when immobilizing patient during examinations; in this case the increase of accuracy by using LNR registrations seems to be not significant

  15. Acute toxicity of anionic and non-ionic surfactants to aquatic organisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lechuga, M; Fernández-Serrano, M; Jurado, E; Núñez-Olea, J; Ríos, F

    2016-03-01

    The environmental risk of surfactants requires toxicity measurements. As different test organisms have different sensitivity to the toxics, it is necessary to establish the most appropriate organism to classify the surfactant as very toxic, toxic, harmful or safe, in order to establish the maximum permissible concentrations in aquatic ecosystems. We have determined the toxicity values of various anionic surfactants ether carboxylic derivatives using four test organisms: the freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna, the luminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri, the microalgae Selenastrum capricornutum (freshwater algae) and Phaeodactylum tricornutum (seawater algae). In addition, in order to compare and classify the different families of surfactants, we have included a compilation of toxicity data of surfactants collected from literature. The results indicated that V. fischeri was more sensitive to the toxic effects of the surfactants than was D. magna or the microalgae, which was the least sensitive. This result shows that the most suitable toxicity assay for surfactants may be the one using V. fischeri. The toxicity data revealed considerable variation in toxicity responses with the structure of the surfactants regardless of the species tested. The toxicity data have been related to the structure of the surfactants, giving a mathematical relationship that helps to predict the toxic potential of a surfactant from its structure. Model-predicted toxicity agreed well with toxicity values reported in the literature for several surfactants previously studied. Predictive models of toxicity is a handy tool for providing a risk assessment that can be useful to establish the toxicity range for each surfactant and the different test organisms in order to select efficient surfactants with a lower impact on the aquatic environment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Surfactant protein D in newborn infants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dahl, Marianne; Juvonen, Pekka Olavi; Holmskov, Uffe

    2005-01-01

    Surfactant protein D (SP-D) is a collectin that plays an important role in the innate immune system. The role of SP-D in the metabolism of surfactant is as yet quite unclear. The aims of this study were to establish normal values of SP-D in the umbilical cord blood and capillary blood of mature...

  17. Status of surfactants as penetration enhancers in transdermal drug delivery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iti Som

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Surfactants are found in many existing therapeutic, cosmetic, and agro-chemical preparations. In recent years, surfactants have been employed to enhance the permeation rates of several drugs via transdermal route. The application of transdermal route to a wider range of drugs is limited due to significant barrier to penetration across the skin which is associated with the outermost stratum corneum layer. Surfactants have effects on the permeability characteristics of several biological membranes including skin. They have the potential to solubilize lipids within the stratum corneum. The penetration of the surfactant molecule into the lipid lamellae of the stratum corneum is strongly dependent on the partitioning behavior and solubility of surfactant. Surfactants ranging from hydrophobic agents such as oleic acid to hydrophilic sodium lauryl sulfate have been tested as permeation enhancer to improve drug delivery. This article reviews the status of surfactants as permeation enhancer in transdermal drug delivery of various drugs.

  18. Influence of stability of polymer surfactant on oil displacement mechanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Li; Li, Chengliang; Pi, Yanming; Wu, Di; He, Ying; Geng, Liang

    2018-02-01

    At present, most of the oilfields of China have entered the late stage of high water-cut development, and three oil recovery technique has become the leading technology for improving oil recovery. With the improvement of three oil recovery techniques, the polymer surfactant flooding technology has been widely promoted in oil fields in recent years. But in the actual field experiment, it has been found that the polymer surfactant has chromatographic separation at the extraction end, which indicates that the property of the polymer surfactant has changed during the displacement process. At present, there was few literature about how the stability of polymer surfactant affects the oil displacement mechanism. This paper used HuaDing-I polymer surfactant to conduct a micro photolithography glass flooding experiment, and then compared the oil displacement law of polymer surfactant before and after static setting. Finally, the influence law of stability of polymer surfactant on the oil displacement mechanism is obtained by comprehensive analysis.

  19. Enhanced solubilization of curcumin in mixed surfactant vesicles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Arun; Kaur, Gurpreet; Kansal, S K; Chaudhary, Ganga Ram; Mehta, S K

    2016-05-15

    Self-assemblies of equimolar double and single chain mixed ionic surfactants, with increasing numbers of carbon atoms of double chain surfactant, were analyzed on the basis of fluorescence and conductivity results. Attempts were also made to enhance the solubilization of curcumin in aqueous equimolar mixed surfactant systems. Mixed surfactant assembly was successful in retarding the degradation of curcumin in alkaline media (only 25-28 40% degraded in 10h at pH 13). Fluorescence spectroscopy and fluorescence quenching methods were employed to predict the binding position and mechanism of curcumin with self-assemblies. Results indicate that the interactions take place according to both dynamic and static quenching mechanisms and curcumin was distributed in a palisade layer of mixed aggregates. Antioxidant activity (using DPPH radical) and biocompatibility (using calf-thymus DNA) of curcumin-loaded mixed surfactant formulations were also evaluated. The prepared systems improved the stability, solubility and antioxidant activity of curcumin and additionally are biocompatible. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Torsional Rigidity of Minimal Submanifolds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Markvorsen, Steen; Palmer, Vicente

    2006-01-01

    We prove explicit upper bounds for the torsional rigidity of extrinsic domains of minimal submanifolds $P^m$ in ambient Riemannian manifolds $N^n$ with a pole $p$. The upper bounds are given in terms of the torsional rigidities of corresponding Schwarz symmetrizations of the domains in warped...

  1. FLOTATION DE-INKING OF 50% ONP/ 50% OMG RECOVERED PAPERS MIXTURES USING NONIONIC SURFACTANT, SOAP, AND SURFACTANT/SOAP BLENDS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeremy Allix

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available A laboratory flotation column equipped with Venturi aerators and an adjustable froth removal system was used to study the effect of calcium soap and a mixture of calcium soap/alkyl phenol ethoxylate surfactant on ink and fibres transfer during flotation de-inking of a 50% old newprint (ONP / 50% old magazines (OMG recovered papers mixture. Mass transport phenomena determining the yield of the flotation process were interpreted using model equations describing particle removal in terms of flotation, entrainment, and drainage in the froth. A decrease in the ink and mineral fillers flotation rate constant, drainage through the froth, and in fibre entrainment was observed when increasing the surfactant concentration. These trends were consistent with the typical dispersing action of the studied nonionic surfactant. An opposite effect on ink and fillers was observed when using calcium soap alone, and the increase in the flotation rate constant and drainage through the froth were consistent with the collecting and defoaming action of the calcium soap. Moreover, fibre entrainment decreased when increasing the soap concentration. The study of the surfactant/soap mixture highlighted the absence of synergy between the calcium soap and the surfactant.

  2. A novel lignin-based surfactant system for the Salem Unit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DeBons, F.E.; Whittington, L.E.

    1991-01-01

    Texaco conducted a successful surfactant/polymer flood in a 60-acre [24 ha] portion of the Salem Benoist reservoir in Salem, Illinois, in 1981. This pilot used a brine-tolerant petroleum sulfonate surfactant system blended in injection brine followed by a xanthan mobility control polymer in fresher water. The oil recovery over the seven year life of the flood was 487,050 bbl [77 435 m 3 ]. This represents 45% of the oil remaining in the total thickness of 73% of that from the more permeable lower interval where most of the surfactant flowed. Since this successful project, Texaco has continued to improve enhanced oil recovery surfactant systems. We have developed novel, brine tolerant surfactants based on the renewable resources lignin and tallow amine. This paper describes the laboratory work leading to a surfactant system which has been recommended for field testing. The laboratory work includes blending, interfacial tension measurements, and core floods in Berea and reservoir cores. The type of lignin based surfactant system described in this report has applicability in all fields where conventional petroleum-based surfactants have been used. Their much lower cost means that they can be used economically at lower crude oil prices

  3. Flexible and rigid cystoscopy in women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gee, Jason R; Waterman, Bradley J; Jarrard, David F; Hedican, Sean P; Bruskewitz, Reginald C; Nakada, Stephen Y

    2009-01-01

    Previous studies have evaluated the tolerability of rigid versus flexible cystoscopy in men. Similar studies, however, have not been performed in women. We sought to determine whether office-based flexible cystoscopy was better tolerated than rigid cystoscopy in women. Following full IRB approval, women were prospectively randomized in a single-blind manner. Patients were randomized to flexible or rigid cystoscopy and draped in the lithotomy position to maintain blinding of the study. Questionnaires evaluated discomfort before, during, and after cystoscopy. Thirty-six women were randomized to flexible (18) or rigid (18) cystoscopy. Indications were surveillance (16), hematuria (15), recurrent UTIs (2), voiding dysfunction (1), and other (2). All questionnaires were returned by 31/36 women. Using a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS), median discomfort during the procedure for flexible and rigid cystoscopy were 1.4 and 1.8, respectively, in patients perceiving pain. Median recalled pain 1 week later was similar at 0.8 and 1.15, respectively. None of these differences were statistically significant. Flexible and rigid cystoscopy are well tolerated in women. Discomfort during and after the procedure is minimal in both groups. Urologists should perform either procedure in women based on their preference and skill level.

  4. Nonlinear vibrational spectroscopy of surfactants at liquid interfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miranda, Paulo B. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

    1998-12-14

    Surfactants are widely used to modify physical and chemical properties of interfaces. They play an important role in many technological problems. Surfactant monolayer are also of great scientific interest because they are two-dimensional systems that may exhibit a very rich phase transition behavior and can also be considered as a model system for biological interfaces. In this Thesis, we use a second-order nonlinear optical technique (Sum-Frequency Generation - SFG) to obtain vibrational spectra of surfactant monolayer at Iiquidhapor and solid/liquid interfaces. The technique has several advantages: it is intrinsically surface-specific, can be applied to buried interfaces, has submonolayer sensitivity and is remarkably sensitive to the confirmational order of surfactant monolayers.

  5. The Inhibiting or Accelerating Effect of Different Surfactants on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The course of differential capacity curves of the electric double layer at the mercury electrode/surfactant solution interface was described for three different surfactants from different groups. Using square-wave voltammetry (SWV) it was found that the surfactants had a varying effect on the kinetics of electroreduction of Zn2+ ...

  6. Effect of Gemini-type surfactant on methane hydrate formation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jeong, K.E.; Park, J.M.; Kim, C.U.; Chae, H.J.; Jeong, S.Y. [Korea Research Inst. of Chemical Technology, Jang-Dong, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2008-07-01

    Natural gas hydrates are formed from water and natural gas molecules at particular temperatures and pressures that become ice-like inclusion compounds. Gas hydrates offer several benefits such as energy resource potential and high storage capacity of natural gas in the form of hydrates. However, the application of natural gas hydrates has been deterred by its low formation rate and low conversion ratio of water into hydrate resulting in low actual storage capacity. This paper presented an experimental study to determine the effect of adding a novel Gemini-type surfactant on methane hydrate formation. The experimental study was described with reference to the properties of prepared diols and properties of prepared disulfonates. Gemini surfactant is the family of surfactant molecules possessing more than one hydrophobic tail and hydrophilic head group. They generally have better surface-active properties than conventional surfactants of equal chain length. The paper presented the results of the study in terms of the reactions of diols with propane sultone; storage capacity of hydrate formed with and without surfactant; and methane hydrate formation with and without disulfonate. It was concluded that the methane hydrate formation was accelerated by the addition of novel anionic Gemini-type surfactants and that hydrate formation was influenced by the surfactant concentration and alkyl chain length. For a given concentration, the surfactant with the highest chain length demonstrated the highest formation rate and storage capacity. 5 refs., 3 tabs., 4 figs.

  7. Identifying the Imprint of Surfactant Stabilisation in Whitecap Foam Evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callaghan, A. H.; Deane, G. B.; Stokes, D.

    2016-02-01

    Surfactants are ubiquitous in the world's oceans and can affect climatically-relevant processes such as air-sea gas exchange, sea spray aerosol (SSA) flux, and air-sea momentum transfer. Surfactants are amphiphilic and help form the physically and chemically distinct ocean surface microlayer (SML), however, the spatial distribution, concentration and composition of the SML is not well understood, especially under conditions of vigorous wave breaking. Like the SML, breaking waves also influence physical exchange processes at the air-sea interface, and oceanic whitecap foam coverage is commonly used to quantify bubble-mediated exchange processes. However, surfactants can increase the lifetime of foam over clean water conditions, potentially complicating the use of whitecap coverage to parameterise air-sea gas exchange and SSA production flux. A better understanding of how surfactants affect the evolution of whitecap foam is needed to improve whitecap parameterisations of bubble-mediated processes, and may also provide a remote sensing approach to map the spatial distribution of surfactants at the water surface. Here we present results from a laboratory study that looked at whitecap foam evolution in "clean" and "surfactant-added" seawater regimes. We find that the whitecap foam area growth timescale is largely insensitive to the presence of surfactants, but that surfactant stabilization of whitecap foam becomes important during the whitecap foam area decay phase. The timescale at which this occurs appears to be consistent for breaking waves of different scale and intensity. A simple method is then used to isolate the surfactant signal and derive an equivalent "clean" seawater foam decay time for the whitecaps in the "surfactant-added" regime. The method is applied to oceanic whitecaps and results compared to the laboratory whitecaps from the "clean" and "surfactant-added" regimes.

  8. Effective Surfactants Blend Concentration Determination for O/W Emulsion Stabilization by Two Nonionic Surfactants by Simple Linear Regression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan, A K

    2015-01-01

    In this work, O/W emulsion sets were prepared by using different concentrations of two nonionic surfactants. The two surfactants, tween 80(HLB=15.0) and span 80(HLB=4.3) were used in a fixed proportions equal to 0.55:0.45 respectively. HLB value of the surfactants blends were fixed at 10.185. The surfactants blend concentration is starting from 3% up to 19%. For each O/W emulsion set the conductivity was measured at room temperature (25±2°), 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80°. Applying the simple linear regression least squares method statistical analysis to the temperature-conductivity obtained data determines the effective surfactants blend concentration required for preparing the most stable O/W emulsion. These results were confirmed by applying the physical stability centrifugation testing and the phase inversion temperature range measurements. The results indicated that, the relation which represents the most stable O/W emulsion has the strongest direct linear relationship between temperature and conductivity. This relationship is linear up to 80°. This work proves that, the most stable O/W emulsion is determined via the determination of the maximum R² value by applying of the simple linear regression least squares method to the temperature-conductivity obtained data up to 80°, in addition to, the true maximum slope is represented by the equation which has the maximum R² value. Because the conditions would be changed in a more complex formulation, the method of the determination of the effective surfactants blend concentration was verified by applying it for more complex formulations of 2% O/W miconazole nitrate cream and the results indicate its reproducibility.

  9. Polyelectrolyte surfactant aggregates and their deposition on macroscopic surfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Voisin, David

    2002-07-01

    Oppositely charged surfactant and polyelectrolyte are present in hair shampoos and conditioners, together with particles (e.g. anti-dandruff agents for scalp) and droplets (e.g. silicone oil for the hair). These are normally formulated at high surfactant concentrations, beyond the flocculation region for the polyelectrolyte concentration used. However, on dilution with water, during application, flocs are formed which carry the particles and droplets to the scalp and hair. The addition of an anionic surfactant to an aqueous solution of cationic polyelectrolyte, at a given concentration, can lead to the formation of polyelectrolyte-surfactant 'particles', in which the surfactant 'binds' to the polyelectrolyte. This occurs from the critical association concentration (CAC), up to the surfactant concentration corresponding to maximum binding. Within this range of surfactant concentrations, the surfactant bound to the polyelectrolyte is thought to associate to form what might be termed 'internal micelles'. Each polyelectrolyte-surfactant particle in the region of the CAC, and just beyond, contains many polyelectrolyte chains, held together essentially by micelle bridges. These particles, however, remain net positively charged, and therefore stable. At the other end of the binding range of the surfactant, so many internal micelles are present that the polymer-surfactant particles are now net negatively charged. Indeed binding stops since no further micelles can be accommodated. Again, the particles are stable. However, there exists a range of surfactant concentrations, lying within the range referred to above, where the net charge is reduced sufficiently that the polymer-surfactant particles will flocculate to form much larger structures. The onset of this second range might be termed the 'critical flocculation concentration' (CFC), and the end, the 'critical stabilisation concentration' (CSC). In this work, the CFC and

  10. Effect of surfactant and surfactant blends on pseudoternary phase diagram behavior of newly synthesized palm kernel oil esters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahdi ES

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Elrashid Saleh Mahdi1, Mohamed HF Sakeena1, Muthanna F Abdulkarim1, Ghassan Z Abdullah1,3, Munavvar Abdul Sattar2, Azmin Mohd Noor11Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, 2Department of Physiology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Penang, Malaysia; 3Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, International Medical University, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaBackground: The purpose of this study was to select appropriate surfactants or blends of surfactants to study the ternary phase diagram behavior of newly introduced palm kernel oil esters.Methods: Nonionic surfactant blends of Tween® and Tween®/Span® series were screened based on their solubilization capacity with water for palm kernel oil esters. Tween® 80 and five blends of Tween® 80/Span® 80 and Tween® 80/Span® 85 in the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB value range of 10.7–14.0 were selected to study the phase diagram behavior of palm kernel oil esters using the water titration method at room temperature.Results: High solubilization capacity was obtained by Tween® 80 compared with other surfactants of Tween® series. High HLB blends of Tween® 80/Span® 85 and Tween® 80/Span® 80 at HLB 13.7 and 13.9, respectively, have better solubilization capacity compared with the lower HLB values of Tween® 80/Span® 80. All the selected blends of surfactants were formed as water-in-oil microemulsions, and other dispersion systems varied in size and geometrical layout in the triangles. The high solubilization capacity and larger areas of the water-in-oil microemulsion systems were due to the structural similarity between the lipophilic tail of Tween® 80 and the oleyl group of the palm kernel oil esters.Conclusion: This study suggests that the phase diagram behavior of palm kernel oil esters, water, and nonionic surfactants is not only affected by the HLB value, but also by the structural similarity between palm kernel oil esters and the surfactant

  11. Tailor-made surfactants for optimized chemical EOR. Meeting oil reservoir conditions by applied knowledge of structure-performance relationship in extended surfactants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Trahan, G.; Sorensen, W. [Sasol North America Inc., Westlake, LA (United States); Jakobs-Sauter, B. [Sasol Germany GmbH (Germany)

    2013-08-01

    Formulating the surfactant package for chemical EOR is a time consuming and expensive process - the formulation needs to fit the specific reservoir conditions (like oil type, temperature, salinity, etc.) to give optimum performance and the number of formulation variables is virtually endless. This paper studies the impact of surfactant structure on EOR formulation ability and performance and how to adjust the structure of the surfactant molecule to meet a specific reservoir's needs. Data from salinity phase boundary studies of alcohol propoxy sulfates illustrate how changes in alcohol structure as well as in propylene oxide level can shift optimum salinity and temperature to the desired range in a given model oil. From these data the impact of individual structural units was evaluated. Application of the HLD model (Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Deviation) shows how to extrapolate from the known data set to actual reservoir conditions. This is illustrated by studies on crude oil samples. Additional tests study how effective the selected surfactants perform. The HLD concept proves to be a valuable tool to select and tailor surfactants to individual reservoir needs, thus simplifying the surfactant screening process for EOR formulations by pre-selection of suitable structures and ultimately reducing cost and effort on the way to the most effective chemical EOR package. (orig.)

  12. MICROBIAL SURFACTANTS. I. GLYCOLIPIDS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pirog T. Р.

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The review is devoted to surface-active glycolipids. The general characteristics, the physiological role of the rhamnolipids, trehalose lipids, sophorolipids, mannosylerythritol lipids and their traditional producers — the representatives of the genera Pseudozyma, Pseudomonas, Rhodococcus and Candida are given. The detailed analysis of the chemical structure, the stages of the biosynthesis and the regulation of some low molecular glycolipids are done. The own experimental data concerning the synthesis intensification, the physiological role and the practical use of Rhodococcus erythropolis IMV Ac-5017, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus IMV B-7241 and Nocardia vaccinii IMV B-7405 surfactants, which are a complex of the glyco-, phospho-, amino- and neutral lipids (glycolipids of all strains are presented by trehalose mycolates are summarized. It was found that R. erythropolis IMV Ac-5017, A. calcoaceticus IMV B-7241 and N. vaccinii IMV B-7405 surfactants have protective, antimicrobial and antiadhesive properties. It was shown that R. erythropolis IMV Ac-5017, A. calcoaceticus IMV B-7241 and N. vaccinii IMV B-7405 surfactants preparation of cultural liquid intensified the degradation of oil in water due to the activation of the natural petroleum-oxidizing microflora.

  13. Analysis of Switched-Rigid Floating Oscillator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prabhakar R. Marur

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available In explicit finite element simulations, a technique called deformable-to-rigid (D2R switching is used routinely to reduce the computation time. Using the D2R option, the deformable parts in the model can be switched to rigid and reverted back to deformable when needed during the analysis. The time of activation of D2R however influences the overall dynamics of the system being analyzed. In this paper, a theoretical basis for the selection of time of rigid switching based on system energy is established. A floating oscillator problem is investigated for this purpose and closed-form analytical expressions are derived for different phases in rigid switching. The analytical expressions are validated by comparing the theoretical results with numerical computations.

  14. Serum and sputum surfactants -A and -D in multidrug-resistant and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Abnormal production and function of surfactants are associated with pulmonary diseases. Also, pulmonary infections alter surfactant metabolism. Due to lack of information on the levels of surfactants A (SP-A) and D (SP-D) in Nigerian tuberculosis (TB) patients, this study assessed these surfactants in both sputum and ...

  15. Photoisomerization of merocyanine 540 in polymer-surfactant ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Photoisomerization of merocyanine 540 (MC540) in a polymer-surfactant aggregate is studied using picosecond time resolved emission spectroscopy. The aggregate consists of the polymer, poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) and the surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS). With increase in the concentration of SDS in an ...

  16. Dysfunction of pulmonary surfactant mediated by phospholipid oxidation is cholesterol-dependent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Saiedy, Mustafa; Pratt, Ryan; Lai, Patrick; Kerek, Evan; Joyce, Heidi; Prenner, Elmar; Green, Francis; Ling, Chang-Chun; Veldhuizen, Ruud; Ghandorah, Salim; Amrein, Matthias

    2018-04-01

    Pulmonary surfactant forms a cohesive film at the alveolar air-lung interface, lowering surface tension, and thus reducing the work of breathing and preventing atelectasis. Surfactant function becomes impaired during inflammation due to degradation of the surfactant lipids and proteins by free radicals. In this study, we examine the role of reactive nitrogen (RNS) and oxygen (ROS) species on surfactant function with and without physiological cholesterol levels (5-10%). Surface activity was assessed in vitro in a captive bubble surfactometer (CBS). Surfactant chemistry, monolayer fluidity and thermodynamic behavior were also recorded before and after oxidation. We report that physiologic amounts of cholesterol combined with oxidation results in severe impairment of surfactant function. We also show that surfactant polyunsaturated phospholipids are the most susceptible to oxidative alteration. Membrane thermodynamic experiments showed significant surfactant film stiffening after free radical exposure in the presence of cholesterol. These results point to a previously unappreciated role for cholesterol in amplifying defects in surface activity caused by oxidation of pulmonary surfactant, a finding that may have implications for treating several lung diseases. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Alkyl-imidazolium glycosides: non-ionic-cationic hybrid surfactants from renewable resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salman, Abbas Abdulameer; Tabandeh, Mojtaba; Heidelberg, Thorsten; Hussen, Rusnah Syahila Duali; Ali, Hapipah Mohd

    2015-08-14

    A series of surfactants combining carbohydrate and imidazolium head groups were prepared and investigated on their assembly behavior. The presence of the imidazolium group dominated the interactions of the surfactants, leading to high CMCs and large molecular surface areas, reflected in curved rather than lamellar surfactant assemblies. The carbohydrate, on the other hand, stabilized molecular assemblies slightly and reduced the surface tension of surfactant solutions considerably. A comparative emulsion study discourages the use of pure alkyl imidazolium glycosides owing to reduced assembly stabilities compared with APGs. However, the surfactants are believed to have potential as component in carbohydrate based surfactant mixtures. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. The toxicity of cationic surfactant HDTMA-Br, desorbed from surfactant modified zeolite, towards faecal indicator and environmental microorganisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeve, Peter J; Fallowfield, Howard J

    2017-10-05

    Surfactant Modified Zeolite (SMZ) represents a versatile, cost-effective permeable reactive material, capable of treating multiple classes of contaminants. The potential for HDTMA-Br, a cationic surfactant commonly used to modify zeolite, to desorb from the zeolite surface has been identified as a potential issue for the ongoing use of SMZ in water remediation contexts. This paper investigates the toxicity of HDTMA-Br towards enteric virus surrogates, F-RNA bacteriophage MS2 and E. coli, Bacillus subtilis, and soil microflora. The concentration of surfactant desorbing from SMZ was quantified through a bioassay using E. coli. Results showed HDTMA-Br concentrations of ≥10 -5 M were toxic to MS2, ≥10 -4 M were toxic to E. coli and ≥10 -6 M were toxic to B. subtilis. No toxic relationship was established between HDTMA-Br and soil microflora. Desorption of ≥10 -4 M of HDTMA-Br was shown for the two SMZ samples under the mixing conditions used. Effects of this surfactant on total soil microflora were ambiguous since no toxic relationship could be established, however, HDTMA-Br, at concentrations desorbing from SMZ, were shown to impact the soil bacterium B. subtilis. Further research is required to determine the effect of this surfactant on microbial populations and species diversity in soils. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Adsorption of dissymmetric cationic gemini surfactants at silica/water interface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yuhai; Feng, Yujun; Dong, Hongwei; Chen, Zhi

    2007-05-01

    Adsorption of a series of cationic gemini surfactants 12-2- m ( m = 8, 12, 16) on the surface of silica was investigated. The critical micelle concentrations, cmcs, of cationic gemini surfactants in the initial solutions and in the supernatants were measured by conductometry and tensiometer. The changes in cmc values indicate that the ion exchanges take place between polar groups of gemini surfactants adsorbed and ions bound on the surface of silica. The adsorption isotherms of cationic gemini surfactants were obtained by a solution depletion method. Based on the driving force, the adsorption includes two steps, one of which is ion exchange, and the other is hydrophobic interaction. In each step, the tendency of surfactant molecules in the solution to form aggregates or to be adsorbed on the silica varies with their structures. The maximum adsorption amount of gemini surfactants on the silica, τmax, decreases as increasing in the length of one alkyl chain, m, from 8, 12 to 16. So the results show that the adsorption behaviors of gemini surfactants are closely related to the dissymmetry of gemini molecules.

  20. Surfactant-Enhanced Benard Convection on an Evaporating Drop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Van X.; Stebe, Kathleen J.

    2001-11-01

    Surfactant effects on an evaporating drop are studied experimentally. Using a fluorescent probe, the distribution and surface phase of the surfactant is directly imaged throughout the evaporation process. From these experiments, we identify conditions in which surfactants promote surface tension-driven Benard instabilities in aqueous systems. The drops under study contain finely divided particles, which act as tracers in the flow, and form well-defined patterns after the drop evaporates. Two flow fields have been reported in this system. The first occurs because the contact line becomes pinned by solid particles at the contact line region. In order for the contact line to remain fixed, an outward flow toward the ring results, driving further accumulation at the contact ring. A ‘coffee ring’ of particles is left as residue after the drop evaporates[1]. The second flow is Benard convection, driven by surface tension gradients on the drop[2,3]. In our experiments, an insoluble monolayer of pentadecanoic acid is spread at the interface of a pendant drop. The surface tension is recorded, and the drop is deposited on a well-defined solid substrate. Fluorescent images of the surface phase of the surfactant are recorded as the drop evaporates. The surfactant monolayer assumes a variety of surface states as a function of the area per molecule at the interface: surface gaseous, surface liquid expanded, and surface liquid condensed phases[4]. Depending upon the surface state of the surfactant as the drop evaporates, transitions of residue patterns left by the particles occur, from the coffee ring pattern to Benard cells to irregular patterns, suggesting a strong resistance to outward flow are observed. The occurrence of Benard cells on a surfactant-rich interface occurs when the interface is in LE-LC coexistence. Prior research concerning surfactant effects on this instability predict that surfactants are strongly stabilizing[5]. The mechanisms for this change in behavior

  1. Gemini Surfactant-Modified Activated Carbon for Remediation of Hexavalent Chromium from Water

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yingying Zhou

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Gemini surfactants, with double hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups, offer potentially orders of magnitude greater surface activity compared to similar single unit molecules. A cationic Gemini surfactant (Propyl didodecyldimethylammonium Bromide, PDDDAB and a conventional cationic surfactant (Dodecyltrimethylammonium Bromide, DTAB were used to pre-treat and generate activated carbon. The removal efficiency of the surfactant-modified activated carbon through adsorption of chromium(VI was investigated under controlled laboratory conditions. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR and scanning electron microscopy (SEM were used to investigate the surface changes of surfactant-modified activated carbon. The effect of important parameters such as adsorbent dosage, pH, ionic strength and contact time were also investigated. The chromium(VI was adsorbed more significantly on the Gemini surfactant-modified activated carbon than on the conventional surfactant-modified activated carbon. The correlation coefficients show the data best fit the Freundlich model, which confirms the monolayer adsorption of chromium(VI onto Gemini surfactant-modified activated carbon. From this assessment, the surfactant-modified (especially Gemini surfactant-modified activated carbon in this study showed promise for practical applications to treat water pollution.

  2. Torsional rigidity, isospectrality and quantum graphs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colladay, Don; McDonald, Patrick; Kaganovskiy, Leon

    2017-01-01

    We study torsional rigidity for graph and quantum graph analogs of well-known pairs of isospectral non-isometric planar domains. We prove that such isospectral pairs are distinguished by torsional rigidity. (paper)

  3. Method of cement-solidification of radioactive liquid wastes containing surfactant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sugimoto, Y; Yusa, H

    1979-04-10

    Purpose: To provide the subject method comprising the steps of adjusting the concentration of the surfactant to a value less than the predetermined value even when the concentration of the surfactant is high, and rendering the uniaxial compression strength of the cement-solidification body into more than the defined fabrication reference value. Method: To radioactive liquid wastes there are applied means for boiling and heating liquid wastes by addition of sulfuric acid, means for cracking surfactants by the addition of oxidants and means for precipitating and arresting surfactants. After suppressing the hindrance of the cement hydration reaction by surfactants, the radioactive liquid wastes are cement-solidified. (Nakamura, S.).

  4. Controlling block copolymer phase behavior using ionic surfactant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ray, D.; Aswal, V. K. [Solid State Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400 085, India E-mail: debes.phys@gmail.com (India)

    2016-05-23

    The phase behavior of poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide-poly(ethylene oxide) PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymer [P85 (EO{sub 26}PO{sub 39}EO{sub 26})] in presence of anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in aqueous solution as a function of temperature has been studied using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). The measurements have been carried out for fixed concentrations (1 wt%) of block copolymer and surfactants. Each of the individual components (block copolymer and surfactant) and the nanoparticle–surfactant mixed system have been examined at varying temperature. The block copolymer P85 forms spherical micelles at room temperature whereas shows sphere-to-rod like micelle transition at higher temperatures. On the other hand, SDS surfactant forms ellipsoidal micelles over a wide temperature range. Interestingly, it is found that phase behavior of mixed micellar system (P85 + SDS) as a function of temperature is drastically different from that of P85, giving the control over the temperature-dependent phase behavior of block copolymers.

  5. Aerobic biodegradation of amphoteric amine-oxide-based surfactants: Effect of molecular structure, initial surfactant concentration and pH.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ríos, Francisco; Lechuga, Manuela; Fernández-Serrano, Mercedes; Fernández-Arteaga, Alejandro

    2017-03-01

    The present study was designed to provide information regarding the effect of the molecular structure of amphoteric amine-oxide-based surfactants and the initial surfactant concentration on their ultimate biodegradation. Moreover, given this parameter's pH-dependence, the effect of pH was also investigated. Three amine-oxide-based surfactants with structural differences in their hydrophobic alkyl chain were tested: Lauramine oxide (AO-R 12 ), Myristamine oxide (AO-R 14 ) and Cocamidopropylamine oxide (AO-Cocoamido). We studied the ultimate biodegradation using the Modified OECD Screening Test at initial surfactant concentrations ranged from 5 to 75 mg L -1 and at pH levels from 5 to 7.4. The results demonstrate that at pH 7.4, amine-oxide-based surfactants are readily biodegradable. In this study, we concluded that ω-oxidation can be assumed to be the main biodegradation pathway of amine-oxides and that differences in the biodegradability between them can be explained by the presence of an amide group in the alkyl chain of AO-Cocoamido; the CN fission of the amide group slows down their mineralization process. In addition, the increase in the concentration of the surfactant from 5 to 75 mg L -1 resulted in an increase in the final biodegradation of AO-R 12 and AO-R 14 . However, in the case of AO-Cocoamido, a clear relationship between the concentration and biodegradation cannot be stated. Conversely, the biodegradability of AO-R 12 and AO-R 14 was considerably lower in an acid condition than at a pH of 7.4, whereas AO-Cocoamido reached similar percentages in acid conditions and at a neutral pH. However, microorganisms required more time to acclimate. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Laser-heating-induced displacement of surfactants on the water surface

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Backus, E.H.G.; Bonn, D.; Cantin, S.; Roke, S.; Bonn, M.

    2012-01-01

    We report a combined vibrational sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy, Brewster angle microscopy (BAM), and ellipsometry study of different surfactants on water as a function of surfactant density. Vibrational SFG spectra of surfactants on the water surface in a Langmuir trough have been

  7. Molecular-thermodynamic theory of micellization of pH-sensitive surfactants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldsipe, Arthur; Blankschtein, Daniel

    2006-04-11

    A predictive, molecular-thermodynamic theory is developed to model the micellization of pH-sensitive surfactants. The theory combines a molecular-thermodynamic description of micellization in binary surfactant mixtures with the protonation equilibrium of the surfactant monomers. The thermodynamic component of the theory models the pH-mediated equilibrium between micelles, surfactant monomers, and counterions. These counterions may originate from the surfactant or from added salt, acid, or base. The molecular component of the theory models the various contributions to the free energy of micellization, which corresponds to the free-energy change associated with forming a mixed micelle from the protonated and deprotonated forms of the surfactant and from the bound counterions. The free energy of micellization includes hydrophobic, interfacial, packing, steric, electrostatic, and entropic contributions, which are all calculated molecularly. The theory also requires knowledge of the surfactant molecular structure and the solution conditions, including the temperature and the amount of any added salt, acid, or base. To account for the pH sensitivity of the surfactant, the theory requires knowledge of the surfactant monomer equilibrium deprotonation constant (pK1), which may be obtained from experimental titration data obtained below the critical micelle concentration (cmc). The theory can be utilized to predict the equilibrium micelle and solution properties, including the cmc, the micelle composition, the micelle shape and aggregation number, the solution pH, and the micelle deprotonation equilibrium constant (pKm). Theoretical predictions of the cmc, the micelle aggregation number, and the pKm compare favorably with the available experimental data for alkyldimethylamine oxide surfactants. This class of pH-sensitive surfactants exhibits a form of self-synergy, which has previously been attributed to hydrogen-bond formation at the micelle interface. Instead, we show that

  8. Rigidity of monodromies for Appell's hypergeometric functions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoshishige Haraoka

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available For monodromy representations of holonomic systems, the rigidity can be defined. We examine the rigidity of the monodromy representations for Appell's hypergeometric functions, and get the representations explicitly. The results show how the topology of the singular locus and the spectral types of the local monodromies work for the study of the rigidity.

  9. A multicenter, randomized trial comparing synthetic surfactant with modified bovine surfactant extract in the treatment of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Adams, E; Vollman, J; Giebner, D; Maurer, M; Dreyer, G; Bailey, L; Anderson, M; Mefford, L; Beaumont, E; Sutton, D; Puppala, B; Mangurten, HH; Secrest, J; Lewis, WJ; Carteaux, P; Bednarek, F; Welsberger, S; Gosselin, R; Pantoja, AF; Belenky, A; Campbell, P; Patole, S; Duenas, M; Kelly, M; Alejo, W; Lewallen, P; DeanLieber, S; Hanft, M; Ferlauto, J; Newell, RW; Bagwell, J; Levine, D; Lipp, RW; Harkavy, K; Vasa, R; Birenbaum, H; Broderick, KA; Santos, AQ; Long, BA; Gulrajani, M; Stern, M; Hopgood, G; Hegyi, T; Alba, J; Christmas, L; McQueen, M; Nichols, N; Brown, M; Quissell, BJ; Rusk, C; Marks, K; Gifford, K; Hoehn, G; Pathak, A; Marino, B; Hunt, P; Fox, [No Value; Sharpstein, C; Feldman, B; Johnson, N; Beecham, J; Balcom, R; Helmuth, W; Boylan, D; Frakes, C; Magoon, M; Reese, K; Schwersenski, J; Schutzman, D; Soll, R; Horbar, JD; Leahy, K; Troyer, W; Juzwicki, C; Anderson, P; Dworsky, M; Reynolds, L; Urrutia, J; Gupta, U; Adray, C

    Objective. To compare the efficacy of a synthetic surfactant (Exosurf Neonatal, Burroughs-Wellcome Co) and a modified bovine surfactant extract (Survanta, Ross Laboratories) in the treatment of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Design. Multicenter, randomized trial. Setting. Thirty-eight

  10. Early surfactant therapy and nasal continuous positive airways ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) receiving nasal continuous positive airways ... required FiO2 was allowed to rise above 0.4 before surfactant was administered. ... group received surfactant immediately and the high-threshold group ...

  11. A novel biosensor method for surfactant determination based on acetylcholinesterase inhibition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kucherenko, I S; Soldatkin, O O; Arkhypova, V M; Dzyadevych, S V; Soldatkin, A P

    2012-01-01

    A novel enzyme biosensor based on acetylcholinesterase inhibition for the determination of surfactants in aqueous solutions is described. Acetylcholinesterase-based bioselective element was deposited via glutaraldehyde on the surface of conductometric transducers. Different variants of inhibitory analysis of surfactants were tested, and finally surfactant's concentration was evaluated by measuring initial rate of acetylcholinesterase inhibition. Besides, we studied the effect of solution characteristics on working parameters of the biosensor for direct measurement of acetylcholine and for inhibitory determination of surfactants. The biosensor's sensitivity to anionic and cationic surfactants (0.35 mg l −1 ) was tested. The high operational stability of the biosensor during determination of acetylcholine (RSD 2%) and surfactants (RSD 11%) was shown. Finally, we discussed the selectivity of the biosensor toward surfactants and other AChE inhibitors. The proposed biosensor can be used as a component of the multibiosensor for ecological monitoring of toxicants. (paper)

  12. Effect of surfactant types and their concentration on the structural characteristics of nanoclay

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zawrah, M. F.; Khattab, R. M.; Saad, E. M.; Gado, R. A.

    2014-03-01

    A series of organo-modified nanoclays was synthesized using three different surfactants having different alkyl chain lengths and concentrations [0.5-5.0 cation exchange capacity (CEC)]. These surfactants were Ethanolamine (EA), Cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide (CTAB) and Tetraoctadecylammoniumbromide (TO). The obtained modified nanoclays were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and compared with unmodified nanoclay. The results of XRD analysis indicated that the basal d-spacing has increased with increasing alkyl chain length and surfactant concentration. From the obtained microstructures of these organo-modified nanoclays, the mechanism of surfactant adsorption was proposed. At relatively low loading of surfactant, most of surfactant entered the spacing by an ion-exchange mechanism and is adsorbed onto the interlayer cation sites. When the concentration of the surfactant exceeds the CEC of clay, the surfactant molecules then adhere to the surface adsorbed surfactant. Some surfactants entered the interlayers, whereas the others were attached to the clay surface. When the concentration of surfactant increased further beyond 2.0 CEC, the surfactants might occupy the inter-particle space within the house-of-cards aggregate structure.

  13. Nanoparticle decoration with surfactants: Molecular interactions, assembly, and applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinz, Hendrik; Pramanik, Chandrani; Heinz, Ozge; Ding, Yifu; Mishra, Ratan K.; Marchon, Delphine; Flatt, Robert J.; Estrela-Lopis, Irina; Llop, Jordi; Moya, Sergio; Ziolo, Ronald F.

    2017-02-01

    Nanostructures of diverse chemical nature are used as biomarkers, therapeutics, catalysts, and structural reinforcements. The decoration with surfactants has a long history and is essential to introduce specific functions. The definition of surfactants in this review is very broad, following its lexical meaning ;surface active agents;, and therefore includes traditional alkyl modifiers, biological ligands, polymers, and other surface active molecules. The review systematically covers covalent and non-covalent interactions of such surfactants with various types of nanomaterials, including metals, oxides, layered materials, and polymers as well as their applications. The major themes are (i) molecular recognition and noncovalent assembly mechanisms of surfactants on the nanoparticle and nanocrystal surfaces, (ii) covalent grafting techniques and multi-step surface modification, (iii) dispersion properties and surface reactions, (iv) the use of surfactants to influence crystal growth, as well as (v) the incorporation of biorecognition and other material-targeting functionality. For the diverse materials classes, similarities and differences in surfactant assembly, function, as well as materials performance in specific applications are described in a comparative way. Major factors that lead to differentiation are the surface energy, surface chemistry and pH sensitivity, as well as the degree of surface regularity and defects in the nanoparticle cores and in the surfactant shell. The review covers a broad range of surface modifications and applications in biological recognition and therapeutics, sensors, nanomaterials for catalysis, energy conversion and storage, the dispersion properties of nanoparticles in structural composites and cement, as well as purification systems and classical detergents. Design principles for surfactants to optimize the performance of specific nanostructures are discussed. The review concludes with challenges and opportunities.

  14. Gemini (dimeric) Surfactants

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    is in turn bonded to an identical hydrocarbon tail; alternatively,. ~. Tail spacer ... formed is dependent on surfactant structure, temperature, ionic strength and pH. The models of GS are .... micelle to the air/water interface. Moreover, GS can be ...

  15. The impact of alkyl sulfate surfactant geometry and electrolyte on the co-adsorption of anionic surfactants with model perfumes at the air-solution interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradbury, Robert; Penfold, Jeffrey; Thomas, Robert K; Tucker, Ian M; Petkov, Jordan T; Jones, Craig

    2013-08-01

    The impact of surfactant geometry and electrolyte on the co-adsorption of anionic surfactants and model perfumes at the air-solution interface has been studied by neutron reflectivity. The more hydrophobic perfume linalool, competes more favourably for the surface with sodium dodecylsulfate than was previously reported for the anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl 6-benzenesulfonate. Due to an increase in surface activity of the sodium dodecylsulfate, the addition of electrolyte results in a reduction in the linalool adsorption. Changing the alkyl chain length affects the relative adsorption of linalool and surfactant at the interface. Similar measurements for the different alkyl sulfates and with electrolyte with the more hydrophilic perfume phenyl ethanol, reveal broadly similar trends. Although the relative adsorption of phenyl ethanol with sodium dodecylsulfate is substantially enhanced compared to sodium dodecyl-6-benzenesulfonate the effects are not as significant as was observed with linalool. The variations with alkyl chain geometry show the importance of the hydrophobic interaction between the perfume and surfactant and changes in the packing constraints on the relative adsorption. The results highlight the importance of the specific interaction between the surfactant and perfume, and the surfactant and perfume geometries on the relative adsorption at the interface. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Micellar solubilization in strongly interacting binary surfactant systems. [Binary surfactant systems of: dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride + sodium dodecyl sulfate; benzyldimethyltetradecylammonium chloride + tetradecyltrimethylammonium chloride

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Treiner, C. (Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris (France)); Nortz, M.; Vaution, C. (Faculte de Pharmacie de Paris-sud, Chatenay-Malabry (France))

    1990-07-01

    The apparent partition coefficient P of barbituric acids between micelles and water has been determined in mixed binary surfactant solutions from solubility measurements in the whole micellar composition range. The binary systems chosen ranged from the strongly interacting system dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride + sodium dodecyl sulfate to weakly interacting systems such as benzyldimethyltetradecylammonium chloride + tetradecyltrimethyammonium chloride. In all cases studied, mixed micelle formation is unfavorable to micellar solubilization. A correlation is found between the unlike surfactants interaction energy, as measured by the regular solution parameter {beta} and the solute partition coefficient change upon surfactant mixing. By use of literature data on micellar solubilization in binary surfactant solutions, it is shown that the change of P for solutes which are solubilized by surface adsorption is generally governed by the sign and amplitude of the interaction parameter {beta}.

  17. Complex phase behavior in solvent-free nonionic surfactants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hillmyer, M.A.; Bates, F.S.; Almdal, K.

    1996-01-01

    Unsolvated block copolymers and surfactant solutions are ''soft materials'' that share a common set of ordered microstructures, A set of polyethyleneoxide-polyethylethylene (PEG-PEE) block copolymers that are chemically similar to the well-known alkane-oxyethylene (C(n)EO(m)) nonionic surfactants...... was synthesized here. The general phase behavior in these materials resembles that of both higher molecular weight block copolymers and lower molecular weight nonionic surfactant solutions. Two of the block copolymers exhibited thermally induced order-order transitions and were studied in detail by small...

  18. Biodegradability of bacterial surfactants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lima, Tânia M S; Procópio, Lorena C; Brandão, Felipe D; Carvalho, André M X; Tótola, Marcos R; Borges, Arnaldo C

    2011-06-01

    This work aimed at evaluating the biodegradability of different bacterial surfactants in liquid medium and in soil microcosms. The biodegradability of biosurfactants by pure and mixed bacterial cultures was evaluated through CO(2) evolution. Three bacterial strains, Acinetobacter baumanni LBBMA ES11, Acinetobacter haemolyticus LBBMA 53 and Pseudomonas sp. LBBMA 101B, used the biosurfactants produced by Bacillus sp. LBBMA 111A (mixed lipopeptide), Bacillus subtilis LBBMA 155 (lipopeptide), Flavobacterium sp. LBBMA 168 (mixture of flavolipids), Dietzia Maris LBBMA 191(glycolipid) and Arthrobacter oxydans LBBMA 201(lipopeptide) as carbon sources in minimal medium. The synthetic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was also mineralized by these microorganisms, but at a lower rate. CO(2) emitted by a mixed bacterial culture in soil microcosms with biosurfactants was higher than in the microcosm containing SDS. Biosurfactant mineralization in soil was confirmed by the increase in surface tension of the soil aqueous extracts after incubation with the mixed bacterial culture. It can be concluded that, in terms of biodegradability and environmental security, these compounds are more suitable for applications in remediation technologies in comparison to synthetic surfactants. However, more information is needed on structure of biosurfactants, their interaction with soil and contaminants and scale up and cost for biosurfactant production.

  19. Single well surfactant test to evaluate surfactant floods using multi tracer method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheely, Clyde Q.

    1979-01-01

    Data useful for evaluating the effectiveness of or designing an enhanced recovery process said process involving mobilizing and moving hydrocarbons through a hydrocarbon bearing subterranean formation from an injection well to a production well by injecting a mobilizing fluid into the injection well, comprising (a) determining hydrocarbon saturation in a volume in the formation near a well bore penetrating formation, (b) injecting sufficient mobilizing fluid to mobilize and move hydrocarbons from a volume in the formation near the well bore, and (c) determining the hydrocarbon saturation in a volume including at least a part of the volume of (b) by an improved single well surfactant method comprising injecting 2 or more slugs of water containing the primary tracer separated by water slugs containing no primary tracer. Alternatively, the plurality of ester tracers can be injected in a single slug said tracers penetrating varying distances into the formation wherein the esters have different partition coefficients and essentially equal reaction times. The single well tracer method employed is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,623,842. This method designated the single well surfactant test (SWST) is useful for evaluating the effect of surfactant floods, polymer floods, carbon dioxide floods, micellar floods, caustic floods and the like in subterranean formations in much less time and at much reduced cost compared to conventional multiwell pilot tests.

  20. Pyrene removal from contaminated soil using electrokinetic process combined with surfactant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed Enayat Hashemi

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Background: Pyrene is one of the stable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that is considered as an important pollutants, because of extensive distribution in the environment and carcinogenic and mutagenic properties. Among the various treatment techniques, electrokinetic method is an environmental- friendly process for organic and mineral pollutants adsorbed to soil with fine pore size the same as clay and low hydraulic conductivity soils. For improving the efficiency of pyrene removal from soil, soulobilization of pyrene from soil could be used by surfactants. Materials and Methods : In this study, clay soil was selected as model because of the specific properties. Combined method using surfactant and electrokinetic was applied for pyrene removal from soil. Experiments were designed using response surface methodology (RSM, and effect of three variables includes surfactant concentration, voltage and surfactant type were evaluated for pyrene removal from contaminated soil. Results: Pyrene removal using anionic surfactants(SDS and nonionic surfactants(TX100 as a solubilizing agents has high removal efficiency. In the optimum condition with 95% confidence coefficient, utilizing mixed surfactants of sodium dodecyl sulfate and triton X-100 with the same volume, induced of 18.54 volt and 6.53 percent surfactant concentration have 94.6% pyrene removal efficiency. Conclusion:: Results of this study shows that electrokinetic process combined with surfactant as solubilizing agent could be applied as an efficient method for treating the pyrene-contaminated soils.

  1. Enhanced Oil Recovery with Surfactant Flooding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sandersen, Sara Bülow

    , thus reducing the interfacial tension (IFT) to ultra low (0.001 mN/m), which consequently will mobilize the residual oil and result in improved oil recovery. This EOR technology is, however, made challenging by a number of factors, such as the adsorption of surfactant and co-surfactant to the rock...... be resistant to and remain active at reservoir conditions such as high temperatures, pressures and salinities. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of systems that exhibit liquid-liquid equilibrium (e.g. oil-brine systems) at reservoir conditions is an area of increasing interest within EOR. This is true...... studied. The effect of increased pressure became more significant when combined with increasing temperature. The experiments performed on the oil/ seawater systems were similar to the high pressure experiments for the surfactant system discussed above. Oil was contacted with different brine solutions...

  2. Determination of the critical micelle concentration in simulations of surfactant systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santos, Andrew P.; Panagiotopoulos, Athanassios Z., E-mail: azp@princeton.edu [Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544 (United States)

    2016-01-28

    Alternative methods for determining the critical micelle concentration (cmc) are investigated using canonical and grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations of a lattice surfactant model. A common measure of the cmc is the “free” (unassociated) surfactant concentration in the presence of micellar aggregates. Many prior simulations of micellizing systems have observed a decrease in the free surfactant concentration with overall surfactant loading for both ionic and nonionic surfactants, contrary to theoretical expectations from mass-action models of aggregation. In the present study, we investigate a simple lattice nonionic surfactant model in implicit solvent, for which highly reproducible simulations are possible in both the canonical (NVT) and grand canonical (μVT) ensembles. We confirm the previously observed decrease of free surfactant concentration at higher overall loadings and propose an algorithm for the precise calculation of the excluded volume and effective concentration of unassociated surfactant molecules in the accessible volume of the solution. We find that the cmc can be obtained by correcting the free surfactant concentration for volume exclusion effects resulting from the presence of micellar aggregates. We also develop an improved method for determination of the cmc based on the maximum in curvature for the osmotic pressure curve determined from μVT simulations. Excellent agreement in cmc and other micellar properties between NVT and μVT simulations of different system sizes is observed. The methodological developments in this work are broadly applicable to simulations of aggregating systems using any type of surfactant model (atomistic/coarse grained) or solvent description (explicit/implicit)

  3. Determination of the critical micelle concentration in simulations of surfactant systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Andrew P; Panagiotopoulos, Athanassios Z

    2016-01-28

    Alternative methods for determining the critical micelle concentration (cmc) are investigated using canonical and grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations of a lattice surfactant model. A common measure of the cmc is the "free" (unassociated) surfactant concentration in the presence of micellar aggregates. Many prior simulations of micellizing systems have observed a decrease in the free surfactant concentration with overall surfactant loading for both ionic and nonionic surfactants, contrary to theoretical expectations from mass-action models of aggregation. In the present study, we investigate a simple lattice nonionic surfactant model in implicit solvent, for which highly reproducible simulations are possible in both the canonical (NVT) and grand canonical (μVT) ensembles. We confirm the previously observed decrease of free surfactant concentration at higher overall loadings and propose an algorithm for the precise calculation of the excluded volume and effective concentration of unassociated surfactant molecules in the accessible volume of the solution. We find that the cmc can be obtained by correcting the free surfactant concentration for volume exclusion effects resulting from the presence of micellar aggregates. We also develop an improved method for determination of the cmc based on the maximum in curvature for the osmotic pressure curve determined from μVT simulations. Excellent agreement in cmc and other micellar properties between NVT and μVT simulations of different system sizes is observed. The methodological developments in this work are broadly applicable to simulations of aggregating systems using any type of surfactant model (atomistic/coarse grained) or solvent description (explicit/implicit).

  4. Determination of the critical micelle concentration in simulations of surfactant systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Andrew P.; Panagiotopoulos, Athanassios Z.

    2016-01-01

    Alternative methods for determining the critical micelle concentration (cmc) are investigated using canonical and grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations of a lattice surfactant model. A common measure of the cmc is the “free” (unassociated) surfactant concentration in the presence of micellar aggregates. Many prior simulations of micellizing systems have observed a decrease in the free surfactant concentration with overall surfactant loading for both ionic and nonionic surfactants, contrary to theoretical expectations from mass-action models of aggregation. In the present study, we investigate a simple lattice nonionic surfactant model in implicit solvent, for which highly reproducible simulations are possible in both the canonical (NVT) and grand canonical (μVT) ensembles. We confirm the previously observed decrease of free surfactant concentration at higher overall loadings and propose an algorithm for the precise calculation of the excluded volume and effective concentration of unassociated surfactant molecules in the accessible volume of the solution. We find that the cmc can be obtained by correcting the free surfactant concentration for volume exclusion effects resulting from the presence of micellar aggregates. We also develop an improved method for determination of the cmc based on the maximum in curvature for the osmotic pressure curve determined from μVT simulations. Excellent agreement in cmc and other micellar properties between NVT and μVT simulations of different system sizes is observed. The methodological developments in this work are broadly applicable to simulations of aggregating systems using any type of surfactant model (atomistic/coarse grained) or solvent description (explicit/implicit)

  5. LOWER COST METHODS FOR IMPROVED OIL RECOVERY (IOR) VIA SURFACTANT FLOODING

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    William A. Goddard III; Yongchun Tang; Patrick Shuler; Mario Blanco; Seung Soon Jang; Shiang-Tai Lin; Prabal Maiti; Yongfu Wu; Stefan Iglauer; Xiaohang Zhang

    2004-09-01

    This report provides a summary of the work performed in this 3-year project sponsored by DOE. The overall objective of this project is to identify new, potentially more cost-effective surfactant formulations for improved oil recovery (IOR). The general approach is to use an integrated experimental and computational chemistry effort to improve our understanding of the link between surfactant structure and performance, and from this knowledge, develop improved IOR surfactant formulations. Accomplishments for the project include: (1) completion of a literature review to assemble current and new surfactant IOR ideas, (2) Development of new atomistic-level MD (molecular dynamic) modeling methodologies to calculate IFT (interfacial tension) rigorously from first principles, (3) exploration of less computationally intensive mesoscale methods to estimate IFT, Quantitative Structure Property Relationship (QSPR), and cohesive energy density (CED) calculations, (4) experiments to screen many surfactant structures for desirable low IFT and solid adsorption behavior, and (5) further experimental characterization of the more promising new candidate formulations (based on alkyl polyglycosides (APG) and alkyl propoxy sulfate surfactants). Important findings from this project include: (1) the IFT between two pure substances may be calculated quantitatively from fundamental principles using Molecular Dynamics, the same approach can provide qualitative results for ternary systems containing a surfactant, (2) low concentrations of alkyl polyglycoside surfactants have potential for IOR (Improved Oil Recovery) applications from a technical standpoint (if formulated properly with a cosurfactant, they can create a low IFT at low concentration) and also are viable economically as they are available commercially, and (3) the alkylpropoxy sulfate surfactants have promising IFT performance also, plus these surfactants can have high optimal salinity and so may be attractive for use in higher

  6. From Wage Rigidities to Labour Market Rigidities: A Turning-Point in Explaining Equilibrium Unemployment?

    OpenAIRE

    Marco Guerrazzi; Nicola Meccheri

    2009-01-01

    This paper offers a critical discussion of the concept of labour market rigidity relevant to explaining unemployment. Starting from Keynes’s own view, we discuss how the concept of labour market flexibility has changed over time, involving nominal or real wage flexibility, contract flexibility or labour market institution flexibility. We also provide a critical assessment of the factors that lead the search framework highlighting labour market rigidities (frictions) to challenge the more wide...

  7. The effect of surfactant on pollutant biosorption of Trametes versicolor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gül, Ülküye Dudu; Silah, Hülya; Akbaş, Halide; Has, Merve

    2016-04-01

    The major problem concerning industrial wastewater is treatment of dye and heavy metal containing effluents. Industrial effluents are also contained surfactants that are used as levelling, dispersing and wetting agents. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of surfactant on textile dye biosorption properties of a white rot fungus named Trametes versicolor. Reactive dyes are commonly used in textile industry because of their advantages such as brightness and excellent color fastness. A recative textile dye, called Everzol Black, was used in this study. The low-cost mollasses medium is used for fungal growth. The usage of mollases, the sugar refinery effluent as a source of energy and nutrients, gained importance because of reducing the cost and also reusing another waste. In biosorption process the effect of surfactant on dye removal properties of T. versicolor was examined as a function of pH, dye consentration and surfactant concentration. The results of this study showed that the surfactant enhanced the dye removal capacity of Trametes versicolor. The dye and surfactant molecules were interacted electrostatically and these electrostatic interactions improved dye removal properties of filamentous fungus T. versicolor. The results of this study recommended the use of surfactants as an inducer in textile wastewater treatment technologies.

  8. Surfactant-enhanced recovery of dissolved hydrocarbons at petroleum production facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Freeman, J.T.; Mayes, M.; Wassmuth, F.; Taylor, K.; Rae, W.; Kuipers, F.

    1997-01-01

    The feasibility and cost effectiveness of surfactant-enhanced pumping to reduce source concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons from contaminated soils was discussed. Light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPL) hydrocarbons are present beneath many petroleum production processing facilities in western Canada. Complete removal of LNAPLs from geologic materials is difficult and expensive. Treatment technologies include costly ex-situ methods such as excavation and in-situ methods such as physical extraction by soil venting and pumping, bioremediation, and combination methods such as bioventing, bioslurping or air sparging. Surfactant-aided pumping can reduce source hydrocarbon concentrations when used in conjunction with traditional pump and treat, or deep well injection. This study involved the selection of an appropriate surfactant from a wide variety of commercially available products. A site contaminated by hydrocarbons in Turner Valley, Alberta, was used for field scale testing. One of the major problems was quantifying the increase in the dissolved hydrocarbon concentrations in the recovered water once a surfactant was added. From the 30 surfactants screened in a series of washing and oil solubilization tests, two surfactants, Brij 97 and Tween 80, were selected for further evaluation. Increased hydrocarbon recovery was observed within 10 days of the introduction of the first surfactant. 2 refs., 7 figs

  9. Contribution of Seawater Surfactants to Generated Primary Marine Aerosol Particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frossard, A. A.; Gerard, V.; Duplessis, P.; Kinsey, J. D.; Lu, X.; Zhu, Y.; Bisgrove, J.; Maben, J. R.; Long, M. S.; Chang, R.; Beaupre, S. R.; Kieber, D. J.; Keene, W. C.; Noziere, B.; Cohen, R. C.

    2017-12-01

    Surfactants account for minor fractions of total organic carbon in the ocean but may have major impacts on the surface tension of bursting bubbles at the sea surface that drive the production of primary marine aerosol particles (PMA). Surfactants associated with marine aerosol may also significantly reduce the surface tension of water thereby increasing the potential for cloud droplet activation and growth. During September and October 2016, PMA were produced from bursting bubbles in seawater using a high capacity generator at two biologically productive and two oligotrophic stations in the western North Atlantic, as part of a cruise on the R/V Endeavor. Surfactants were extracted from paired PMA and seawater samples, and their ionic compositions, total concentrations, and critical micelle concentrations (CMC) were quantified and compared for the four hydrographic stations. Higher surfactant concentrations were determined in the aerosol produced from biologically productive seawater compared to oligotrophic seawater, and the surfactants extracted from productive seawater were stronger (had lower CMCs) than those in the oligotrophic seawater. Surfactants associated with PMA and seawater in productive regions also varied over diel cycles, whereas those in the oligotrophic regions did not. This work demonstrates a direct link between surfactants in seawater and those in PMA.

  10. Adsorption of surfactants and polymers at interfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rojas, Orlando Jose

    Surface tension and high-resolution laser light scattering experiments were used to investigate the adsorption of isomeric sugar-based surfactants at the air/liquid interface in terms of surfactant surface packing and rheology. Soluble monolayers of submicellar surfactant solutions exhibited a relatively viscous behavior. It was also proved that light scattering of high-frequency thermally-induced capillary waves can be utilized to study surfactant exchange between the surface and the bulk solution. Such analysis revealed the existence of a diffusional relaxation mechanism. A procedure based on XPS was developed for quantification, on an absolute basis, of polymer adsorption on mica and Langmuir-Blodgett cellulose films. The adsorption of cationic polyelectrolytes on negatively-charged solid surfaces was highly dependent on the polymer ionicity. It was found that the adsorption process is driven by electrostatic mechanisms. Charge overcompensation (or charge reversal) of mica occurred after adsorption of polyelectrolytes of ca. 50% charge density, or higher. It was demonstrated that low-charge-density polyelectrolytes adsorb on solid surfaces with an extended configuration dominated by loops and tails. In this case the extent of adsorption is limited by steric constraints. The conformation of the polyelectrolyte in the adsorbed layer is dramatically affected by the presence of salts or surfactants in aqueous solution. The phenomena which occur upon increasing the ionic strength are consistent with the screening of the electrostatic attraction between polyelectrolyte segments and solid surface. This situation leads to polyelectrolyte desorption accompanied by both an increase in the layer thickness and the range of the steric force. Adsorbed polyelectrolytes and oppositely charged surfactants readily associate at the solid/liquid interface. Such association induces polyelectrolyte desorption at a surfactant concentration which depends on the polyelectrolyte charge

  11. Nonlinear vibrational spectroscopy of surfactants at liquid interfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miranda, Paulo Barbeitas

    Surfactants are widely used to modify physical and chemical properties of interfaces. They play an important role in many technological problems. Surfactant monolayers are also of great scientific interest because they are two-dimensional systems that may exhibit a very rich phase transition behavior and can also be considered as a model system for biological interfaces. In this Thesis, we use a second-order nonlinear optical technique (Sum-Frequency Generation - SFG) to obtain vibrational spectra of surfactant monolayers at liquid/vapor and solid/liquid interfaces. The technique has several advantages: it is intrinsically surface-specific, can be applied to buried interfaces, has submonolayer sensitivity and is remarkably sensitive to the conformational order of surfactant monolayers. The first part of the Thesis is concerned with surfactant monolayers at the air/water interface (Langmuir films). Surface crystallization of an alcohol Langmuir film and of liquid alkanes are studied and their phase transition behaviors are found to be of different nature, although driven by similar intermolecular interactions. The effect of crystalline order of Langmuir monolayers on the interfacial water structure is also investigated. It is shown that water forms a well-ordered hydrogen-bonded network underneath an alcohol monolayer, in contrast to a fatty acid monolayer which induces a more disordered structure. In the latter case, ionization of the monolayer becomes more significant with increase of the water pH value, leading to an electric-field-induced ordering of interfacial water molecules. We also show that the orientation and conformation of fairly complicated molecules in a Langmuir monolayer can be completely mapped out using a combination of SFG and second harmonic generation (SHG). For a quantitative analysis of molecular orientation at an interface, local-field corrections must be included. The second part is a study of self-assembled surfactant monolayers at the

  12. Respiratory Mechanics and Gas Exchange: The Effect of Surfactants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jbaily, Abdulrahman; Szeri, Andrew J.

    2017-11-01

    The purpose of the lung is to exchange gases, primarily oxygen and carbon dioxide, between the atmosphere and the circulatory system. To enable this exchange, the airways in the lungs terminate in some 300 million alveoli that provide adequate surface area for transport. During breathing, work must be done to stretch various tissues to accommodate a greater volume of gas. Considerable work must also be done to expand the liquid lining (hypophase) that coats the interior surfaces of the alveoli. This is enabled by a surface active lipo-protein complex, known as pulmonary surfactant, that modifies the surface tension at the hypophase-air interface. Surfactants also serve as physical barriers that modify the rate of gas transfer across interfaces. We develop a mathematical model to study the action of pulmonary surfactant and its determinative contributions to breathing. The model is used to explore the influence of surfactants on alveolar mechanics and on gas exchange: it relates the work of respiration at the level of the alveolus to the gas exchange rate through the changing influence of pulmonary surfactant over the breathing cycle. This work is motivated by a need to develop improved surfactant replacement therapies to treat serious medical conditions.

  13. Identifying Floppy and Rigid Regions in Proteins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, D. J.; Thorpe, M. F.; Kuhn, L. A.

    1998-03-01

    In proteins it is possible to separate hard covalent forces involving bond lengths and bond angles from other weak forces. We model the microstructure of the protein as a generic bar-joint truss framework, where the hard covalent forces and strong hydrogen bonds are regarded as rigid bar constraints. We study the mechanical stability of proteins using FIRST (Floppy Inclusions and Rigid Substructure Topography) based on a recently developed combinatorial constraint counting algorithm (the 3D Pebble Game), which is a generalization of the 2D pebble game (D. J. Jacobs and M. F. Thorpe, ``Generic Rigidity: The Pebble Game'', Phys. Rev. Lett.) 75, 4051-4054 (1995) for the special class of bond-bending networks (D. J. Jacobs, "Generic Rigidity in Three Dimensional Bond-bending Networks", Preprint Aug (1997)). This approach is useful in identifying rigid motifs and flexible linkages in proteins, and thereby determines the essential degrees of freedom. We will show some preliminary results from the FIRST analysis on the myohemerythrin and lyozyme proteins.

  14. Marangoni flows induced by non-uniform surfactant distributions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hanyak, M.

    2012-01-01

    The spreading dynamics of surfactants is of crucial importance for numerous technological applications ranging from printing and coating processes, pulmonary drug delivery to crude oil recovery. In the area of inkjet printing surfactants are necessary for lowering surface tension of water-based ink

  15. Polymeric surfactants for enhanced oil recovery : A review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Raffa, Patrizio; Broekhuis, Antonius A.; Picchioni, Francesco

    Chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is surely a topic of interest, as conventional oil resources become more scarce and the necessity of exploiting heavy and unconventional oils increases. EOR methods based on polymer flooding, surfactant-polymer flooding and alkali-surfactant-polymer flooding are

  16. Reaction limited aggregation in surfactant-mediated epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Jing; Liu, Bang-Gui; Zhang, Zhenyu; Wang, E. G.

    2000-05-01

    A theoretical model for reaction limited aggregation (RLA) is introduced to study the effect of a monolayer of surfactant on the formation of two-dimensional islands in heteroepitaxial and homoepitaxial growth. In this model the basic atomic processes are considered as follows. A stable island consists of the adatoms that have exchanged positions with the surfactant atoms beneath them. Movable active adatoms may (a) diffuse on the surfactant terrace, (b) exchange positions with the surfactant atoms beneath them and become island seeds (seed exchange), or (c) stick to stable islands and become stuck but still active adatoms. The rate-limiting step for the formation of a stable island is the seed exchange. Furthermore, a stuck but still active adatom must overcome a sizable potential-energy barrier to exchange positions with the surfactant atom beneath it and become a member of the stable island (aided exchange). The seed exchange process can occur with an adatom or collectively with an addimer. In the case of dimer exchange, the diffusing adatoms on the surfactant terrace can meet and (after exchanging) form stable dimers, which can then become island seeds. Systematic kinetic Monte Carlo simulations and rate-equation analysis of the model are carried out. The key finding of these simulations is that a counterintuitive fractal-to-compact island shape transition can be induced either by increasing deposition flux or by decreasing growth temperature. This major qualitative conclusion is valid for both the monomer and the dimer seed exchanges and for two different substrate lattices (square and triangular, respectively), although there are some quantitative differences in the flux and temperature dependence of the island density. The shape transition observed is contrary to the prediction of the classic diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) theory, but in excellent qualitative agreement with recent experiments. In rationalizing the main finding, it is crucial to realize

  17. Evaporation kinetics of surfactant solution droplets on rice (Oryza sativa) leaves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Li-Dong; Zheng, Li; Xu, Jun; Li, Feng-Min; Huang, Qi-Liang

    2017-01-01

    The dynamics of evaporating sessile droplets on hydrophilic or hydrophobic surfaces is widely studied, and many models for these processes have been developed based on experimental evidence. However, few research has been explored on the evaporation of sessile droplets of surfactant or pesticide solutions on target crop leaves. Thus, in this paper the impact of surfactant concentrations on contact angle, contact diameter, droplet height, and evolution of the droplets’ evaporative volume on rice leaf surfaces have been investigated. The results indicate that the evaporation kinetics of surfactant droplets on rice leaves were influenced by both the surfactant concentrations and the hydrophobicity of rice leaf surfaces. When the surfactant concentration is lower than the surfactant CMC (critical micelle concentration), the droplet evaporation time is much longer than that of the high surfactant concentration. This is due to the longer existence time of a narrow wedge region under the lower surfactant concentration, and such narrow wedge region further restricts the droplet evaporation. Besides, our experimental data are shown to roughly collapse onto theoretical curves based on the model presented by Popov. This study could supply theoretical data on the evaporation of the adjuvant or pesticide droplets for practical applications in agriculture. PMID:28472108

  18. Partitioning of hydrophobic pesticides within a soil-water-anionic surfactant system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Peng; Keller, Arturo A

    2009-02-01

    Surfactants can be added to pesticide-contaminated soils to enhance the treatment efficiency of soil washing. Our results showed that pesticide (atrazine and diuron) partitioning and desorbability within a soil-water-anionic surfactant system is soil particle-size dependent and is significantly influenced by the presence of anionic surfactant. Anionic surfactant (linear alkylbenzene sulphonate, LAS) sorption was influenced by its complexation with both the soluble and exchangeable divalent cations in soils (e.g. Ca2+, Mg2+). In this study, we propose a new concept: soil system hardness which defines the total amount of soluble and exchangeable divalent cations associated with a soil. Our results showed that anionic surfactant works better with soils having lower soil system hardness. It was also found that the hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) sorbed onto the LAS-divalent cation precipitate, resulting in a significant decrease in the aqueous concentration of HOC. Our results showed that the effect of exchangeable cations and sorption of HOC onto the surfactant precipitates needs to be considered to accurately predict HOC behavior within soil-water-anionic surfactant systems.

  19. Physicochemical treatments of anionic surfactants wastewater: Effect on aerobic biodegradability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aloui, Fathi; Kchaou, Sonia; Sayadi, Sami

    2009-05-15

    The effect of different physicochemical treatments on the aerobic biodegradability of an industrial wastewater resulting from a cosmetic industry has been investigated. This industrial wastewater contains 11423 and 3148mgL(-1) of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and anionic surfactants, respectively. The concentration of COD and anionic surfactants were followed throughout the diverse physicochemical treatments and biodegradation experiments. Different pretreatments of this industrial wastewater using chemical flocculation process with lime and aluminium sulphate (alum), and also advanced oxidation process (electro-coagulation (Fe and Al) and electro-Fenton) led to important COD and anionic surfactants removals. The best results were obtained using electro-Fenton process, exceeding 98 and 80% of anionic surfactants and COD removals, respectively. The biological treatment by an isolated strain Citrobacter braakii of the surfactant wastewater, as well as the pretreated wastewater by the various physicochemical processes used in this study showed that the best results were obtained with electro-Fenton pretreated wastewater. The characterization of the treated surfactant wastewater by the integrated process (electro-coagulation or electro-Fenton)-biological showed that it respects Tunisian discharge standards.

  20. Adsorption and intercalation of anionic surfactants onto layered ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Layered double hydroxides (LDH) with brucite like structure was modified with various anionic surfactants containing sulfonate, carboxyl, phosphonate and sulfate end group through ion-exchange method. XRD reports indicated that the sulfonate group containing surfactants led to an adsorption process whereas the sulfate ...

  1. Direct Visualisation of the Structural Transformation between the Lyotropic Liquid Crystalline Lamellar and Bicontinuous Cubic Mesophase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Nhiem; Zhai, Jiali; Conn, Charlotte E; Mulet, Xavier; Waddington, Lynne J; Drummond, Calum J

    2018-05-29

    The transition between the lyotropic liquid crystalline lamellar and the bicontinuous cubic mesophase drives multiple fundamental cellular processes involving changes in cell membrane topology including endocytosis and membrane budding. While several theoretical models have been proposed to explain this dynamic transformation, experimental validation of these models has been challenging due to the short lived nature of the intermediates present during the phase transition. Herein, we report the direct observation of a lamellar to bicontinuous cubic phase transition in nanoscale dispersions using a combination of cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and static small angle X-ray scattering. The results represent the first experimental confirmation of a theoretical model which proposed that the bicontinuous cubic phase originates from the centre of a lamellar vesicle, then propagates outward via the formation of inter-lamellar attachments and stalks. The observation was possible due to the precise control of the lipid composition to place the dispersion systems at the phase boundary of a lamellar and a cubic phase, allowing for the creation of long-lived structural intermediates. By surveying the nanoparticles using cryogenic transmission electron microscopy, a complete phase transition sequence was established.

  2. Surfactant mediated liquid phase exfoliation of graphene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narayan, Rekha; Kim, Sang Ouk

    2015-10-01

    Commercialization of graphene based applications inevitably requires cost effective mass production. From the early days of research on graphene, direct liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) of graphite has been considered as the most promising strategy to produce high-quality mono or few-layer graphene sheets in solvent dispersion forms. Substantial success has been achieved thus far in the LPE of graphene employing numerous solvent systems and suitable surfactants. This invited review article principally showcase the recent research progress as well as shortcomings of surfactant assisted LPE of graphene. In particular, a comprehensive assessment of the quality and yield of the graphene sheets produced by different categories of the surfactants are summarized. Future direction of LPE methods is also proposed for the eventual success of commercial applications.

  3. Fullerene surfactants and their use in polymer solar cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jen, Kwan-Yue; Yip, Hin-Lap; Li, Chang-Zhi

    2015-12-15

    Fullerene surfactant compounds useful as interfacial layer in polymer solar cells to enhance solar cell efficiency. Polymer solar cell including a fullerene surfactant-containing interfacial layer intermediate cathode and active layer.

  4. An arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian method for interfacial flows with insoluble surfactants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xiaofeng

    Interfacial flows, fluid flows involving two or more fluids that do not mix, are common in many natural and industrial processes such as rain drop formation, crude oil recovery, polymer blending, fuel spray formation, and so on. Surfactants (surface active substances) play an important role in such processes because they significantly change the interfacial dynamics. In this thesis, an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method has been developed to numerically simulate interfacial flows with insoluble surfactants. The interface is captured using a coupled level set and volume of fluid method. To evolve the surfactant concentration, the method directly tracks the surfactant mass and the interfacial area. The surfactant concentration, which determines the local surface tension through an equation of state, is then computed as surfactant mass per interfacial area. By directly tracking the surfactant mass, the method conserves the surfactant mass exactly. To accurately approximate the interfacial area, the fluid interface is reconstructed using piecewise parabolas. The evolution of the level set function, volume fraction, interfacial area, and the surfactant mass is performed using an ALE approach. The fluid flow is governed by Stokes equations, which are solved using a finite element method. The surface forces are included in the momentum equation using a continuum surface stress formulation. To efficiently resolve the complex interfacial dynamics, interfacial regions of high surface curvature, and near contact regions between two interacting interfaces, the grid near the interface is adaptively refined. The method is extendible to axisymmetric and 3D spaces, and can be coupled with other flow solvers, such as Navier-Stokes and viscoelastic flow solvers, as well. The method has been applied to study the effect of surfactants on drop deformation and breakup in an extensional flow. Drop deformation results are compared with available experimental and theoretical

  5. Surfactant Ligand Removal and Rational Fabrication of Inorganically Connected Quantum Dots

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Haitao; Hu, Bo; Sun, Liangfeng; Hovden, Robert; Wise, Frank W.; Muller, David A.; Robinson, Richard D.

    2011-01-01

    in that no new surfactant ligands are introduced and the post-treated NC surfaces are nearly bare. The detailed mechanism study shows that the high reactivity between (NH 4) 2S and metal-surfactant ligand complexes enables the complete removal of surfactant

  6. Mutagenicity of diesel exhaust soot dispersed in phospholipid surfactants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wallace, W.; Keane, M.; Xing, S.; Harrison, J.; Gautam, M.; Ong, T.

    1994-06-01

    Organics extractable from respirable diesel exhaust soot particles by organic solvents have been known for some time to be direct acting frameshift mutagens in the Ames Salmonella typhimurium histidine reversion assay. Upon deposition in a pulmonary alveolus or respiratory bronchiole, respirable diesel soot particles will contact first the hypophase which is coated by and laden with surfactants. To model interactions of soot and pulmonary surfactant, the authors dispersed soots in vitro in the primary phospholipid pulmonary surfactant dipalmitoyl glycerophosphorylcholine (lecithin) (DPL) in physiological saline. They have shown that diesel soots dispersed in lecithin surfactant can express mutagenic activity, in the Ames assay system using S. typhimurium TA98, comparable to that expressed by equal amounts of soot extracted by dichloromethane/dimethylsulfoxide (DCM/DMSO). Here the authors report additional data on the same system using additional exhaust soots and also using two other phospholipids, dipalmitoyl glycerophosphoryl ethanolamine (DPPE), and dipalmitoyl phosphatidic acid (DPPA), with different ionic character hydrophilic moieties. A preliminary study of the surfactant dispersed soot in an eucaryotic cell test system also is reported.

  7. Mesophase and size manipulation of itraconazole liquid crystalline nanoparticles produced via quasi nanoemulsion precipitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mugheirbi, Naila A; Tajber, Lidia

    2015-10-01

    The fabrication of drug nanoparticles (NPs) with process-mediated tunable properties and performances continues to grow rapidly during the last decades. This study investigates the synthesis and phase tuning of nanoparticulate itraconazole (ITR) mesophases using quasi nanoemulsion precipitation from acetone/water systems to seek out an alternative pathway to the nucleation-based NP formation. ITR liquid crystalline (LC) phases were formed and nematic-smectic mesomorphism was achieved via controlling solvent:antisolvent temperature difference (ΔTS:AS). The use of ΔTS:AS=49.5°C was associated with a nematic assembly, while intercalated smectic A layering was observed at ΔTS:AS=0°C, with both phases confined in the nanospheres at room temperature. The quasi emulsion system has not been investigated at the nanoscale to date and in contrary to the microscale, quasi nanoemulsion was observed over the solvent:antisolvent viscosity ratios of 1:7-1:1.4. Poly(acrylic acid) in the solvent phase exhibited a concentration dependent interaction when ITR formed NPs. This nanodroplet-based approach enabled the preparation of a stable ITR nanodispersion using Poloxamer 407 at 80°C, which was unachievable before using precipitation via nucleation. Findings of this work lay groundwork in terms of rationalised molecular assembly as a tool in designing pharmaceutical LC NPs with tailored properties. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Soft soils reinforced by rigid vertical inclusions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iulia-Victoria NEAGOE

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Reinforcement of soft soils by rigid vertical inclusions is an increasingly used technique over the last few years. The system consists of rigid or semi-rigid vertical inclusions and a granular platform for the loads transfer from the structure to the inclusions. This technique aims to reduce the differential settlements both at ground level as below the structure. Reinforcement by rigid inclusions is mainly used for foundation works for large commercial and industrial platforms, storage tanks, wastewater treatment plants, wind farms, bridges, roads, railway embankments. The subject is one of interest as it proves the recently concerns at international level in research and design; however, most studies deal more with the static behavior and less with the dynamic one.

  9. Surface rheology of surfactant solutions close to equilibrium

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Baets, P.J.M.; Stein, H.N.

    1994-01-01

    In this paper the authors present surface rheol. measurements of various surfactant solns. close to equil. in a Langmuir trough. The authors find that the storage modulus is, in the systems investigated, higher than the loss modulus. The rheol. behavior depends strongly on the surfactant concn.,

  10. Theoretical and Simulations-Based Modeling of Micellization in Linear and Branched Surfactant Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendenhall, Jonathan D.

    Surfactants are chemically-heterogeneous molecules possessing hydrophilic (head) and hydrophobic (tail) moieties. This dual nature of surfactants leads to interesting phase behavior in aqueous solution as a function of surfactant concentration, including: (i) formation of surfactant monolayers at surfaces and interfaces, and (ii) self-assembly into finite aggregates (micelles) in the bulk solution beyond the critical micelle concentration (cmc). This concentration-dependent phase behavior induces changes in solution properties. For example, the surface activity of surfactants can decrease the surface tension, and self-assembly in bulk solution can lead to changes in viscosity, equivalent conductivity, solubilization capacity, and other bulk properties. These effects make surfactants quite attractive and unique for use in product formulations, where they are utilized as detergents, dispersants, emulsifiers, solubilizers, surface and interfacial tension modifiers, and in other contexts. The specific chemical structure of the surfactant head and tail is essential in determining the overall performance properties of a surfactant in aqueous media. The surfactant tail drives the self-assembly process through the hydrophobic effect, while the surfactant head imparts a certain extent of solubility to the surfactant in aqueous solution through preferential interactions with the hydrogen-bonding network of water. The interplay between these two effects gives rise to the particular phase diagram of a surfactant, including the specific cmc at which micelles begin to form. In addition to serving as a quantitative indicator of micelle formation, the cmc represents a limit to surface monolayer formation, and hence to surface and interfacial tension reduction, because surfactant adsorption at interfaces remains approximately constant beyond the cmc. In addition, the cmc represents the onset of changes in bulk solution properties. This Thesis is concerned with the prediction of cmc

  11. Surfactant nebulisation prevents the adverse effects of surfactant therapy on blood pressure and cerebral blood flow in rabbits with severe respiratory failure

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijk, Peter H.; Heikamp, A; Bambang Oetomo, Sidarto

    1997-01-01

    Objective: Surfactant replacement therapy for the neonatal respiratory distress syndrome has shown beneficial effects on lung function and survival. Recently, rapid fluctuations of haemodynamics and cerebral perfusion following surfactant instillation have beer, described and an association with the

  12. (Cationic + nonionic) mixed surfactant aggregates for solubilisation of curcumin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Arun; Kaur, Gurpreet; Kansal, S.K.; Chaudhary, G.R.; Mehta, S.K.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Critical micelle concentration of mixed surfactant has been measured. • Aqueous solubility and alkaline stability of curcumin has been significantly improved. • Location of curcumin within micelles has been evaluated. • Scavenging activity of curcumin has been improved. • Non-intercalative binding with ct-DNA has been observed. - Abstract: Curcumin is a potential drug for variety of diseases. Major limitations of curcumin are low water solubility, rapid hydrolytic degradation in alkaline medium and poor bioavailability. To overcome these limitations, highly potential mixed micellar system has been prepared. In order to reduce inter ionic repulsion and precipitation of surfactants, (cationic + non-ionic) mixed system have been chosen that directly influence its applicability. Hydrophobic chain of non-ionic surfactant significantly influences the cmc of mixed surfactant system as indicated by fluorescence and conductivity data. UV–visible spectroscopy analyses show that solubility, stability and antioxidant property of the curcumin is remarkably improved depending on cmc and aggregation number (N_a_g_g) of mixed surfactants, where N_a_g_g plays crucial role. Generally, curcumin undergoes complete degradation in slight basic medium, but stability has been maintained up to 8 h at pH-13 using formulated mixed micelles (only (20 to 25)% degraded). Location of curcumin which is monitored using emission spectroscopy, fluorescence quenching and "1H NMR spectroscopy techniques play the most important role. Observed results show that the major population of curcumin is located at the polar region and some are in hydrophobic region of the mixed micelles. To ensure the effect of mixed surfactants and curcumin loaded mixed surfactants on DNA, the interaction parameter indicates non-interclative interactions.

  13. Dispersion of nanoparticulate suspensions using self-assembled surfactant aggregates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Pankaj Kumar

    The dispersion of particles is critical for several industrial applications such as paints, inks, coatings, and cosmetics. Several emerging applications such as abrasives for precision polishing, and drug delivery systems are increasingly relying on nanoparticulates to achieve the desired performance. In the case of nanoparticles, the dispersion becomes more challenging because of the lack of fundamental understanding of dispersant adsorption and interparticle force prediction. Additionally, many of these processes use severe processing environments such as high normal forces (>100 mN/m), high shear forces (>10,000 s -1), and high ionic strengths (>0.1 M). Under such processing conditions, traditionally used dispersants based on electrostatics, and steric force repulsion mechanism may not be adequate. Hence, the development of optimally performing dispersants requires a fundamental understanding of the dispersion mechanism at the atomic/molecular scale. This study explores the use of self-assembled surfactant aggregates at the solid-liquid interface for dispersing nanoparticles in severe processing environments. Surfactant molecules can provide a feasible alternative to polymeric or inorganic dispersants for stabilizing ultrafine particles. The barrier to aggregation in the presence of surfactant molecules was measured using atomic force microscopy. The barrier heights correlated to suspension stability. To understand the mechanism for nanoparticulate suspension stability in the presence of surfactant films, the interface was characterized using zeta potential, contact angle, adsorption, and FT-IR (adsorbed surfactant film structure measurements). The effect of solution conditions such as pH and ionic strength on the suspension stability, and the self-assembled surfactant films was also investigated. It was determined that a transition from a random to an ordered orientation of the surfactant molecules at the interface was responsible for stability of

  14. Impact of cationic surfactant on the self-assembly of sodium caseinate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vinceković, Marko; Curlin, Marija; Jurašin, Darija

    2014-08-27

    The impact of a cationic surfactant, dodecylammonium chloride (DDACl), on the self-assembly of sodium caseinate (SC) has been investigated by light scattering, zeta potential, and rheological measurements as well as by microscopy (transmission electron and confocal laser scanning microscopy). In SC dilute solutions concentration-dependent self-assembly proceeds through the formation of spherical associates and their aggregation into elongated structures composed of connected spheres. DDACl interacts with SC via its hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups, inducing changes in SC self-assembled structures. These changes strongly depend on the surfactant aggregation states (monomeric or micellar) as well as concentration ratio of both components, leading to the formation of soluble and insoluble complexes of nano- to microdimensions. DDACl monomers interact with SC self-assembled entities in a different way compared to their micelles. Surfactant monomers form soluble complexes (similar to surfactant mixed micelles) at lower SC concentration but insoluble gelatinous complexes at higher SC concentration. At surfactant micellar concentration soluble complexes with casein chains wrapped around surfactant micelles are formed. This study suggests that the use of proper cationic surfactant concentration will allow modification and control of structural changes of SC self-assembled entities.

  15. Separation of oil and grease from oil sludge using surfactant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ainon Abdul Aziz; Syed Hakimi Sakuma Syed Ahmad; Zalina Laili

    2005-01-01

    The objective of the experiments was to observe the efficiency of the surfactant to remove oil and grease from oil sludges using various surfactant concentration ranging from 10 %, 15 %, 20 % and 30 %. The surfactant solution consists of two mixtures of Aqua 2000 and D Bond. The oil sludge were subjected to heating and surfactant treatment process. Remaining oil and grease concentration were observed on the oil sludges after treatment. Small scale experiments were conducted by heating process, without heating process and heating process with addition of sodium chloride. Surfactant solution was added in each process. Results shows that there is separation of oil and grease from the oil sludges. There were formation of mini emulsions (oil in water). The higher the concentration of surfactant used, the higher the concentrations of mini emulsion formed as observed. Solid remains after the treatment process were found to contain lesser oil concentration with presence of bitumen, sediment, organic and inorganic materials. After a washing process using distilled water, the solid was still black but less oily than before the treatment. There is no separation of oil occurred in aqueous solution for the control experiment. (Author)

  16. New gluconamide-type cationic surfactants: Interactions with DNA and lipid membranes

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Misiak, P.; Wilk, K. A.; Kral, Teresa; Wozniak, E.; Pruchnik, H.; Frackowiak, R.; Hof, Martin; Rózycka-Roszak, B.

    180-181, OCT-NOV (2013), s. 44-54 ISSN 0301-4622 R&D Projects: GA ČR GBP208/12/G016 Institutional support: RVO:61388955 Keywords : Glucose-derived surfactant * Soft surfactant * Cationic surfactant Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 2.319, year: 2013

  17. Use of surfactants in cleaning paraffin from oil wells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liebold, G; Rehberg, W

    1969-05-01

    The use of surfactants is described especially oxethylated alkylphenols, in the cleaning of oil wells from paraffin. Aqueous 1 or 10% solutions of the surfactant were injected into the well through the annulus, partially in combination with demulsifiers (for example Separol-brands of BASF). Injection was accomplished continuously or in intervals; in the beginning of 50 ppm surfactant, afterward 15 to 30 ppm as related to the wet crude was necessary. Efficiency of the treatment could be proved by the decrease of pressure in the pipes, the loosening of paraffin shells, and considerably prolonged operation periods in wells which otherwise would have come to a standstill. In quite a number of wells, treatment with hot oil and electric heating could be completely replaced by injection of surfactants. (11 refs.)

  18. Pulmonary Surfactants for Acute and Chronic Lung Diseases (Part II

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. A. Rozenberg

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Part 2 of the review considers the problem of surfactant therapy for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS in adults and young and old children. It gives information on the results of surfactant therapy and prevention of ARDS in patients with severe concurrent trauma, inhalation injuries, complications due to complex expanded chest surgery, or severe pneumonias, including bilateral pneumonia in the presence of A/H1N1 influenza. There are data on the use of a surfactant in obstetric care and prevention of primary graft dysfunction during lung transplantation. The results of longterm use of surfactant therapy in Russia, suggesting that death rates from ARDS may be substantially reduced (to 20% are discussed. Examples of surfactant therapy for other noncritical lung diseases, such as permanent athelectasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and asthma, as well tuberculosis, are also considered.

  19. Structure-function relationships in pulmonary surfactant membranes: from biophysics to therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopez-Rodriguez, Elena; Pérez-Gil, Jesús

    2014-06-01

    Pulmonary surfactant is an essential lipid-protein complex to maintain an operative respiratory surface at the mammalian lungs. It reduces surface tension at the alveolar air-liquid interface to stabilise the lungs against physical forces operating along the compression-expansion breathing cycles. At the same time, surfactant integrates elements establishing a primary barrier against the entry of pathogens. Lack or deficiencies of the surfactant system are associated with respiratory pathologies, which treatment often includes supplementation with exogenous materials. The present review summarises current models on the molecular mechanisms of surfactant function, with particular emphasis in its biophysical properties to stabilise the lungs and the molecular alterations connecting impaired surfactant with diseased organs. It also provides a perspective on the current surfactant-based strategies to treat respiratory pathologies. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Membrane Structure and Function: Relevance in the Cell's Physiology, Pathology and Therapy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Molecular dynamics simulations of surfactant and nanoparticle self-assembly at liquid-liquid interfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Luo Mingxiang; Dai, Lenore L [Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409 (United States)

    2007-09-19

    We have performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate self-assembly at water-trichloroethylene (TCE) interfaces with the emphasis on systems containing modified hydrocarbon nanoparticles (1.2 nm in diameter) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactants. The nanoparticles and surfactants were first distributed randomly in the water phase. The MD simulations have clearly shown the progress of migration and final equilibrium of the SDS molecules at the water-TCE interfaces with the nanoparticles either at or in the vicinity of the interfaces. One unique feature is the 'attachment' of surfactant molecules to the nanoparticle clusters in the water phase followed by the 'detachment' at the water-TCE interfaces. At low concentrations of surfactants, the surfactants and nanoparticles co-equilibrate at the interfaces. However, the surfactants, at high concentrations, competitively dominate the interfaces and deplete nanoparticles away from the interfaces. The interfacial properties, such as interfacial thickness and interfacial tension, are significantly influenced by the presence of the surfactants, but not the nanoparticles. The order of the surfactants at the interfaces increases with increasing surfactant concentration, but is independent of nanoparticle concentration. Finally, the simulation has shown that surfactants can aggregate along the water-TCE interfaces, with and without the presence of nanoparticles.

  1. Preparation of nanocrystalline MgO by surfactant assisted precipitation method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rezaei, Mehran; Khajenoori, Majid; Nematollahi, Behzad

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Nanocrystalline magnesium oxide with high surface area. → MgO prepared with surfactant showed different morphologies compared with the sample prepared without surfactant. → MgO prepared with surfactant showed a plate-like shape. → Refluxing temperature and time and the surfactant to metal molar ratio affect the textural properties of MgO. -- Abstract: Nanocrystalline magnesium oxide with high surface area was prepared by a simple precipitation method using pluronic P123 triblock copolymer (Poly (ethylene glycol)-block, Poly (propylene glycol)-block, Poly (ethylene glycol)) as surfactant and under refluxing conditions. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N 2 adsorption (BET) and scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM). The obtained results revealed that the refluxing time and temperature and the molar ratio of surfactant to metal affect the structural properties of MgO, because of the changes in the rate and extent of P123 adsorption on the prepared samples. The results showed that the addition of surfactant is effective to prepare magnesium oxide with high surface area and affects the morphology of the prepared samples. With increasing the P123/MgO molar ratio to 0.05 the pore size distribution was shifted to larger size. The sample prepared with addition of surfactant showed a plate-like shape which was completely different with the morphology of the sample prepared without surfactant. The formation of nanoplate-like MgO was related to higher surface density of Mg ions on the (0 0 1) plane than that on the other planes of the Mg(OH) 2 crystal. The (0 0 1) plane would be blocked preferentially by the adsorbed P123 molecules during the growing process of Mg(OH) 2 nanoentities and the growth on the (0 0 1) plane would be markedly restricted, and the consequence is the generation of nanoplate-like MgO. In addition, increase in refluxing temperature and time increased the specific surface area

  2. Preparation of nanocrystalline MgO by surfactant assisted precipitation method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rezaei, Mehran, E-mail: rezaei@kashanu.ac.ir [Catalyst and Advanced Materials Research Laboratory, Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kashan, Kashan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, University of Kashan, Kashan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Khajenoori, Majid; Nematollahi, Behzad [Catalyst and Advanced Materials Research Laboratory, Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kashan, Kashan (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2011-10-15

    Highlights: {yields} Nanocrystalline magnesium oxide with high surface area. {yields} MgO prepared with surfactant showed different morphologies compared with the sample prepared without surfactant. {yields} MgO prepared with surfactant showed a plate-like shape. {yields} Refluxing temperature and time and the surfactant to metal molar ratio affect the textural properties of MgO. -- Abstract: Nanocrystalline magnesium oxide with high surface area was prepared by a simple precipitation method using pluronic P123 triblock copolymer (Poly (ethylene glycol)-block, Poly (propylene glycol)-block, Poly (ethylene glycol)) as surfactant and under refluxing conditions. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N{sub 2} adsorption (BET) and scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM). The obtained results revealed that the refluxing time and temperature and the molar ratio of surfactant to metal affect the structural properties of MgO, because of the changes in the rate and extent of P123 adsorption on the prepared samples. The results showed that the addition of surfactant is effective to prepare magnesium oxide with high surface area and affects the morphology of the prepared samples. With increasing the P123/MgO molar ratio to 0.05 the pore size distribution was shifted to larger size. The sample prepared with addition of surfactant showed a plate-like shape which was completely different with the morphology of the sample prepared without surfactant. The formation of nanoplate-like MgO was related to higher surface density of Mg ions on the (0 0 1) plane than that on the other planes of the Mg(OH){sub 2} crystal. The (0 0 1) plane would be blocked preferentially by the adsorbed P123 molecules during the growing process of Mg(OH){sub 2} nanoentities and the growth on the (0 0 1) plane would be markedly restricted, and the consequence is the generation of nanoplate-like MgO. In addition, increase in refluxing temperature and time

  3. Tuning metal–carboxylate coordination in crystalline metal–organic frameworks through surfactant media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gao, Junkuo [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Ye, Kaiqi [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); He, Mi [Division of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637371 (Singapore); Xiong, Wei-Wei; Cao, Wenfang; Lee, Zhi Yi [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Wang, Yue [State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); Wu, Tom [Division of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637371 (Singapore); Huo, Fengwei [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Liu, Xiaogang [Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543 (Singapore); Institute of Materials Research Engineering, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore 117602 (Singapore); Zhang, Qichun, E-mail: qczhang@ntu.edu.sg [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

    2013-10-15

    Although it has been widely demonstrated that surfactants can efficiently control the size, shape and surface properties of micro/nanocrystals of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) due to the strong interactions between surfactants and crystal facets of MOFs, the use of surfactants as reaction media to grow MOF single crystals is unprecedented. In addition, compared with ionic liquids, surfactants are much cheaper and can have multifunctional properties such as acidic, basic, neutral, cationic, anionic, or even block. These factors strongly motivate us to develop a new synthetic strategy: growing crystalline MOFs in surfactants. In this report, eight new two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) MOFs have been successfully synthesized in an industrially-abundant and environmentally-friendly surfactant: polyethylene glycol-200 (PEG-200). Eight different coordination modes of carboxylates, ranging from monodentate η{sup 1} mode to tetra-donor coordination µ{sub 3}-η{sup 1}:η{sup 2}:η{sup 1} mode, have been founded in our research. The magnetic properties of Co-based MOFs were investigated and MOF NTU-Z6b showed a phase transition with a Curie temperature (T{sub c}) at 5 K. Our strategy of growing crystalline MOFs in surfactant could offer exciting opportunities for preparing novel MOFs with diverse structures and interesting properties. - Graphical abstract: Surfactants have been used as reaction media to grow MOF single crystals for the first time. Eight new two-dimensional or three-dimensional MOFs were successfully synthesized in surfactant polyethylene glycol-200 (PEG-200). Coordination modes of carboxylates up to eight were founded. Our strategy of growing crystalline MOFs in surfactant could offer exciting opportunities for preparing novel MOFs with diverse structures and interesting properties. Display Omitted - Highlights: • Surfactant-thermal synthesis of crystalline metal–organic frameworks. • Eight new 2-D or 3-D metal–organic frameworks

  4. Obtenção de piches mesofásicos em dois estágios a partir de piche de petróleo Preparation in two stages of mesophase pitches from petroleum pitch

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos H. M. C. Dutra

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available A obtenção de piches mesofásicos para a produção de fibras de carbono de alta performance foi investigada por meio de tratamento térmico de três piches de petróleo, em dois estágios em um reator com agitação magnética e capacidade de 700 g. O primeiro estágio consistiu de um pré-tratamento sob agitação e atmosfera de nitrogênio a 0,9 MPa, a 390, 410 e 430 °C, durante três horas. No segundo estágio, o tratamento térmico foi realizado por mais três horas, sob pressão atmosférica. Durante os experimentos, amostras foram recolhidas e analisadas por meio de medidas de solubilidade em tolueno e quinolina, ponto de amolecimento e o percentual de mesofase. Foi verificado que, para todos os piches produzidos, nas temperaturas de 390 e 410 °C a variação dos parâmetros físico-químicos foi muito pequena e que os tratamentos térmicos no patamar de 430 °C produziram piches com pontos de amolecimento acima de 300 °C, e percentual de mesofase próximo a 70%.Mesophase pitches, precursors of high-performance carbon fibers, were prepared from petroleum pitch by a two-stage heat treatment, in a reactor capable of heat treating 700 g of petroleum pitch under stirring. The process consisted of a pretreatment under pressure at 390, 410 and 430 °C under nitrogen atmosphere, at 0.9 MPa, for three hours, as the first stage, followed by another heat treatment under atmospheric pressure, as the second stage. To study the properties of the petroleum pitch samples, during the experiment, they were removed from the system. Quinoline insolubles, toluene insolubles, mesophase content and softening point of the samples were used to follow the pyrolysis process. The results revealed slight variations in the properties for the pitches produced at 390 and 410 °C. However, the pitch samples produced at 430 °C had softening points higher than 300 °C, and mesophase contents of around 70%.

  5. A simplified treatment of surfactant effects on cloud drop activation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Raatikainen

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Dissolved surface active species, or surfactants, have a tendency to partition to solution surface and thereby decrease solution surface tension. Activating cloud droplets have large surface-to-volume ratios, and the amount of surfactant molecules in them is limited. Therefore, unlike with macroscopic solutions, partitioning to the surface can effectively deplete the droplet interior of surfactant molecules.

    Surfactant partitioning equilibrium for activating cloud droplets has so far been solved numerically from a group of non-linear equations containing the Gibbs adsorption equation coupled with a surface tension model and an optional activity coefficient model. This can be a problem when surfactant effects are examined by using large-scale cloud models. Namely, computing time increases significantly due to the partitioning calculations done in the lowest levels of nested iterations.

    Our purpose is to reduce the group of non-linear equations to simple polynomial equations with well known analytical solutions. In order to do that, we describe surface tension lowering using the Szyskowski equation, and ignore all droplet solution non-idealities. It is assumed that there is only one surfactant exhibiting bulk-surface partitioning, but the number of non-surfactant solutes is unlimited. It is shown that the simplifications cause only minor errors to predicted bulk solution concentrations and cloud droplet activation. In addition, computing time is decreased at least by an order of magnitude when using the analytical solutions.

  6. Flow improvers for water injection based on surfactants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oskarsson, H.; Uneback, I.; Hellsten, M.

    2006-03-15

    In many cases it is desirable to increase the flow of injection water when an oil well deteriorates. It is very costly in offshore operation to lay down an additional water pipe to the injection site. Flow improvers for the injection water will thus be the most cost-effective way to increase the flow rate. During the last years water-soluble polymers have also been applied for this purpose. These drag-reducing polymers are however only slowly biodegraded which has been an incentive for the development of readily biodegradable surfactants as flow improvers for injection water. A combination of a zwitterionic and an anionic surfactant has been tested in a 5.5 inch, 700 m long flow loop containing sulphate brine with salinity similar to sea water. A drag reduction between 75 and 80% was achieved with 119 ppm in solution of the surfactant blend at an average velocity of 1.9 m/s and between 50 and 55% at 2.9 m/s. The surfactants in this formulation were also found to be readily biodegradable in sea water and low bio accumulating which means they have an improved environmental profile compared to the polymers used today. Due to the self-healing properties of the drag-reducing structures formed by surfactants, these may be added before the pump section - contrary to polymers which are permanently destroyed by high shear forces. (Author)

  7. Synthesis of mesoporous nano-hydroxyapatite by using zwitterions surfactant

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mesoporous nano-hydroxyapatite (mn-HAP) was successfully synthesized via a novel micelle-templating method using lauryl dimethylaminoacetic acid as zwitterionic surfactant. The systematic use of such a surfactant in combination with microwave energy inputenables the precise contr...

  8. Effects of concentration, head group, and structure of surfactants on the degradation of phenanthrene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin Danyue; Jiang Xia; Jing Xin; Ou Ziqing

    2007-01-01

    The effects of concentration, polar/ionic head group, and structure of surfactants on the biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the aqueous phase, as well as their effects on the bacterial activity were investigated. The toxicity ranking of studied surfactants is: non-ionic surfactants (Tween 80, Brij30, 10LE and Brij35) -1 ) served the sole carbon and energy resource. However, the degradation of 14 C-phenanthrene showed either a decrease or no obvious change with the surfactants present at all tested concentrations (5-40 mg L -1 ). Thus, the surfactant addition is not beneficial to the removal of phenanthrene or other PAH contaminants due presumably to the preferential utilization of surfactants at low levels as the non-toxic nutrient resource and to the high toxicity of the surfactants at high levels to the microorganism activity. Biodegradation of phenanthrene was also influenced by the surfactant concentration, head group type, and structure. Much more research has yet to be completed on the use of surfactants for soil remediation due to the surfactant toxicity or biodegradation effect

  9. Systems of mechanized and reactive droplets powered by multi-responsive surfactants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Zhijie; Wei, Jingjing; Sobolev, Yaroslav I.; Grzybowski, Bartosz A.

    2018-01-01

    Although ‘active’ surfactants, which are responsive to individual external stimuli such as temperature, electric or magnetic fields, light, redox processes or chemical agents, are well known, it would be interesting to combine several of these properties within one surfactant species. Such multi-responsive surfactants could provide ways of manipulating individual droplets and possibly assembling them into larger systems of dynamic reactors. Here we describe surfactants based on functionalized nanoparticle dimers that combine all of these and several other characteristics. These surfactants and therefore the droplets that they cover are simultaneously addressable by magnetic, optical and electric fields. As a result, the surfactant-covered droplets can be assembled into various hierarchical structures, including dynamic ones, in which light powers the rapid rotation of the droplets. Such rotating droplets can transfer mechanical torques to their non-nearest neighbours, thus acting like systems of mechanical gears. Furthermore, droplets of different types can be merged by applying electric fields and, owing to interfacial jamming, can form complex, non-spherical, ‘patchy’ structures with different surface regions covered with different surfactants. In systems of droplets that carry different chemicals, combinations of multiple stimuli can be used to control the orientations of the droplets, inter-droplet transport, mixing of contents and, ultimately, sequences of chemical reactions. Overall, the multi-responsive active surfactants that we describe provide an unprecedented level of flexibility with which liquid droplets can be manipulated, assembled and reacted.

  10. Evaluation of a common commercial surfactant in a water recycle system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rector, T.; Jackson, A.; Rainwater, K.; Pickering, S.

    2002-01-01

    The fate of a common commercial surfactant was investigated in the biological reactors of a water recycle system. A NO 2 - reducing packed-bed bioreactor was employed to evaluate degradation of surfactant present in a typical greywater stream. The research was conducted to determine if an alternative commercial surfactant could be used in a biological water recycle system proposed for space travel in place of the current surfactant. The commercial soap used in the research was Pert Plus for Kids (PPK), which contains sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) as the active surfactant. Experiments included a combination of microcosm studies as well as a continuous-flow packed-bed bioreactor. The hydraulic retention time of the packed-bed bioreactor was varied through changes in flow rate to yield different steady-state values for NO 2 -N, TOC, and COD. Steady-state values will allow the determination of the bacterial kinetic parameters. Initial results suggest that the commercial surfactant may be difficult to treat in the time frame of typical biological systems. NO 2 - reduction was favorable in the packed-bed reactor, but TOC removal rates did not correspond to the NO 2 - removal. It is theorized that, due to its high K oc value (1200), SLES has an affinity to absorb to the media contained in the bed, which in turn allows for adsorption of the surfactant. Future research will include development of an isotherm model to characterize the adsorption rates and correlate them to surfactant removal. (author)

  11. Numerical approach for enhanced oil recovery with surfactant flooding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sadegh Keshtkar

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The remained oil in the reservoir after conventional water-flooding processes, forms a dispersed phase in the form of oil drops which is trapped by capillary forces and is almost about 70% of the original oil in the place (OOIP. To reduce oil residual saturation in laboratory experiments and field projects, surfactant flooding is effective via decreasing the interfacial tension mobility ratio between oil and water phases. Estimation of the role of design variables, like chemical concentrations, partition coefficient and injection rate in different performance quantities, considering a heterogeneous and multiphase oil reservoir is a critical stage for optimal design. Increasing demand for oil production from water-flooded reservoirs has caused an increasing interest in surfactant-polymer (SP and alkali-surfactant-polymer (ASP. Modeling minimizes the risk of high cost of chemicals by improving our insight of process. In the present paper, a surfactant compositional flood model for a three-component (water, petroleum and surfactant, two phase (aqueous and oleic system is studied. A homogeneous, two-dimensional, isothermal reservoir with no free gas or alkali is assumed. The governing equations are in three categories: the continuity equations for the transport of each component, Darcy's equation for the transport of each phase and other auxiliary equations. The equations are solved by finite-differences using a procedure implicit in pressure and explicit in saturation. The validation of the model is achieved through comparing the modeling results with CMG simulators and Buckley–Leverett theory. The results of modeling showed good agreement with CMG results, and the comparison with Buckley–Leverett theory is explained according to different assumptions. After validation of the model, in order to investigate sensitivity analysis, the effects of system variables (partition coefficient, surface tension, oil viscosity and surface injection

  12. Performance improvement of ionic surfactant flooding in carbonate rock samples by use of nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Ali Ahmadi

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Various surfactants have been used in upstream petroleum processes like chemical flooding. Ultimately, the performance of these surfactants depends on their ability to reduce the interfacial tension between oil and water. The surfactant concentration in the aqueous solution decreases owing to the loss of the surfactant on the rock surface in the injection process. The main objective of this paper is to inhibit the surfactant loss by means of adding nanoparticles. Sodium dodecyl sulfate and silica nanoparticles were used as ionic surfactant and nanoparticles in our experiments, respectively. AEROSIL® 816 and AEROSIL® 200 are hydrophobic and hydrophilic nanoparticles. To determine the adsorption loss of the surfactant onto rock samples, a conductivity approach was used. Real carbonate rock samples were used as the solid phase in adsorption experiments. It should be noted that the rock samples were water wet. This paper describes how equilibrium adsorption was investigated by examining adsorption behavior in a system of carbonate sample (solid phase and surfactant solution (aqueous phase. The initial surfactant and nanoparticle concentrations were 500–5000 and 500–2000 ppm, respectively. The rate of surfactant losses was extremely dependent on the concentration of the surfactant in the system, and the adsorption of the surfactant decreased with an increase in the nanoparticle concentration. Also, the hydrophilic nanoparticles are more effective than the hydrophobic nanoparticles.

  13. Nonlinear dynamics in experimental devices with compressed/expanded surfactant monolayers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Higuera, M; Perales, J M; Vega, J M

    2014-01-01

    A theory is provided for a common experimental set up that is used to measure surface properties in surfactant monolayers. The set up consists of a surfactant monolayer (over a shallow liquid layer) that is compressed/expanded in a periodic fashion by moving in counter-phase two parallel, slightly immersed solid barriers, which vary the free surface area and thus the surfactant concentration. The simplest theory ignores the fluid dynamics in the bulk fluid, assuming spatially uniform surfactant concentration, which requires quite small forcing frequencies and provides reversible dynamics in the compression/expansion cycles. In this paper, we present a long-wave theory for not so slow oscillations that assumes local equilibrium but takes the fluid dynamics into account. This simple theory uncovers the physical mechanisms involved in the surfactant behavior and allows for extracting more information from each experimental run. The conclusion is that the fluid dynamics cannot be ignored, and that some irreversible dynamics could well have a fluid dynamic origin. (paper)

  14. Transdermal delivery of flurbiprofen from surfactant-based vesicles: particle characterization and the effect of water on in vitro transport.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uchino, Tomonobu; Matsumoto, Yuiko; Murata, Akiko; Oka, Toshihiko; Miyazaki, Yasunori; Kagawa, Yoshiyuki

    2014-04-10

    Flurbiprofen loaded rigid and elastic vesicles comprising the bilayer-forming surfactant sucrose-ester laurate were prepared by the film rehydration and extrusion method. The charge-inducing agent sodium dodecyl sulfate, and the micelle-forming surfactants, sorbitan monolaurate, polyethylene glycol monolaurate, and polysorbate 20, were used to enhance elasticity. Vesicle formulations were evaluated for size, zeta potential, (1)H and (19)F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra, and in vitro skin permeation across Yucatan micropig (YMP) skin. Vesicle formulations were stable for 2 weeks and their mean sizes were 95-135 nm. NMR spectroscopy showed that flurbiprofen molecular mobility was restricted by interaction with vesicle components because of entrapment in vesicle bilayers. Moreover, sorbitan monolaurate-containing vesicles strongly retained flurbiprofen molecules. After non-occlusive application to YMP skin, flurbiprofen transport from all vesicle formulations was superior to that of flurbiprofen alone and remarkably decreased after water vaporization. Polarization microscopy and small-angle X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the vesicle formulation was transferred to liquid crystalline state. Suppression of vesicle transition to the liquid crystalline state was observed with applications of both large quantities and diluted samples. The presence of water in the formulations was associated with maintenance of the vesicle structure and greater flurbiprofen transport across YMP skin. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. The interactions between ionic surfactants and phosphatidylcholine vesicles: Conductometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsao, Heng-Kwong; Tseng, Wen Liang

    2001-11-01

    The interaction between ionic surfactants and phosphatidylcholine vesicles, which are prepared without addition of buffer and salt, is investigated by conductivity measurements. On the basis of the vesicle acting as a trap of charge carriers, the bilayer/aqueous phase partition coefficient K and the surfactant/lipid molar ratio Re of nine surfactants are determined. The thermodynamic consistency is satisfied by the measured parameters. The effects of the alkyl chain length (C10-C16) and ionic head group are then studied. The inverse partition coefficient K-1 is linearly related to the critical micelle concentration. The solubilizing ability Reb is a consequence of the competition between the surfactant incorporation into the bilayer and the formation of micelles. Consequently, the K parameter rises whereas the Reb parameter declines as the chain length is increased. The influence due to addition of salt is also discussed.

  16. Practical Considerations and Challenges Involved in Surfactant Enhanced Bioremediation of Oil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sagarika Mohanty

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Surfactant enhanced bioremediation (SEB of oil is an approach adopted to overcome the bioavailability constraints encountered in biotransformation of nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL pollutants. Fuel oils contain n-alkanes and other aliphatic hydrocarbons, monoaromatics, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs. Although hydrocarbon degrading cultures are abundant in nature, complete biodegradation of oil is rarely achieved even under favorable environmental conditions due to the structural complexity of oil and culture specificities. Moreover, the interaction among cultures in a consortium, substrate interaction effects during the degradation and ability of specific cultures to alter the bioavailability of oil invariably affect the process. Although SEB has the potential to increase the degradation rate of oil and its constituents, there are numerous challenges in the successful application of this technology. Success is dependent on the choice of appropriate surfactant type and dose since the surfactant-hydrocarbon-microorganism interaction may be unique to each scenario. Surfactants not only enhance the uptake of constituents through micellar solubilization and emulsification but can also alter microbial cell surface characteristics. Moreover, hydrocarbons partitioned in micelles may not be readily bioavailable depending on the microorganism-surfactant interactions. Surfactant toxicity and inherent biodegradability of surfactants may pose additional challenges as discussed in this review.

  17. Practical Considerations and Challenges Involved in Surfactant Enhanced Bioremediation of Oil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohanty, Sagarika; Jasmine, Jublee

    2013-01-01

    Surfactant enhanced bioremediation (SEB) of oil is an approach adopted to overcome the bioavailability constraints encountered in biotransformation of nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) pollutants. Fuel oils contain n-alkanes and other aliphatic hydrocarbons, monoaromatics, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Although hydrocarbon degrading cultures are abundant in nature, complete biodegradation of oil is rarely achieved even under favorable environmental conditions due to the structural complexity of oil and culture specificities. Moreover, the interaction among cultures in a consortium, substrate interaction effects during the degradation and ability of specific cultures to alter the bioavailability of oil invariably affect the process. Although SEB has the potential to increase the degradation rate of oil and its constituents, there are numerous challenges in the successful application of this technology. Success is dependent on the choice of appropriate surfactant type and dose since the surfactant-hydrocarbon-microorganism interaction may be unique to each scenario. Surfactants not only enhance the uptake of constituents through micellar solubilization and emulsification but can also alter microbial cell surface characteristics. Moreover, hydrocarbons partitioned in micelles may not be readily bioavailable depending on the microorganism-surfactant interactions. Surfactant toxicity and inherent biodegradability of surfactants may pose additional challenges as discussed in this review. PMID:24350261

  18. Nanocomposites of PP and bentonite clay modified with different surfactants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodrigues, Andre W.B.; Agrawal, Pankaj; Araujo, Edcleide M.; Melo, Tomas J.A.; Ueki, Marcelo M.

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this work was the development of nano composites of polypropylene (PP) and national bentonite clay modified with different surfactants. The results of X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) showed that the organophilization process was effective. The surfactants led to a significant increase in the basal spacing of Brasgel PA clay. XRD results of the mixture PP/Brasgel PA clay modified with Praepagem WB surfactant indicated that a nanocomposite with intercalated structure was formed. When the Brasgel PA clay was modified with Praepagem HY surfactant, DRX results indicated that a micro composite was formed. Screw speed, clay content and PP viscosity had no influence on the XRD pattern of the obtained materials. (author)

  19. Factors controlling leaching of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum source rock using nonionic surfactant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Akinlua, Akinsehinwa [Obafemi Awolowo Univ., Ile-Ife (Nigeria). Fossil Fuels and Environmental Geochemistry Group; Jochmann, Maik A.; Qian, Yuan; Schmidt, Torsten C. [Duisburg-Essen Univ., Essen (Germany). Instrumental Analytical Chemistry; Sulkowski, Martin [Duisburg-Essen Univ., Essen (Germany). Inst. of Environmental Analytical Chemistry

    2012-03-15

    The extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from petroleum source rock by nonionic surfactants with the assistance of microwave irradiation was investigated and the conditions for maximum yield were determined. The results showed that the extraction temperatures and type of surfactant have significant effects on extraction yields of PAHs. Factors such as surfactant concentration, irradiation power, sample/solvent ratio and mixing surfactants (i.e., mixture of surfactant at specific ratio) also influence the extraction efficiencies for these compounds. The optimum temperature for microwave-assisted nonionic surfactant extraction of PAHs from petroleum source rock was 120 C and the best suited surfactant was Brij 35. The new method showed extraction efficiencies comparable to those afforded by the Soxhlet extraction method, but a reduction of the extraction times and environmentally friendliness of the new nonionic surfactant extraction system are clear advantages. The results also show that microwave-assisted nonionic surfactant extraction is a good and efficient green analytical preparatory technique for geochemical evaluation of petroleum source rock. (orig.)

  20. Effect of Surfactants on Mechanical, Thermal, and Photostability of a Monoclonal Antibody.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agarkhed, Meera; O'Dell, Courtney; Hsieh, Ming-Ching; Zhang, Jingming; Goldstein, Joel; Srivastava, Arvind

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this work was to evaluate the effect of commonly used surfactants (at 0.01% w/v concentration) on mechanical, thermal, and photostability of a monoclonal antibody (MAb1) of IgG1 sub-class and to evaluate the minimum concentration of surfactant (Polysorbate 80) required in protecting MAb1 from mechanical stress. Surfactants evaluated were non-ionic surfactants, Polysorbate 80, Polysorbate 20, Pluronic F-68 (polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene block polymer), Brij 35 (polyoxyethylene lauryl ether), Triton X-100, and an anionic surfactant, Caprylic acid (1-Heptanecarboxylic acid). After evaluating effect of surfactants and determining stabilizing effect of Polysorbate 80 against mechanical stress without compromising thermal and photostability of MAb1, the minimum concentration of Polysorbate 80 required for mechanical stability was further examined. Polysorbate 80 concentration was varied from 0 to 0.02%. Mechanical stability was evaluated by agitation of MAb1 at 300 rotations per minute at room temperature for 72 h. Samples were analyzed for purity by SEC-HPLC, turbidity by absorbance at 350 nm, visible particles by visual inspection, and sub-visible particles by light obscuration technique on a particle analyzer. All non-ionic surfactants tested showed a similar effect in protecting against mechanical stress and did not exhibit any significant negative effect on thermal and photostability. However, Caprylic acid had a slightly negative effect on mechanical and photostability when compared to the non-ionic surfactants or sample without surfactant. This work demonstrated that polysorbate 80 is better than other surfactants tested and that a concentration of at least 0.005% (w/v) Polysorbate 80 is needed to protect MAb1 against mechanical stress.

  1. Molecular dynamics simulations of phase separation in the presence of surfactants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laradji, Mohamed; Mouritsen, Ole G.; Toxvaerd, Søren

    1994-01-01

    The dynamics of phase separation in two-dimensional binary mixtures diluted by surfactants is studied by means of molecular dynamics simulations. In contrast to pure binary systems, characterized by an algebraic time dependence of the average domain size, we find that systems containing surfactants...... not fully phase separate, we observe a dynamical scaling which is independent of the surfactant concentration. The results of these simulations are in general in agreement with previous Langevin simulations [Laradji, Guo, Grant, and Zuckermann, J. Phys. A 44, L629 (1991)] and a theory of Ostwald ripening...... exhibit nonalgebraic, slow dynamics. The average domain size eventually saturates at a value inversely proportional to the surfactant concentration. We also find that phase separation in systems with different surfactant concentrations follow a crossover scaling form. Finally, although these systems do...

  2. Marine toxicity and persistence of surfactants used in the petroleum producing industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maddin, C.M.

    1991-01-01

    This paper presents a survey of marine toxicity and biodegradability data for surfactants used in the petroleum industry. Surfactants are key chemicals in the formulation of products such as emulsifiers, demulsifiers, dispersants and inhibitors. They are also used directly as foaming and defoaming agents. Because they function at low concentrations, below 1%, and have a tendency to adsorb on solid surfaces, their long-term environmental effects are minimal. In applications such as cementing, surfactants cannot migrate into the environment and, thus, have no bioavailability. The possibility of environmental contamination has caused well operators and regulatory agencies to require fish toxicity and persistence data for products used in servicing wells. This data has been organized for nonionic, anionic, cationic and amphoteric surfactants. Nonionic surfactants are toxic to fish at concentrations below 10 mg/L to over 2500 mg/L depending on their chemical compositions. Anionic surfactants are toxic to fish at concentrations under 1 mg/L to several hundred mg/L depending on their chemical compositions. cationic and amphoteric surfactants are generally toxic to fish at concentrations below 50 mg/L. Overall efforts are aimed at low toxicity and high biodegradability with the least compromise in product efficiency. This requires the continual testing and environmental evaluation of surfactants summarized herein

  3. Numerical Study of Surfactant Dynamics during Emulsification in a T-Junction Microchannel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riaud, Antoine; Zhang, Hao; Wang, Xueying; Wang, Kai; Luo, Guangsheng

    2018-04-18

    Microchannel emulsification requires large amounts of surfactant to prevent coalescence and improve emulsions lifetime. However, most numerical studies have considered surfactant-free mixtures as models for droplet formation in microchannels, without taking into account the distribution of surfactant on the droplet surface. In this paper, we investigate the effects of nonuniform surfactant coverage on the microfluidic flow pattern using an extended lattice-Boltzmann model. This numerical study, supported by micro-particle image velocimetry experiments, reveals the likelihood of uneven distribution of surfactant during the droplet formation and the appearance of a stagnant cap. The Marangoni effect affects the droplet breakup by increasing the shear rate. According to our results, surfactant-free and surfactant-rich droplet formation processes are qualitatively different, such that both the capillary number and the Damköhler number should be considered when modeling the droplet generation in microfluidic devices. The limitations of traditional volume and pressure estimation methods for determining the dynamic interfacial tension are also discussed on the basis of the simulation results.

  4. Comprehensive study of tartrazine/cationic surfactant interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahir, Afshin Asadzadeh; Javadian, Soheila; Razavizadeh, Bi Bi Marzieh; Gharibi, Hussein

    2011-12-15

    Interaction of a food dye, tartrazine, with some cationic conventional and gemini surfactants, tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB), N,N'-ditetradecyl-N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-N,N'-butanediyl-diammonium dibromide (14,4,14), and N,N'-didodecyl-N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-N,N'-butanediyl-diammonium dibromide (12,4,12), were first investigated comprehensively employing conductometry, tensiometry, and UV-visible spectroscopy. Tartrazine was found to behave in the same manner as aromatic counterions. The formation of ion pairs reflected as a considerable increase of the surfactant efficiency in tensiometry plots and their stoichiometry were determined by Job's method of continuous variations. For the tartrazine/TTAB system, nonionic DS(3), ionic DS(2-), and/or DS(2)(-) ion pairs, their small premicelles, and tartrazine-rich micelles were constituted as well as dye-containing TTAB-rich micelles. Insoluble J-aggregates of DS(-) ion pairs and cylindrical surfactant-rich micelles were also formed in tartrazine/gemini surfactant systems and recognized by transmission electron microscopy. The zeta potential and the size of the aggregates were determined using dynamic light scattering and confirmed the suggested models for the processes happening in each system. Cyclic voltammetry was applied successfully to track all of these species using tartrazine's own reduction peak current for the first time.

  5. Extraction and Characterization of Surfactants from Atmospheric Aerosols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nozière, Barbara; Gérard, Violaine; Baduel, Christine; Ferronato, Corinne

    2017-04-21

    Surface-active compounds, or surfactants, present in atmospheric aerosols are expected to play important roles in the formation of liquid water clouds in the Earth's atmosphere, a central process in meteorology, hydrology, and for the climate system. But because specific extraction and characterization of these compounds have been lacking for decades, very little is known on their identity, properties, mode of action and origins, thus preventing the full understanding of cloud formation and its potential links with the Earth's ecosystems. In this paper we present recently developed methods for 1) the targeted extraction of all the surfactants from atmospheric aerosol samples and for the determination of 2) their absolute concentrations in the aerosol phase and 3) their static surface tension curves in water, including their Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC). These methods have been validated with 9 references surfactants, including anionic, cationic and non-ionic ones. Examples of results are presented for surfactants found in fine aerosol particles (diameter <1 μm) collected at a coastal site in Croatia and suggestions for future improvements and other characterizations than those presented are discussed.

  6. Use of functionalized surfactants in flame atomic analysis: Final technical report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Armstrong, D.W.

    1987-01-01

    Research results in the following areas are briefly summarized: basic properties of surfactants, micelles, and cyclodextrins as they relate to chemical analysis; use of functionalized surfactants, micelles, and cyclodextrins in spectroscopic analysis; macromolecular separation theory and mechanism; use of functionalized surfactants and cyclodextrins in separations; capillary work for future coupling of spectroscopic and LC projects

  7. Poloxamer-Decorated Polymer Nanoparticles for Lung Surfactant Compatibility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Beck-Broichsitter, Moritz; Bohr, Adam; Ruge, Christian A

    2017-01-01

    Lung-delivered polymer nanoparticles provoked dysfunction of the essential lung surfactant system. A steric shielding of the nanoparticle surface with poloxamers could minimize the unwanted interference of polymer nanoparticles with the biophysical function of lung surfactant. The extent of poly......(styrene) and poly(lactide) nanoparticle-induced lung surfactant inhibition could be related to the type and content of the applied poloxamer. Escalations of the adsorbed coating layer thickness (>3 nm) as well as concentration (brush- rather than mushroom-like conformation of poly(ethylene glycol), chain......-associated proteins. Poloxamer-modified polymer nanoparticles represent a promising nanomedicine platform intended for respiratory delivery revealing negligible effects on the biophysical functionality of the lining layer present in the deep lungs....

  8. Surfactant therapy for maternal blood aspiration: an unusual cause of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Celik, Istemi Han; Demirel, Gamze; Canpolat, Fuat Emre; Erdeve, Omer; Dilmen, Ugur

    2012-10-01

    Surfactant replacement therapy is the main treatment of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome. However, surfactant therapy has been shown to be effective in the treatment of other diseases causing neonatal respiratory diseases such as pulmonary hemorrhage, meconium aspiration syndrome, pneumonia/sepsis, pulmonary edema or acute lung injury resulting a secondary surfactant deficiency (SSD). Rarely, as like as in the present patient, exogenous blood aspiration such as breast milk or formula aspiration may lead to SSD. Blood in alveolus leads to a significant biochemical and functional disturbance of the surfactant system and inhibits surfactant production. Here, the authors report a preterm infant of 33 wk gestational age with secondary surfactant deficiency due to maternal blood aspiration because of abruptio placentae. She was received two courses of beractant, a natural bovine surfactant, therapy in 24 h. She was extubated on second day and did not require oxygen on 4(th) day. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of SSD due to maternal blood aspiration treated with surfactant. In conditions such as abruptio placentae, infant should be protected from blood aspiration and if respiratory distress occurs, surfactant inhibition and need for surfactant administration should be considered.

  9. The Accelerated Late Adsorption of Pulmonary Surfactant

    OpenAIRE

    Loney, Ryan W.; Anyan, Walter R.; Biswas, Samares C.; Rananavare, Shankar B.; Hall, Stephen B.

    2011-01-01

    Adsorption of pulmonary surfactant to an air−water interface lowers surface tension (γ) at rates that initially decrease progressively, but which then accelerate close to the equilibrium γ. The studies here tested a series of hypotheses concerning mechanisms that might cause the late accelerated drop in γ. Experiments used captive bubbles and a Wilhelmy plate to measure γ during adsorption of vesicles containing constituents from extracted calf surfactant. The faster fall in γ reflects faster...

  10. Binding of alkylpyridinium chloride surfactants to sodium polystyrene sulfonate

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ishiguro, M.; Koopal, L.K.

    2009-01-01

    Binding of cationic surfactants to anionic polymers is well studied. However, the surfactant binding characteristics at very low concentration near the start of binding and at high concentration, where charge compensation may Occur. are less well known. Therefore, the binding characteristics of

  11. Mineral-Surfactant Interactions for Minimum Reagents Precipitation and Adsorption for Improved Oil Recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    P. Somasundaran

    2008-09-20

    Chemical EOR can be an effective method for increasing oil recovery and reducing the amount of produced water; however, reservoir fluids are chemically complex and may react adversely to the polymers and surfactants injected into the reservoir. While a major goal is to alter rock wettability and interfacial tension between oil and water, rock-fluid and fluid-fluid interactions must be understood and controlled to minimize reagent loss, maximize recovery and mitigate costly failures. The overall objective of this project was to elucidate the mechanisms of interactions between polymers/surfactants and the mineral surfaces responsible for determining the chemical loss due to adsorption and precipitation in EOR processes. The role of dissolved inorganic species that are dependent on the mineralogy is investigated with respect to their effects on adsorption. Adsorption, wettability and interfacial tension are studied with the aim to control chemical losses, the ultimate goal being to devise schemes to develop guidelines for surfactant and polymer selection in EOR. The adsorption behavior of mixed polymer/surfactant and surfactant/surfactant systems on typical reservoir minerals (quartz, alumina, calcite, dolomite, kaolinite, gypsum, pyrite, etc.) was correlated to their molecular structures, intermolecular interactions and the solution conditions such as pH and/or salinity. Predictive models as well as general guidelines for the use of polymer/surfactant surfactant/surfactant system in EOR have been developed The following tasks have been completed under the scope of the project: (1) Mineral characterization, in terms of SEM, BET, size, surface charge, and point zero charge. (2) Study of the interactions among typical reservoir minerals (quartz, alumina, calcite, dolomite, kaolinite, gypsum, pyrite, etc.) and surfactants and/or polymers in terms of adsorption properties that include both macroscopic (adsorption density, wettability) and microscopic (orientation

  12. Distribution of endotracheally instilled surfactant protein SP-C in lung-lavaged rabbits.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bambang Oetomo, Sidarto; de Leij, Louis; Curstedt, T; ter Haar, J G; Schoots, Coenraad; Wildevuur, Charles; Okken, Albert

    In lung-lavaged surfactant-deficient rabbits (n = 6) requiring artificial ventilation, porcine surfactant was instilled endotracheally. This resulted in improvement of lung function so that the animals could be weaned off artificial ventilation. The animals were killed 4 1/2 h after surfactant

  13. The effect of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on pulmonary surfactant function and ultrastructure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Braun Armin

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Pulmonary surfactant reduces surface tension and is present at the air-liquid interface in the alveoli where inhaled nanoparticles preferentially deposit. We investigated the effect of titanium dioxide (TiO2 nanosized particles (NSP and microsized particles (MSP on biophysical surfactant function after direct particle contact and after surface area cycling in vitro. In addition, TiO2 effects on surfactant ultrastructure were visualized. Methods A natural porcine surfactant preparation was incubated with increasing concentrations (50-500 μg/ml of TiO2 NSP or MSP, respectively. Biophysical surfactant function was measured in a pulsating bubble surfactometer before and after surface area cycling. Furthermore, surfactant ultrastructure was evaluated with a transmission electron microscope. Results TiO2 NSP, but not MSP, induced a surfactant dysfunction. For TiO2 NSP, adsorption surface tension (γads increased in a dose-dependent manner from 28.2 ± 2.3 mN/m to 33.2 ± 2.3 mN/m (p min slightly increased from 4.8 ± 0.5 mN/m up to 8.4 ± 1.3 mN/m (p 2 NSP concentrations. Presence of NSP during surface area cycling caused large and significant increases in both γads (63.6 ± 0.4 mN/m and γmin (21.1 ± 0.4 mN/m. Interestingly, TiO2 NSP induced aberrations in the surfactant ultrastructure. Lamellar body like structures were deformed and decreased in size. In addition, unilamellar vesicles were formed. Particle aggregates were found between single lamellae. Conclusion TiO2 nanosized particles can alter the structure and function of pulmonary surfactant. Particle size and surface area respectively play a critical role for the biophysical surfactant response in the lung.

  14. Inhaled Surfactant Therapy in Newborns in Artificial Lung Ventilation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. A. Perepelitsa

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: to evaluate the efficiency of inhaled surfactant therapy in neonatal infants with respiratory failure.Subjects and methods. The trial enrolled 13 premature neonatal infants; their mean gestational age was 31.8±2.8 weeks and the birth weight was 1825±600.9 g. They had a oneminute Apgar score of 4.3±1.4. All the neonates needed mechanical ventilation (MV atbirth because the leading clinical sign was respiratory failure caused by acute intranatal hypoxia, neonatal amniotic fluid aspiration, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS, and cerebral ischemia. Curosurf was injected in a dose of 174.7±21 mg/kg in the infants with neonatal RDS at 35 minutes of life. All the babies included in the study were noted to have severe disease and prolonged MV. After stabilization of their status, the neonates received combination therapy involving surfactantBL inhalation to reduce the duration of MV. The dose of the agent was 75 mg. Results. After surfactantBL inhalation, effective spontaneous respiration occurred in 69.2% of the newborn infants; successful extubation was carried out. The median duration ofMV after surfactant BL inhalation was 22 hours (4—68 hours. There were no reintubated cases after inhalation therapy. Following surfactantBL inhalation, 4 (30.8% patients remained to be on MV as a control regimen; 3 of them had highfre quency MV. SurfactantBL inhalation made it possible to change the respiratory support regimen and to reduce MV parame ters in these babies. 

  15. Thermostability in rubredoxin and its relationship to mechanical rigidity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rader, A. J.

    2010-03-01

    The source of increased stability in proteins from organisms that thrive in extreme thermal environments is not well understood. Previous experimental and theoretical studies have suggested many different features possibly responsible for such thermostability. Many of these thermostabilizing mechanisms can be accounted for in terms of structural rigidity. Thus a plausible hypothesis accounting for this remarkable stability in thermophilic enzymes states that these enzymes have enhanced conformational rigidity at temperatures below their native, functioning temperature. Experimental evidence exists to both support and contradict this supposition. We computationally investigate the relationship between thermostability and rigidity using rubredoxin as a case study. The mechanical rigidity is calculated using atomic models of homologous rubredoxin structures from the hyperthermophile Pyrococcus furiosus and mesophile Clostridium pasteurianum using the FIRST software. A global increase in structural rigidity (equivalently a decrease in flexibility) corresponds to an increase in thermostability. Locally, rigidity differences (between mesophilic and thermophilic structures) agree with differences in protection factors.

  16. Thermostability in rubredoxin and its relationship to mechanical rigidity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rader, A J

    2010-01-01

    The source of increased stability in proteins from organisms that thrive in extreme thermal environments is not well understood. Previous experimental and theoretical studies have suggested many different features possibly responsible for such thermostability. Many of these thermostabilizing mechanisms can be accounted for in terms of structural rigidity. Thus a plausible hypothesis accounting for this remarkable stability in thermophilic enzymes states that these enzymes have enhanced conformational rigidity at temperatures below their native, functioning temperature. Experimental evidence exists to both support and contradict this supposition. We computationally investigate the relationship between thermostability and rigidity using rubredoxin as a case study. The mechanical rigidity is calculated using atomic models of homologous rubredoxin structures from the hyperthermophile Pyrococcus furiosus and mesophile Clostridium pasteurianum using the FIRST software. A global increase in structural rigidity (equivalently a decrease in flexibility) corresponds to an increase in thermostability. Locally, rigidity differences (between mesophilic and thermophilic structures) agree with differences in protection factors

  17. Kinetics and mechanism for the sonochemical degradation of a nonionic surfactant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singla, Ritu; Grieser, Franz; Ashokkumar, Muthupandian

    2009-03-26

    The sonolytic degradation of the nonionic surfactant, octaethylene glycol monododecyl ether (C(12)E(8)), has been studied at various initial concentrations below and above its critical micelle concentration (CMC). It has been observed that the degradation rate increases with an increase in the initial concentration of the surfactant until the CMC is reached. Above the CMC an almost constant degradation rate is observed, suggesting that the surfactant in its monomer form is involved in the degradation process. The degradation process of C(12)E(8) involves two distinct primary processes occurring at the bubble/solution interface: (a) hydroxylation/oxidation of the surfactant and (b) pyrolytic fragmentation of the surfactant. The oxidative cleavage of ethylene oxide units provides evidence for OH radical attack. Hydroxylation of the ethoxy chain gives rise to various short-chain carboxyalkyl-polyethylene glycol intermediates. The polyethylene glycol chain formed, due to the scission of the C(12)E(8) molecule, undergoes rapid hydroxylation/oxidation to yield simple compounds that have the potential to undergo further degradation. The detection of multiple intermediates indicates that several processes affect the complete degradation pathways of the surfactant molecule. TOC analysis, however, indicates that the sonolytic mineralization of the surfactant is difficult to achieve at reasonable rates due to the relatively low surface activity of the degradation products formed during sonolysis.

  18. Surfactant-Enhanced Size-Excluded Transport of Bacteria Through Unsaturated Porous Media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, J.

    2017-12-01

    US domestic waste water is rich in surfactants because of the intensive usage of surfactants-containing household product. It results in a surfactants presence environment when this untreated waste water released into subsurface. It was reported that surfactants enhance the colloidal transport in porous media, which have significant effect on issues such as subsurface pathogens contamination and biodegradation. In this study, soil column experiments were conducted. The soil column was remained unsaturated and with a steady flow passing through it. Escherichia coli K-12 transported in the soil column and its breakthrough data was collected in presence of surfactant anionic surfactant linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) concentration range over 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, and 2 times Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC). It was found that the increase in LAS concentration greatly increases breakthrough concentration C/C0 and decreases breakthrough time tb until LAS concentration reaches 1 xCMC. Numerical models were built simulating and investigating this phenomenon. The goodness of model fitting was greatly improved by adding exclusion factor into the model, which indicated that the presence of surfactant might enhance the exclusion effect. The relationships between LAS concentration and the two coefficients, deposition rate coefficient k and exclusion effect coefficient θim, were found can be fitted by a quasi-Langmuir equation. And the model validation with observed data showed that the model has an acceptable reliability.

  19. Biomimetic Fluorocarbon Surfactant Polymers Reduce Platelet Adhesion on PTFE/ePTFE Surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shuwu; Gupta, Anirban Sen; Sagnella, Sharon; Barendt, Pamela M.; Kottke-Marchant, Kandice; Marchant, Roger E.

    2010-01-01

    We describe a series of fluorocarbon surfactant polymers designed as surface-modifying agents for improving the thrombogenicity of ePTFE vascular graft materials by the reduction of platelet adhesion. The surfactant polymers consist of a poly(vinyl amine) backbone with pendent dextran and perfluoroundecanoyl branches. Surface modification is accomplished by a simple dip-coating process in which surfactant polymers undergo spontaneous surface-induced adsorption and assembly on PTFE/ePTFE surface. The adhesion stability of the surfactant polymer on PTFE was examined under dynamic shear conditions in PBS and human whole blood with a rotating disk system. Fluorocarbon surfactant polymer coatings with three different dextran to perfluorocarbon ratios (1:0.5, 1:1 and 1:2) were compared in the context of platelet adhesion on PTFE/ePTFE surface under dynamic flow conditions. Suppression of platelet adhesion was achieved for all three coated surfaces over the shear-stress range of 0–75 dyn/cm2 in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or human whole blood. The effectiveness depended on the surfactant polymer composition such that platelet adhesion on coated surfaces decreased significantly with increasing fluorocarbon branch density at 0 dyn/cm2. Our results suggest that fluorocarbon surfactant polymers can effectively suppress platelet adhesion and demonstrate the potential application of the fluorocarbon surfactant polymers as non-thrombogenic coatings for ePTFE vascular grafts. PMID:19323880

  20. 49 CFR 587.18 - Dimensions of fixed rigid barrier.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) DEFORMABLE BARRIERS Offset Deformable Barrier § 587.18 Dimensions of fixed rigid barrier. (a) The fixed rigid barrier has a mass of not... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Dimensions of fixed rigid barrier. 587.18 Section...

  1. RIGIDITY, SENSITIVITY AND QUALITY OF ATTACHMENT - THE ROLE OF MATERNAL RIGIDITY IN THE EARLY SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF PREMATURE-INFANTS

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    BUTCHER, PR; KALVERBOER, A; MINDERAA, RB; VANDOORMAAL, EF; TENWOLDE, Y

    1993-01-01

    The associations between a mother's rigidity, her sensitivity in early (3 month) interaction and the quality of her premature infant's attachment at 13 months were investigated. Rigidity as a personality characteristic was not found to be significantly associated with sensitivity or quality of

  2. Alpha-1-antitrypsin studies: canine serum and canine surfactant protein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tuttle, W.C.; Slauson, D.O.; Dahlstrom, M.; Gorman, C.

    1974-01-01

    Canine serum alpha-1-antitrypsin was isolated by gel filtration and affinity chromatography and characterized by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoelectrophoresis. Measurement of the trypsin inhibitory capacity of the separated protein indicated a ninefold concentration of functional trypsin inhibitor during the isolation procedure. Electrophoresis demonstrated the presence of a single protein with alpha-globulin mobility and a molecular weight near that of human alpha-1-antitrypsin. The trypsin inhibitory capacity of pulmonary surfactant protein from five Beagle dogs was measured, related to total surfactant protein concentration, and compared with similar measurements on whole serum from the same animals. Results indicated a variable concentration of trypsin inhibitor in the canine pulmonary surfactant protein. However, the concentration in the surfactant protein was always significantly higher than that in the corresponding serum sample. Preliminary experiments designed to separate the trypsin inhibitory fraction(s) from the other surfactant proteins by gel filtration chromatography indicated that the trypsin inhibitor was probably a single protein with a molecular weight near that of alpha-1-antitrypsin. (U.S.)

  3. A review of shampoo surfactant technology: consumer benefits, raw materials and recent developments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornwell, P A

    2018-02-01

    Surfactants form the core of all shampoo formulations, and contribute to a wide range of different benefits, including cleansing, foaming, rheology control, skin mildness and the deposition of benefit agents to the hair and scalp. The purpose of this review was to assist the design of effective, modern, shampoo surfactant technologies. The mechanisms through which surfactants help deliver their effects are presented, along with the appraisal techniques through which surfactant options can be tested and screened for product development. The steps that should be taken to select the most appropriate blend of surfactants are described, and useful information on the most widely used surfactants is provided. The review concludes with an examination of recent developments in 'greener' surfactants, 'sulphate-free' technologies and structured liquid phases for novel sensory properties and for suspending benefit agents. © 2017 Society of Cosmetic Scientists and the Société Française de Cosmétologie.

  4. Surfactant Effect on the Average Flow Generation Near Curved Interface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klimenko, Lyudmila; Lyubimov, Dmitry

    2018-02-01

    The present work is devoted to the average flow generation near curved interface with a surfactant adsorbed on the surface layer. The investigation was carried out for a liquid drop embedded in a viscous liquid with a different density. The liquid flows inside and outside the drop are generated by small amplitude and high frequency vibrations. Surfactant exchange between the drop surface and the surrounding liquid is limited by the process of adsorption-desorption. It was assumed that the surfactant is soluble in the surrounding liquid, but not soluble in the liquid drop. Surrounding liquid and the liquid in the drop are considered incompressible. Normal and shear viscous stresses balance at the interface is performed under the condition that the film thickness of the adsorbed surfactant is negligible. The problem is solved under assumption that the shape of the drop in the presence of adsorbed surfactant remains spherical symmetry. The effective boundary conditions for the tangential velocity jump and shear stress jump, describing the above generation have been obtained by matched asymptotic expansions method. The conditions under which the drop surface can be considered as a quasi-solid are determined. It is shown that in the case of the significant effect of surfactant on the surface tension, the dominant mechanism for the generation is the Schlichting mechanisms under vibrations.

  5. Induction of virulence gene expression in Staphylococcus aureus by pulmonary surfactant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishii, Kenichi; Adachi, Tatsuo; Yasukawa, Jyunichiro; Suzuki, Yutaka; Hamamoto, Hiroshi; Sekimizu, Kazuhisa

    2014-04-01

    We performed a genomewide analysis using a next-generation sequencer to investigate the effect of pulmonary surfactant on gene expression in Staphylococcus aureus, a clinically important opportunistic pathogen. RNA sequence (RNA-seq) analysis of bacterial transcripts at late log phase revealed 142 genes that were upregulated >2-fold following the addition of pulmonary surfactant to the culture medium. Among these genes, we confirmed by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR analysis that mRNA amounts for genes encoding ESAT-6 secretion system C (EssC), an unknown hypothetical protein (NWMN_0246; also called pulmonary surfactant-inducible factor A [PsiA] in this study), and hemolysin gamma subunit B (HlgB) were increased 3- to 10-fold by the surfactant treatment. Among the major constituents of pulmonary surfactant, i.e., phospholipids and palmitate, only palmitate, which is the most abundant fatty acid in the pulmonary surfactant and a known antibacterial substance, stimulated the expression of these three genes. Moreover, these genes were also induced by supplementing the culture with detergents. The induction of gene expression by surfactant or palmitate was not observed in a disruption mutant of the sigB gene, which encodes an alternative sigma factor involved in bacterial stress responses. Furthermore, each disruption mutant of the essC, psiA, and hlgB genes showed attenuation of both survival in the lung and host-killing ability in a murine pneumonia model. These findings suggest that S. aureus resists membrane stress caused by free fatty acids present in the pulmonary surfactant through the regulation of virulence gene expression, which contributes to its pathogenesis within the lungs of the host animal.

  6. Membrane-surfactant interactions. The role of surfactant in mitochondrial complex III-phospholipid-Triton X-100 mixed micelles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valpuesta, J.M.; Arrondo, J.L.; Barbero, M.C.; Pons, M.; Goni, F.M.

    1986-01-01

    Complex III (ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase) was purified from beef heart mitochondria in the form of protein-phospholipid-Triton X-100 mixed micelles (about 1:80:100 molar ratio). Detergent may be totally removed by sucrose density gradient centrifugation, and the resulting lipoprotein complexes retain full enzyme activity. In order to understand the role of surfactant in the mixed micelles, and the interaction of Triton X-100 with integral membrane proteins and phospholipid bilayers, both the protein-lipid-surfactant mixed micelles and the detergent-free lipoprotein system were examined from the point of view of particle size and ultrastructure, enzyme activity, tryptophan fluorescence quenching, 31P NMR, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The NMR and IR spectroscopic studies show that surfactant withdrawal induces a profound change in phospholipid architecture, from a micellar to a lamellar-like phase. However, electron microscopic observations fail to reveal the existence of lipid bilayers in the absence of detergent. We suggest that, under these conditions, the lipid:protein molar ratio (80:1) is too low to permit the formation of lipid bilayer planes, but the relative orientation and mobility of phospholipids with respect to proteins is similar to that of the lamellar phase. Protein conformational changes are also detected as a consequence of surfactant removal. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicates an increase of peptide beta-structure in the absence of Triton X-100; changes in the amide II/amide I intensity ratio are also detected, although the precise meaning of these observations is unclear

  7. Optimization of surfactant-aided remediation of industrially contaminated soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joshi, M.M.; Lee, S.

    1996-01-01

    Soil matrices contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) abound at the sites of coke-oven gas plants, refineries, and many other major chemical industries. The removal of PAHs from soil using pure water, via soil washing (ex situ) or soil flushing (in situ), is quite ineffective due to their low solubility and hydrophobicity. However, addition of suitable surfactant(s) has been shown to increase the removal efficiency several fold. For the present work, the removal of PAHs occurring in industrially contaminated soil was studied. The objective was to use a nonionic surfactant solution for in situ soil flushing and to evaluate the optimal range of process parameters that can significantly increase the removal efficiency. The process parameters chosen were surfactant concentration, ratio of washing solution volume to soil weight, and temperature of washing solution. These parameters were found to have a significant effect on PAH removal from the contaminated soil and an optimal range was determined for each parameter under given washing conditions

  8. Mechanisms of dynamic wetting failure in the presence of soluble surfactants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Satish; Liu, Chen-Yu; Carvalho, Marcio S.

    2017-11-01

    A hydrodynamic model and flow visualization experiments are used to understand the mechanisms through which soluble surfactants can influence the onset of dynamic wetting failure. In the model, a Newtonian liquid displaces air in a rectangular channel in the absence of inertia. A Navier-slip boundary condition and constant contact angle are used to describe the dynamic contact line, and surfactants are allowed to adsorb to the interface and moving channel wall (substrate). The Galerkin finite element method is used to calculate steady states and identify the critical capillary number Cacrit at which wetting failure occurs. It is found that surfactant solubility weakens the influence of Marangoni stresses, which tend to promote the onset of wetting failure. The experiments indicate that Cacrit increases with surfactant concentration. For the more viscous solutions used, this behaviour can largely be explained by accounting for changes to the mean surface tension and static contact angle produced by surfactants. For the lowest-viscosity solution used, comparison between the model predictions and experimental observations suggests that other surfactant-induced phenomena such as Marangoni stresses may play a more important role.

  9. Synthesis, surface properties and antimicrobial activity of some germanium nonionic surfactants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaki, Mohamed F; Tawfik, Salah M

    2014-01-01

    Esterification reaction between different fatty acid namely; lauric, stearic, oleic and linoleic acids and polyethylene glycol-400 were performed. The produced polyethylene glycol ester were reacted with p-amine benzoic acid followed by condensation reaction with germanium dioxide in presence of sodium carbonate to form desired germinate surfactants. The chemical structures of the synthesized surfactants were determined using different spectra tools. The surface parameter including: the critical micelle concentration (CMC), effectiveness (π(cmc)), efficiency (Pc20), maximum surface excess (Γ(max)) and minimum surface area (A(min)), were calculated from the surface tension measurements. The synthesized surfactants showed higher surface activity. The thermodynamic parameters showed that adsorption and micellization processes are spontaneous. It is clear that the synthesized nonionic surfactants showed their tendency towards adsorption at the interfaces and also micellization in the bulk of their solutions. The synthesized surfactants were tested against different strain of bacteria using inhibition zone diameters. The synthesized surfactants showed good antimicrobial activities against the tested microorganisms including Gram positive, Gram negative as well as fungi. The promising inhibition efficiency of these compounds against the sulfate reducing bacteria facilitates them to be applicable as new categories of sulfate reducing bacteria biocides.

  10. Mechanisms of polyelectrolyte enhanced surfactant adsorption at the air-water interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stenger, Patrick C; Palazoglu, Omer A; Zasadzinski, Joseph A

    2009-05-01

    Chitosan, a naturally occurring cationic polyelectrolyte, restores the adsorption of the clinical lung surfactant Survanta to the air-water interface in the presence of albumin at much lower concentrations than uncharged polymers such as polyethylene glycol. This is consistent with the positively charged chitosan forming ion pairs with negative charges on the albumin and lung surfactant particles, reducing the net charge in the double-layer, and decreasing the electrostatic energy barrier to adsorption to the air-water interface. However, chitosan, like other polyelectrolytes, cannot perfectly match the charge distribution on the surfactant, which leads to patches of positive and negative charge at net neutrality. Increasing the chitosan concentration further leads to a reduction in the rate of surfactant adsorption consistent with an over-compensation of the negative charge on the surfactant and albumin surfaces, which creates a new repulsive electrostatic potential between the now cationic surfaces. This charge neutralization followed by charge inversion explains the window of polyelectrolyte concentration that enhances surfactant adsorption; the same physical mechanism is observed in flocculation and re-stabilization of anionic colloids by chitosan and in alternate layer deposition of anionic and cationic polyelectrolytes on charged colloids.

  11. SCREENING METHODS FOR SELECTION OF SURFACTANT FORMULATIONS FOR IOR FROM FRACTURED CARBONATE RESERVOIRS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    William A. Goddard III; Yongchun Tang; Patrick Shuler; Mario Blanco; Yongfu Wu; Seung Soon Jang

    2005-07-01

    This topical report presents details of the laboratory work performed to complete Task 1 of this project; developing rapid screening methods to assess surfactant performance for IOR (Improved Oil Recovery) from fractured carbonate reservoirs. The desired outcome is to identify surfactant formulations that increase the rate and amount of aqueous phase imbibition into oil-rich, oil-wet carbonate reservoir rock. Changing the wettability from oil-wet to water-wet is one key to enhancing this water-phase imbibition process that in turn recovers additional oil from the matrix portion of a carbonate reservoir. The common laboratory test to evaluate candidate surfactant formulations is to measure directly the aqueous imbibition rate and oil recovery from small outcrop or reservoir cores, but this procedure typically requires several weeks. Two methods are presented here for the rapid screening of candidate surfactant formulations for their potential IOR performance in carbonate reservoirs. One promising surfactant screening protocol is based on the ability of a surfactant solution to remove aged crude oil that coats a clear calcite crystal (Iceland Spar). Good surfactant candidate solutions remove the most oil the quickest from the chips, plus change the apparent contact angle of the remaining oil droplets on the surface that thereby indicate increased water-wetting. The other fast surfactant screening method is based on the flotation behavior of powdered calcite in water. In this test protocol, first the calcite power is pre-treated to make the surface oil-wet. The next step is to add the pre-treated powder to a test tube and add a candidate aqueous surfactant formulation; the greater the percentage of the calcite that now sinks to the bottom rather than floats, the more effective the surfactant is in changing the solids to become now preferentially water-wet. Results from the screening test generally are consistent with surfactant performance reported in the literature.

  12. A computer simulation study of tilted smectic mesophases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Withers, I.M.

    2000-05-01

    Results are presented from a series of simulations undertaken to determine the effect of a novel form of molecular biaxiality upon the phase behaviour of the well established Gay-Berne (GB) liquid crystal model. Firstly, the simulation of a bulk system interacting via the Internally-Rotated Gay Berne (IRGB) potential, which offers a single-site representation of a molecule rigidly constrained into a zig-zag conformation, is presented. The results of simulations performed for systems of IRGB particles with an aspect ratio of 3:1 confirm that the introduction of biaxiality into the model results in the destabilisation of the orientationally ordered phases. For particles with a sufficiently pronounced zig-zag conformation, this results in the complete destabilisation of the smectic A phase and the smectic B phase being replaced by the tilted smectic J phase. Following these observations, the effect upon the phase behaviour of increasing molecular elongation is also considered, with an increase in the aspect ratio from 3:1 to 4:1 resulting in the nematic and smectic J phases being replaced by smectic A and smectic G phases respectively. Secondly, a version of the IRGB potential modified to include a degree of molecular flexibility is considered. Results obtained from bulk systems interacting via the flexible IRGB for 3:1 and 4:1 molecules show that the introduction of flexibility results in the destabilisation of the smectic A phase and the stabilisation of the nematic and tilted hexatic phases. Finally, the effect upon the phase behaviour of the rigid IRGB model of the inclusion of a longitudinal linear quadrupole is examined. These results show that increasing quadrupole moment results in the destabilisation of the tilted hexatic phase, although the biaxial order parameter is increased with increasing quadrupole moment. There is no clear correlation between quadrupole magnitude and the other observed phase transitions, with the nematic and smectic A phases being

  13. Magnetic surfactants as molecular based-magnets with spin glass-like properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, Paul; Hatton, T Alan; Smith, Gregory N; Hernández, Eduardo Padrón; James, Craig; Eastoe, Julian; Nunes, Wallace C; Settens, Charles M; Baker, Peter J

    2016-01-01

    This paper reports the use of muon spin relaxation spectroscopy to study how the aggregation behavior of magnetic surfactants containing lanthanide counterions may be exploited to create spin glass-like materials. Surfactants provide a unique approach to building in randomness, frustration and competing interactions into magnetic materials without requiring a lattice of ordered magnetic species or intervening ligands and elements. We demonstrate that this magnetic behavior may also be manipulated via formation of micelles rather than simple dilution, as well as via design of surfactant molecular architecture. This somewhat unexpected result indicates the potential of using novel magnetic surfactants for the generation and tuning of molecular magnets. (paper)

  14. Surfactants: behavior and some of their applications in the petroleum industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rivas, Hercilio; Gutierrez, Xiomara

    1999-01-01

    The most important theoretical aspect related to the behavior of surfactants in solution and the mechanism which govern the processes of their adsorption at the liquid - liquid, liquid- gas and liquid - solid interfaces are discussed in this paper. The basic principles, which characterize the phase behavior of surfactants in solution are described, and the procedures for stablishing the condition under which surfactants ca be successfully used in basic and applied research activities are given. Finally, the most important aspect of the different processes carried out in the oil industry, with special mention to those in exploration and production, where the surfactants play a very important role, are briefly discussed

  15. Surfactant media for constant-current coulometry. Application for the determination of antioxidants in pharmaceuticals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ziyatdinova, Guzel, E-mail: Ziyatdinovag@mail.ru [Analytical Chemistry Department, A.M. Butlerov Institute of Chemistry, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Kremlyevskaya, 18, Kazan 420008 (Russian Federation); Ziganshina, Endzhe; Budnikov, Herman [Analytical Chemistry Department, A.M. Butlerov Institute of Chemistry, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Kremlyevskaya, 18, Kazan 420008 (Russian Federation)

    2012-09-26

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Applicability of surfactants in constant-current coulometry is shown for the first time. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Reactions of antioxidants with electrogenerated titrants in surfactant media are investigated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Water insoluble antioxidants can be determined in water media with addition of surfactants. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Coulometric determination of antioxidants in pharmaceutical dosage forms using surfactants media is developed. - Abstract: Effect of surfactant presence on electrochemical generation of titrants has been evaluated and discussed for the first time. Cationic (1-dodecylpyridinium and cetylpyridinium bromide), anionic (sodium dodecyl sulfate) and nonionic (Triton X100 and Brij{sup Registered-Sign} 35) surfactants as well as nonionic high molecular weight polymer (PEG 4000) do not react with the electrogenerated bromine, iodine and hexacyanoferrate(III) ions. The electrogenerated chlorine chemically interact with Triton X100 and Brij{sup Registered-Sign} 35. The allowable range of surfactants concentrations providing 100% current yield has been found. Chain-breaking low molecular weight antioxidants (ascorbic acid, rutin, {alpha}-tocopherol and retinol) were determined by reaction with the electrogenerated titrants in surfactant media. Nonionic and cationic surfactants can be used for the determination of antioxidants by reaction with the electrogenerated halogens. On contrary, cationic surfactants gives significantly overstated results of antioxidants determination with electrogenerated hexacyanoferrate(III) ions. The use of surfactants in coulometry of {alpha}-tocopherol and retinol provides their solubilization and allows to perform titration in water media. Simple, express and reliable coulometric approach for determination of {alpha}-tocopherol, rutin and ascorbic acid in pharmaceuticals using surfactant media has been developed. The relative standard deviation of the

  16. Cost Effective Surfactant Formulations for Improved Oil Recovery in Carbonate Reservoirs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    William A. Goddard; Yongchun Tang; Patrick Shuler; Mario Blanco; Yongfu Wu

    2007-09-30

    This report summarizes work during the 30 month time period of this project. This was planned originally for 3-years duration, but due to its financial limitations, DOE halted funding after 2 years. The California Institute of Technology continued working on this project for an additional 6 months based on a no-cost extension granted by DOE. The objective of this project is to improve the performance of aqueous phase formulations that are designed to increase oil recovery from fractured, oil-wet carbonate reservoir rock. This process works by increasing the rate and extent of aqueous phase imbibition into the matrix blocks in the reservoir and thereby displacing crude oil normally not recovered in a conventional waterflood operation. The project had three major components: (1) developing methods for the rapid screening of surfactant formulations towards identifying candidates suitable for more detailed evaluation, (2) more fundamental studies to relate the chemical structure of acid components of an oil and surfactants in aqueous solution as relates to their tendency to wet a carbonate surface by oil or water, and (3) a more applied study where aqueous solutions of different commercial surfactants are examined for their ability to recover a West Texas crude oil from a limestone core via an imbibition process. The first item, regarding rapid screening methods for suitable surfactants has been summarized as a Topical Report. One promising surfactant screening protocol is based on the ability of a surfactant solution to remove aged crude oil that coats a clear calcite crystal (Iceland Spar). Good surfactant candidate solutions remove the most oil the quickest from the surface of these chips, plus change the apparent contact angle of the remaining oil droplets on the surface that thereby indicate increased water-wetting. The other fast surfactant screening method is based on the flotation behavior of powdered calcite in water. In this test protocol, first the calcite

  17. Inactivation of pulmonary surfactant due to serum-inhibited adsorption and reversal by hydrophilic polymers: experimental

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Taeusch, H William; de la Serna, Jorge Bernardino; Perez-Gil, Jesus

    2005-01-01

    adsorption of surface active serum proteins. Aqueous suspensions of native porcine surfactant, organic extracts of native surfactant, and the clinical surfactants Curosurf, Infasurf, and Survanta spread on buffered subphases increase the surface pressure, pi, to approximately 40 mN/m within 2 min....... The variation with concentration, temperature, and mode of spreading confirmed Brewster angle microscopy observations that subphase to surface adsorption of surfactant is the dominant form of surfactant transport to the interface. However (with the exception of native porcine surfactant), similar rapid...... increases in pi did not occur when surfactants were applied to subphases containing serum. Components of serum are surface active and adsorb reversibly to the interface increasing pi up to a concentration-dependent saturation value, pi(max). When surfactants were applied to subphases containing serum...

  18. Application of surfactant enhanced permanganate oxidation and bidegradation of trichloroethylene in groundwater

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tsai, T.T.; Kao, C.M. [Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China); Yeh, T.Y. [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China)], E-mail: tyyeh@nuk.edu.tw; Liang, S.H.; Chien, H.Y. [Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China)

    2009-01-15

    The industrial solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) is among the most ubiquitous chlorinated solvents found in groundwater contamination. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the feasibility of using non-ionic surfactant Simple Green{sup TM} (SG) to enhance the oxidative dechlorination of TCE by potassium permanganate (KMnO{sub 4}) employing a continuous stir batch reactor system (CSBR) and column experiments. The effect of using surfactant SG to enhance the biodegradation of TCE via aerobic cometabolism was also examined. Results from CSBR experiments revealed that combination of KMnO{sub 4} with surfactant SG significantly enhanced contaminant removal, particularly when the surfactant SG concentrated at its CMC. TCE degradation rates ranged from 74.1% to 85.7% without addition of surfactant SG while TCE degradation rates increased to ranging from 83.8% to 96.3% with presence of 0.1 wt% SG. Furthermore, results from column experiments showed that TCE was degraded from 38.1 {mu}M to 6.2 {mu}M in equivalent to 83.7% of TCE oxidation during first 560 min reaction. This study has also demonstrated that the addition of surfactant SG is a feasible method to enhance bioremediation efficiency for TCE contaminated groundwater. The complete TCE degradation was detected after 75 days of incubation with both 0.01 and 0.1 wt% of surfactant SG addition. Results revealed that surfactant enhanced chemical oxidation and bioremediation technology is one of feasible approaches to clean up TCE contaminated groundwater.

  19. Cracking of open traffic rigid pavement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niken Chatarina

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The research is done by observing the growth of real structure cracking in Natar, Lampung, Indonesia compared to C. Niken’s et al research and literature study. The rigid pavement was done with open traffic system. There are two main crack types on Natar rigid pavement: cracks cross the road, and cracks spreads on rigid pavement surface. The observation of cracks was analyzed by analyzing material, casting, curing, loading and shrinkage mechanism. The relationship between these analysis and shrinkage mechanism was studied in concrete micro structure. Open traffic make hydration process occur under vibration; therefore, fresh concrete was compressed and tensioned alternately since beginning. High temperature together with compression, cement dissociation, the growth of Ca2+ at very early age leads abnormal swelling. No prevention from outside water movement leads hydration process occur with limited water which caused spreads fine cracks. Limited water improves shrinkage and plastic phase becomes shorter; therefore, rigid pavement can’t accommodate the abnormal swelling and shrinking alternately and creates the spread of cracks. Discontinuing casting the concrete makes both mix under different condition, the first is shrink and the second is swell and creates weak line on the border; so, the cracks appear as cracks across the road.

  20. Flavonoid-surfactant interactions: A detailed physicochemical study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Onkar; Kaur, Rajwinder; Mahajan, Rakesh Kumar

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this article is to study the interactions between flavonoids and surfactants with attention of finding the probable location of flavonoids in micellar media that can be used for controlling their antioxidant behavior. In present study, the micellar and interfacial behavior of twin tailed anionic surfactants viz. sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT) and sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate (NaDEHP) in the presence of two flavonoids, namely quercetin (QUE) and kaempferol (KFL) have been studied by surface tension measurements. UV-visible, fluorescence and differential pulse voltammetric (DPV) measurements have been employed to predict the probable location of flavonoids (QUE/KFL) within surfactant (AOT/NaDEHP) aggregates. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements further confirmed the solubilization of QUE/KFL in AOT/NaDEHP aggregates deduced from increased hydrodynamic diameter (Dh) of aggregates in the presence of flavonoids. Both radical scavenging activity (RSA) and degradation rate constant (k) of flavonoids are found to be higher in NaDEHP micelles as compared to AOT micelles.

  1. Systematic Investigation of the Role of Surfactant Composition and Choice of oil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Signe Tandrup; Neustrup, Malene Aaby; Harloff-Helleberg, Stine

    2017-01-01

    humoral and CMI responses. METHODS: The influence of emulsion composition was analyzed using a systematic approach. Three factors were varied: i) saturation of the oil phase, ii) type and saturation of the applied surfactant mixture, and iii) surfactant mixture net charge. RESULTS: The emulsions were...... colloidally stable with a droplet diameter of 150-250 nm, and the zeta-potential correlated closely with the net charge of the surfactant mixture. Only cationic emulsions containing the unsaturated surfactant mixture induced concomitant humoral and CMI responses upon immunization of mice with a Ct antigen...

  2. Interaction of biocompatible natural rosin-based surfactants with human serum albumin: A biophysical study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishtikhar, Mohd; Ali, Mohd Sajid; Atta, Ayman M.; Al-Lohedan, H.A.; Nigam, Lokesh; Subbarao, Naidu; Hasan Khan, Rizwan

    2015-01-01

    Biophysical insight into interaction of biocompatible rosin-based surfactants with human serum albumin (HSA) was studied at physiological conditions using various spectroscopic, calorimetric and molecular docking approaches. The binding constant (K b ), enthalpy (ΔH 0 ), entropy (ΔS 0 ) and Gibbs free energy change (ΔG 0 ) were calculated by spectroscopic and calorimetric method. We have also calculated the probability of energy transfer by FRET analysis. The circular dichroism study showed that the cationic surfactant QRMAE significantly altered the secondary structure of HSA as compared to the nonionic rosin surfactants. The thermodynamic study was performed by ITC to determine binding constant as well as change in enthalpy of HSA in presence of rosin surfactants. It clearly showed that hydrogen binding and hydrophobic interaction play an important role in the binding of HSA to rosin surfactants. We have also performed molecular docking studies to locate the binding site on HSA and to visualize the mode of interaction. The present study provides a significant insight into HSA–rosin surfactants interaction, which also improves our understanding of the possible effect of rosin surfactants on human health. - Highlights: • RMPEG 750 has the highest Kb, Kq and Ksv value as compared to other rosin surfactants. • The probability of energy transfer from HSA to rosin surfactants was maximum in the case of RMPEG 750. • Cationic surfactant QRMAE significantly altered the secondary structure of the HSA as compared to other rosin surfactants. • Molecular docking and ITC experiment studies, to locate the binding site on HSA and to investigate the mode of interaction

  3. Surfactant-thermal method to prepare two new cobalt metal-organic frameworks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Xianglin [School of Materials Science and Engineering and School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Process of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Pharmacy, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430074 (China); Toh, Yong Siang [School of Materials Science and Engineering and School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Zhao, Jun [College of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Hubei Provincial Collaborative Innovation Center for New Energy Microgrid, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002 (China); Nie, Lina [School of Materials Science and Engineering and School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Ye, Kaiqi; Wang, Yue [State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); Li, Dongsheng [College of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Hubei Provincial Collaborative Innovation Center for New Energy Microgrid, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002 (China); Zhang, Qichun, E-mail: qczhang@ntu.edu.sg [School of Materials Science and Engineering and School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637371 (Singapore)

    2015-12-15

    Employing surfactants as reaction media, two new metal-organic frameworks (MOFs):(HTEA){sub 3}[Co{sub 3}(BTC){sub 3}] (NTU-Z33) and (HTEA)[Co{sub 3}(HBTC){sub 2}(BTC)] (NTU-Z34) (H{sub 3}BTC=1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid, TEA=trimethylamine, and NTU=Nanyang Technological University), have been successfully synthesized and fully characterized. Note that NTU-Z33 has an unusual trimeric [Co{sub 3}(COO){sub 9}] secondary building unit (SBU). Magnetic characterization suggests that both compounds have weak antiferromagnetic behaviors. Our success in preparing new crystalline Co-BTC based MOFs under different surfactant media could provide a new road to prepare new diverse MOFs through various combinations of surfactants. - Graphical abstract: Employing surfactants as reaction media, two new metal-organic frame-works (MOFs) have been successfully synthesized and magnetic study suggests that both compounds have weak antiferromagnetic behaviors. - Highlights: • Two novel metal-organic frame-works (MOFs). • Synthesis through surfactant-thermal condition. • weak antiferromagnetic behaviors for both compounds.

  4. Surfactant-thermal method to prepare two new cobalt metal-organic frameworks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Xianglin; Toh, Yong Siang; Zhao, Jun; Nie, Lina; Ye, Kaiqi; Wang, Yue; Li, Dongsheng; Zhang, Qichun

    2015-01-01

    Employing surfactants as reaction media, two new metal-organic frameworks (MOFs):(HTEA)_3[Co_3(BTC)_3] (NTU-Z33) and (HTEA)[Co_3(HBTC)_2(BTC)] (NTU-Z34) (H_3BTC=1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid, TEA=trimethylamine, and NTU=Nanyang Technological University), have been successfully synthesized and fully characterized. Note that NTU-Z33 has an unusual trimeric [Co_3(COO)_9] secondary building unit (SBU). Magnetic characterization suggests that both compounds have weak antiferromagnetic behaviors. Our success in preparing new crystalline Co-BTC based MOFs under different surfactant media could provide a new road to prepare new diverse MOFs through various combinations of surfactants. - Graphical abstract: Employing surfactants as reaction media, two new metal-organic frame-works (MOFs) have been successfully synthesized and magnetic study suggests that both compounds have weak antiferromagnetic behaviors. - Highlights: • Two novel metal-organic frame-works (MOFs). • Synthesis through surfactant-thermal condition. • weak antiferromagnetic behaviors for both compounds.

  5. Study on the surfactants present in atmospheric aerosols collected in the Okinawa Japan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamegawa, A.; Kasaba, T.; Shimabukuro, W.; Arakaki, T.

    2017-12-01

    The main constituent of atmospheric aerosols is organic substances, which occupy 20 to 70% of the mass. Organic matters in the aerosols contain organic acids, protein and humic acid, which behave similar to surfactants. Since surfactants contain both hydrophobic and hydrophilic functional groups in the molecule, they can play important roles in cloud formation and can affect climate change, but detailed mechanisms and magnitude are not well understood. In addition, surfactants can cause asthma, allergy, dry eye and so on. In this study, our aim is to characterize surfactants in the aerosols collected in different seasons in Okinawa, Japan. Atmospheric aerosols were collected at Cape Hedo Atmosphere and Aerosol Monitoring Station (CHAAMS) during Sep. 2013 and July 2014. Surfactants in the environment are comprised of artificially synthesized compounds and naturally derived organics so we only differentiate them into anionic and cationic surfactants. Colorimetric methods were used to determine the concentrations of anionic surfactants as methylene blue active substance (MBAS). Cationic surfactants were also measured by colorimetric method as disulfine blue active substance (DBAS) and showed always below detection limit. Thus, we only discuss anionic surfactants measured as MBAS. Water soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and metal concentrations were also measured for the same aerosol samples. Concentrations of MBAS in the studied samples were 2-3 times higher in spring, fall and winter than those collected in summer. MBAS concentration in the aerosols showed strong correlation with sulfate ion and WSOC, and slightly weaker correlation with nss-sulfate ion. Among the metals, only sodium ion showed a relatively strong correlation with MBAS concentrations. It is suggested that the anionic surfactants in the studied aerosols are mainly derived from marine sources.

  6. Control of stain geometry by drop evaporation of surfactant containing dispersions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erbil, H Yildirim

    2015-08-01

    Control of stain geometry by drop evaporation of surfactant containing dispersions is an important topic of interest because it plays a crucial role in many applications such as forming templates on solid surfaces, in ink-jet printing, spraying of pesticides, micro/nano material fabrication, thin film coatings, biochemical assays, deposition of DNA/RNA micro-arrays, and manufacture of novel optical and electronic materials. This paper presents a review of the published articles on the diffusive drop evaporation of pure liquids (water), the surfactant stains obtained from evaporating drops that do not contain dispersed particles and deposits obtained from drops containing polymer colloids and carbon based particles such as carbon nanotubes, graphite and fullerenes. Experimental results of specific systems and modeling attempts are discussed. This review also has some special subtopics such as suppression of coffee-rings by surfactant addition and "stick-slip" behavior of evaporating nanosuspension drops. In general, the drop evaporation process of a surfactant/particle/substrate system is very complex since dissolved surfactants adsorb on both the insoluble organic/inorganic micro/nanoparticles in the drop, on the air/solution interface and on the substrate surface in different extends. Meanwhile, surfactant adsorbed particles interact with the substrate giving a specific contact angle, and free surfactants create a solutal Marangoni flow in the drop which controls the location of the particle deposition together with the rate of evaporation. In some cases, the presence of a surfactant monolayer at the air/solution interface alters the rate of evaporation. At present, the magnitude of each effect cannot be predicted adequately in advance and consequently they should be carefully studied for any system in order to control the shape and size of the final deposit. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Reversible Rigidity Control Using Low Melting Temperature Alloys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shan, Wanliang; Lu, Tong; Majidi, Carmel

    2013-03-01

    Inspired by nature, materials able to achieve rapid rigidity changes have important applications for human body protection in military and many other areas. This talk presents the fabrication and design of soft-matter technologies that exhibit rapid reversible rigidity control. Fabricated with a masked deposition technique, the soft-matter composite contains liquid-phase and phase-changing metal alloys embedded in a soft and highly stretchable elastomer. The composite material can reversibly change its rigidity by three orders of magnitude and sustain large deformation.

  8. New thermo-sensitive chelating surfactants for selective solvent-free extraction of uranyl nitrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prevost, S.; Larpent, C.; Testard, F.; Coulombeau, H.; Baczko, K.; Berthon, L.; Desvaux, H.; Madic, C.; Zemb, T.

    2004-01-01

    Functional surfactants were synthesised by grafting a chelating group (amino-acid residue) to the tip of a poly-ethoxylated nonionic surfactant chain (C i E j : C i H 2i +1(OCH 2 CH 2 ) j OH)) or in a branched position. C i E j nonionic surfactants are known to be thermo-reversible and to exhibit a clouding phenomenon associated to phase separation of micelles. The functional surfactants retain both surface-active properties, characteristic thermo-reversible behaviour and have efficient complexing properties toward uranyl. In the presence of uranyl nitrate, small micelles are formed at ambient temperature and the de-mixing leads to a separation of the target ion trapped by the functional surfactant (cloud point extraction). Those surfactants are more efficient than mixture of classical C i E j and complexing agent solubilized in the micelles. This reveals a synergistic effect of the covalent bond between the chelating group and the nonionic surfactant C i E j . This paper presents a systematic study of the extraction and aggregation properties and the influence of the nature of the ions. (authors)

  9. The influence of nonionic surfactant Brij 30 on biodegradation of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONOS

    2010-09-06

    Sep 6, 2010 ... polluted air stream using biological process is highly efficient and has low ... Brij 30 was the most biodegradable surfactant among Brij 30, Tween 80 and ... The filter material contained surfactants that would enhance the ...

  10. Determination of Weight Suspension Rigidity in the Transport-Erector Aggregates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. A. Zverev

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim is to determine weight suspension rigidity in aggregates designed to perform technological transport-erector operations at the miscellaneous launch complexes.We consider the weight suspension comprising the following distinctive structural components: the executive weight-lowering mechanism, polyspast mechanism, rope, traverse, and rods. A created structural dynamic model of suspension allowed us to define weight suspension rigidity. Within the framework of design analysis of a dynamic model we determined the rigidity of its structural units, i.e. traverse, rope, and polyspast.Known analytical relationships were used to calculate the rope rigidity. To determine rigidity of polyspast and traverse have been created special models based on the finite element method. For each model deformation in the specific points under the test load have been defined. Data obtained were used to determine trigidity of traverses and polyspast, and also rigidity of suspension in total. The rigidity models of polispast mechanism and traverse have been developed and calculated using the software complex "Zenit-95".As the research results, the paper presents a dynamic model of the weight suspension of the transport-erector aggregate, the finite element models of the polispast mechanism and traverse, an algorithm for determining the weight suspension rigidity and relevant analytical relationships.Independent calculation of weight suspension rigidity enables us to simplify further dynamic calculation of the aggregate-weight system because it allows attaining a simpler model of the aggregate-weight system that uses the weight suspension model as an element of equivalent rigidity. Despite this simplification the model allows us to determine correctly weight movement parameters and overloads in the aggregate-weight system in the process of technical operations.

  11. Surfactant from neonatal to pediatric ICU: bench and bedside evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boet, A; Brat, R; Aguilera, S S; Tissieres, P; De Luca, D

    2014-12-01

    Surfactant is a cornerstone of neonatal critical care for the treatment of respiratory distress syndrome of preterm babies. However, other indications have been studied for various clinical conditions both in term neonates and in children beyond neonatal age. A high degree of evidence is not yet available in some cases and this is due to the complex and not yet totally understood physiopathology of the different types of pediatric and neonatal lung injury. We here summarise the state of the art of the bench and bedside knowledge about surfactant use for the respiratory conditions usually cared for in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units. Future research direction will also be presented. On the whole, surfactant is able to improve oxygenation in infection related respiratory failure, pulmonary hemorrhage and meconium aspiration syndrome. Bronchoalveolar lavage with surfactant solution is currently the only means to reduce mortality or need for extracorporeal life support in neonates with meconium aspiration. While surfactant bolus or lavage only improves the oxygenation and ventilatory requirements in other types of postneonatal acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), there seems to be a reduction in the mortality of small infants with RSV-related ARDS.

  12. Activated carbon oxygen content influence on water and surfactant adsorption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pendleton, Phillip; Wu, Sophie Hua; Badalyan, Alexander

    2002-02-15

    This research investigates the adsorption properties of three activated carbons (AC) derived from coconut, coal, and wood origin. Each carbon demonstrates different levels of resistance to 2 M NaOH treatment. The coconut AC offers the greatest and wood AC the least resistance. The influence of base treatment is mapped in terms of its effects on specific surface area, micropore volume, water adsorption, and dodecanoic acid adsorption from both water and 2 M NaOH solution. A linear relationship exists between the number of water molecules adsorbed at the B-point of the water adsorption isotherm and the oxygen content determined from elemental analysis. Surfactant adsorption isotherms from water and 2 M NaOH indicate that the AC oxygen content effects a greater dependence on affinity for surfactant than specific surface area and micropore volume. We show a linear relationship between the plateau amount of surfactant adsorbed and the AC oxygen content in both water and NaOH phases. The higher the AC oxygen content, the lower the amount of surfactant adsorbed. In contrast, no obvious relationship could be drawn between the surfactant amount adsorbed and the surface area.

  13. Interactions of a zwitterionic thiophene-based conjugated polymer with surfactants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Costa, Telma; De Azevedo, Diego; Stewart, Beverly

    2015-01-01

    In this paper we investigate the optical and structural properties of a zwitterionic poly[3-(N-(4-sulfonato-1-butyl)-N,N-diethylammonium)hexyl-2,5-thiophene] (P3SBDEAHT) conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE) and its interaction in water with surfactants, using absorption, photoluminescence (PL......), electrical conductivity, molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Different surfactants were studied to evaluate the effect of the head group and chain length on the self-assembly. PL data emphasize the importance of polymer-surfactant electrostatic interactions...... in the formation of complexes. Nevertheless, conductivity and MDS data have shown that nonspecific interactions also play an important role. These seem to be responsible for the spatial position of the surfactant tail in the complex and, eventually, for breaking-up P3SBDEAHT aggregates. SAXS measurements on P3...

  14. Effect of alkyl length of cationic surfactants on desorption of Cs from contaminated clay

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Bo Hyun; Park, Chan Woo; Yang, Hee Man; Seo, Bum Kyoung; Lee, Kune Woo [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Park, So Jin [Chungnam National University, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-03-15

    In this study, desorption characteristics of Cs from clay according to the hydrophobic alkyl chain length of the cationic surfactant were investigated. Alkyltrimethylammonium bromide was used as a cationic surfactant, and the length of the hydrophobic alkyl chain of the cationic surfactant was varied from –octyl to –cetyl. The adsorbed amount of the cationic surfactant on montmorillonite increased with the length of the hydrophobic alkyl chain, and intercalation of the cationic surfactant into the clay interlayer increased the interlayer distances. The Cs removal efficiency was also enhanced with increasing alkyl chain length, and the cationic surfactant with the cetyl group showed a maximum Cs removal efficiency of 99±2.9%.

  15. (Surfactant + polymer) interaction parameter studied by (liquid + liquid) equilibrium data of quaternary aqueous solution containing surfactant, polymer, and salt

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Foroutan, Masumeh [Physical Chemistry Department, School of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Tehran, 14155-6455 Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)], E-mail: foroutan@khayam.ut.ac.ir; Heidari, Nosrat; Mohammadlou, Maryam [Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Uremia University, Uremia (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Sojahrood, Amin Jafari [Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Uremia University, Uremia (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2009-02-15

    (Liquid + liquid) equilibrium (LLE) data of quaternary aqueous system containing polyoxyethylene (20) cetyl ether (with abbreviation name Brij 58, non-ionic surfactant), diammonium hydrogen phosphate, and poly ethylene glycol (PEG) with three molar masses {l_brace}M{sub W} = (1000, 6000, and 35,000) g . mol{sup -1}{r_brace} have been determined experimentally at T = 313.15 K. Furthermore, the Flory-Huggins theory with two electrostatic terms (Debye-Hueckel and Pitzer-Debye-Hueckel equations) have been used to calculate the phase behavior of the quaternary systems and (surfactant + polymer) interaction parameter as well as interaction parameters between other species. Temperature dependency of the parameters of the Flory-Huggins theory has been obtained. Also an effort have been done to show that addition of PEG as well as increasing the temperature can shift the binodal curves of the ternary aqueous system containing surfactant and salt to lower mole fraction of salt. Also the effect of polymer molar mass on the binodal diagram displacement has been discussed.

  16. The Effect of Surfactants on Gas-Liquid Pipe Flows

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Nimwegen, A.T.

    2015-01-01

    Liquid loading is a major problem in the natural gas industry, in which gas production is limited by the accumulation of liquids in the well tubing. Liquid loading can be prevented by the injection of surfactants at the bottom of the well. The surfactants cause the liquid in the well to foam,

  17. Influence of flock coating on bending rigidity of woven fabrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozdemir, O.; Kesimci, M. O.

    2017-10-01

    This work presents the preliminary results of our efforts that focused on the effect of the flock coating on the bending rigidity of woven fabrics. For this objective, a laboratory scale flocking unit is designed and flocked samples of controlled flock density are produced. Bending rigidity of the samples with different flock densities are measured on both flocked and unflocked sides. It is shown that the bending rigidity depends on both flock density and whether the side to be measured is flocked or not. Adhesive layer thickness on the bending rigidity is shown to be dramatic. And at higher basis weights, flock density gets less effective on bending rigidity.

  18. Surfactant-nanotube interactions in water and nanotube separation by diameter: atomistic simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carvalho, E. J. F.; Dos Santos, M. C.

    2010-05-01

    A non-destructive sorting method to separate single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) by diameter was recently proposed. By this method, SWNTs are suspended in water by surfactant encapsulation and the separation is carried out by ultracentrifugation in a density gradient. SWNTs of different diameters are distributed according to their densities along the centrifuge tube. A mixture of two anionic surfactants, namely sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) and sodium cholate (SC), presented the best performance in discriminating nanotubes by diameter. Unexpectedly, small diameter nanotubes are found at the low density part of the centrifuge tube. We present molecular dynamics studies of the water-surfactant-SWNT system to investigate the role of surfactants in the sorting process. We found that surfactants can actually be attracted towards the interior of the nanotube cage, depending on the relationship between the surfactant radius of gyration and the nanotube diameter. The dynamics at room temperature showed that, as the amphiphile moves to the hollow cage, water molecules are dragged together, thereby promoting the nanotube filling. The resulting densities of filled SWNT are in agreement with measured densities.

  19. Microwave-assisted nonionic surfactant extraction of aliphatic hydrocarbons from petroleum source rock

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Akinlua, A., E-mail: geochemresearch@yahoo.com [Fossil Fuels and Environmental Geochemistry Group, Department of Chemistry, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (Nigeria); Jochmann, M.A.; Laaks, J.; Ewert, A.; Schmidt, T.C. [Instrumental Analytical Chemistry, University Duisburg-Essen, Universitaetsstr, 5, 45141 Essen (Germany)

    2011-04-08

    The extraction of aliphatic hydrocarbons from petroleum source rock using nonionic surfactants with the assistance of microwave was investigated and the conditions for maximum yield were determined. The results showed that the extraction temperatures and kinetic rates have significant effects on extraction yields of aliphatic hydrocarbons. The optimum temperature for microwave-assisted nonionic surfactant extraction of aliphatic hydrocarbons from petroleum source rock was 105 deg. C. The optimum extraction time for the aliphatic hydrocarbons was at 50 min. Concentration of the nonionic surfactant solution and irradiation power had significant effect on the yields of aliphatic hydrocarbons. The yields of the analytes were much higher using microwave assisted nonionic surfactant extraction than with Soxhlet extraction. The recoveries of the n-alkanes and acyclic isoprenoid hydrocarbons for GC-MS analysis from the extractant nonionic surfactant solution by in-tube extraction (ITEX 2) with a TENAX TA adsorbent were found to be efficient. The results show that microwave-assisted nonionic surfactant extraction (MANSE) is a good and efficient green analytical preparatory technique for geochemical evaluation of petroleum source rock.

  20. Microwave-assisted nonionic surfactant extraction of aliphatic hydrocarbons from petroleum source rock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akinlua, A.; Jochmann, M.A.; Laaks, J.; Ewert, A.; Schmidt, T.C.

    2011-01-01

    The extraction of aliphatic hydrocarbons from petroleum source rock using nonionic surfactants with the assistance of microwave was investigated and the conditions for maximum yield were determined. The results showed that the extraction temperatures and kinetic rates have significant effects on extraction yields of aliphatic hydrocarbons. The optimum temperature for microwave-assisted nonionic surfactant extraction of aliphatic hydrocarbons from petroleum source rock was 105 deg. C. The optimum extraction time for the aliphatic hydrocarbons was at 50 min. Concentration of the nonionic surfactant solution and irradiation power had significant effect on the yields of aliphatic hydrocarbons. The yields of the analytes were much higher using microwave assisted nonionic surfactant extraction than with Soxhlet extraction. The recoveries of the n-alkanes and acyclic isoprenoid hydrocarbons for GC-MS analysis from the extractant nonionic surfactant solution by in-tube extraction (ITEX 2) with a TENAX TA adsorbent were found to be efficient. The results show that microwave-assisted nonionic surfactant extraction (MANSE) is a good and efficient green analytical preparatory technique for geochemical evaluation of petroleum source rock.

  1. Surfactive stabilization of multi-walled carbon nanotube dispersions with dissolved humic substances

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chappell, Mark A. [Environmental Laboratory, Engineering Research and Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180 (United States)], E-mail: mark.a.chappell@usace.army.mil; George, Aaron J.; Dontsova, Katerina M.; Porter, Beth E. [SpecPro, Inc., 4815 Bradford Drive, Suite 201, Huntsville, AL 35805 (United States); Price, Cynthia L. [Environmental Laboratory, Engineering Research and Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180 (United States); Zhou Pingheng; Morikawa, Eizi [J. Bennett Johnston Sr. Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices, Louisiana State University, 6980 Jefferson Highway, Baton Rouge, LA 70806 (United States); Kennedy, Alan J.; Steevens, Jeffery A. [Environmental Laboratory, Engineering Research and Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180 (United States)

    2009-04-15

    Soil humic substances (HS) stabilize carbon nanotube (CNT) dispersions, a mechanism we hypothesized arose from the surfactive nature of HS. Experiments dispersing multi-walled CNT in solutions of dissolved Aldrich humic acid (HA) or water-extractable Catlin soil HS demonstrated enhanced stability at 150 and 300 mg L{sup -1} added Aldrich HA and Catlin HS, respectively, corresponding with decreased CNT mean particle diameter (MPD) and polydispersivity (PD) of 250 nm and 0.3 for Aldrich HA and 450 nm and 0.35 for Catlin HS. Analogous trends in MPD and PD were observed with addition of the surfactants Brij 35, Triton X-405, and SDS, corresponding to surfactant sorption maximum. NEXAFS characterization showed that Aldrich HA contained highly surfactive domains while Catlin soil possessed a mostly carbohydrate-based structure. This work demonstrates that the chemical structure of humic materials in natural waters is directly linked to their surfactive ability to disperse CNT released into the environment. - Suspensions of multi-walled carbon nanotubes are stabilized by relatively low concentrations of dissolved humic substances in solution through surfactive mechanisms.

  2. Surfactive stabilization of multi-walled carbon nanotube dispersions with dissolved humic substances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chappell, Mark A.; George, Aaron J.; Dontsova, Katerina M.; Porter, Beth E.; Price, Cynthia L.; Zhou Pingheng; Morikawa, Eizi; Kennedy, Alan J.; Steevens, Jeffery A.

    2009-01-01

    Soil humic substances (HS) stabilize carbon nanotube (CNT) dispersions, a mechanism we hypothesized arose from the surfactive nature of HS. Experiments dispersing multi-walled CNT in solutions of dissolved Aldrich humic acid (HA) or water-extractable Catlin soil HS demonstrated enhanced stability at 150 and 300 mg L -1 added Aldrich HA and Catlin HS, respectively, corresponding with decreased CNT mean particle diameter (MPD) and polydispersivity (PD) of 250 nm and 0.3 for Aldrich HA and 450 nm and 0.35 for Catlin HS. Analogous trends in MPD and PD were observed with addition of the surfactants Brij 35, Triton X-405, and SDS, corresponding to surfactant sorption maximum. NEXAFS characterization showed that Aldrich HA contained highly surfactive domains while Catlin soil possessed a mostly carbohydrate-based structure. This work demonstrates that the chemical structure of humic materials in natural waters is directly linked to their surfactive ability to disperse CNT released into the environment. - Suspensions of multi-walled carbon nanotubes are stabilized by relatively low concentrations of dissolved humic substances in solution through surfactive mechanisms

  3. Increased drop formation frequency via reduction of surfactant interactions in flow-focusing microfluidic devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Josephides, Dimitris N; Sajjadi, Shahriar

    2015-01-27

    Glass capillary based microfluidic devices are able to create extremely uniform droplets, when formed under the dripping regime, at low setup costs due to their ease of manufacture. However, as they are rarely parallelized, simple methods to increase droplet production from a single device are sought. Surfactants used to stabilize drops in such systems often limit the maximum flow rate that highly uniform drops can be produced due to the lowering interfacial tension causing jetting. In this paper we show that by simple design changes we can limit the interactions of surfactants and maximize uniform droplet production. Three flow-focused configurations are explored: a standard glass capillary device (consisting of a single round capillary inserted into a square capillary), a nozzle fed device, and a surfactant shielding device (both consisting of two round capillaries inserted into either end of a square capillary). In principle, the maximum productivity of uniform droplets is achieved if surfactants are not present. It was found that surfactants in the standard device greatly inhibit droplet production by means of interfacial tension lowering and tip-streaming phenomena. In the nozzle fed configuration, surfactant interactions were greatly limited, yielding flow rates comparable to, but lower than, a surfactant-free system. In the surfactant shielding configuration, flow rates were equal to that of a surfactant-free system and could make uniform droplets at rates an order of magnitude above the standard surfactant system.

  4. Screening and Optimization of Bio surfactant Production by the Hydrocarbon-Degrading Bacteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ainon Hamzah; Noramiza Sabturani; Shahidan Radiman

    2013-01-01

    Bio surfactants are amphiphilic compounds produced by microorganisms as secondary metabolite. The unique properties of bio surfactants make them possible to replace or to be added to synthetic surfactants which are mainly used in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries and in environmental applications. In this study twenty hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria were screened for bio surfactant production. All of the bacterial isolates were grown in mineral salt medium (MSM) with addition of 1 % (v/v) Tapis crude oil as carbon source. The presence of bio surfactant was determined by the drop-collapse test, microplate analysis, oil spreading technique, emulsification index (%EI24) and surface tension measurement. Only one isolate, Pseudomonas aeruginosa UKMP14T, was found to be positive for all the qualitative tests and reducing the surface tension of the medium to 49.5 dynes/ with emulsification index of 25.29 %. This isolate produced bio surfactant optimally at pH 9.0 and incubation temperature of 37 degree Celsius. Furthermore, P. aeruginosa UKMP14T when grown in MSM with addition of 1 % (v/v) glycerol and 1.3 g/ L ammonium sulphate with C/N ratio 14:1 produced bio surfactant with percentage of surface tension reduction at 55 % or 30.6 dynes/ cm with %EI24 of 43 %. This percentage of surface tension reduction represents an increasing reduction in surface tension of medium by 39 % over the value before optimization. This study showed that P. aeruginosa UKMP14T has the ability to biodegrade hydrocarbon and concurrently produce bio surfactant. (author)

  5. Study of surfactant-free microemulsions and microemulsions with fatty acid salts

    OpenAIRE

    Marcus, Julien

    2016-01-01

    This thesis deals with the study of microemulsions and is composed of two main parts. In the first part, surfactant-free microemulsions are studied, whereas in the second part microemulsions with surfactants and cosurfactants are investigated. Over the last few years, surfactant-free microemulsions became a major topic at our institute and were thoroughly studied using the reference system water/ethanol/1-octanol. As explained later in the Fundamentals part (see section 1.2), fluctuating ...

  6. Interaction of biocompatible natural rosin-based surfactants with human serum albumin: A biophysical study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ishtikhar, Mohd [Protein Biophysics Laboratory, Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002 (India); Ali, Mohd Sajid [Surfactant Research Chair, Department of Chemistry, King Saud University, P.O. Box-2455, Riyadh 11451 (Saudi Arabia); Atta, Ayman M. [Surfactant Research Chair, Department of Chemistry, King Saud University, P.O. Box-2455, Riyadh 11451 (Saudi Arabia); Petroleum Application department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute, Ahmad Elzomor St., Nasr city, Cairo-11727 (Egypt); Al-Lohedan, H.A. [Surfactant Research Chair, Department of Chemistry, King Saud University, P.O. Box-2455, Riyadh 11451 (Saudi Arabia); Nigam, Lokesh; Subbarao, Naidu [Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067 (India); Hasan Khan, Rizwan, E-mail: rizwanhkhan@hotmail.com [Protein Biophysics Laboratory, Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002 (India)

    2015-11-15

    Biophysical insight into interaction of biocompatible rosin-based surfactants with human serum albumin (HSA) was studied at physiological conditions using various spectroscopic, calorimetric and molecular docking approaches. The binding constant (K{sub b}), enthalpy (ΔH{sup 0}), entropy (ΔS{sup 0}) and Gibbs free energy change (ΔG{sup 0}) were calculated by spectroscopic and calorimetric method. We have also calculated the probability of energy transfer by FRET analysis. The circular dichroism study showed that the cationic surfactant QRMAE significantly altered the secondary structure of HSA as compared to the nonionic rosin surfactants. The thermodynamic study was performed by ITC to determine binding constant as well as change in enthalpy of HSA in presence of rosin surfactants. It clearly showed that hydrogen binding and hydrophobic interaction play an important role in the binding of HSA to rosin surfactants. We have also performed molecular docking studies to locate the binding site on HSA and to visualize the mode of interaction. The present study provides a significant insight into HSA–rosin surfactants interaction, which also improves our understanding of the possible effect of rosin surfactants on human health. - Highlights: • RMPEG 750 has the highest Kb, Kq and Ksv value as compared to other rosin surfactants. • The probability of energy transfer from HSA to rosin surfactants was maximum in the case of RMPEG 750. • Cationic surfactant QRMAE significantly altered the secondary structure of the HSA as compared to other rosin surfactants. • Molecular docking and ITC experiment studies, to locate the binding site on HSA and to investigate the mode of interaction.

  7. Surfactant Apoprotein D in Preterm Neonates with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. A. Perepelitsa

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: to study the production of surfactant apoprotein D in preterm neonates with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS during artificial ventilation (AV. Subjects and methods. The paper presents the results of studying the production of surfactant protein D (SP-D in various biological fluids in 44 preterm neonates. Two groups of newborn infants were identified according to the clinical manifestations of ARDS. The study group comprised 25 infants with the severe course of the disease, in this connection the preventive administration of the exogenous surfactant Curosurf and AV were made in all the neonates at birth. The control group included 19 preterm babies without signs of ARDS. Results. The study has demonstrated that in parturients and preterm neonatal infants, surfactant apoprotein D is detectable in various biological fluids: amniotic fluid, the gastric aspirate obtained just after birth, residual umbilical cord blood, serum following 8 hours of birth, and bronchoalveolar fluid. Despite the low gestational age of the neonates, the lung surfactant system is able to produce SP-D, as evidenced by its high content in the amniotic fluid and residual umbilical cord blood of preterm neonates. The production of apoprotein D in preterm neonates considerably reduces in the next few hours after birth. Conclusion. The findings suggest that fetal tissues generate SP-D, which improves pulmonary gas exchange in preterm neonates in the first hours after birth and that alveolar-capillary membrane dysfunctions are transient in the neonates on AV. Key words: preterm neonates, acute respiratory distress syndrome, surfactant, surfactant apoprotein D.

  8. The effect of pressure on the phase behavior of surfactant systems: An experimental study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sandersen, Sara Bülow; Stenby, Erling Halfdan; von Solms, Nicolas

    2012-01-01

    Enhanced oil recovery is employed in many mature oil reservoirs to maintain or increase the reservoir recovery factor. In this context, surfactant flooding has recently gained interest again. Surfactant flooding is the injection of surfactants (and co-surfactants) into the reservoir, in order...... to create microemulsions at the interface between crude oil and water, thus obtaining very low interfacial tension, which consequently helps mobilize the trapped oil.In this work a surfactant system, which has been thoroughly described at atmospheric pressure, is examined at elevated pressure. The effect...

  9. Adsorption of surfactants on sand surface in enhanced oil recovery: Isotherms, kinetics and thermodynamic studies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bera, Achinta; Kumar, T.; Ojha, Keka; Mandal, Ajay, E-mail: mandal_ajay@hotmail.com

    2013-11-01

    Adsorption of surfactants onto reservoir rock surface may result in the loss and reduction of their concentrations in surfactant flooding, which may render them less efficient or ineffective in practical applications of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques. Surfactant flooding for EOR received attraction due to its ability to increase the displacement efficiency by lowering the interfacial tension between oil and water and mobilizing the residual oil. This article highlights the adsorption of surfactants onto sand surface with variation of different influencing factors. It has been experimentally found that adsorption of cationic surfactant on sand surface is more and less for anionic surfactant, while non-ionic surfactant shows intermediate behaviour. X-ray diffraction (XRD) study of clean sand particles has been made to determine the main component present in the sand particles. The interaction between sand particles and surfactant has been studied by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy of the sand particles before and after aging with surfactant. Salinity plays an important role in adsorption of anionic surfactant. Batch experiments were also performed to understand the effects of pH and adsorbent dose on the sorption efficiency. The sand particles exhibited high adsorption efficiency at low pH for anionic and nonionic surfactants. But opposite trend was found for cationic surfactant. Adsorption data were analyzed by fitting with Langmuir, Freundlich, Redlich-Peterson, and Sips isotherm models. Results show that the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second order kinetics models suit the equilibrium and kinetics of adsorption on sand surface. Thermodynamics feasibility of the adsorption process was also studied to verify the spontaneity of the process.

  10. Evaluation of bacterial surfactant toxicity towards petroleum degrading microorganisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lima, Tânia M S; Procópio, Lorena C; Brandão, Felipe D; Leão, Bruna A; Tótola, Marcos R; Borges, Arnaldo C

    2011-02-01

    The acute toxicity of bacterial surfactants LBBMA111A, LBBMA155, LBBMA168, LBBMA191 and LBBMA201 and the synthetic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on the bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri was evaluated by measuring the reduction of light emission (EC(20)) by this microorganism when exposed to different surfactant concentrations. Moreover, the toxic effects of different concentrations of biological and synthetic surfactants on the growth of pure cultures of isolates Acinetobacter baumannii LBBMA04, Acinetobacter junni LBBMA36, Pseudomonas sp. LBBMA101B and Acinetobacter baumanni LBBMAES11 were evaluated in mineral medium supplemented with glucose. The EC(20) values obtained confirmed that the biosurfactants have a significantly lower toxicity to V. fischeri than the SDS. After 30 min of exposure, bacterial luminescence was almost completely inhibited by SDS at a concentration of 4710 mg L(-1). Growth reduction of pure bacterial cultures caused by the addition of biosurfactants to the growth medium was lower than that caused by SDS. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Factors affecting responses of infants with respiratory distress syndrome to exogenous surfactant therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, N K

    1993-02-01

    Approximately 20% to 30% of infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) do not respond to surfactant replacement therapy. Unfortunately there is no uniform definition of 'response' or 'non-response' to surfactant therapy. Response was based on improvement in a/A PO2 and/or mean airway pressure (MAP) by some and on improvement in FIO2 and/or MAP by others. Even the point of time at which evaluation of response was done is different in various reports. There is an urgent need to adopt an uniform definition. Most premature babies are surfactant deficient which is the aetiological factor of RDS. Generally good antenatal care and perinatal management are essential in avoidance of premature birth. Babies with lung hypoplasia and who are extremely premature (less than 24 weeks of gestation) do not respond well to exogenous surfactant replacement because of structural immaturity. Prompt management of asphyxiated birth and shock are necessary as there may be negative response to surfactant replacement. Foetal exposure to glucocorticoids improves responsiveness to postnatal administration of surfactant. Antenatal steroid therapy has become an important part of management of RDS with surfactant replacement. The premature lungs with high alveolar permeability tend to develop pulmonary oedema. With the presence of plasma-derived surfactant inhibitors, the response to exogenous surfactant may be affected. These inhibitors may also be released following ventilator barotrauma. The standard of neonatal intensive care such as ventilatory techniques has an important bearing on the outcome of the RDS babies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  12. Soft-matter composites with electrically tunable elastic rigidity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shan, Wanliang; Lu, Tong; Majidi, Carmel

    2013-01-01

    We use a phase-changing metal alloy to reversibly tune the elastic rigidity of an elastomer composite. The elastomer is embedded with a sheet of low-melting-point Field’s metal and an electric Joule heater composed of a serpentine channel of liquid-phase gallium–indium–tin (Galinstan ® ) alloy. At room temperature, the embedded Field’s metal is solid and the composite remains elastically rigid. Joule heating causes the Field’s metal to melt and allows the surrounding elastomer to freely stretch and bend. Using a tensile testing machine, we measure that the effective elastic modulus of the composite reversibly changes by four orders of magnitude when powered on and off. This dramatic change in rigidity is accurately predicted with a model for an elastic composite. Reversible rigidity control is also accomplished by replacing the Field’s metal with shape memory polymer. In addition to demonstrating electrically tunable rigidity with an elastomer, we also introduce a new technique to rapidly produce soft-matter electronics and multifunctional materials in several minutes with laser-patterned adhesive film and masked deposition of liquid-phase metal alloy. (paper)

  13. Soft-matter composites with electrically tunable elastic rigidity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shan, Wanliang; Lu, Tong; Majidi, Carmel

    2013-08-01

    We use a phase-changing metal alloy to reversibly tune the elastic rigidity of an elastomer composite. The elastomer is embedded with a sheet of low-melting-point Field’s metal and an electric Joule heater composed of a serpentine channel of liquid-phase gallium-indium-tin (Galinstan®) alloy. At room temperature, the embedded Field’s metal is solid and the composite remains elastically rigid. Joule heating causes the Field’s metal to melt and allows the surrounding elastomer to freely stretch and bend. Using a tensile testing machine, we measure that the effective elastic modulus of the composite reversibly changes by four orders of magnitude when powered on and off. This dramatic change in rigidity is accurately predicted with a model for an elastic composite. Reversible rigidity control is also accomplished by replacing the Field’s metal with shape memory polymer. In addition to demonstrating electrically tunable rigidity with an elastomer, we also introduce a new technique to rapidly produce soft-matter electronics and multifunctional materials in several minutes with laser-patterned adhesive film and masked deposition of liquid-phase metal alloy.

  14. Growth Mechanism of Gold Nanorods in Binary Surfactant System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Bo-Mi; Seo, Sun-Hwa; Joe, Ara; Shim, Kyu-Dong; Jang, Eue-Soon [Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-06-15

    In order to reveal the growth mechanism of gold nanorods (GNRs) in a binary surfactant system, we synthesized various GNRs by changing the concentration of the surfactants, AgNO{sub 3}, and HBr in the growth solution. We found that the benzyldime thylhexadecylammoniumchloride surfactant had weak interaction with the gold ions, but it could reduce the membrane fluidity. In addition, we could dramatically decrease the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide concentration required for GNR growth by adding an HBr solution. Notably, Ag{sup +} ions were necessary to break the symmetry of the seed crystals for GNR growth, but increasing the concentration of Ag{sup +} and Br{sup -} ions caused a decrease in the template size.

  15. Atomistic simulations of surfactant adsorption kinetics at interfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iskrenova, Eugeniya; Patnaik, Soumya

    2014-03-01

    Heat transfer control and enhancement is an important and challenging problem in a variety of industrial and technological applications including aircraft thermal management. The role of additives in nucleate boiling and phase change in general has long been recognized and studied experimentally and modeled theoretically but in-depth description and atomistic understanding of the multiscale processes involved are still needed for better prediction and control of the heat transfer efficiency. Surfactant additives have been experimentally observed to either enhance or inhibit the boiling heat transfer depending on the surfactant concentration and chemistry and, on a molecular level, their addition leads to dynamic surface tension and changes in interfacial and transfer properties, thus contributing to the complexity of the problem. We present our atomistic modeling study of the interfacial adsorption kinetics of aqueous surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate) systems at a range of concentrations at room and boiling temperatures. Classical molecular dynamics and Umbrella Sampling simulations were used to study the surfactant transport properties and estimate the adsorption and desorption rates at liquid-vacuum and liquid-solid interfaces. The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from AFOSR Thermal Science Program and the Air Force Research Laboratory DoD Supercomputing Resource Center for computing time and resources.

  16. Rigid body motion in stereo 3D simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zabunov, Svetoslav

    2010-01-01

    This paper addresses the difficulties experienced by first-grade students studying rigid body motion at Sofia University. Most quantities describing the rigid body are in relations that the students find hard to visualize and understand. They also lose the notion of cause-result relations between vector quantities, such as the relation between torque and angular momentum. Consequently, the understanding of physical laws and conservation principles in free rigid body motion is hampered. This paper presents the capabilities of a 3D simulation, which aims to clarify these questions to the students, who are taught mechanics in the general physics course. The rigid body motion simulations may be observed at http://ialms.net/sim/, and are intended to complement traditional learning practices, not replace them, as the author shares the opinion that no simulation may fully resemble reality.

  17. Swelling of a mesostructured zirconium oxide film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Henderson, M.J. [Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200 (Australia); Rennie, A.R. [Uppsala University, Studsvik Neutron Research Laboratory, S-611 82 Nykoeping (Sweden); Hawley, A.M. [Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200 (Australia); White, J.W. [Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200 (Australia)]. E-mail: jww@rsc.anu.edu.au

    2006-11-15

    The structural changes that cause the change in interlayer spacing of a surfactant-templated zirconium oxide film have been studied using neutron diffractometry. We report that the film after drying on a glass substrate swells slightly through the addition of benzene by up to 4 A on a lattice parameter of about 36 A. The (0 0 1) and (0 0 2) diffraction peak widths, positions and areas of a swollen film were monitored as a function of benzene desorption. Disorder of the lamellar mesophase is considered as a cause of the observed effects on the diffraction signals.

  18. Effect of Surfactants on Plasmid DNA Stability and Release from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Purpose: To evaluate the effect of surfactants on plasmid DNA during preparation and release from polylactic glycolide (PLGA) microspheres. Methods: Various surfactants, both ionic and non-ionic (Span, Tween, Triton X100, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and sodium dodecyl sulphate), were added during the ...

  19. Spectral behaviour of eosin Y in different solvents and aqueous surfactant media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakraborty, Moumita; Panda, Amiya Kumar

    2011-10-01

    Photophysical behaviour of the anionic xanthene dye, eosin Y (EY) was investigated in solvents of different polarities as well as in the presence of aqueous cationic surfactants. From the correlation between ET(30) and Kosower Z values of EY in different solvents, subsequent parameters for EY were determined in the presence of surfactants. A red shift, both in the absorption and emission spectra of EY, was observed with decreasing solvent polarity. Dimerisation of EY was found to be dependent on solvent polarity. Cationic surfactants retarded the process of dimerisation, which were evident from the lower dimerisation constant ( KD) values, compared to that of in pure water. Dye-surfactant interaction constants were determined at different temperatures (298-318 K) and subsequently the thermodynamic parameters, viz., Δ G°, Δ H° and Δ S° were evaluated using the interaction constant values. The fluorescence spectra of EY followed the same trend as in the absorption spectra, although with lesser extents. Stokes shifts were calculated and correlated with the polarity of the medium. Fluorescence of EY was initially quenched by the cationic surfactants in their pre-micellar region, which then followed a red shift with intensity enhancement. Fluorescence quenching was found to be of Stern-Volmer type where the excited state lifetime of EY remained unchanged in different surfactant media. However, the anisotropy value of EY was changed in the post micellar region of surfactants.

  20. Mathematical Modelling of Surfactant Self-assembly at Interfaces

    KAUST Repository

    Morgan, C. E.

    2015-01-01

    © 2015 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. We present a mathematical model to describe the distribution of surfactant pairs in a multilayer structure beneath an adsorbed monolayer. A mesoscopic model comprising a set of ordinary differential equations that couple the rearrangement of surfactant within the multilayer to the surface adsorption kinetics is first derived. This model is then extended to the macroscopic scale by taking the continuum limit that exploits the typically large number of surfactant layers, which results in a novel third-order partial differential equation. The model is generalized to allow for the presence of two adsorbing boundaries, which results in an implicit free-boundary problem. The system predicts physically observed features in multilayer systems such as the initial formation of smaller lamellar structures and the typical number of layers that form in equilibrium.

  1. Molecular self assembly of mixed comb-like dextran surfactant polymers for SPR virus detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mai-Ngam, Katanchalee; Kiatpathomchai, Wansika; Arunrut, Narong; Sansatsadeekul, Jitlada

    2014-11-04

    The synthesis of two comb-like dextran surfactant polymers, that are different in their dextran molecular weight (MW) distribution and the presence of carboxylic groups, and their characterization are reported. A bimodal carboxylic dextran surfactant polymer consists of poly(vinyl amine) (PVAm) backbone with carboxyl higher MW dextran, non-functionalized lower MW dextran and hydrophobic hexyl branches; while a monomodal dextran surfactant polymer is PVAm grafted with non-functionalized lower MW dextran and hexyl branches. Layer formation of non-covalently attached dextran chains with bimodal MW distributions on a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) chip was investigated from the perspective of mixed physisorption of the bimodal and monomodal surfactant polymers. Separation distances between the carboxylic longer dextran side chains within the bimodal surfactant polymer and between the whole bimodal surfactant molecules on the chip surface could be well-controlled. SPR analysis of shrimp yellow head virus using our mixed surfactant chips showed dependence on synergetic adjustment of these separation distances. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Small-angle neutron scattering studies of nonionic surfactant: Effect

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Micellar solution of nonionic surfactant -dodecyloligo ethyleneoxide surfactant, decaoxyethylene monododecyl ether [CH3(CH2)11(OCH2CH2)10OH], C12E10 in D2O solution have been analysed by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) at different temperatures (30, 45 and 60°C) both in the presence and absence of ...

  3. Removal of cationic surfactant (CTAB from aqueous solution on to activated carbon obtained from corncob.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. M. Yakout

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Direct and indirect releases of large quantities of surfactants to the environment may result in serious health and environmental problems. Therefore, surfactants should be removed from water before water is released to the environment or delivered for public use. Using powdered activated carbon (PAC as adsorbent may be an effective technique to remove surfactants. In this study, the removal of surfactants by PAC was investigated and the influencesof the operating parameters on the effectiveness on adsorption rate were studied. Cationic surfactant, Cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB was selected for the experiments. A series of batch experiments were performed to determine the sorption isotherms of surfactants to PAC. The results showed that carbon structure affect mainly on the surfactant adsorption. Surfactant equilibrium data fitted very well to the binary langmuir model. The pseudo first-,second- order and intraparticle diffusion kinetic models were applied. Both, the external mass transfer and intraparticle diffusion mechanisms involve in CTAB sorption.

  4. Composition, structure and mechanical properties define performance of pulmonary surfactant membranes and films

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ortiz, Elisa Parra; Perez-Gil, Jesús

    2015-01-01

    of breathing and avoiding alveolar collapse, especially at the end of expiration. The goal of the present review is to summarize current knowledge regarding the structure, lipid-protein interactions and mechanical features of surfactant membranes and films and how these properties correlate with surfactant...... biological function inside the lungs. Surfactant mechanical properties can be severely compromised by different agents, which lead to surfactant inhibition and ultimately contributes to the development of pulmonary disorders and pathologies in newborns, children and adults. A detailed comprehension...

  5. Dicationic alkylammonium bromide gemini surfactants. Membrane perturbation and skin irritation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João A S Almeida

    Full Text Available Dicationic alkylammonium bromide gemini surfactants represent a class of amphiphiles potentially effective as skin permeation enhancers. However, only a limited number of studies has been dedicated to the evaluation of the respective cytotoxicity, and none directed to skin irritation endpoints. Supported on a cell viability study, the cytotoxicity of gemini surfactants of variable tail and spacer length was assessed. For this purpose, keratinocyte cells from human skin (NCTC 2544 cell line, frequently used as a model for skin irritation, were employed. The impact of the different gemini surfactants on the permeability and morphology of model vesicles was additionally investigated by measuring the leakage of calcein fluorescent dye and analyzing the NMR spectra of ³¹P, respectively. Detail on the interaction of gemini molecules with model membranes was also provided by a systematic differential scanning calorimetry (DSC and molecular dynamics (MD simulation. An irreversible impact on the viability of the NCTC 2544 cell line was observed for gemini concentrations higher than 25 mM, while no cytotoxicity was found for any of the surfactants in a concentration range up to 10 mM. A higher cytotoxicity was also found for gemini surfactants presenting longer spacer and shorter tails. The same trend was obtained in the calorimetric and permeability studies, with the gemini of longest spacer promoting the highest degree of membrane destabilization. Additional structural and dynamical characterization of the various systems, obtained by ³¹P NMR and MD, provide some insight on the relationship between the architecture of gemini surfactants and the respective perturbation mechanism.

  6. Effect of selected non-ionic surfactants on the flow behavior of aqueous veegum suspensions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Ross A; Kennedy, Michelle L

    2007-03-30

    The aim of this work was to investigate the influence of some non-ionic surfactants, Tween 80 and Brij 98, on the viscosity and flow behavior of a commercial montmorillonite clay, Veegum Granules. The effect of different concentrations of the surfactants on the shear stress-shear rate rheograms of hydrated concentrated clay suspensions was determined by shear viscometry. The addition of either surfactant increased the plastic viscosity and the yield stress of the suspensions. Furthermore, both surfactants altered the thixotropy of the suspensions to an extent that depended on both the surfactant concentration and the time of equilibration of the surfactant and Veegum. Brij 98 had a greater and more rapid effect. It is proposed that the surfactant polar head-groups anchor at the tetrahedral sheet surface, leaving the alkyl chains extending away from the edges and faces. Consequently, the alkyl chains undergo hydrophobic interactions that facilitate the association between the platelets and increase the physical structure within the suspension. Stereochemical differences between the polar groups may lead to differences in the way the surfactants associate with the tetrahedral sheet and hence their ultimate effect on the rheological behavior. There is a significant interaction between these surfactants and montmorillonite clays, and the rheological changes that occur could have a major impact on any pharmaceutical formulation that uses these ingredients.

  7. Sensing of substratum rigidity and directional migration by fast-crawling cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okimura, Chika; Sakumura, Yuichi; Shimabukuro, Katsuya; Iwadate, Yoshiaki

    2018-05-01

    Living cells sense the mechanical properties of their surrounding environment and respond accordingly. Crawling cells detect the rigidity of their substratum and migrate in certain directions. They can be classified into two categories: slow-moving and fast-moving cell types. Slow-moving cell types, such as fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, mesenchymal stem cells, etc., move toward rigid areas on the substratum in response to a rigidity gradient. However, there is not much information on rigidity sensing in fast-moving cell types whose size is ˜10 μ m and migration velocity is ˜10 μ m /min . In this study, we used both isotropic substrata with different rigidities and an anisotropic substratum that is rigid on the x axis but soft on the y axis to demonstrate rigidity sensing by fast-moving Dictyostelium cells and neutrophil-like differentiated HL-60 cells. Dictyostelium cells exerted larger traction forces on a more rigid isotropic substratum. Dictyostelium cells and HL-60 cells migrated in the "soft" direction on the anisotropic substratum, although myosin II-null Dictyostelium cells migrated in random directions, indicating that rigidity sensing of fast-moving cell types differs from that of slow types and is induced by a myosin II-related process.

  8. Contrast media inhibit exogenous surfactant therapy in rats with acute respiratory distress syndrome

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kesecioglu, Jozef; Haitsma, Jack J.; Schultz, Marcus J.; den Heeten, Gerard J.; Lachmann, Burkhard

    2006-01-01

    AIM: To test the effects of various contrast media on the pulmonary surfactant system. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In a rat model of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) induced by lung lavage, the effects of surfactant suspended in saline were compared with surfactant suspended in the contrast

  9. Essential Regulation of Lung Surfactant Homeostasis by the Orphan G Protein-Coupled Receptor GPR116

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mi Young Yang

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available GPR116 is an orphan seven-pass transmembrane receptor whose function has been unclear. Global disruption of the Gpr116 gene in mice revealed an unexpected, critical role for this receptor in lung surfactant homeostasis, resulting in progressive accumulation of surfactant lipids and proteins in the alveolar space, labored breathing, and a reduced lifespan. GPR116 expression analysis, bone marrow transplantation studies, and characterization of conditional knockout mice revealed that GPR116 expression in ATII cells is required for maintaining normal surfactant levels. Aberrant packaging of surfactant proteins with lipids in the Gpr116 mutant mice resulted in compromised surfactant structure, function, uptake, and processing. Thus, GPR116 plays an indispensable role in lung surfactant homeostasis with important ramifications for the understanding and treatment of lung surfactant disorders.

  10. Enhanced oil recovery with surfactant flooding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Buelow Sandersen, S.

    2012-05-15

    Understanding the underlying mechanisms of systems that exhibit liquid-liquid equilibrium (e.g. oil-brine systems) at reservoir conditions is an area of increasing interest within EOR. This is true both for complex surfactant systems as well as for oil and brine systems. It is widely accepted that an increase in oil recovery can be obtained through flooding, whether it is simple waterflooding, waterflooding where the salinity has been modified by the addition or removal of specific ions (socalled ''smart'' waterflooding) or surfactant flooding. High pressure experiments have been carried out in this work on a surfactant system (surfactant/ oil/ brine) and on oil/ seawater systems (oil/ brine). The high pressure experiments were carried out on a DBR JEFRI PVT cell, where a glass window allows observation of the phase behavior of the different systems at various temperatures and pressures inside the high pressure cell. Phase volumes can also be measured visually through the glass window using precision equipment. The surfactant system for which an experimental study was carried out consisted of the mixture heptane, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/ 1-butanol/ NaCl/ water. This system has previously been examined at ambient pressures and temperatures but this has been extended here to pressures up to 400 bar and to slightly higher temperatures (40 deg. C, 45 deg. C and 50 deg. C). Experiments were performed at constant salinity (6.56 %), constant surfactant-alcohol ratio (SAR) but with varying water-oil ratios (WOR). At all temperatures it was very clear that the effect of pressure was significant. The system changed from the two phase region, Winsor II, to the three phase region, Winsor III, as pressure increased. Increasing pressures also caused a shift from the three phase region (Winsor III), to a different two phase region, (Winsor I). These changes in equilibrium phase behavior were also dependent on the composition of the system. A number of

  11. Effect of surfactant for magnetic properties of iron oxide nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haracz, S. [Faculty of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89B, 61-614 Poznań (Poland); Hilgendorff, M. [Freie Universität Berlin, Fachbereich Physik, Arnimalle 14, 14195 Berlin (Germany); Rybka, J.D. [Faculty of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89B, 61-614 Poznań (Poland); Giersig, M. [Faculty of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89B, 61-614 Poznań (Poland); Freie Universität Berlin, Fachbereich Physik, Arnimalle 14, 14195 Berlin (Germany)

    2015-12-01

    Highlights: • Dynamic behavior of magnetic nanoparticles. • Synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles. • Effect of surfactant for magnetic properties. - Abstract: For different medical applications nanoparticles (NPs) with well-defined magnetic properties have to be used. Coating ligand can change the magnetic moment on the surface of nanostructures and therefore the magnetic behavior of the system. Here we investigated magnetic NPs in a size of 13 nm conjugated with four different kinds of surfactants. The surface anisotropy and the magnetic moment of the system were changed due to the presence of the surfactant on the surface of iron oxide NPs.

  12. Interactions of short chain phenylalkanoic acids within ionic surfactant micelles in aqueous media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naeem Kashif

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available % SDS KR nema Solubilization and interactions of phenylalkanoic acids induced by cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB and an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS was investigated spectrophotometrically at 25.0°C. The UV spectra of the additives (acids were measured with and without surfactant above and below critical micelle concentration (cmc of the surfactant. The presence of alkyl chain in phenylalkanoic acids is responsible for hydrophobic interaction resulting in shift of the spectra towards longer wavelength (red shift. The value of partition coefficient (Kx between the bulk water and surfactant micelles and in turn standard free energy change of solubilization (ΔGpº were also estimated by measuring the differential absorbance (ΔA of the additives in micellar solutions.

  13. Investigations of the kinetics of surfactant-assisted growth of cobalt/copper multilayers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Brennan Lovelace

    Surfactants---a term given to a broad family of surface additives used in thin film growth---provide a potentially useful tool for the deposition engineer. A long history of work on the field has produced a sometimes conflicting view of what surfactants do, and while their efficacy in improving magnetic films is well established, the attendant structural changes remain unclear. Early work on surfactant-assisted growth was generally confined to deposition at near equilibrium conditions: high temperature and very slow deposition rates on very smooth (single crystal) substrates. In the case of low temperature sputter deposition, the kinetic phenomena differ greatly from the near-equilibrium case: high rate, more interlayer diffusive pathways, high grain boundary density, and few well defined atomic steps. There are two major ideas which underlie and explain the use of surfactants. First, they are used to alter growth kinetics of a single material by changing the diffusion barriers on the growing surface. Second, surfactants alter the initial nucleation parameters in heteroepitaxial growth, which is often explained with reference to changes in the surface energy, gamma. Changes to these parameters result, in turn, to variations of the roughness and conformality of thin films grown with the assistance of surfactants. Finally, the roughness and conformality are critical for determining the performance of modern thin film magnetic sensors. As surfactants offer a way to alter the nucleation and growth kinetics, they offer tremendous potential benefits. However, before surfactants are trustworthy deposition tool, a better understanding of their structural effects and underlying surface energy and kinetic changes is necessary. In order to investigate these phenomena, DC magnetron sputtered [Co/Cu] multilayers were deposited on Si/SiO2 substrates using O2 , Ag, Pb, and In as surfactants. Oxygen was introduced during growth at partial pressures ranging from 10-9 to 10-6 Torr

  14. Desorption of organophosphorous pesticides from soil with wastewater and surfactant solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hernandez-Soriano, M. C.; Mingorance, M. D.; Pena, A.

    2009-01-01

    Surfactants can be introduced in the environment by wastewater discharge, point-charge pollution or deliberate action, e. g. to remediate contaminated soil or groundwater. The irrigation of soil with wastewater containing surfactants may modify pesticide desorption from soil, thus affecting their affecting their environmental fate. Desorption from soil of the plain of Granada (South-eastern Spain) of two organophosphorous pesticides, diazinon and dimethoate, differing in solubility and hydrophobicity, has been evaluated in the presence of different surfactant aqueous solutions and municipal wastewater. (Author)

  15. Summer/winter variability of the surfactants in aerosols from Grenoble, France

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baduel, Christine; Nozière, Barbara; Jaffrezo, Jean-Luc

    2012-02-01

    Many atmospheric aerosols seem to contain strong organic surfactants likely to enhance their cloud-forming properties. Yet, few techniques allow for the identification and characterization of these compounds. Recently, we introduced a double extraction method to isolate the surfactant fraction of atmospheric aerosol samples, and evidenced their very low surface tension (≤30 mN m -1). In this work, this analytical procedure was further optimized. In addition to an optimized extraction and a reduction of the analytical time, the improved method led to a high reproducibility in the surface tension curves obtained (shapes and minimal values), illustrated by the low uncertainties on the values, ±10% or less. The improved method was applied to PM 10 aerosols from the urban area of Grenoble, France collected from June 2009 to January 2010. Significant variability was observed between the samples. The minimum surface tension obtained from the summer samples was systematically lower (30 mN m -1) than that of the winter samples (35-45 mN m -1). Sharp transitions in the curves together with the very low surface tensions suggested that the dominating surfactants in the summer samples were biosurfactants, which would be consistent with the high biogenic activity in that season. One group of samples from the winter also displayed sharp transitions, which, together with the slightly higher surface tension, suggested the presence of weaker, possibly man-made, surfactants. A second group of curves from the winter did not display any clear transition but were similar to those of macromolecular surfactants such as polysaccharides or humic substances from wood burning. These surfactants are thus likely to originate from wood burning, the dominating source for aerosols in Grenoble in winter. These observations thus confirm the presence of surfactants from combustion processes in urban aerosols reported by other groups and illustrates the ability of our method to distinguish between

  16. Micelle formation of nonionic surfactants in a room temperature ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate: surfactant chain length dependence of the critical micelle concentration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inoue, Tohru; Yamakawa, Haruka

    2011-04-15

    Micellization behavior was investigated for polyoxyethylene-type nonionic surfactants with varying chain length (C(n)E(m)) in a room temperature ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF(4)). Critical micelle concentration (cmc) was determined from the variation of (1)H NMR chemical shift with the surfactant concentration. The logarithmic value of cmc decreased linearly with the number of carbon atoms in the surfactant hydrocarbon chain, similarly to the case observed in aqueous surfactant solutions. However, the slope of the straight line is much smaller in bmimBF(4) than in aqueous solution. Thermodynamic parameters for micelle formation estimated from the temperature dependence of cmc showed that the micellization in bmimBF(4) is an entropy-driven process around room temperature. This behavior is also similar to the case in aqueous solution. However, the magnitude of the entropic contribution to the overall micellization free energy in bmimBF(4) is much smaller compared with that in aqueous solution. These results suggest that the micellization in bmimBF(4) proceeds through a mechanism similar to the hydrophobic interaction in aqueous surfactant solutions, although the solvophobic effect in bmimBF(4) is much weaker than the hydrophobic effect. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Rigid body formulation in a finite element context with contact interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Refachinho de Campos, Paulo R.; Gay Neto, Alfredo

    2018-03-01

    The present work proposes a formulation to employ rigid bodies together with flexible bodies in the context of a nonlinear finite element solver, with contact interactions. Inertial contributions due to distribution of mass of a rigid body are fully developed, considering a general pole position associated with a single node, representing a rigid body element. Additionally, a mechanical constraint is proposed to connect a rigid region composed by several nodes, which is useful for linking rigid/flexible bodies in a finite element environment. Rodrigues rotation parameters are used to describe finite rotations, by an updated Lagrangian description. In addition, the contact formulation entitled master-surface to master-surface is employed in conjunction with the rigid body element and flexible bodies, aiming to consider their interaction in a rigid-flexible multibody environment. New surface parameterizations are presented to establish contact pairs, permitting pointwise interaction in a frictional scenario. Numerical examples are provided to show robustness and applicability of the methods.

  18. Surfactant effect on functionalized carbon nanotube coated snowman-like particles and their electro-responsive characteristics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Ke; Liu, Ying Dan [Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 402-751 (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Hyoung Jin, E-mail: hjchoi@inha.ac.kr [Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 402-751 (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-10-15

    The core–shell structured snowman-like (SL) microparticles coated by functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) were prepared in the presence of different surfactants including cationic surfactant-cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and anionic surfactant-sodium lauryl sulfate (SDS). The effect of surfactants on adsorption onto SL particles was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and conductivity. The cationic surfactant is found to be more effective than anionic surfactant for helping nanotube adsorbed onto microparticle due to the presence of electrostatic interaction between the functionalized MWNT and the surfactant. Furthermore, the MWNT/SL particles dispersed in silicone oil exhibited a typical fibril structure of the electrorheological characteristics under an applied electric field observed by an optical microscope (OM), in which the state of nanotubes wrapped on the particles strongly affects their electro-responsive characteristics.

  19. Surfactant effect on functionalized carbon nanotube coated snowman-like particles and their electro-responsive characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Ke; Liu, Ying Dan; Choi, Hyoung Jin

    2012-01-01

    The core–shell structured snowman-like (SL) microparticles coated by functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) were prepared in the presence of different surfactants including cationic surfactant-cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and anionic surfactant-sodium lauryl sulfate (SDS). The effect of surfactants on adsorption onto SL particles was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and conductivity. The cationic surfactant is found to be more effective than anionic surfactant for helping nanotube adsorbed onto microparticle due to the presence of electrostatic interaction between the functionalized MWNT and the surfactant. Furthermore, the MWNT/SL particles dispersed in silicone oil exhibited a typical fibril structure of the electrorheological characteristics under an applied electric field observed by an optical microscope (OM), in which the state of nanotubes wrapped on the particles strongly affects their electro-responsive characteristics.

  20. Surfactant Ligand Removal and Rational Fabrication of Inorganically Connected Quantum Dots

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Haitao

    2011-12-14

    A novel method is reported to create inorganically connected nanocrystal (NC) assemblies for both II-VI and IV-VI semiconductors by removing surfactant ligands using (NH 4) 2S. This surface modification process differs from ligand exchange methods in that no new surfactant ligands are introduced and the post-treated NC surfaces are nearly bare. The detailed mechanism study shows that the high reactivity between (NH 4) 2S and metal-surfactant ligand complexes enables the complete removal of surfactant ligands in seconds and converts the NC metal-rich shells into metal sulfides. The post-treated NCs are connected through metal-sulfide bonding and form a larger NCs film assembly, while still maintaining quantum confinement. Such "connected but confined" NC assemblies are promising new materials for electronic and optoelectronic devices. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

  1. Adsorption of hydrophobic organic compounds onto a hydrophobic carbonaceous geosorbent in the presence of surfactants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Peng; Keller, Arturo A

    2008-06-01

    The adsorption of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs; atrazine and diuron) onto lampblack was studied in the presence of nonionic, cationic, and anionic surfactants (Triton(R) X-100), benzalkonium chloride [BC], and linear alkylbenzene sulfonate [LAS]) to determine the effect of the surfactant on HOC adsorption onto a hydrophobic carbonaceous geosorbent. Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate showed an adsorption capacity higher than that of BC but similar to that of Triton X-100, implying the charge property of a surfactant is not a useful indicator for predicting the surfactant's adsorption onto a hydrophobic medium. The results also indicated that the octanol-water partition coefficient (K(OW)) of a surfactant is not a good predictor of that surfactant's sorption onto a hydrophobic medium. Under subsaturation adsorption conditions (i.e., before sorption saturation is reached), surfactant adsorption reduced HOC adsorption to a significant extent, with the reduction in HOC adsorption increasing monotonically with the amount of surfactant adsorbed. Among the three surfactants, Triton X-100 was the most effective in reducing HOC adsorption, whereas BC and LAS showed similar effectiveness in this regard. Under the same amount of the surfactant sorbed, the reduction in atrazine adsorption was consistently greater than that for diuron because of atrazine's lower hydrophobicity. No significant difference was observed in the amount of the HOC adsorbed under different adsorption sequences. Our results showed that the presence of surfactant can significantly decrease HOC adsorption onto hydrophobic environmental media and, thus, is important in predicting HOC fate and transport in the environment.

  2. Effect of rigid inclusions on sintering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahaman, M.N.; De Jonghe, L.C.

    1988-01-01

    The predictions of recent theoretical studies on the effect of inert, rigid inclusions on the sintering of ceramic powder matrices are examined and compared with experimental data. The densification of glass matrix composites with inclusion volume fractions of ≤0.15 can be adequately explained by Scherer's theory for viscous sintering with rigid inclusions. Inclusions cause a vast reduction in the densification rates of polycrystalline matrix composites even at low inclusion volume fractions. Models put forward to explain the sintering of polycrystalline matrix composites are discussed

  3. Early CPAP versus surfactant in extremely preterm infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finer, Neil N; Carlo, Waldemar A; Walsh, Michele C; Rich, Wade; Gantz, Marie G; Laptook, Abbot R; Yoder, Bradley A; Faix, Roger G; Das, Abhik; Poole, W Kenneth; Donovan, Edward F; Newman, Nancy S; Ambalavanan, Namasivayam; Frantz, Ivan D; Buchter, Susie; Sánchez, Pablo J; Kennedy, Kathleen A; Laroia, Nirupama; Poindexter, Brenda B; Cotten, C Michael; Van Meurs, Krisa P; Duara, Shahnaz; Narendran, Vivek; Sood, Beena G; O'Shea, T Michael; Bell, Edward F; Bhandari, Vineet; Watterberg, Kristi L; Higgins, Rosemary D

    2010-05-27

    There are limited data to inform the choice between early treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and early surfactant treatment as the initial support for extremely-low-birth-weight infants. We performed a randomized, multicenter trial, with a 2-by-2 factorial design, involving infants who were born between 24 weeks 0 days and 27 weeks 6 days of gestation. Infants were randomly assigned to intubation and surfactant treatment (within 1 hour after birth) or to CPAP treatment initiated in the delivery room, with subsequent use of a protocol-driven limited ventilation strategy. Infants were also randomly assigned to one of two target ranges of oxygen saturation. The primary outcome was death or bronchopulmonary dysplasia as defined by the requirement for supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks (with an attempt at withdrawal of supplemental oxygen in neonates who were receiving less than 30% oxygen). A total of 1316 infants were enrolled in the study. The rates of the primary outcome did not differ significantly between the CPAP group and the surfactant group (47.8% and 51.0%, respectively; relative risk with CPAP, 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.85 to 1.05) after adjustment for gestational age, center, and familial clustering. The results were similar when bronchopulmonary dysplasia was defined according to the need for any supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks (rates of primary outcome, 48.7% and 54.1%, respectively; relative risk with CPAP, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.01). Infants who received CPAP treatment, as compared with infants who received surfactant treatment, less frequently required intubation or postnatal corticosteroids for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (Pneonatal outcomes did not differ significantly between the two groups. The results of this study support consideration of CPAP as an alternative to intubation and surfactant in preterm infants. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00233324.) 2010 Massachusetts Medical Society

  4. Impact of surfactants on the target recognition of Fab-conjugated PLGA nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Patrick J; Perreira, Ines; Ferreira, Daniel; Nestor, Marika; Oliveira, Carla; Granja, Pedro L; Sarmento, Bruno

    2018-06-01

    Targeted drug delivery with nanoparticles (NPs) requires proper surface ligand presentation and availability. Surfactants are often used as stabilizers in the production of targeted NPs. Here, we evaluated the impact of surfactants on ligand functionalization and downstream molecular recognition. Our model system consisted of fluorescent poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) NPs that were nanoprecipitated in one of a small panel of commonly-used surfactants followed by equivalent washes and conjugation of an engineered Fab antibody fragment. Size, polydispersity index and zeta potential were determined by dynamic light scattering and laser Doppler anemometry, and Fab presence on the NPs was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Most importantly, Fab-decorated NP binding to the cell surface receptor was monitored by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. 2% polyvinyl alcohol, 1% sodium cholate, 0.5% Pluronic F127 (F127) and 2% Tween-80 were initially tested. Of the four surfactants tested, PLGA NPs in 0.5% F127 and 2% Tween-80 had the highest cell binding. These two surfactants were then retested in two different concentrations, 0.5% and 2%. The Fab-decorated PLGA NPs in 2% F127 had the highest cell binding. This study highlights the impact of common surfactants and their concentrations on the downstream targeting of ligand-decorated NPs. Similar principles should be applied in the development of future targeted nanosystems where surfactants are employed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Rigid-Plastic Post-Buckling Analysis of Columns and Quadratic Plates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jönsson, Jeppe

    2008-01-01

    the compressive load as a function of the transverse displacement. An estimate of the magnitude of the transverse displacement prior to the forming of the collapse mechanism is introduced into the compressive load function, determined by the virtual work equation, thereby revealing a qualified estimate...... yield lines accommodate differential rotations of rigid parts and the area “collapse” yield lines accommodate local area changes of the rigid parts thereby preserving compatibility of the rigid parts of a plate. The approach will be illustrated for rigid plastic column analysis and for a quadratic plate...

  6. Relating Structure to Efficiency in Surfactant-Free Polymer/Fullerene Nanoparticle-Based Organic Solar Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gärtner, Stefan; Clulow, Andrew J; Howard, Ian A; Gilbert, Elliot P; Burn, Paul L; Gentle, Ian R; Colsmann, Alexander

    2017-12-13

    Nanoparticle dispersions open up an ecofriendly route toward printable organic solar cells. They can be formed from a variety of organic semiconductors by using miniemulsions that employ surfactants to stabilize the nanoparticles in dispersion and to prevent aggregation. However, whenever surfactant-based nanoparticle dispersions have been used to fabricate solar cells, the reported performances remain moderate. In contrast, solar cells from nanoparticle dispersions formed by precipitation (without surfactants) can exhibit power conversion efficiencies close to those of state-of-the-art solar cells processed from blend solutions using chlorinated solvents. In this work, we use small-angle neutron scattering measurements and transient absorption spectroscopy to investigate why surfactant-free nanoparticles give rise to efficient organic solar cells. We show that surfactant-free nanoparticles comprise a uniform distribution of small semiconductor domains, similar to that of bulk-heterojunction films formed using traditional solvent processing. This observation differs from surfactant-based miniemulsion nanoparticles that typically exhibit core-shell structures. Hence, the surfactant-free nanoparticles already possess the optimum morphology for efficient energy conversion before they are assembled into the photoactive layer of a solar cell. This structural property underpins the superior performance of the solar cells containing surfactant-free nanoparticles and is an important design criterion for future nanoparticle inks.

  7. The application of a mulch biofilm barrier for surfactant enhanced polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon bioremediation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seo, Youngwoo; Lee, Woo-Hyung; Sorial, George; Bishop, Paul L.

    2009-01-01

    Lab scale mulch biofilm barriers were constructed and tested to evaluate their performance for preventing the migration of aqueous and surfactant solubilized PAHs. The spatial distribution of viable PAH degrader populations and resultant biofilm formation were also monitored to evaluate the performance of the biobarrier and the prolonged surfactant effect on the PAH degrading microorganism consortia in the biobarrier. Sorption and biodegradation of PAHs resulted in stable operation of the system for dissolved phenanthrene and pyrene during 150 days of experimentation. The nonionic surfactant could increase the solubility of phenanthrene and pyrene significantly. However, the biobarrier itself couldn't totally prevent the migration of micellar solubilized phenanthrene and pyrene. The presence of surfactant and the resultant highly increased phenanthrene or pyrene concentration didn't appear to cause toxic effects on the attached biofilm in the biobarrier. However, the presence of surfactant did change the structural composition of the biofilm. - Mulch biofilm barrier showed potential for surfactant enhanced bioremediation, and the presence of surfactant changed the structural composition of the biofilm

  8. Surfactant induced flows in thin liquid films : an experimental study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sinz, D.K.N.

    2012-01-01

    The topic of the experimental work summarized in my thesis is the flow in thin liquid films induced by non-uniformly distributed surfactants. The flow dynamics as a consequence of the deposition of a droplet of an insoluble surfactant onto a thin liquid film covering a solid substrate where

  9. Nonionic surfactant Brij35 effects on toluene biodegradation in a ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nonionic surfactant effects on the toluene dissolved in the water phase and biodegradation kinetic behaviors of toluene in a composite bead biofilter were investigated. The toluene dissolved in the water phase was enhanced by the addition of surfactant into aqueous solution and the enhancing effect was more pronounced ...

  10. Effects of surfactant micelles on viscosity and conductivity of poly(ethylene glycol) solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shun-Cheng; Wei, Tzu-Chien; Chen, Wun-Bin; Tsao, Heng-Kwong

    2004-03-01

    The neutral polymer-micelle interaction is investigated for various surfactants by viscometry and electrical conductometry. In order to exclude the well-known necklace scenario, we consider aqueous solutions of low molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol) (2-20)×103, whose radial size is comparable to or smaller than micelles. The single-tail surfactants consist of anionic, cationic, and nonionic head groups. It is found that the viscosity of the polymer solution may be increased several times by micelles if weak attraction between a polymer segment and a surfactant exists, ɛsurfactant concentration is therefore attributed to the considerable cross links among micelles and polymers (transient network). In addition to substantial alteration of the transport properties, this weak interaction also influences the onset point of thermodynamic instability associated with polymer-surfactant solutions. The examples include the decrease of critical aggregation concentration for ionic surfactant and clouding point for nonionic surfactant due to PEG addition.

  11. Surfactant-adsorption-induced initial depinning behavior in evaporating water and nanofluid sessile droplets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Xin; Duan, Fei

    2015-05-19

    A surfactant-induced autophobic effect has been observed to initiate an intense depinning behavior at the initial stage of evaporation in both pure water and nanofluid sessile droplets. The cationic surfactant adsorbing to the negatively charged silicon wafer makes the solid surface more hydrophobic. The autophobing-induced depinning behavior, leading to an enlarged contact angle and a shortened base diameter, takes place only when the surfactant concentration is below its critical micelle concentration (cmc). The initial spreading degree right before the droplet retraction, the retracting velocity of the contact line, and the duration of the initial droplet retraction are shown to depend negatively on the surfactant concentration below the cmc. An unexpected enhancement in the initial depinning has been found in the nanofluid droplets, possibly resulting from the hydrophilic interplay between the graphite nanoparticle deposition and the surfactant molecules. Such promotion of the initial depinning due to the nanoparticle deposition makes the droplet retract even at a surfactant concentration higher than the cmc (1.5 cmc). The resulting deposition formed in the presence of the depinning behavior has great enhancement for coffee-ring formation as compared to the one free of surfactant, implying that the formation of a coffee ring does not require the pinning of the contact line during the entire drying process.

  12. Influence of pulmonary surfactant on in vitro bactericidal activities of amoxicillin, ceftazidime, and tobramycin

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    A. van 't Veen (Annemarie); J.W. Mouton (Johan); D.A.M.P.J. Gommers (Diederik); J.A.J.W. Kluytmans (Jan); P. Dekkers; B.F. Lachmann (Burkhard)

    1995-01-01

    textabstractThe influence of a natural pulmonary surfactant on antibiotic activity was investigated to assess the possible use of exogenous surfactant as a vehicle for antibiotic delivery to the lung. The influence of surfactant on the bactericidal activity of

  13. Improved surfactants formulation for remediation of oil sludge recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Syed Hakimi Sakuma Syed Ahmad; Shahidan Radiman

    2000-01-01

    Surfactant enhanced remediation based on mobilisation of the residual NAPLs (oil sludge) which is radioactive depends on the tendency of the surfactants to lower interfacial tension. Mobilisation has greater potential than solubilisation to increase the rate of remediation. Optimised surfactants formulation was determined with concentration of Aqua 2000 and D Bond of 1% wt respectively, sodium chloride concentration of 2 gmL -1 and addition of 3% wt butanol as cosolvent. The formulation was of benefit not only able to decrease further the interfacial tension of aqueous solution containing oil emulsion, but also to make possible to be more mobile and destruction of mixed liquid crystals that formed. Formation of liquid crystals can hinders significantly recovery efficiency of aqueous solution containing oil emulsion in field remediation work. In a 100 litres soil column experiment conducted containing oil emulsion in field sludge soil and using the surfactants formulation for flushing, miniemulsion formed sizes maintained at average size between 125 nm and 280 nm before and after remediation. Total oil and grease concentration removed from the soil were significant due to the decreased in oil emulsion sizes, increase mobility and solubility. (Author)

  14. Surfactants non-monotonically modify the onset of Faraday waves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strickland, Stephen; Shearer, Michael; Daniels, Karen

    2017-11-01

    When a water-filled container is vertically vibrated, subharmonic Faraday waves emerge once the driving from the vibrations exceeds viscous dissipation. In the presence of an insoluble surfactant, a viscous boundary layer forms at the contaminated surface to balance the Marangoni and Boussinesq stresses. For linear gravity-capillary waves in an undriven fluid, the surfactant-induced boundary layer increases the amount of viscous dissipation. In our analysis and experiments, we consider whether similar effects occur for nonlinear Faraday (gravity-capillary) waves. Assuming a finite-depth, infinite-breadth, low-viscosity fluid, we derive an analytic expression for the onset acceleration up to second order in ɛ =√{ 1 / Re } . This expression allows us to include fluid depth and driving frequency as parameters, in addition to the Marangoni and Boussinesq numbers. For millimetric fluid depths and driving frequencies of 30 to 120 Hz, our analysis recovers prior numerical results and agrees with our measurements of NBD-PC surfactant on DI water. In both case, the onset acceleration increases non-monotonically as a function of Marangoni and Boussinesq numbers. For shallower systems, our model predicts that surfactants could decrease the onset acceleration. DMS-0968258.

  15. Vitamin K-dependent carboxylation of pulmonary surfactant-associated proteins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rannels, S.R.; Gallaher, K.J.; Wallin, R.; Rannels, D.E.

    1987-01-01

    Rat type II pneumocytes expressed vitamin K-dependent carboxylase activity that incorporated 14 CO 2 into microsomal protein precursors of molecular weights similar to those of surfactant-associated proteins (SAP). Compared to carboxylated precursor proteins present in the liver, these molecules appeared to be unique to the lung. Antibodies raised against purified rat surfactant reacted with SAP resolved by NaDodSO 4 /PAGE and with surfactant-containing lamellar bodies in type II pneumocyte cytoplasm. NaDodSO 4 /PAGE of microsomal proteins, after carboxylase-catalyzed incorporation of 14 CO 2 , demonstrated radiolabeled, immunoreactive products identical to SAP. The presence of γ-carboxyglutamic acid in these proteins was confirmed by HPLC analysis of SAP hydrolysates. Furthermore, lung carboxylase activity and SAP matured over similar time courses during fetal lung development. These results show that SAP are carboxylated by type II cells via a vitamin K-dependent pathway analogous to that for hepatic carboxylation of clotting factors. Further analogy to the clotting system suggest that γ-carboxyglutamic acid residues in SAP polypeptides play a role in Ca 2+ binding and thus in the known requirements for both cation and SAP in the physiological function of pulmonary surfactant

  16. Clearance of 99mTc-DTPA and experimentally increased alveolar surfactant content

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bos, J.A.H.; Wollmer, P.; Bakker, W.; Hannappel, E.; Lachmann, B.

    1992-01-01

    The authors measured clearance of 99m Tc-labeled diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid ( 99m Tc-DTPA) in rabbits with experimentally increased alveolar surfactant content. In one group of animals, surfactant production was increased by treatment with ambroxol, and another group of animals was treated with tracheal instillation of natural surfactant. A group of untreated control animals and animals treated with instillation of saline were also studied. Clearance was measured during standard conditions of mechanical ventilation and during ventilation with large tidal volumes. In ambroxol- and surfactant-treated groups, clearance rate was reduced compared with untreated control animals. In contrast, clearance rate increased after saline instillation. The differences were observed at both modes of ventilation. The findings indicate that the pulmonary surfactant system is a rate-limiting factor for the clearance of 99m Tc-DTPA and that the volume dependence of clearance is not explained by stretching of the alveolar wall only. 28 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab

  17. Experimental Study on the Properties and Displacement Effects of Polymer Surfactant Solution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ke-Liang Wang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Based on the characteristics of oil reservoirs and the requirements of further enhancing oil recovery at high water cut stage of Pubei Oilfield, the displacement performance of polymer surfactant is evaluated. Reasonable injection parameters and oil displacement effects after water flooding are also researched. Compared with conventional polymer with intermediate molecular weight, polymer surfactant has the properties of higher viscosity at low concentration condition and lower interfacial tension. Laboratory experiments indicate that the displacement effect of polymer surfactant is much better than that of conventional polymer at a slug size of 0.57 PV. The oil recovery of polymer surfactant increases by more than 10% after water flooding. Considering the actual situation of low-permeability of Pubei Oilfield reservoirs, the system viscosity of 30 mPa·s is chosen. The corresponding concentration of Type III polymer surfactant is 600 mg/L and the injected slug is 0.57 PV and the oil recovery can be increased by 11.69%.

  18. Stable intermediates determine proteins' primary unfolding sites in the presence of surfactants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Steen Vang; Andersen, Kell kleiner; Enghild, Jan J.

    2009-01-01

    Despite detailed knowledge of the overall structural changes and stoichiometries of surfactant binding, little is known about which protein regions constitute the preferred sites of attack for initial unfolding. Here we have exposed three proteins to limited proteolysis at anionic (SDS) and catio......Despite detailed knowledge of the overall structural changes and stoichiometries of surfactant binding, little is known about which protein regions constitute the preferred sites of attack for initial unfolding. Here we have exposed three proteins to limited proteolysis at anionic (SDS......) and cationic (DTAC) surfactant concentrations corresponding to specific conformational transitions, using the surfactant-robust broad-specificity proteases Savinase and Alcalase. Cleavage sites are identified by SDS-PAGE and N-terminal sequencing. We observe well-defined cleavage fragments, which suggest......, cleavage sites can be rationalized from the structure of the protein's folding transition state and the position of loops in the native state. Nevertheless, they are more sensitive to choice of surfactant and protease, probably reflecting a heterogeneous and fluctuating ensemble of partially unfolded...

  19. About deformation and rigidity in relativity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coll, Bartolome

    2007-01-01

    The notion of deformation involves that of rigidity. In relativity, starting from Born's early definition of rigidity, some other ones have been proposed, offering more or less interesting aspects but also accompanied of undesired or even pathological properties. In order to clarify the origin of these difficulties presented by the notion of rigidity in relativity, we analyze with some detail significant aspects of the unambiguous classical, Newtonian, notion. In particular, the relative character of its kinetic definition is pointed out, allowing to predict and to understand the limitations imposed by Herglotz-Noether theorem. Also, its equivalent dynamic definition is obtained and, in contrast, its absolute character is shown. But in spite of this absolute character, the dynamic definition is shown to be not extensible to relativity. The metric deformation of Minkowski space by the presence of a gravitational field is interpreted as a universal deformation, and it is shown that, under natural conditions, only a simple deformation law is possible, relating locally, but in an one-to-one way, gravitational fields and gauge classes of two-forms. We argue that fields of unit vectors associated to the internal gauge class of two-forms of every space-time (and, in particular, of Minkowski space-time) are the relativistic analogues of the classical accelerated observers, i.e. of the classical rigid motions. Some other consequences of the universal law of gravitational deformation are commented

  20. Genus Ranges of 4-Regular Rigid Vertex Graphs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buck, Dorothy; Dolzhenko, Egor; Jonoska, Nataša; Saito, Masahico; Valencia, Karin

    2015-01-01

    A rigid vertex of a graph is one that has a prescribed cyclic order of its incident edges. We study orientable genus ranges of 4-regular rigid vertex graphs. The (orientable) genus range is a set of genera values over all orientable surfaces into which a graph is embedded cellularly, and the embeddings of rigid vertex graphs are required to preserve the prescribed cyclic order of incident edges at every vertex. The genus ranges of 4-regular rigid vertex graphs are sets of consecutive integers, and we address two questions: which intervals of integers appear as genus ranges of such graphs, and what types of graphs realize a given genus range. For graphs with 2 n vertices ( n > 1), we prove that all intervals [ a, b ] for all a genus ranges. For graphs with 2 n - 1 vertices ( n ≥ 1), we prove that all intervals [ a, b ] for all a genus ranges. We also provide constructions of graphs that realize these ranges.

  1. Structure-activity relationship of surfactant for preparing DMFC anodic catalyst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su Yi; Xue Xinzhong; Xu Weilin; Liu Changpeng; Xing Wei; Zhou Xiaochun; Tian Tian; Lu Tianhong

    2006-01-01

    Three kinds of surfactants as stabilizer were applied to the preparation of electrocatalysts for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The catalysts have been characterized by examining their catalytic activities, morphologies and particle sizes by means of cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It is found that the surfactants with different structures have a significantly influence on the catalyst shape and activity. The catalysts prepared with non-ionic surfactants as the stabilizer show higher activity for direct oxidation of methanol. The structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis has been explored and the effect of hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB value) has also been discussed

  2. Dual Quaternion Variational Integrator for Rigid Body Dynamic Simulation

    OpenAIRE

    Xu, Jiafeng; Halse, Karl Henning

    2016-01-01

    In rigid body dynamic simulations, often the algorithm is required to deal with general situations where both reference point and inertia matrix are arbitrarily de- fined. We introduce a novel Lie group variational integrator using dual quaternion for simulating rigid body dynamics in all six degrees of freedom. Dual quaternion is used to represent rigid body kinematics and one-step Lie group method is used to derive dynamic equations. The combination of these two becomes the first Lie group ...

  3. Biosynthesis of Bio surfactant by Egyptian Local Bacterial Isolates Using Different Agricultural Wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Shahawy, M.R.

    2014-01-01

    Fifteen bacterial isolates were isolated from sea water from the coast of the General Petroleum Company on Suez Gulf. They were screened for bio surfactant production using emulsification activity and haemolytic activity. The most potent isolate B11 were selected according to two parameters: The ability to grow and produce surfactant and its haemolytic activity on blood agar plates. The isolate B11 was characterized and identified as Bacillus licheniformis according to API system. The isolate was subjected to different doses of gamma irradiation in a trial to improve its ability for bio surfactant production which resulted in a passive effect on bio surfactant production. Three types of agricultural wastes (Rice straw, Cane Bagasse, Corn straw) were used as fertilizers for bio surfactant biosynthesis by the promising isolate in concentrations of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 g/l. At five g/l concentration cane bagasse gave high production of bio surfactant with maximum capacity at (32%) flowed by rice straw at 18% and corn straw at 9.8 %.

  4. Influence of MWCNT/surfactant dispersions on the mechanical properties of Portland cement pastes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez, B.; Quintero, J. H.; Arias, Y. P.; Mendoza-Reales, O. A.; Ochoa-Botero, J. C.; Toledo-Filho, R. D.

    2017-12-01

    This work studies the reinforcing effect of Multi Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT) on cement pastes. A 0.35% solid concentration of MWCNT in powder was dispersed in deionized water with sodium dodecyl sulfate (cationic surfactant), cetylpyridinium chloride (anionic surfactant) and triton X-100 (amphoteric surfactant) using an ultrasonic tip processor. Three concentrations of each surfactant (1mM, 10mM and 100mM) were tested, and all samples were sonicated until an adequate dispersion degree was obtained. Cement pastes with additions of carbon nanotubes of 0.15% by mass of cement were produced in two steps; first the dispersions of MWCNT were combined with the mixing water using an ultrasonic tip processor to guarantee homogeneity, and then cement was added and mixed until a homogeneous paste was obtained. Direct tensile strength, apparent density and open porosity of the pastes were measured after 7 days of curing. It was found that the MWCNT/surfactants dispersions decrease the mechanical properties of the cement based matrix due to an increased porosity caused by the presence of surfactants.

  5. Liquid crystalline states of surfactant solutions of isotropic micelles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bagdassarian, C.; Gelbart, W.M.; Ben-Shaul, A.

    1988-01-01

    We consider micellar solutions whose surfactant molecules prefer strongly to form small, globular aggregates in the absence of intermicellar interactions. At sufficiently high volume fraction of surfactant, the isotropic phase of essentially spherical micelles is shown to be unstable with respect to an orientationally ordered (nematic) state of rodlike aggregates. This behavior is relevant to the phase diagrams reported for important classes of aqueous amphiphilic solutions

  6. Surfactant flushing remediation of o-dichlorobenzene and p-dichlorobenzene contaminated soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pei, Guangpeng; Zhu, Yuen; Cai, Xiatong; Shi, Weiyu; Li, Hua

    2017-10-01

    Surfactant-enhanced remediation is used to treat dichlorobenzene (DCB) contaminated soil. In this study, soil column experiments were conducted to investigate the removal efficiencies of o-dichlorobenzene (o-DCB) and p-dichlorobenzene (p-DCB) from contaminated soil using micellar solutions of biosurfactants (saponin, alkyl polyglycoside) compare to a chemically synthetic surfactant (Tween 80). Leachate was collected and analyzed for o-DCB and p-DCB content. In addition, soil was analyzed to explore the effect of surfactants on soil enzyme activities. Results showed that the removal efficiency of o-DCB and p-DCB was highest for saponin followed by alkyl polyglycoside and Tween 80. The maximum o-DCB and p-DCB removal efficiencies of 76.34% and 80.43%, respectively, were achieved with 4 g L -1 saponin solution. However, an opposite result was observed in the cumulative mass of o-DCB and p-DCB in leachate. The cumulative extent of o-DCB and p-DCB removal by the biosurfactants saponin and alkyl polyglycoside was lower than that of the chemically synthetic surfactant Tween 80 in leachate. Soil was also analyzed to explore the effect of surfactants on soil enzyme activities. The results indicated that surfactants were potentially effective in facilitating soil enzyme activities. Thus, it was confirmed that the biosurfactants saponin and alkyl polyglycoside could be used for remediation of o-DCB and p-DCB contaminated soil. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Studies on interfacial tension and contact angle of synthesized surfactant and polymeric from castor oil for enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babu, Keshak; Pal, Nilanjan; Bera, Achinta; Saxena, V. K.; Mandal, Ajay

    2015-10-01

    New synthesized polymeric surfactants have immensely attracted the researchers for further development of chemical enhanced oil recovery method particularly in surfactant flooding. Contact angle and interfacial tension measurement tests are the effective ways to identify proper chemicals/surfactants for enhanced oil recovery by chemical/surfactant flooding. In the present study a new polymeric surfactant was synthesized from pre-synthesized sodium methyl ester sulfonate (surfactant) and acrylamide for application in chemical enhanced oil recovery. The synthesized surfactant and polymeric surfactant were used to measure interfacial tension between their aqueous phase and crude oil phase to investigate the efficiency of the surfactants in reduction of interfacial tension. The synthesized polymeric surfactant has also ability to control the mobility because of its viscous nature in aqueous solution. Contact angles of solid-crude oil-surfactant interface were also measured to study the effect of the synthesized surfactant and polymeric surfactant on wettability alteration mechanism. Synergistic effect was studied by using NaCl and synthesized surfactants on interfacial tension. Dynamic interfacial tensions of the surfactant and polymeric surfactant solutions with crude oil were measured at different NaCl concentrations. Interfacial tension was found to be lowered up to 10-2 to 10-3 mN/m which is effective for oil recovery. Measurement of contact angle indicates the wettability change of the quartz surface. Comparative studies on efficiencies of synthesized sodium methyl ester sulfonate surfactant and polymeric surfactant were also carried out with respect to interfacial tension reduction and contact angle change.

  8. Influence of clay and surfactant content in non-aqueous fluid rheology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guedes, I.C.; Gomes, N.L.; Menezes, R.R.; Campos, L.F.A.; Ferreira, H.S.

    2012-01-01

    The bentonite clay used as viscosity agent in the production of non-aqueous fluids cannot be used without organic treatment for their surfaces to become hydrophobic. These clays are called organophilic clays, and are generally obtained by adding, in an aqueous way, ionic or a nonionic surfactant. Recent studies of the variables involved in the dispersion of bentonite clays and in the process of organophilization, showed their lack of influence. This work aims to study the influence of clay content and surfactants on the rheology of nonaqueous fluids. To this end, the clays were treats and characterized, evidencing the incorporation of the surfactant, and then formulated non-aqueous fluids, following PETROBRAS standards, being possible to verify the influence of clay content and surfactant both from the point of view as the characterizing and rheological behavior. (author)

  9. COUPLING THE ALKALINE-SURFACTANT-POLYMER TECHNOLOGY AND THE GELATION TECHNOLOGY TO MAXIMIZE OIL PRODUCTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Malcolm Pitts; Jie Qui; Dan Wilson; Phil Dowling

    2004-05-01

    Gelation technologies have been developed to provide more efficient vertical sweep efficiencies for flooding naturally fractured oil reservoirs or more efficient areal sweep efficiency those with high permeability contrast ''thief zones''. The field proven alkaline-surfactant-polymer technology economically recovers 15% to 25% OOIP more oil than waterflooding in the swept pore space of an oil reservoir. However, alkaline-surfactant-polymer technology is not amenable to the naturally fractured reservoirs or those with thief zones because much of the injected solution bypasses the target pore space containing oil. The objective of this work is to investigate whether combining these two technologies could broaden the applicability of alkaline-surfactant-polymer flooding into these reservoirs. Fluid-fluid interaction with different gel chemical compositions and alkaline-surfactant-polymer solution with pH values ranging from 9.2 to 12.9 have been tested. Aluminum-polyacrylamide gels are not stable to alkaline-surfactant-polymer solutions at any pH. Chromium--polyacrylamide gels with polymer to chromium ion ratios of 25 or greater were stable to alkaline-surfactant-polymer solutions if solution pH was 10.6 or less. When the polymer to chromium ion was 15 or less, chromium-polyacrylamide gels were stable to alkaline-surfactant-polymer solutions with pH values up to 12.9. Chromium-xanthan gum gels were stable to alkaline-surfactant-polymer solutions with pH values of 12.9 at the polymer to chromium ion ratios tested. Silicate-polyacrylamide, resorcinol-formaldehyde, and sulfomethylated resorcinol-formaldehyde gels were also stable to alkaline-surfactant-polymer solutions with pH values ranging from 9.2 to 12.9. Iron-polyacrylamide gels were immediately destroyed when contacted with any of the alkaline-surfactant-polymer solutions with pH values of 9.2 to 12.9.

  10. Thermodynamic Fluid Equations-of-State

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leslie V. Woodcock

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available As experimental measurements of thermodynamic properties have improved in accuracy, to five or six figures, over the decades, cubic equations that are widely used for modern thermodynamic fluid property data banks require ever-increasing numbers of terms with more fitted parameters. Functional forms with continuity for Gibbs density surface ρ(p,T which accommodate a critical-point singularity are fundamentally inappropriate in the vicinity of the critical temperature (Tc and pressure (pc and in the supercritical density mid-range between gas- and liquid-like states. A mesophase, confined within percolation transition loci that bound the gas- and liquid-state by third-order discontinuities in derivatives of the Gibbs energy, has been identified. There is no critical-point singularity at Tc on Gibbs density surface and no continuity of gas and liquid. When appropriate functional forms are used for each state separately, we find that the mesophase pressure functions are linear. The negative and positive deviations, for both gas and liquid states, on either side of the mesophase, are accurately represented by three or four-term virial expansions. All gaseous states require only known virial coefficients, and physical constants belonging to the fluid, i.e., Boyle temperature (TB, critical temperature (Tc, critical pressure (pc and coexisting densities of gas (ρcG and liquid (ρcL along the critical isotherm. A notable finding for simple fluids is that for all gaseous states below TB, the contribution of the fourth virial term is negligible within experimental uncertainty. Use may be made of a symmetry between gas and liquid states in the state function rigidity (dp/dρT to specify lower-order liquid-state coefficients. Preliminary results for selected isotherms and isochores are presented for the exemplary fluids, CO2, argon, water and SF6, with focus on the supercritical mesophase and critical region.

  11. Modification of Deeply Buried Hydrophobic Interfaces by Ionic Surfactants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    L Tamam; D Pontoni Z Sapir; S Yefet; S Sloutskin; B Ocko; H Reichert; M Deutsch

    2011-12-31

    Hydrophobicity, the spontaneous segregation of oil and water, can be modified by surfactants. The way this modification occurs is studied at the oil-water interface for a range of alkanes and two ionic surfactants. A liquid interfacial monolayer, consisting of a mixture of alkane molecules and surfactant tails, is found. Upon cooling, it freezes at T{sub s}, well above the alkane's bulk freezing temperature, T{sub b}. The monolayer's phase diagram, derived by surface tensiometry, is accounted for by a mixtures-based theory. The monolayer's structure is measured by high-energy X-ray reflectivity above and below T{sub s}. A solid-solid transition in the frozen monolayer, occurring approximately 3 C below T{sub s}, is discovered and tentatively suggested to be a rotator-to-crystal transition.

  12. Effect of surfactants on the spectrofluorimetric properties of zearalenone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Appell, Michael; Bosma, Wayne B.

    2011-01-01

    The chemiluminescent properties of the estrogenic mycotoxin zearalenone in the presence of aqueous micellar media were investigated using steady state fluorescence techniques. Micelles of surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and non-ionic Triton X-100 enhanced the fluorescence intensity of zearalenone in aqueous solutions. The binding constants have been determined and indicate zearalenone has the highest affinity for Triton X-100, followed by CTAB, and then by SDS. The encapsulation of zearalenone by the micelles studied is spontaneous and exothermic. The selective microenvironments provided by organized micellar systems offer an attractive medium to modulate fluorescence detection of zearalenone. - Highlights: → Surfactants can selectively modulate the fluorescence detection of zearalenone. → Binding studies provide information on the zearalenone-surfactant interactions. → Fluorescence intensity of zearalenone is related to the micelle microenvironment.

  13. Amphiphilic block copolymers as efficiency boosters in microemulsions a SANS investigation of the role of polymers

    CERN Document Server

    Endo, H; Mihailescu, M; Monkenbusch, M; Gompper, G; Richter, D; Jakobs, B; Sottmann, T; Strey, R

    2002-01-01

    The effect of amphiphilic block copolymers on ternary microemulsions (water, oil and non-ionic surfactant) is investigated. Small amounts of PEP-PEO block copolymer lead to a dramatic expansion of the one-phase region where water and oil can be solubilized by the mediation of surfactant molecules. Small-angle neutron-scattering experiments employing a high-precision two-dimensional contrast-variation technique demonstrate that the polymer is distributed uniformly on the surfactant membrane, where it modifies the membrane curvature elasticity. Furthermore, a new approach to determine the bending rigidity of an amphiphilic membrane is proposed, which is precise enough to measure the logarithmic scale dependence of the bending rigidity and its universal prefactor in bicontinuous microemulsions. (orig.)

  14. Surfactant mediated slurry formulations for Ge CMP applications

    KAUST Repository

    Basim, G. Bahar

    2013-01-01

    In this study, slurry formulations in the presence of self-assembled surfactant structures were investigated for Ge/SiO2 CMP applications in the absence and presence of oxidizers. Both anionic (sodium dodecyl sulfate-SDS) and cationic (cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide-C12TAB) micelles were used in the slurry formulations as a function of pH and oxidizer concentration. CMP performances of Ge and SiO2 wafers were evaluated in terms of material removal rates, selectivity and surface quality. The material removal rate responses were also assessed through AFM wear rate tests to obtain a faster response for preliminary analyses. The surfactant adsorption characteristics were studied through surface wettability responses of the Ge and SiO2 wafers through contact angle measurements. It was observed that the self-assembled surfactant structures can help obtain selectivity on the silica/germanium system at low concentrations of the oxidizer in the slurry. © 2013 Materials Research Society.

  15. Surfactant Sputtering: Theory of a new method of surface nanostructuring by ion beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kree, R.; Yasseri, T.; Hartmann, A.K.

    2009-01-01

    We present a new Monte Carlo model and a new continuum theory of surface pattern formation due to 'surfactant sputtering', i.e. erosion by ion beam sputtering including a submonolayer coverage of additional, co-sputtered surfactant atoms. This setup, which has been realized in recent experiments in a controlled way leads to a number of interesting possibilities to modify pattern forming processing conditions. We will present three simple scenarios, which illustrate some potential applications of the method. In all three cases, simple Bradley-Harper type ripples appear in the absence of surfactant, whereas new, interesting structures emerge during surfactant sputtering.

  16. The Almost Periodic Rigidity of Crystallographic Bar-Joint Frameworks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ghada Badri

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available A crystallographic bar-joint framework, C in Rd, is shown to be almost periodically infinitesimally rigid if and only if it is strictly periodically infinitesimally rigid and the rigid unit mode (RUM spectrum, Ω (C, is a singleton. Moreover, the almost periodic infinitesimal flexes of C are characterised in terms of a matrix-valued function, ΦC(z, on the d-torus, Td, determined by a full rank translation symmetry group and an associated motif of joints and bars.

  17. Wobbling motion: A γ-rigid or γ-soft mode?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Casten, R.F.; McCutchan, E.A.; Beausang, C.W.; Zamfir, N.V.; Zhang Jingye

    2003-01-01

    For even-even nuclei, it is shown that the predicted B(E2) values from the odd spin states of the quasi-γ band in a γ-soft nucleus to the yrast band are quite similar to those predicted for the one-phonon wobbling mode of a rigidly triaxial nucleus. This suggests that the observation of wobbling points to axial asymmetry, but not necessarily to rigid triaxiality. However, another observable that does distinguish γ-soft from γ-rigid structure is identified

  18. Exogenous surfactant kinetics in infant respiratory distress syndrome : A novel method with stable isotopes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Torresin, M; Zimmermann, LJI; Cogo, PE; Cavicchioli, P; Badon, T; Giordano, G; Zacchello, F; Sauer, PJJ; Carnielli, VP

    Little is known about surfactant metabolism in newborn infants, since radioactive isotopes cannot be used in humans. We describe here a new method for studying exogenous surfactant pharmacokinetics in vivo. We measured surfactant half-life, pool size, and turnover time in eight preterm infants

  19. Some aspects of surfactant action mechanism in the organic reagents - metal ions systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chernova, R.K.; Shtykov, S.N.; Beloliptseva, G.M.; Sukhova, L.K.; Amelin, V.G.; Kulapina, E.G.

    1984-01-01

    Results are reviewed of investigations into the interaction of ions of Mo(6), W, Zr, Be, Sc, Nb, Ta, J, rare earths, a. o. with organic reagents of triphenylmethane class in the 8M H 2 SO 4 -pH14 acidity range and the 1x10 -3 -5x10 -6 M concentration range both in the presence and absence of different surfactant type (cetylpyridine, methyltrimethylammonium, synthanols, etc). Three types of effects, determining enhancement of the sensitivity and selectivity of reactions jn the Me-R-surfactant systems, were determined: an increase in the number of coordinated ligands, the activating effect of cation surfactants resulting in a potential complexing in acid media, multicenter interaction of polydentate ligands both via chelating groups and auxochrome groups in the presence of cation surfactants. Protolytic and flotation properties of ionic associates are considered. The observed effects are explained from the viewpoint of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions in the R-surfactant systems, observed by the methods of NMR, polarography amperometry, conductometry. A possible use of the investigated M-R-surfactant systems as complexonometric indicators was evaluated. A possibility was shown of using them for direct titrimetric determination of hundredth milligram portions of Cu, Ga, In and Sc at a titrant concentratjon of less than 0.01 M. It follows from the estimation of basic optical parameters of the Me-R-surfactant systems that detection

  20. Action of Monomeric/Gemini Surfactants on Free Cells and Biofilm of Asaia lannensis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Koziróg

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available We investigated the biological activity of surfactants based on quaternary ammonium compounds: gemini surfactant hexamethylene-1,6-bis-(N,N-dimethyl-N-dodecylammonium bromide (C6, synthesized by the reaction of N,N-dimethyl-N-dodecylamine with 1,6-dibromohexane, and its monomeric analogue dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB. The experiments were performed with bacteria Asaia lannensis, a common spoilage in the beverage industry. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC values were determined using the tube standard two-fold dilution method. The growth and adhesive properties of bacterial cells were studied in different culture media, and the cell viability was evaluated using plate count method. Both of the surfactants were effective against the bacterial strain, but the MIC of gemini compound was significantly lower. Both C6 and DTAB exhibited anti-adhesive abilities. Treatment with surfactants at or below MIC value decreased the number of bacterial cells that were able to form biofilm, however, the gemini surfactant was more effective. The used surfactants were also found to be able to eradicate mature biofilms. After 4 h of treatment with C6 surfactant at concentration 10 MIC, the number of bacterial cells was reduced by 91.8%. The results of this study suggest that the antibacterial activity of the gemini compound could make it an effective microbiocide against the spoilage bacteria Asaia sp. in both planktonic and biofilm stages.

  1. Action of Monomeric/Gemini Surfactants on Free Cells and Biofilm of Asaia lannensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koziróg, Anna; Kręgiel, Dorota; Brycki, Bogumił

    2017-11-22

    We investigated the biological activity of surfactants based on quaternary ammonium compounds: gemini surfactant hexamethylene-1,6-bis-( N,N -dimethyl- N -dodecylammonium bromide) (C6), synthesized by the reaction of N,N -dimethyl- N- dodecylamine with 1,6-dibromohexane, and its monomeric analogue dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB). The experiments were performed with bacteria Asaia lannensis , a common spoilage in the beverage industry. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were determined using the tube standard two-fold dilution method. The growth and adhesive properties of bacterial cells were studied in different culture media, and the cell viability was evaluated using plate count method. Both of the surfactants were effective against the bacterial strain, but the MIC of gemini compound was significantly lower. Both C6 and DTAB exhibited anti-adhesive abilities. Treatment with surfactants at or below MIC value decreased the number of bacterial cells that were able to form biofilm, however, the gemini surfactant was more effective. The used surfactants were also found to be able to eradicate mature biofilms. After 4 h of treatment with C6 surfactant at concentration 10 MIC, the number of bacterial cells was reduced by 91.8%. The results of this study suggest that the antibacterial activity of the gemini compound could make it an effective microbiocide against the spoilage bacteria Asaia sp. in both planktonic and biofilm stages.

  2. Surfactant proteins gene variants in premature newborn infants with severe respiratory distress syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Somaschini, Marco; Presi, Silvia; Ferrari, Maurizio; Vergani, Barbara; Carrera, Paola

    2017-12-19

    Genetic surfactant dysfunction causes respiratory failure in term and near-term newborn infants, but little is known of such condition in prematures. We evaluated genetic surfactant dysfunction in premature newborn infants with severe RDS. A total of 68 preterm newborn infants with gestational age ≤32 weeks affected by unusually severe RDS were analysed for mutations in SFTPB, SFTPC and ABCA3. Therapies included oxygen supplementation, nasal CPAP, different modalities of ventilatory support, administration of exogenous surfactant, inhaled nitric oxide and steroids. Molecular analyses were performed on genomic DNA extracted from peripheral blood and Sanger sequencing of whole gene coding regions and intron junctions. In one case histology and electron microscopy on lung tissue was performed. Heterozygous previously described rare or novel variants in surfactant proteins genes ABCA3, SFTPB and SFTPC were identified in 24 newborn infants. In total, 11 infants died at age of 2 to 6 months. Ultrastructural analysis of lung tissue of one infant showed features suggesting ABCA3 dysfunction. Rare or novel genetic variants in genes encoding surfactant proteins were identified in a large proportion (35%) of premature newborn infants with particularly severe RDS. We speculate that interaction of developmental immaturity of surfactant production in association with abnormalities of surfactant metabolism of genetic origin may have a synergic worsening phenotypic effect.

  3. Rigid Spine Syndrome among Children in Oman

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roshan Koul

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Rigidity of the spine is common in adults but is rarely observed in children. The aim of this study was to report on rigid spine syndrome (RSS among children in Oman. Methods: Data on children diagnosed with RSS were collected consecutively at presentation between 1996 and 2014 at the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH in Muscat, Oman. A diagnosis of RSS was based on the patient’s history, clinical examination, biochemical investigations, electrophysiological findings, neuro-imaging and muscle biopsy. Atrophy of the paraspinal muscles, particularly the erector spinae, was the diagnostic feature; this was noted using magnetic resonance imaging of the spine. Children with disease onset in the paraspinal muscles were labelled as having primary RSS or rigid spinal muscular dystrophy. Secondary RSS was classified as RSS due to the late involvement of other muscle diseases. Results: Over the 18-year period, 12 children were included in the study, with a maleto- female ratio of 9:3. A total of 10 children were found to have primary RSS or rigid spinal muscular dystrophy syndrome while two had secondary RSS. Onset of the disease ranged from birth to 18 months of age. A family history was noted, with two siblings from one family and three siblings from another (n = 5. On examination, children with primary RSS had typical features of severe spine rigidity at onset, with the rest of the neurological examination being normal. Conclusion: RSS is a rare disease with only 12 reported cases found at SQUH during the study period. Cases of primary RSS should be differentiated from the secondary type.

  4. Switching wormlike micelles of selenium-containing surfactant using redox reaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yongmin; Kong, Weiwei; Wang, Cheng; An, Pengyun; Fang, Yun; Feng, Yujun; Qin, Zhirong; Liu, Xuefeng

    2015-10-14

    A novel redox-switchable wormlike micellar system was developed based on a mixture of selenium-containing zwitterionic surfactant and commercially available anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate, which reversibly and quickly responds to H2O2 and vitamin C, and shows circulatory gel/sol transition, reflecting changes in aggregate morphology from entangled worms to vesicles.

  5. Quantum mechanics of a generalised rigid body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gripaios, Ben; Sutherland, Dave

    2016-01-01

    We consider the quantum version of Arnold’s generalisation of a rigid body in classical mechanics. Thus, we quantise the motion on an arbitrary Lie group manifold of a particle whose classical trajectories correspond to the geodesics of any one-sided-invariant metric. We show how the derivation of the spectrum of energy eigenstates can be simplified by making use of automorphisms of the Lie algebra and (for groups of type I) by methods of harmonic analysis. We show how the method can be extended to cosets, generalising the linear rigid rotor. As examples, we consider all connected and simply connected Lie groups up to dimension 3. This includes the universal cover of the archetypical rigid body, along with a number of new exactly solvable models. We also discuss a possible application to the topical problem of quantising a perfect fluid. (paper)

  6. Synthesis and characterization of zeolite material from coal ashes modified by surfactant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fungaro, D.A.; Borrely, S.I.

    2010-01-01

    Coal ash was used as starting material for zeolite synthesis by means of hydrothermal treatment. The surfactant-modified zeolite (SMZ) was prepared by adsorbing the cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-Br) on the external surface of the zeolite from coal ash. The zeolite structure stability was monitored during the characterization of the materials by FTIR, XDR and SEM. The structural parameters of surfactant-modified zeolite are very close to that of corresponding non-modified zeolite which indicates that the crystalline nature of the zeolite remained intact after required chemical treatment with HDTMA-Br molecules and heating treatment for drying. The most intense peaks in the FTIR spectrum of HDTMA-Br were observed in SMZ spectrum confirming adsorption of surfactant on zeolites. (author)

  7. Effect of Dialkyl Ammonium Cationic Surfactants on the Microfluidity of Membranes Containing Raft Domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uyama, Makoto; Inoue, Kaori; Kinoshita, Koichi; Miyahara, Reiji; Yokoyama, Hirokazu; Nakano, Minoru

    2018-01-01

    It has been reported that a lot of receptors localize in lipid raft domains and that the microfluidity of these domains regulates the activation of these receptors. In this study, we focused on the lipid raft and in order to evaluate the physicochemical effects of surfactants on microfluidity of lipid membranes, we used liposomes comprising of egg-yolk L-α-phosphatidylcholine, egg-yolk sphingomyelin, and cholesterol as a model of cell membranes containing raft domains. The microfluidity of the domains was characterized by fluorescence spectrometry using 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene and 2-dimethylamino-6-lauroylnaphthalene. Among several surfactants, dialkylammonium-type cationic surfactants most efficiently increased the microfluidity. It is therefore concluded that (1) the electrostatic interaction between the cationic surfactant and eggPC/eggSM/cholesterol liposome could be important, (2) surfactants with alkyl chains more effectively inserted into membranes than those with acyl chains, and (3) cationic surfactants with lower T m values have a greater ability to increase the fluidity.

  8. Coupling surfactants with permanganate for DNAPL removal : coinjection or sequential application as delivery methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dugan, P.J. [Carus Corp., Peru, IL (United States); Siegrist, R.L. [Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States); Crimi, M.L. [Clarkson Univ., Potsdam, NY (United States)

    2010-07-01

    This PowerPoint presentation described a study conducted to test the effectiveness of surfactant-enhanced permanganate for the remediation of dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPL). When DNAPL enters the environment, it can pollute millions of gallons of ground water and create huge dissolved plumes that act as long-term sources of contamination. Surfactants were used to enhance the solubilization and mobilization of DNAPL during the remediation process. In situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) was then used to deliver oxidants into the sub-surface to destroy organic contaminants in the soil and ground water. Experimental 2-D flow-through cell studies of 72 surfactants were conducted with the permanganate to evaluate delivery methods and determine compatible co-solvents for the surfactant process. Delivery methods included co-injection and sequential application. Four compatible surfactants were found to be compatible with the permanganate. A 90 percent DNAPL remediation rate was achieved using relatively low surfactant and oxidant concentrations. tabs., figs.

  9. Mass spectrometry compatible surfactant for optimized in-gel protein digestion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saveliev, Sergei V; Woodroofe, Carolyn C; Sabat, Grzegorz; Adams, Christopher M; Klaubert, Dieter; Wood, Keith; Urh, Marjeta

    2013-01-15

    Identification of proteins resolved by SDS-PAGE depends on robust in-gel protein digestion and efficient peptide extraction, requirements that are often difficult to achieve. A lengthy and laborious procedure is an additional challenge of protein identification in gel. We show here that with the use of the mass spectrometry compatible surfactant sodium 3-((1-(furan-2-yl)undecyloxy)carbonylamino)propane-1-sulfonate, the challenges of in-gel protein digestion are effectively addressed. Peptide quantitation based on stable isotope labeling showed that the surfactant induced 1.5-2 fold increase in peptide recovery. Consequently, protein sequence coverage was increased by 20-30%, on average, and the number of identified proteins saw a substantial boost. The surfactant also accelerated the digestion process. Maximal in-gel digestion was achieved in as little as one hour, depending on incubation temperature, and peptides were readily recovered from gel eliminating the need for postdigestion extraction. This study shows that the surfactant provides an efficient means of improving protein identification in gel and streamlining the in-gel digestion procedure requiring no extra handling steps or special equipment.

  10. Surfactant-enhanced alkaline flooding for light oil recovery. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wasan, D.T.

    1996-05-01

    In this report, we present the results of our experimental and theoretical studies in surfactant-enhanced alkaline flooding for light oil recovery. The overall objective of this work is to develop a very cost-effective method for formulating a successful surfactant-enhanced alkaline flood by appropriately choosing mixed alkalis which form inexpensive buffers to obtain the desired pH (between 8.5 and 12. 0) for ultimate spontaneous emulsification and ultralow interfacial tension. In addition, we have (1) developed a theoretical interfacial activity model for determining equilibrium interfacial tension, (2) investigated the mechanisms for spontaneous emulsification, (3) developed a technique to monitor low water content in oil and (4) developed a technique to study water-in-oil emulsion film properties, (5) investigated the effect of surfactant on the equilibrium and transient interfacial tension, (6) investigated the kinetics of oil removal from a silica surface, and (7) developed a theoretical interfacial activity model for determining equilibrium interfacial tension, accounting for added surfactant. The results of the studies conducted during the course of this project are discussed.

  11. REMEDIATION OF SOILS CONTAMINATED WITH MOTOR OIL BY HIGHLY BIODEGRADABLE SURFACTANTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ignacio Moya-Ramírez

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The remediation of a sandy soil contaminated with motor oil was studied by applying two different washing procedures: one discontinuous and the other continuous. In addition the capacity of three highly biodegradable surfactants, two synthetic (Glucopon 600 and Findet 1214N/23 and a biosurfactant from Bacillus subtilis, to enhance oil removal was tested. The results obtained with the continuous procedure were much better than those achieved with the discontinuous one, even in experiments conducted with distilled water. Both the addition of surfactants and the rise in temperature significantly increased the removal of the pollutant in experiments conducted with the discontinuous procedure, but the biosurfactant showed a higher capacity for soil remediation than the synthetic surfactants at concentrations close to its CMC. Conversely, when the continuous method was used, surfactant concentration seems to have a lower effect on motor oil removal, at least below the CMC.

  12. Fabrication of the tricontinuous mesoporous IBN-9 structure with surfactant CTAB

    KAUST Repository

    Zhao, Yunfeng

    2011-12-13

    IBN-9 is the first tricontinuous mesoporous material, consisting of three identical interpenetrating channels that are separated by a single continuous silica wall. It was originally synthesized using a specially designed surfactant as template. The need of special surfactant in the synthesis inhibits extensive investigation of this novel structure and its applications. We demonstrate in this study that such a complicated tricontinuous mesostructure can also be fabricated from the most common and commercially available surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) with the help of polar organic additives, e.g., n-butanol. The role of n-butanol is to finely tune the surface curvature of the organic/inorganic interface during the cooperative self-assembly process. Electron microscopic techniques are employed to identify different mesostructures from the mixture. This study reveals the possibility of discovering unprecedented mesostructures from conventional surfactant-water- silicates systems. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

  13. Surface Shear Rheology of Saponin Adsorption Layers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Golemanov, K.; Tcholakova, S.; Denkov, N.; Pelan, E.; Stoyanov, S.D.

    2012-01-01

    Saponins are a wide class of natural surfactants, with molecules containing a rigid hydrophobic group (triterpenoid or steroid), connected via glycoside bonds to hydrophilic oligosaccharide chains. These surfactants are very good foam stabiliziers and emulsifiers, and show a range of nontrivial

  14. The Effect Of Organic Surfactants On The Properties Of Common Hygroscopic Particles: Effective Densities, Reactivity And Water Evaporation Of Surfactant Coated Particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuadrarodriguez, L.; Zelenyuk, A.; Imre, D.; Ellison, B.

    2006-12-01

    Measurements of atmospheric aerosol compositions routinely show that organic compounds account for a very large fraction of the particle mass. The organic compounds that make up this aerosol mass represent a wide range of molecules with a variety of properties. Many of the particles are composed of hygroscopic salts like sulfates, nitrates and sea-salt internally mixed with organics. While the properties of the hygroscopic salts are known, the effect of the organic compounds on the microphysical and chemical properties which include CCN activity is not clear. .One particularly interesting class of internally mixed particles is composed of aqueous salts solutions that are coated with organic surfactants which are molecules with long aliphatic chain and a water soluble end. Because these molecules tend to coat the particles' surfaces, a monolayer might be sufficient to drastically alter their hygroscopic properties, their CCN activity, and reactivity. The aliphatic chains, being exposed to the oxidizing atmosphere are expected to be transformed through heterogeneous chemistry, yielding complex products with mixed properties. We will report the results from a series of observations on ammonium sulfate, sodium chloride and sea salt particles coated with three types of surfactant molecules: sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium oleate and laurtrimonium chloride. We have been able to measure the effective densities of internally mixed particles with a range of surfactant concentration that start below a monolayer and extend all the way to particles composed of pure surfactant. For many of the measurements the data reveal a rather complex picture that cannot be simply interpreted in terms of the known pure-compound densities. For unsaturated hydrocarbons we observed and quantified the effect of oxidation by ozone on particle size, effective density and individual particle mass spectral signatures. One of the more important properties of these surfactants is that they can form a

  15. Degradation of Surfactants in Hydroponic Wheat Root Zones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monje, Oscar; McCoy, Lashelle; Flanagan, Aisling

    Hygiene water recycling in recirculating hydroponic systems can be enhanced by plant roots by providing a substrate and root exudates for bacterial growth. However, reduced plant growth can occur during batch mode additions of high concentrations of surfactant. An analog hygiene water stream containing surfactants (Steol CS330, Mirataine CB) was added to a hydroponically-grown wheat plant root zone. The plants were grown at 700 mol mol-1 CO2, a photosynthetic photon flux of 300 mol m-2 s-1, and a planting density of 380 plants m-2. Volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficients were determined using the fermentative/dynamic outgassing method to maintain adequate oxygen mass transfer rates in the root zone. This analysis suggested an optimal flow rate of the hydroponic solution of 5 L min-1. The hydroponic system was inoculated with biofilm from a bioreactor and rates of surfactant degradation were measured daily based on reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD). The COD decreased from 400 to 100 mg L-1 after 2 days following batch addition of the analog hygiene water to the hydroponic system. Measurements of dissolved oxygen concentration and solution temperature suggest that the root zone was provided adequate aeration to meet both oxygen demands from plant and microbial respiration during the degradation of the surfactant. Results from this study show that hydroponic systems can be used to enhance rates of hygiene water processing.

  16. Biomimetic oligosaccharide and peptide surfactant polymers designed for cardiovascular biomaterials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruegsegger, Mark Andrew

    A common problem associated with cardiovascular devices is surface induced thrombosis initiated by the rapid, non-specific adsorption of plasma proteins onto the biomaterial surface. Control of the initial protein adsorption is crucial to achieve the desired longevity of the implanted biomaterial. The cell membrane glycocalyx acts as a non-thrombogenic interface through passive (dense oligosaccharide structures) and active (ligand/receptor interactions) mechanisms. This thesis is designed to investigate biomimicry of the cell glycocalyx to minimize non-specific protein adsorption and promote specific ligand/receptor interactions. Biomimetic macromolecules were designed through the molecular-scale engineering of polymer surfactants, utilizing a poly(vinyl amine) (PVAm) backbone to which hydrophilic (dextran, maltose, peptide) and hydrophobic alkyl (hexanoyl or hexanal) chains are simultaneously attached. The structure was controlled through the molar feed ratio of hydrophobic-to-hydrophilic groups, which also provided control of the solution and surface-active properties. To mimic passive properties, a series of oligomaltose surfactants were synthesized with increasing saccharide length (n = 2, 7, 15 where n is number of glucose units) to investigate the effect of coating height on protein adsorption. The surfactants were characterized by infra red (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopies for structural properties and atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact angle goniometry for surface activity. Protein adsorption under dynamic flow (5 dyn/cm2) was reduced by 85%--95% over the bare hydrophobic substrate; platelet adhesion dropped by ˜80% compared to glass. Peptide ligands were incorporated into the oligosaccharide surfactant to promote functional activity of the passive coating. The surfactants were synthesized to contain 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% peptide ligand density and were stable on hydrophobic surfaces. The peptide surface density was

  17. Naturally occurring surfactants and their functional design. Seitai yurai safakutanto to kinoka sekkei

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ishigami, Y [National Inst. of Materials and Chemical Research, Tsukuba (Japan)

    1994-04-20

    An active use of the natural materials replaced the petroleum chemical products and an attempt for a development of the organism imitation materials are not limited only on the surfactants, but become a great trend also widely over the dyestuff, plastics material, food, cosmetics, agricultural chemicals and so forth. In addition, an institution of the recognition system for an 'eco-mark' is done, and a development of the environment conformity materials (eco-material) is advanced. In Japan since around 1950, a practical application and a research and development of new surfactants have been rapidly progressed making the derivatives originated in a petroleum chemistry as an axis. In this paper, including a viewpoint of the ecotechnology, a chemical structure and function of the surfactant being derived from the organisms, a molecule design and attempt for functional material making of the biomimetic surfactants are described. The author considers the biomimetic surfactants as one of the approaches to develop a new functional surfactant as the new raw materials, and is performing a development of the admixtures for improving a defect the soap has and so forth. 80 refs., 3 figs., 5 tabs.

  18. Surfactant-aided size exclusion chromatography

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Horneman, D.A.; Wolbers, M.; Zomerdijk, M.; Ottens, M.; Keurentjes, J.T.F.; Wielen, van der L.A.M.

    2004-01-01

    The flexibility and selectivity of size exclusion chromatog. (SEC) for protein purifn. can be modified by adding non-ionic micelle-forming surfactants to the mobile phase. The micelles exclude proteins from a liq. phase similar to the exclusion effect of the polymer fibers of the size exclusion

  19. Adsorption of sugar surfactants at the air/water interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varga, Imre; Mészáros, Róbert; Stubenrauch, Cosima; Gilányi, Tibor

    2012-08-01

    The adsorption isotherms of n-decyl-β-D-glucoside (β-C(10)G(1)) as well as various n-alkyl-β-D-maltosides (β-C(n)G(2)) with n=8, 10, 12 and 14 were determined from surface tension measurements. Based on the analysis of the adsorption isotherms, the total free energy change of adsorption was determined and a novel method was proposed to determine the maximum adsorbed amount of surfactant. It can be concluded that the driving force for adsorption first increases with increasing adsorbed amount of the sugar surfactants and then levels off in a plateau. This peculiar behaviour is interpreted as formation of a thin liquid-like alkane film of overlapping alkyl chains at the air/water interface once a certain adsorbed amount is exceeded. The driving force of adsorption depends on the alkyl chain length only and is not affected by the type of the head group. The hydrophobic contribution to the standard free energy change of adsorption was compared with the values of sodium alkylsulfate and alkyltrimethylammonium bromide surfactants. This comparison reveals that the hydrophobic driving force of adsorption is the largest for the sodium alkylsulfates, whereas it is the same for the sugar surfactants and the alkyltrimethylammonium bromides. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. A PIV Study of Drop-interface Coalescence with Surfactants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weheliye, Weheliye Hashi; Dong, Teng; Angeli, Panagiota

    2017-11-01

    In this work, the coalescence of a drop with an aqueous-organic interface was studied by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The effect of surfactants on the drop surface evolution, the vorticity field and the kinetic energy distribution in the drop during coalescence were investigated. The coalescence took place in an acrylic rectangular box with 79% glycerol solution at the bottom and Exxsol D80 oil above. The glycerol solution drop was generated through a nozzle fixed at 2cm above the aqueous/oil interface and was seeded with Rhodamine particles. The whole process was captured by a high-speed camera. Different mass ratios of non-ionic surfactant Span80 to oil were studied. The increase of surfactant concentration promoted deformation of the interface before the rupture of the trapped oil film. At the early stages after film rupture, two counter-rotating vortices appeared at the bottom of the drop which then travelled to the upper part. The propagation rates, as well as the intensities of the vortices decreased at high surfactant concentrations. At early stages, the kinetic energy was mainly distributed near the bottom part of the droplet, while at later stages it was distributed near the upper part of the droplet. Programme Grant MEMPHIS, Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC).

  1. Interactions of structurally modified surfactants with reservoir minerals: Calorimetric, spectroscopic and electrokinetic study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Somasundaran, P.; Sivakumar, A.; Xu, Q.

    1991-03-01

    The objective of this project is to elucidate mechanisms of adsorption of structurally modified surfactants on reservoir minerals and to develop a full understanding of the effect of the surfactant structure on the nature of the adsorbed layers at the molecular level. An additional aim is to study the adsorption of surfactant mixtures on simple well-characterized minerals and on complex minerals representing real conditions. The practical goal of these studies is the identification of the optimum surfactant structures and their combinations for micellar flooding. In this work, the experiments on adsorption were focussed on the position of sulfonate and methyl groups on the aromatic ring of alkyl xylene sulfonates. A multi-pronged approach consisting of calorimetry, electrokinetics, wettability and spectroscopy is planned to elucidate the adsorption mechanism of surfactants and their mixtures on minerals such as alumina and kaolinite. 32 refs., 15 figs., 7 tabs.

  2. Customizable rigid head fixation for infants: technical note.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Udayakumaran, Suhas; Onyia, Chiazor U

    2016-01-01

    The need and advantages of rigid fixation of the head in cranial surgeries are well documented (Berryhill et al., Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 121:269-273, 1999). Head fixation for neurosurgical procedures in infants and in early years has been a challenge and is fraught with risk. Despite the fact that pediatric pins are designed, rigid head fixation involving direct application of pins to the head of infants and slightly older children is still generally not safe (Agrawal and Steinbok, Childs Nerv Syst 22:1473-1474, 2006). Yet, there are some surgeries in which some form of rigid fixation is required (Agrawal and Steinbok, Childs Nerv Syst 22:1473-1474, 2006). We describe a simple technique to achieve rigid fixation of the head in infants for neurosurgical procedures. This involves applying a head band made of Plaster of Paris (POP) around the head and then applying the fixation pins of the fixation frame directly on to the POP. We have used this technique of head fixation successfully for infants with no complications.

  3. "Mind the trap": mindfulness practice reduces cognitive rigidity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan Greenberg

    Full Text Available Two experiments examined the relation between mindfulness practice and cognitive rigidity by using a variation of the Einstellung water jar task. Participants were required to use three hypothetical jars to obtain a specific amount of water. Initial problems were solvable by the same complex formula, but in later problems ("critical" or "trap" problems solving was possible by an additional much simpler formula. A rigidity score was compiled through perseverance of the complex formula. In Experiment 1, experienced mindfulness meditators received significantly lower rigidity scores than non-meditators who had registered for their first meditation retreat. Similar results were obtained in randomized controlled Experiment 2 comparing non-meditators who underwent an eight meeting mindfulness program with a waiting list group. The authors conclude that mindfulness meditation reduces cognitive rigidity via the tendency to be "blinded" by experience. Results are discussed in light of the benefits of mindfulness practice regarding a reduced tendency to overlook novel and adaptive ways of responding due to past experience, both in and out of the clinical setting.

  4. Interfacial rheological properties of adsorbed protein layers and surfactants : a review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bos, M.A.; Vliet, T. van

    2001-01-01

    Proteins and low molecular weight (LMW) surfactants are widely used for the physical stabilisation of many emulsions and foam based food products. The formation and stabilisation of these emulsions and foams depend strongly on the interfacial properties of the proteins and the LMW surfactants.

  5. Rigidity of outermost MOTS: the initial data version

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galloway, Gregory J.

    2018-03-01

    In the paper Commun Anal Geom 16(1):217-229, 2008, a rigidity result was obtained for outermost marginally outer trapped surfaces (MOTSs) that do not admit metrics of positive scalar curvature. This allowed one to treat the "borderline case" in the author's work with R. Schoen concerning the topology of higher dimensional black holes (Commun Math Phys 266(2):571-576, 2006). The proof of this rigidity result involved bending the initial data manifold in the vicinity of the MOTS within the ambient spacetime. In this note we show how to circumvent this step, and thereby obtain a pure initial data version of this rigidity result and its consequence concerning the topology of black holes.

  6. APPLICATION OF RIGID LINKS IN STRUCTURAL DESIGN MODELS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergey Yu. Fialko

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available A special finite element modelling rigid links is proposed for the linear static and buckling analysis. Unlike the classical approach based on the theorems of rigid body kinematics, the proposed approach preserves the similarity between the adjacency graph for a sparse matrix and the adjacency graph for nodes of the finite element model, which allows applying sparse direct solvers more effectively. Besides, the proposed approach allows significantly reducing the number of nonzero entries in the factored stiffness matrix in comparison with the classical one, which greatly reduces the duration of the solution. For buckling problems of structures containing rigid bodies, this approach gives correct results. Several examples demonstrate its efficiency.

  7. Vacuolar ATPase regulates surfactant secretion in rat alveolar type II cells by modulating lamellar body calcium.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Narendranath Reddy Chintagari

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Lung surfactant reduces surface tension and maintains the stability of alveoli. How surfactant is released from alveolar epithelial type II cells is not fully understood. Vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase is the enzyme responsible for pumping H(+ into lamellar bodies and is required for the processing of surfactant proteins and the packaging of surfactant lipids. However, its role in lung surfactant secretion is unknown. Proteomic analysis revealed that vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase dominated the alveolar type II cell lipid raft proteome. Western blotting confirmed the association of V-ATPase a1 and B1/2 subunits with lipid rafts and their enrichment in lamellar bodies. The dissipation of lamellar body pH gradient by Bafilomycin A1 (Baf A1, an inhibitor of V-ATPase, increased surfactant secretion. Baf A1-stimulated secretion was blocked by the intracellular Ca(2+ chelator, BAPTA-AM, the protein kinase C (PKC inhibitor, staurosporine, and the Ca(2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII, KN-62. Baf A1 induced Ca(2+ release from isolated lamellar bodies. Thapsigargin reduced the Baf A1-induced secretion, indicating cross-talk between lamellar body and endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+ pools. Stimulation of type II cells with surfactant secretagogues dissipated the pH gradient across lamellar bodies and disassembled the V-ATPase complex, indicating the physiological relevance of the V-ATPase-mediated surfactant secretion. Finally, silencing of V-ATPase a1 and B2 subunits decreased stimulated surfactant secretion, indicating that these subunits were crucial for surfactant secretion. We conclude that V-ATPase regulates surfactant secretion via an increased Ca(2+ mobilization from lamellar bodies and endoplasmic reticulum, and the activation of PKC and CaMKII. Our finding revealed a previously unrealized role of V-ATPase in surfactant secretion.

  8. Nanofiltration: ion exchange system for effective surfactant removal from water solutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Kowalska

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available A system combining nanofiltration and ion exchange for highly effective separation of anionic surfactant from water solutions was proposed. The subjects of the study were nanofiltration polyethersulfone membranes and ion-exchange resins differing in type and structure. The quality of the treated solution was affected by numerous parameters, such as quality of the feed solution, membrane cut-off, resin type, dose and the solution contact time with the resin. A properly designed purification system made it possible to reduce the concentration of anionic surfactant below 1 mg L-1 from feed solutions containing surfactant in concentrations above the CMC value.

  9. Derecruitment Test and Surfactant Therapy in Patients with Acute Lung Injury

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexey A. Smetkin

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. A recruitment maneuver (RM may improve gas exchange in acute lung injury (ALI. The aim of our study was to assess the predictive value of a derecruitment test in relation to RM and to evaluate the efficacy of RM combined with surfactant instillation in patients with ALI. Materials and Methods. Thirteen adult mechanically ventilated patients with ALI were enrolled into a prospective pilot study. The patients received protective ventilation and underwent RM followed by a derecruitment test. After a repeat RM, bovine surfactant (surfactant group, n=6 or vehicle only (conventional therapy group, n=7 was instilled endobronchially. We registered respiratory and hemodynamic parameters, including extravascular lung water index (EVLWI. Results. The derecruitment test decreased the oxygenation in 62% of the patients. We found no significant correlation between the responses to the RM and to the derecruitment tests. The baseline EVLWI correlated with changes in SpO2 following the derecruitment test. The surfactant did not affect gas exchange and lung mechanics but increased EVLWI at 24 and 32 hrs. Conclusions. Our study demonstrated no predictive value of the derecruitment test regarding the effects of RM. Surfactant instillation was not superior to conventional therapy and might even promote pulmonary edema in ALI.

  10. BINDING OF IONIC SURFACTANTS ON OPPOSITELY CHARGED POLYELECTROLYTES OBSERVED BY FLUORESCENCE METHODS

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Zhen Tong; Chao-yang Wang; Bi-ye Ren; Xin-xing Liu; Fang Zeng

    2003-01-01

    Our recent studies concerning the binding of ionic surfactants on oppositely charged polyelectrolytes observed with fluorescence techniques are reviewed. The cationic surfactants cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB),dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride (DTAC), and nonionic surfactant octaethylene glycol monododecyl ether (C12E8) were allowed to bind on anionic poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) (PAMPS) and its pyrene and/or naphthalene labeled copolymers. The relative excimer emission intensity IE/IM of a cationic probe 1-pyrenemethylamine hydrochloride were chosen to monitor the binding process and the conformation change of surfactant-bound polyelectrolytes. The 1:1aggregation of polyelectrolyte-CTAB with respect to the charge was found as long as the CTAB concentration was slightly higher than its critical aggregation concentration (CAC). The intermolecular NRET indicated that the CTAB-bound polyelectrolytes aggregated together through the hydrophobic interaction between the CTAB tails. However, neither 1:1polyelectrolyte-DTAC aggregation nor intermolecular aggregation of DTAC-bound polyelectrolyte was observed owing to its weaker hydrophobicity of 12 carbon atoms in the tail, which is shorter than that of CTAB. As known from the fluorescence results, nonionic surfactant C12E8 did not bind on the anionic polyelectrolytes, but the presence of PAMPS promoted the micelle formation for C12E8 at the CAC slightly below its critical micelle concentration (CMC). The solid complex of dansyl labeled AMPS copolymer-surfactant exhibited a decrease in local polarity with increasing charge density of the polyelectrolyte or with alkane tail length of the surfactant. SAXS suggested a lamella structure for the AMPS copolymersurfactant solid complexes with a long period of 3.87 nm for CTAB and 3.04 nm for DTAC, respectively.

  11. Modification of shape oscillations of an attached bubble by surfactants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tihon J.

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Surface-active agents (surfactants, e.g. washing agents strongly modifies properties of gas-liquid interface. We have carried out extensive experiments, in which we study effect of surfactants on the shape oscillations of a bubble, which is attached at a tip of a capillary. In the experiments, shape oscillations of a bubble are invoked by a motion of a capillary, to which the bubble is injected. Decaying oscillations are recorded and their frequency and damping are evaluated. By changing the excitation frequency, three lowest oscillation modes are studied. Experiments were repeated in aqueous solution of several surfactants (terpineol, SDS, CTAB, Triton X-100, Triton X-45 at various concentrations. Generally, these features are observed: Initially a surfactant addition leads to an increase of the oscillation frequency (though surface tension is decreasing; this effect can be attributed to the increasing interfacial elasticity. The decay time of oscillation is strongly decreasing, as a consequence of energy dissipation linked with Marangoni stresses. At a certain critical concentration, frequency decreases abruptly and the decay time passes by a minimum. With further addition of surfactant, frequency decreases, and the decay time slightly lengthens. Above critical micelle concentration, all these parameters stabilize. Interestingly, the critical concentration, at which frequency drop occurs, depends on mode order. This clearly shows that the frequency drop and minimum decay time are not a consequence of some abrupt change of interfacial properties, but are a consequence of some phenomena, which still need to be explained.

  12. High frequency permeameter with semi-rigid pick-up coil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, Sung-Yong; Shin, Kwang-Ho . E-mail : khshin@star.ks.ac.kr; Kim, Jong-sung; Kim, Young-Hak; Lim, Sang-Ho; Sa-gong, Geon

    2006-01-01

    In this study, we propose the application of semi-rigid cable loop as a single turn shielded loop pick-up coil for the high frequency permeameter. Since the semi-rigid cable pick-up coil has simple structure, it is very easy to make the pick-up coil with bending and conventional soldering. The permeability of cobalt base amorphous ribbon was investigated using the developed permeameter for demonstrating its performance. The permeability of the amorphous ribbon was driven from the S-parameters measured using a network analyzer and permameter having the semi-rigid pick-up coil

  13. Interactions between Surfactants in Solution and Electrospun Protein Fibers: Effects on Release Behavior and Fiber Properties

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boutrup Stephansen, Karen; García-Díaz, María; Jessen, Flemming

    2016-01-01

    , and drug delivery. In the present study, we present a systematic investigation of how surfactants and proteins, as physiologically relevant components, interact with insulin-loaded fish sarcoplasmic protein (FSP) electrospun fibers (FSP-Ins fibers) in solution and thereby affect fiber properties...... such as accessible surface hydrophilicity, physical stability, and release characteristics of an encapsulated drug. Interactions between insulin-loaded protein fibers and five anionic surfactants (sodium taurocholate, sodium taurodeoxycholate, sodium glycocholate, sodium glycodeoxycholate, and sodium dodecyl sulfate......), a cationic surfactant (benzalkonium chloride), and a neutral surfactant (Triton X-100) were studied. The anionic surfactants increased the insulin release in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas the neutral surfactant had no significant effect on the release. Interestingly, only minute amounts...

  14. Effects of Surfactants on the Rate of Chemical Reactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Samiey

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Surfactants are self-assembled compounds that depend on their structure and electric charge can interact as monomer or micelle with other compounds (substrates. These interactions which may catalyze or inhibit the reaction rates are studied with pseudophase, cooperativity, and stoichiometric (classical models. In this review, we discuss applying these models to study surfactant-substrate interactions and their effects on Diels-Alder, redox, photochemical, decomposition, enzymatic, isomerization, ligand exchange, radical, and nucleophilic reactions.

  15. Use of surfactants to control island size and density

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merrell, Jason; Liu, Feng; Stringfellow, Gerald B.

    2017-08-15

    Methods of controlling island size and density on an OMVPE growth film may comprise adding a surfactant at a critical concentration level, allowing a growth phase for a first period of time, and ending the growth phase when desired island size and density are achieved. For example, the island size and density of an OMVPE grown InGaN thin film may be controlled by adding an antimony surfactant at a critical concentration level.

  16. Micro-scale displacement of NAPL by surfactant and microemulsion in heterogeneous porous media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Javanbakht, Gina; Arshadi, Maziar; Qin, Tianzhu; Goual, Lamia

    2017-07-01

    Industrial processes such as remediation of oil-contaminated aquifers and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) often utilize chemical additives to increase the removal of non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) from subsurface formations. Although the majority of crude oils are classified as LNAPLs, they often contain heavy molecules (DNAPLs) such as asphaltenes that tend to adsorb on minerals and alter their wettability. Effective additives are therefore those that can reduce the threshold capillary pressure, thus mobilizing LNAPL inside pore spaces and solubilizing DNAPL from rock surfaces. Nonionic surfactants in brine have often been injected to oil or contaminated aquifer formations in order to enhance NAPL displacement through IFT reduction. Recent studies revealed that surfactant-based microemulsions have a higher tendency to alter the wettability of surfaces, compared to surfactants alone, leading to more effective NAPL removal. However, the impact of these additives on pore-scale displacement mechanisms and multi-phase fluid occupancy in porous media is, to date, still unclear. In this study, x-ray microtomography experiments were performed to investigate the impact of surfactants and microemulsions on the mobilization and solubilization of NAPL in heterogeneous rocks. Saturation profiles indicated that an incremental NAPL removal was attained by addition of microemulsion to brine, compared with surfactant. Residual cluster size distributions revealed that microemulsions could break up large clusters into smaller disconnected ones, improving their mobilization in the rock. In-situ contact angle measurements showed that microemulsions could reverse the wettability of rough contaminated surfaces to a higher extent than surfactants. Unlike surfactant alone, the surfactant-solvent blend in the carrier fluid of microemulsions was able to penetrate rough grain surfaces, particularly those of dolomite cement, and desorb asphaltenes in the form of small-emulsified NAPL droplets

  17. Photoactivation and perturbation of photoluminescent properties of aqueous ZnS nanoparticles: Probing the surfactant-semiconductor interfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mehta, S.K.; Kumar, Sanjay

    2011-01-01

    Graphical abstract: The variation in PL emission intensity of growing ZnS NPs during first hour of their growth depends upon the nature of surfactants used for their stabilization. Highlights: ► Photoluminescence (PL) intensity of growing ZnS NPs increases linearly with time. ► Significant PL enhancement in anionic surfactant stabilized ZnS NPs on irradiation. ► PL decay with delay time after removing from UV-irradiation in all the surfactants. ► Better PL stability of ZnS NPs stabilized in anionic surfactants than cationic ones. - Abstract: The in situ photochemistry of aqueous colloidal ZnS has been studied in relation to variety of the surfactants as surface passivating agents. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity of ZnS nanoparticles (NPs) has been drastically enhanced as compared to their bare counterparts due to surface passivation by surfactants depending upon their molecular structure. Cationic surfactants of alkyltrimethylammonium bromide series with different chain lengths (C 16 , C 14 and C 12 ) have been tested. The PL emission of ZnS NPs decreases with decrease in chain length because of ineffective stabilization and passivation of surface because the larger sized NPs were produced in the surfactant with smaller chain length. On the other hand, three anionic surfactants with C 12 chain length with different head groups have been capable of comparatively effective passivation to produce stable NPs with better luminescence. The changing nature of surface states during growth and long time ripening of ZnS NPs has also been monitored by comparing time evolution PL emission in different surfactants. The influence of UV-light irradiation in enhancing the PL emission has been found to be surfactant structure dependent with maximum enhancement observed with the surfactants having π-electrons in their head group functionalities. The anionic surfactants also display better tendency to retain the enhanced PL of ZnS NPs for longer time durations.

  18. Respiratory and Systemic Effects of LASSBio596 Plus Surfactant in Experimental Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johnatas Dutra Silva

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aims: Exogenous surfactant has been proposed as adjunctive therapy for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS, but it is inactivated by different factors present in the alveolar space. We hypothesized that co-administration of LASSBio596, a molecule with significant anti-inflammatory properties, and exogenous surfactant could reduce lung inflammation, thus enabling the surfactant to reduce edema and improve lung function, in experimental ARDS. Methods: ARDS was induced by cecal ligation and puncture surgery in BALB/c mice. A sham-operated group was used as control (CTRL. After surgery (6 hours, CTRL and ARDS animals were assigned to receive: (1 sterile saline solution; (2 LASSBio596; (3 exogenous surfactant or (4 LASSBio596 plus exogenous surfactant (n = 22/group. Results: Regardless of exogenous surfactant administration, LASSBio596 improved survival rate and reduced collagen fiber content, total number of cells and neutrophils in PLF and blood, cell apoptosis, protein content in BALF, and urea and creatinine levels. LASSBio596 plus surfactant yielded all of the aforementioned beneficial effects, as well as increased BALF lipid content and reduced surface tension. Conclusion: LASSBio596 exhibited major anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrogenic effects in experimental sepsis-induced ARDS. Its association with surfactant may provide further advantages, potentially by reducing surface tension.

  19. Some aspects of surfactant action mechanism in the organic reagents - metal ions systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chernova, R K; Shtykov, S N; Beloliptseva, G M; Sukhova, L K; Amelin, V G; Kulapina, E G [Saratovskij Gosudarstvennyj Univ. (USSR)

    1984-06-01

    Results are reviewed of investigations into the interaction of ions of Mo(6), W, Zr, Be, Sc, Nb, Ta, J, rare earths, a. o. with organic reagents of triphenylmethane class in the 8M H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/-pH14 acidity range and the 1x10/sup -3/-5x10/sup -6/ M concentration range both in the presence and absence of different surfactant type (cetylpyridine, methyltrimethylammonium, synthanols, etc). Three types of effects, determining enhancement of the sensitivity and selectivity of reactions jn the Me-R-surfactant systems, were determined: an increase in the number of coordinated ligands, the activating effect of cation surfactants resulting in a potential complexing in acid media, multicenter interaction of polydentate ligands both via chelating groups and auxochrome groups in the presence of cation surfactants. Protolytic and flotation properties of ionic associates are considered. The observed effects are explained from the viewpoint of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions in the R-surfactant systems, observed by the methods of NMR, polarography amperometry, conductometry. A possible use of the investigated M-R-surfactant systems as complexonometric indicators was evaluated. A possibility was shown of using them for direct titrimetric determination of hundredth milligram portions of Cu, Ga, In and Sc at a titrant concentratjon of less than 0.01 M. It follows from the estimation of basic optical parameters of the Me-R-surfactant systems that detection.

  20. Durable bistable auxetics made of rigid solids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Xiao; Liu, Lu; Rafsanjani, Ahmad; Pasini, Damiano

    2018-02-01

    Bistable Auxetic Metamaterials (BAMs) are a class of monolithic perforated periodic structures with negative Poisson's ratio. Under tension, a BAM can expand and reach a second state of equilibrium through a globally large shape transformation that is ensured by the flexibility of its elastomeric base material. However, if made from a rigid polymer, or metal, BAM ceases to function due to the inevitable rupture of its ligaments. The goal of this work is to extend the unique functionality of the original kirigami architecture of BAM to a rigid solid base material. We use experiments and numerical simulations to assess performance, bistability and durability of rigid BAMs at 10,000 cycles. Geometric maps are presented to elucidate the role of the main descriptors of BAM architecture. The proposed design enables the realization of BAM from a large palette of materials, including elastic-perfectly plastic materials and potentially brittle materials.

  1. Bacterial degradation of emulsified crude oil and the effects of various surfactants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruheim, P.; Bredholt, H.; Eimhjellen, K.

    1997-01-01

    The effects of surfactants on the oxidation rate of alkanes in crude oil were investigated using a selected bacterial species, Rhodococcus sp., pregrown to various growth stages. Oxidation rates were measured in a three-hour period by Warburg respirometry. Response to emulsified oil was found to be dependent on the physiological state of the bacteria. In the exponential growth phase oxidation rates were negatively affected by surfactant amendment, whereas in the stationary growth phase oxidation rates appear to have been stimulated. The stimulatory effect was attributed to the chemical structure and physico-chemical properties of the surfactants. Surfactants with hydrophilic-lipophilic balance values (HLB) in the intermediate range of 8-12 gave the best values. Neither the commercial dispersants nor the biosurfactants exhibited any stimulative effects. 21 refs., 4 tabs., 1 fig

  2. Utility of semi-rigid thoracoscopy in undiagnosed exudative pleural effusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nattusamy, Loganathan; Madan, Karan; Mohan, Anant; Hadda, Vijay; Jain, Deepali; Madan, Neha Kawatra; Arava, Sudheer; Khilnani, Gopi C; Guleria, Randeep

    2015-01-01

    Semi-rigid thoracoscopy is a safe and efficacious procedure in patients with undiagnosed pleural effusion. Literature on its utility from developing countries is limited. We herein describe our initial experience on the utility of semi-rigid thoracoscopy from a tertiary care teaching and referral center in north India. We also perform a systematic review of studies reporting the utility of semi-rigid thoracoscopy from India. The primary objective was to evaluate the diagnostic utility of semi-rigid thoracoscopy in patients with undiagnosed exudative pleural effusion. Semi-rigid thoracoscopy was performed under local anesthesia and conscious sedation in the bronchoscopy suite. A total of 48 patients underwent semi-rigid thoracoscopy between August 2012 and December 2013 for undiagnosed pleural effusion. Mean age was 50.9 ± 14.1 years (range: 17-78 years). Pre-procedure clinico-radiological diagnoses were malignant pleural effusion [36 patients (75%)], tuberculosis (TB) [10 (20.83%) patients], and empyema [2 patients (4.17%)]. Patients with empyema underwent the procedure for pleural biopsy, optimal placement of intercostal tube and adhesiolysis. Thoracoscopic pleural biopsy diagnosed pleural malignancy in 30 (62.5%) patients and TB in 2 (4.17%) patients. Fourteen (29.17%) patients were diagnosed with non-specific pleuritis and normal pleura was diagnosed on a pleural biopsy in 2 (4.17%) patients. Overall, a definitive diagnosis of either pleural malignancy or TB was obtained in 32 (66.7%) patients. Combined overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of thoracoscopic pleural biopsy for malignant pleural effusion were 96.77%, 100%, 100% and 66.67%, respectively. There was no procedure-related mortality. On performing a systematic review of literature, four studies on semi-rigid thoracoscopy from India were identified. Semi-rigid thoracoscopy is a safe and efficacious procedure in patients with undiagnosed exudative

  3. Reactive surfactants in heterophase polymerization

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Guyot, A.; Tauer, K.; Asua, J.M.; Es, van J.J.G.S.; Gauthier, C.; Hellgren, A.C.; Sherrington, D.C.; Montoya-Goni, A.; Sjöberg, M.; Sindt, O.; Vidal, F.F.M.; Unzue, M.; Schoonbrood, H.A.S.; Schipper, E.T.W.M.; Lacroix-Desmazes, P.

    1999-01-01

    This paper summarizes the work carried out during 3 years in a Network of the program "Human Capital and Mobility" of the European Union CHRX 93-0159 entitled "Reactive surfactants in heterophase polymerization for high performance polymers". A series of about 25 original papers will be published in

  4. The effect of surfactants on path instability of a rising bubble

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tagawa, Yoshiyuki; Takagi, Shu; Matsumoto, Yoichiro

    2013-11-01

    We experimentally investigate the surfactant effect on path instability of an air bubble rising in quiescent water. An addition of surfactant varies the gas-water boundary condition from zero shear stress to non-zero shear stress. We report three main findings: firstly, while the drag force acting on the bubble increases with the surfactant concentration as expected, the lift force shows a non-monotonic behavior; secondly, the transient trajectory starting from helical to zigzag is observed, which has never been reported in the case of purified water; lastly, a bubble with the intermediate slip conditions between free-slip and no-slip show a helical motion for a broad range of the Reynolds number. Aforementioned results are rationalized by considering the adsorption-desorption kinetics of the surfactants on gas-water interface and the wake dynamics. Y.T. thanks for financial support from Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows (20-10701). We also thank for Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (21360079).

  5. Optic and electro-optic investigations on SmQ, SmCA* and L phases in highly chiral compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manai, M.; Gharbi, A.; Marcerou, J.P.; Nguyen, H.T.; Rouillon, J.C.

    2005-01-01

    Chiral molecules give rise to a large variety of mesophases. Well-known examples are cholesteric or ferroelectric smectic phases where the chirality tends to favor a macroscopic twist. Furthermore, the molecular core length (l) plays an important role on the range of the mesophases and on the temperature (T NI ) for the onset of orientational order. The tendency for T NI is to increase (going over 200 - bar C for some compounds) with increasing l. We report in this paper on a selection of compounds which have been designed in order to favor an anticlinic smectic ordering together with high chirality. As a common feature, they have a long rigid core with four benzene rings and a chiral chain (usually the same) at each end. They display a locally anisotropic liquid phase referred to as ''L phase'' in a large temperature range between T NI and the low temperature SmQ or SmC A * phase. Optical rotatory power (ORP), birefringence and electro-optic studies have been performed with these compounds

  6. Supramolecular helical stacking of metallomesogens derived from enantiopure and racemic polycatenar oxazolines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barberá, Joaquín; Cavero, Emma; Lehmann, Matthias; Serrano, José-Luis; Sierra, Teresa; Vázquez, Jesús T

    2003-04-16

    The present report undertakes a challenge of general interest in supramolecular chemistry: the achievement of helical organizations with controlled structure. To achieve this target we considered the possibility of inducing supramolecular chirality using molecules that were designed to organize into columnar mesophases. The use of oxazoline-derived ligands and metal coordination served as tools to prepare molecules with a phasmidic-like structure, which show columnar organization in the liquid crystalline state. To ensure the formation of chiral mesophases, these complexes bear stereogenic centers in the rigid coordination environment of the metal. X-ray and circular dichroism experiments have revealed that chirality transfer does indeed take place from the chiral molecule to the columnar liquid crystal organization. This chiral columnar organization appears as a helix consisting of stacks of molecules that rotate with respect to one another along the column while maintaining their mean planes parallel to each other. In fact, it has been concluded that packing of these polycatenar molecules must be more efficient upon rotation of a molecule with respect to the adjacent one along the column. Furthermore, the same type of helical supraorganization has been found to be present in the mesophase of the racemic mixture and the mixture of diastereomers prepared from the racemic ligand. In this case, segregation of the optical isomers is proposed to occur to give rise to both types of helix (right-handed and left-handed).

  7. The effects of exogenous surfactant administration on ventilation-induced inflammation in mouse models of lung injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puntorieri, Valeria; Hiansen, Josh Qua; McCaig, Lynda A; Yao, Li-Juan; Veldhuizen, Ruud A W; Lewis, James F

    2013-11-20

    Mechanical ventilation (MV) is an essential supportive therapy for acute lung injury (ALI); however it can also contribute to systemic inflammation. Since pulmonary surfactant has anti-inflammatory properties, the aim of the study was to investigate the effect of exogenous surfactant administration on ventilation-induced systemic inflammation. Mice were randomized to receive an intra-tracheal instillation of a natural exogenous surfactant preparation (bLES, 50 mg/kg) or no treatment as a control. MV was then performed using the isolated and perfused mouse lung (IPML) set up. This model allowed for lung perfusion during MV. In experiment 1, mice were exposed to mechanical ventilation only (tidal volume =20 mL/kg, 2 hours). In experiment 2, hydrochloric acid or air was instilled intra-tracheally four hours before applying exogenous surfactant and ventilation (tidal volume =5 mL/kg, 2 hours). For both experiments, exogenous surfactant administration led to increased total and functional surfactant in the treated groups compared to the controls. Exogenous surfactant administration in mice exposed to MV only did not affect peak inspiratory pressure (PIP), lung IL-6 levels and the development of perfusate inflammation compared to non-treated controls. Acid injured mice exposed to conventional MV showed elevated PIP, lung IL-6 and protein levels and greater perfusate inflammation compared to air instilled controls. Instillation of exogenous surfactant did not influence the development of lung injury. Moreover, exogenous surfactant was not effective in reducing the concentration of inflammatory cytokines in the perfusate. The data indicates that exogenous surfactant did not mitigate ventilation-induced systemic inflammation in our models. Future studies will focus on altering surfactant composition to improve its immuno-modulating activity.

  8. Radioactive slurry waste treatment (2) - surfactants dose effects on filtration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, K. H.; Park, S. K.; Jung, W. S.; Baek, S. T.; Jung, K. J.

    1999-01-01

    The influence of anionic flocculants on the dewatering of radioactive slurries has been investigated in a laboratory-scale vacuum filtration unit. Simultaneously the influence of certain surfactants has also been investigated. Test results show that the flocculated filter cake generally contains higher residual water than the unflocculated cake. The non-ionic surfactant was effective in reducing the moisture content of the cake

  9. Algebraic Methods for Counting Euclidean Embeddings of Rigid Graphs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    I.Z. Emiris; E.P. Tsigaridas; A. Varvitsiotis (Antonios); E.R. Gasner

    2009-01-01

    textabstract The study of (minimally) rigid graphs is motivated by numerous applications, mostly in robotics and bioinformatics. A major open problem concerns the number of embeddings of such graphs, up to rigid motions, in Euclidean space. We capture embeddability by polynomial systems

  10. Adsorption of naphthalene and ozone on atmospheric air/ice interfaces coated with surfactants: a molecular simulation study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liyana-Arachchi, Thilanga P; Valsaraj, Kalliat T; Hung, Francisco R

    2012-03-15

    The adsorption of gas-phase naphthalene and ozone molecules onto air/ice interfaces coated with different surfactant species (1-octanol, 1-hexadecanol, or 1-octanal) was investigated using classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Naphthalene and ozone exhibit a strong preference to be adsorbed at the surfactant-coated air/ice interfaces, as opposed to either being dissolved into the bulk of the quasi-liquid layer (QLL) or being incorporated into the ice crystals. The QLL becomes thinner when the air/ice interface is coated with surfactant molecules. The adsorption of both naphthalene and ozone onto surfactant-coated air/ice interfaces is enhanced when compared to bare air/ice interface. Both naphthalene and ozone tend to stay dissolved in the surfactant layer and close to the QLL, rather than adsorbing on top of the surfactant molecules and close to the air region of our systems. Surfactants prefer to orient at a tilted angle with respect to the air/ice interface; the angular distribution and the most preferred angle vary depending on the hydrophilic end group, the length of the hydrophobic tail, and the surfactant concentration at the air/ice interface. Naphthalene prefers to have a flat orientation on the surfactant coated air/ice interface, except at high concentrations of 1-hexadecanol at the air/ice interface; the angular distribution of naphthalene depends on the specific surfactant and its concentration at the air/ice interface. The dynamics of naphthalene molecules at the surfactant-coated air/ice interface slow down as compared to those observed at bare air/ice interfaces. The presence of surfactants does not seem to affect the self-association of naphthalene molecules at the air/ice interface, at least for the specific surfactants and the range of concentrations considered in this study.

  11. Rigid body dynamics of mechanisms

    CERN Document Server

    Hahn, Hubert

    2003-01-01

    The second volume of Rigid Body Dynamics of Mechanisms covers applications via a systematic method for deriving model equations of planar and spatial mechanisms. The necessary theoretical foundations have been laid in the first volume that introduces the theoretical mechanical aspects of mechatronic systems. Here the focus is on the application of the modeling methodology to various examples of rigid-body mechanisms, simple planar ones as well as more challenging spatial problems. A rich variety of joint models, active constraints, plus active and passive force elements is treated. The book is intended for self-study by working engineers and students concerned with the control of mechanical systems, i.e. robotics, mechatronics, vehicles, and machine tools. The examples included are a likely source from which to choose models for university lectures.

  12. Degradation of surfactant-modified montmorillonites in HCl

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Madejová, Jana; Pálková, Helena; Jankovič, Ľuboš

    2012-01-01

    The effect of surfactant size on the extent of montmorillonites decomposition in HCl was investigated. Na-SAz montmorillonite and tetraalkylammonium salts of alkyl-chains length increasing from methyl- Me 4 N to pentyl- Pe 4 N were used for organo-montmorillonites preparation. Decreasing intensity of d 001 diffraction proved destruction of montmorillonite structure connected with gradual surfactant release. A shift of the SiO stretching band to 1097 cm −1 confirmed formation of amorphous silica phase. A new band near 7315 cm −1 corresponding to SiOH overtone revealed creation of protonated silica. This band was observed in the spectra of all acid-treated samples, also in those with minor decomposition of the structure. The size of the cations significantly affected decomposition of montmorillonites in HCl. The less stable were Na-SAz and Me 4 N-SAz in which the content of octahedral atoms dropped to ∼5% of their original values upon 8 h treatments. Et 4 N-SAz and Pr 4 N-SAz were slightly more resistant mainly at short times. Bu 4 N-SAz and Pe 4 N-SAz showed the least structural modifications, only 50% and 35% of octahedral atoms, respectively, were released into solution within 8 h treatments. This observation proves that bulky alkylammonium cations covering the inner and outer surfaces of montmorillonite prevent effectively the access of protons to the layers protecting the mineral from degradation in the acid. - Highlights: ► Hybrid materials were prepared from montmorillonite and alkylammonium cations with short alkyl chains. ► The effect of surfactant on organo-montmorillonites dissolution in HCl was studied. ► With increasing size of cation the extent of montmorillonite decomposition decreased. ► Bulky surfactants prevent the access of protons to the layers and thus protect montmorillonite from degradation.

  13. Adsorption of surfactant ions and binding of their counterions at an air/water interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tagashira, Hiroaki; Takata, Youichi; Hyono, Atsushi; Ohshima, Hiroyuki

    2009-01-01

    An expression for the surface tension of an aqueous mixed solution of surfactants and electrolyte ions in the presence of the common ions was derived from the Helmholtz free energy of an air/water surface. By applying the equation to experimental data for the surface tension, the adsorption constant of surfactant ions onto the air/water interface, the binding constant of counterions on the surfactants, and the surface potential and surface charge density of the interface were estimated. The adsorption constant and binding constant were dependent on the species of surfactant ion and counterion, respectively. Taking account of the dependence of surface potential and surface charge density on the concentration of electrolyte, it was suggested that the addition of electrolyte to the aqueous surfactant solution brings about the decrease in the surface potential, the increase in the surface density of surfactant ions, and consequently, the decrease in the surface tension. Furthermore, it was found that the configurational entropy plays a predominant role for the surface tension, compared to the electrical work.

  14. NATURAL SURFACTANTS AND THEIR USE IN FOOD INDUSTRY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    František Kreps

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Microorganisms produce wide range of surfactants, generally called biosurfactants. These compounds are mainly divided according to their molecular weight, physico - chemical properties and mode of action. Saponins, plant surfactants, have properties of  soap and they are high foaming and therefore are used in cosmetic (shampoos, liquid soaps et cetera and food industry (sweeteners, food additives into the effervescents et cetera. Most of them are spread in plants of agriculture importance and some of them are basic segments in human food. They often occur in plants (in more then 100 species. Saponins can be find in vegetables as a soya, a bean, a lentil, a spinach, a tomato, a potato, a garlic, a onion. Today biosurfactants are mainly used in bioremediation but they can be utilized in many sectors of food industry. We have paid attention to some microbial and plant surfactants and their prospects of exploitation in this industry.doi:10.5219/170 

  15. Theoretical model to investigate the alkyl chain and anion dependent interactions of gemini surfactant with bovine serum albumin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vishvakarma, Vijay K; Kumari, Kamlesh; Patel, Rajan; Dixit, V S; Singh, Prashant; Mehrotra, Gopal K; Chandra, Ramesh; Chakrawarty, Anand Kumar

    2015-05-15

    Surfactants are used to prevent the irreversible aggregation of partially refolded proteins and they also assist in protein refolding. We have reported the design and screening of gemini surfactant to stabilize bovine serum albumin (BSA) with the help of computational tool (iGEMDOCK). A series of gemini surfactant has been designed based on bis-N-alkyl nicotinate dianion via varying the alkyl group and anion. On changing the alkyl group and anion of the surfactant, the value of Log P changes means polarity of surfactant can be tuned. Further, the virtual screening of the gemini surfactant has been carried out based on generic evolutionary method. Herein, thermodynamic data was studied to determine the potential of gemini surfactant as BSA stabilizer. Computational tools help to find out the efficient gemini surfactant to stabilize the BSA rather than to use the surfactant randomly and directionless for the stabilization. It can be confirmed through the experimental techniques. Previously, researcher synthesized one of the designed and used gemini surfactant to stabilize the BSA and their interactions were confirmed through various techniques and computational docking. But herein, the authors find the most competent gemini surfactant to stabilize BSA using computational tools on the basis of energy score. Different from the single chain surfactant, the gemini surfactants exhibit much stronger electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions with the protein and are thus effective at much lower concentrations. Based on the present study, it is expected that gemini surfactants may prove useful in the protein stabilization operations and may thus be effectively employed to circumvent the problem of misfolding and aggregation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Catheter and Laryngeal Mask Endotracheal Surfactant Therapy: the CALMEST approach as a novel MIST technique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vannozzi, Ilaria; Ciantelli, Massimiliano; Moscuzza, Francesca; Scaramuzzo, Rosa T; Panizza, Davide; Sigali, Emilio; Boldrini, Antonio; Cuttano, Armando

    2017-10-01

    Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity among preterm infants. Although the INSURE (INtubation, SURfactant administration, Estubation) technique for surfactant replacement therapy is so far the gold standard method, over the last years new approaches have been studied, i.e. less invasive surfactant administration (LISA) or minimally invasive surfactant therapy (MIST). Here we propose an originally modified MIST, called CALMEST (Catheter And Laryngeal Mask Endotracheal Surfactant Therapy), using a particular laryngeal mask as a guide for a thin catheter to deliver surfactant directly in the trachea. We performed a preliminary study on a mannequin and a subsequent in vivo pilot trial. This novel procedure is quick, effective and well tolerated and might represent an improvement in reducing neonatal stress. Ultimately, CALMEST offers an alternative approach that could be extremely useful for medical staff with low expertise in laryngoscopy and intubation.

  17. Surfactant-assisted sacrificial template-mediated synthesis

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    ... spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopyand photoluminescence studies. Influence of surfactant and solvents on morphology and luminescence of the final product in sacrificial template-assisted method has been investigated in detail.

  18. Lung surfactant microbubbles increase lipophilic drug payload for ultrasound-targeted delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sirsi, Shashank R; Fung, Chinpong; Garg, Sumit; Tianning, Mary Y; Mountford, Paul A; Borden, Mark A

    2013-01-01

    The cavitation response of circulating microbubbles to targeted ultrasound can be used for noninvasive, site-specific delivery of shell-loaded materials. One challenge for microbubble-mediated delivery of lipophilic compounds is the limitation of drug loading into the microbubble shell, which is commonly a single phospholipid monolayer. In this study, we investigated the use of natural lung surfactant extract (Survanta(®), Abbott Nutrition) as a microbubble shell material in order to improve drug payload and delivery. Pulmonary surfactant extracts such as Survanta contain hydrophobic surfactant proteins (SP-B and SP-C) that facilitate lipid folding and retention on lipid monolayers. Here, we show that Survanta-based microbubbles exhibit wrinkles in bright-field microscopy and increased lipid retention on the microbubble surface in the form of surface-associated aggregates observed with fluorescence microscopy. The payload of a model lipophilic drug (DiO), measured by flow cytometry, increased by over 2-fold compared to lipid-coated microbubbles lacking SP-B and SP-C. Lung surfactant microbubbles were highly echogenic to contrast enhanced ultrasound imaging at low acoustic intensities. At higher ultrasound intensity, excess lipid was observed to be acoustically cleaved for localized release. To demonstrate targeting, a biotinylated lipopolymer was incorporated into the shell, and the microbubbles were subjected to a sequence of radiation force and fragmentation pulses as they passed through an avidinated hollow fiber. Lung surfactant microbubbles showed a 3-fold increase in targeted deposition of the model fluorescent drug compared to lipid-only microbubbles. Our results demonstrate that lung surfactant microbubbles maintain the acoustic responsiveness of lipid-coated microbubbles with the added benefit of increased lipophilic drug payload.

  19. Recycling of surfactant template in mesoporous MCM-41 synthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, J. Y.; Twaiq, F.; Ngu, L. H.

    2017-06-01

    The recycling of surfactant template is investigated through the reuse of the surfactant template in the mesoporous MCM-41 synthesis process. In the synthesis of MCM-41, tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) solution in water was utilized as the silica source while hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) solution in ethyl alcohol was used as a surfactant template. The synthesized gel is formed thoroughly by mixing the two solutions under acid conditions with a pH value of 0.5 for 1 hour and kept for crystallization for 48 hours. The as-synthesized MCM-41 powder is recovered by filtration while the filtrate (mother liquor) was then reused for the second synthesis cycle. The synthesis procedure was repeated till no further solid product was formed. The synthesized gel was not produced in the unifying solution in the fifth cycle of MCM-41 synthesis. The quality of the calcined MCM-41 powder produced in each synthesis cycle was evaluated by calculating the amount of MCM-41 produced and the surface area of the powder product. The result showed that 1.28, 0.37, 1.64, 1.90 and 0.037 g were obtained in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th synthesis cycle, respectively. The surface area of the powder produced was found to be 1170, 916, 728, and 508 m2/g for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. The concentration of the surfactant template has reached value lower than the critical micelle concentration (CMC) and remained constant after the 4th cycle. There was no further formation of gel due to low availability in the interaction between silicate anions and surfactant cations when the amount of TEOS was fixed for every synthesis cycle.

  20. The effect of surfactants on the electropolishing behavior of copper in orthophosphoric acid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taha, A.A., E-mail: asia_taha@yahoo.com; Ahmed, A.M.; Rahman, H.H. Abdel; Abouzeid, F.M.

    2013-07-15

    The electropolishing behavior of copper was studied in orthophosphoric acid with Triton X-100, sodium dodecyl sulphate and cetyl pyridinium chloride as additives for improving the finish obtained on copper surface. This was investigated by measuring and comparing anode potential-limiting current relationships in solutions of gradually increasing concentration of surfactants. The addition of surfactants to the electropolishing solution results in a lower limiting current. This confirms the mass transport of dissolved species from the anode surface to the bulk of solution as the rate-determining step in the presence of three surfactants in all concentrations investigated. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM) and measured brightness values were used to investigate the copper surface after electropolishing and the results were compared to polishing done in absence of surfactants. According to SEM images and brightness values, addition of Triton X-100 was effective to enhance levelling and brightening more than sodium dodecyl sulphate and cetyl pyridinium chloride. AFM analysis showed that the roughness values (R{sub a}) for an electropolished copper surface, in presence of surfactants, is significantly lower than in absence of surfactants. Different reaction conditions and the physical properties of solutions are studied to obtain dimensionless correlation among all these parameters.

  1. Current Issues and Challenges in the Use of Aerosolized Surfactant for Respiratory Distress Syndrome in the Newborns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dion Darius Samsudin

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Surfactant replacement therapy is a recognized treatment for respiratory distress syndrome (RDS in the newborns. Over the past 30 years, human and animal trials have been performed regarding administration of aerosolized surfactant to the injured lung, however the result has been unsatisfactory when compared with instilled surfactant delivery via endotracheal tube (ETT. This review aims to investigate the current issues, challenges and future recommendation of aerosolized surfactant therapy. CONTENT: Five randomized clinical trials in humans and 13 animal trials met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Most animal trials agree that this method of treatment is feasible. However, human trials presented conflicting results, and generally showed it to be ineffective. When compared with surfactant delivery via ETT, aerosolized surfactant is less effective in improving respiratory function. SUMMARY: The current data from human trials does not support the implementation of aerosolized surfactant therapy to treat newborns with RDS. Further research is necessary to improve nebulization, delivery, distribution and deposition in the lung, to investigate aerosolized surfactant delivery via ETT and to determine the appropriate dose. KEYWORDS: surfactant, aerosol, prematurity, respiratory distress syndrome.

  2. Influence of surfactants on gas-hydrate formation' kinetics in water-oil emulsion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zemenkov, Yu D.; Shirshova, A. V.; Arinstein, E. A.; Shuvaev, A. N.

    2018-05-01

    The kinetics of gas hydrate formation of propane in a water-oil emulsion is experimentally studied when three types of surfactants (SAA (surface acting agent)) - anionic type emulsifiers - are added to the aqueous phase. It is shown that all three types of surfactants decelerate the growth of the gas-hydrate in the emulsion and can be considered as anti-agglutinating and kinetic low-dose inhibitors. The most effective inhibitor of hydrate formation in water-oil emulsion of SV-102 surfactant was revealed. For comparison, experimental studies of gas-hydrate formation under the same conditions for bulk water have been carried out. It is shown that in bulk water, all the surfactants investigated act as promoters (accelerators) of hydrate formation. A qualitative explanation of the action mechanisms of emulsifiers in the process of gas-hydrate formation in water-oil emulsion is given.

  3. The Accelerated Late Adsorption of Pulmonary Surfactant

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Adsorption of pulmonary surfactant to an air−water interface lowers surface tension (γ) at rates that initially decrease progressively, but which then accelerate close to the equilibrium γ. The studies here tested a series of hypotheses concerning mechanisms that might cause the late accelerated drop in γ. Experiments used captive bubbles and a Wilhelmy plate to measure γ during adsorption of vesicles containing constituents from extracted calf surfactant. The faster fall in γ reflects faster adsorption rather than any feature of the equation of state that relates γ to surface concentration (Γ). Adsorption accelerates when γ reaches a critical value rather than after an interval required to reach that γ. The hydrophobic surfactant proteins (SPs) represent key constituents, both for reaching the γ at which the acceleration occurs and for producing the acceleration itself. The γ at which rates of adsorption increase, however, is unaffected by the Γ of protein in the films. In the absence of the proteins, a phosphatidylethanolamine, which, like the SPs, induces fusion of the vesicles with the interfacial film, also causes adsorption to accelerate. Our results suggest that the late acceleration is characteristic of adsorption by fusion of vesicles with the nascent film, which proceeds more favorably when the Γ of the lipids exceeds a critical value. PMID:21417351

  4. Alkali/Surfactant/Polymer Flooding in the Daqing Oilfield Class II Reservoirs Using Associating Polymer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ru-Sen Feng

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Hydrophobically modified associating polyacrylamide (HAPAM has good compatibility with the Daqing heavy alkylbenzene sulfonate surfactant. The HAPAM alkali/surfactant/polymer (ASP system can generate ultralow interfacial tension in a wide range of alkali/surfactant concentrations and maintain stable viscosity and interfacial tension for 120 days. The HAPAM ASP system has good injectivity for the Daqing class II reservoirs (100–300 × 10−3 μm2 and can improve oil recovery by more than 25% on top of water flooding. In the presence of both the alkali and the surfactant, the surfactant interacts with the associating groups of the polymer to form more micelles, which can significantly enhance the viscosity of the ASP system. Compared with using HPAM (Mw = 2.5 MDa, using HAPAM can reduce the polymer use by more than 40%.

  5. Influence of chemical surfactants on the biodegradation of crude oil by a mixed bacterial culture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Hamme, J.D.; Ward, O.P.

    1999-01-01

    A study was conducted in which the effects of surfactant physicochemical properties on crude oil biodegradation by a mixed-bacterial culture were examined. The effects of hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) and molecular structure on the biodegradation of Bow River crude oil were determined. It was shown that chemical surfactants have the potential to improve crude oil biodegradation in complex microbial systems. Surfactant selection should consider factors such as molecular structure, HLB and surfactant concentration. 26 refs., 4 tabs., 3 figs

  6. Adsorption behavior of hydrophobin and hydrophobin/surfactant mixtures at the air-water interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaoli L; Penfold, Jeffrey; Thomas, Robert K; Tucker, Ian M; Petkov, Jordan T; Bent, Julian; Cox, Andrew; Campbell, Richard A

    2011-09-20

    The adsorption of the surface-active protein hydrophobin, HFBII, and the competitive adsorption of HFBII with the cationic, anionic, and nonionic surfactants hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB, sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS, and hexaethylene monododecyl ether, C(12)E(6), has been studied using neutron reflectivity, NR. HFBII adsorbs strongly at the air-water interface to form a dense monolayer ∼30 Å thick, with a mean area per molecule of ∼400 Å(2) and a volume fraction of ∼0.7, for concentrations greater than 0.01 g/L, and the adsorption is independent of the solution pH. In competition with the conventional surfactants CTAB, SDS, and C(12)E(6) at pH 7, the HFBII adsorption totally dominates the surface for surfactant concentrations less than the critical micellar concentration, cmc. Above the cmc of the conventional surfactants, HFBII is displaced by the surfactant (CTAB, SDS, or C(12)E(6)). For C(12)E(6) this displacement is only partial, and some HFBII remains at the surface for concentrations greater than the C(12)E(6) cmc. At low pH (pH 3) the patterns of adsorption for HFBII/SDS and HFBII/C(12)E(6) are different. At concentrations just below the surfactant cmc there is now mixed HFBII/surfactant adsorption for both SDS and C(12)E(6). For the HFBII/SDS mixture the structure of the adsorbed layer is more complex in the region immediately below the SDS cmc, resulting from the HFBII/SDS complex formation at the interface. © 2011 American Chemical Society

  7. Surface properties and aggregate morphology of partially fluorinated carboxylate-type anionic gemini surfactants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshimura, Tomokazu; Bong, Miri; Matsuoka, Keisuke; Honda, Chikako; Endo, Kazutoyo

    2009-11-01

    Three anionic homologues of a novel partially fluorinated carboxylate-type anionic gemini surfactant, N,N'-di(3-perfluoroalkyl-2-hydroxypropyl)-N,N'-diacetic acid ethylenediamine (2C(n)(F) edda, where n represents the number of carbon atoms in the fluorocarbon chain (4, 6, and 8)) were synthesized. In these present gemini surfactants, the relatively small carboxylic acid moieties form hydrophilic head groups. The surface properties or structures of the aggregates of these surfactants are strongly influenced by the nonflexible fluorocarbons and small head groups; this is because these surfactants have a closely packed molecular structure. The equilibrium surface tension properties of these surfactants were measured at 298.2K for various fluorocarbon chain lengths. The plot of the logarithm of the critical micelle concentration (cmc) against the fluorocarbon chain lengths for 2C(n)(F) edda (n=4, 6, and 8) showed a minimum for n=6. Furthermore, the lowest surface tension of 2C(6)(F) edda at the cmc was 16.4mNm(-1). Such unique behavior has not been observed even in the other fluorinated surfactants. Changes in the shapes and sizes of these surfactant aggregate with concentration were investigated by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The TEM micrographs showed that in an aqueous alkali solution, 2C(n)(F) edda mainly formed aggregates with stringlike (n=4), cagelike (n=6), and distorted bilayer structures (n=8). The morphological changes in the aggregates were affected by the molecular structure composed of nonflexible fluorocarbon chains and flexible hydrocarbon chains.

  8. Morphological alterations of exogenous surfactant inhibited by meconium can be prevented by dextran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stichtenoth Guido

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Surfactant dysfunction due to inhibition is involved in the pathophysiology of meconium aspiration syndrome. Dextran addition has been shown to reverse exogenous surfactant inactivation by meconium, but the precise mechanisms and the morphological correlate of this effect are yet unknown. Morphological surfactant analysis by transmission electron microscopy (TEM and stereology allows the differentiation of active (large aggregates = LA and inactive (small aggregates = SA subtypes. Methods To determine the in vitro effects of meconium and dextran addition on the morphology of a modified porcine natural surfactant (Curosurf, Curosurf samples were either incubated alone or together with meconium or with meconium and dextran, fixed and processed for TEM. Volume fractions of surfactant subtypes [lamellar body-like forms (LBL, multilamellar vesicles (MV, unilamellar vesicles (UV] were determined stereologically. Results All preparations contained LBL and MV (corresponding to LA as well as UV (corresponding to SA. The volume fraction of UV increased with addition of meconium and decreased with further addition of dextran. Correspondingly, the UV/(LBL+MV ratio (resembling the SA/LA ratio increased when meconium was added and decreased when dextran was added to the surfactant-meconium mixture. Conclusion Meconium causes alterations in the ultrastructural composition of Curosurf that can be visualized and analyzed by TEM and stereology. These alterations resemble an increase in the SA/LA ratio and are paralleled by an increase in minimum surface tension. Dextran prevents these effects and may therefore be a useful additive to exogenous surfactant preparations to preserve their structural and functional integrity, thereby improving their resistance to inactivation.

  9. Coupling the Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer Technology and The Gelation Technology to Maximize Oil Production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Malcolm Pitts; Jie Qi; Dan Wilson; Phil Dowling; David Stewart; Bill Jones

    2005-12-01

    Performance and produced polymer evaluation of four alkaline-surfactant-polymer projects concluded that only one of the projects could have benefited from combining the alkaline-surfactant-polymer and gelation technologies. Cambridge, the 1993 Daqing, Mellott Ranch, and the Wardlaw alkaline-surfacant-polymer floods were studied. An initial gel treatment followed by an alkaline-surfactant-polymer flood in the Wardlaw field would have been a benefit due to reduction of fracture flow. Numerical simulation demonstrated that reducing the permeability of a high permeability zone of a reservoir with gel improved both waterflood and alkaline-surfactant-polymer flood oil recovery. A Minnelusa reservoir with both A and B sand production was simulated. A and B sands are separated by a shale layer. A sand and B sand waterflood oil recovery was improved by 196,000 bbls or 3.3% OOIP when a gel was placed in the B sand. Alkaline-surfactant-polymer flood oil recovery improvement over a waterflood was 392,000 bbls or 6.5% OOIP. Placing a gel into the B sand prior to an alkaline-surfactant-polymer flood resulted in 989,000 bbl or 16.4% OOIP more oil than only water injection. A sand and B sand alkaline-surfactant-polymer flood oil recovery was improved by 596,000 bbls or 9.9% OOIP when a gel was placed in the B sand.

  10. Effect of the surfactant on the availability of piroxicam as a poorly hydrosoluble drug from suppositories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dal Zorro, M; Franceschinis, E; Punchina, A; Realdon, N

    2012-01-01

    The use of surfactants in suppository formulations has been suggested to improve availability of poorly soluble drugs. In the present study, different kinds of surfactants have been investigated to clarify the influence on piroxicam release from suppositories formulated with both lipophilic and hydrophilic bases. Two hydrophilic glucose-derivate surfactants, and a polyoxylglyceride amphiphilic surfactant, all with high HLB values, were investigated for their use in improving drug availability. The two glucose derivate surfactants reduced drug availability from both lipophilic suppositories and hydrophilic formulations, according to longer disintegration times and drug micellization. The more complex surfactant, a lauroyl macrogolglyceride, showed an increase in piroxicam availability from lipophilic suppositories at the higher tested concentrations (15% and 20%). Otherwise, when used in hydrophilic formulations, it was less effective in promoting drug release and even reduced drug availability.

  11. Lung Surfactant and Its Use in Lung Diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. A. Rosenberg

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The review considers the present views of lung surfactant (LS functions with emphasis on its protective and barrier properties and ability to maintain local and adaptive immunity. The composition of commercial LS formulations is analyzed. Data on qualitative and quantitative LS abnormalities are presented in various diseases in neonates and adults. The results of clinical trials of different LS formulations in the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome in adults are analyzed in detail. Recent data on the results of and prospects for surfactant therapy for bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pulmonary tuberculosis are given. 

  12. Surfactant enhanced non-classical extraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szymanowski, J.

    2000-01-01

    Surfactant enhanced non-classical extractions are presented and discussed. They include micellar enhanced ultrafiltration and cloud point extraction. The ideas of the processes are given and the main features are presented. They are compared to the classical solvent extraction. The fundamental of micellar solutions and their solubilisation abilities are also discussed. (author)

  13. Surfactant enhanced non-classical extraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szymanowski, J.

    1999-01-01

    Surfactant enhanced non-classical extractions are presented and discussed. They include micellar enhanced ultrafiltration and cloud point extraction. The ideas of the processes are given and the main features are presented. They are compared to the classical solvent extraction. The fundamental of micellar solutions and their solubilization abilities are also discussed. (author)

  14. Surfactant-induced mobilisation of trace metals from estuarine sediment: Implications for contaminant bioaccessibility and remediation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, Anu [School of Earth, Ocean and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA (United Kingdom); Turner, Andrew [School of Earth, Ocean and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA (United Kingdom)], E-mail: aturner@plymouth.ac.uk

    2009-02-15

    The mobilisation of metals (Al, Fe, Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sn, Zn) from contaminated estuarine sediment has been examined using commercially available surfactants. Metal release by the anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), increased with increasing amphiphile concentration up to and above its critical micelle concentration (CMC). Metal mobilisation by the bile acid salt, sodium taurocholate, and the nonionic surfactant, Triton X-100, however, did not vary with amphiphile concentration. SDS was the most efficient surfactant in mobilising metals from the sample, and Cd, Cu and Ni were released to the greatest extents (12-18% of total metal at [SDS] > CMC). Metal mobilisation appeared to proceed via complexation with anionic amphiphiles and denudation of hydrophobic host phases. Surfactants may play an important role in the solubilisation of metals in the digestive environment of deposit-feeding animals and, potentially, in the remediation of metal-contaminated soil and sediment. - Significant quantities of metals are mobilised from estuarine sediment by commercially available surfactants.

  15. Surfactants enhance recovery of poorly soluble drugs during microdialysis sampling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Koplin, Sebastian; Kumpugdee-Vollrath, Mont; Bauer-Brandl, Annette

    2017-01-01

    Aim of this project was to investigate the applicability of a recently developed in vitro microdialysis-sampling approach in connection with a dissolution-/permeation (D/P) system, especially the impact of surfactants within the perfusion fluid. The D/P-system is based on side-by-side chambers...... drug-dissolution (-release) and drug permeation. Furthermore, it should allow quantification of the unbound (free) drug concentration. In the first step, it was assessed, if the addition of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) to the perfusate of the microdialysis system affects...... celecoxib, i.e. the fraction of drug, which is not associated with taurocholate surfactant micelles. In buffer, the measured concentrations matched the overall CXB concentrations. By the use of SDS-containing perfusates microdialysis sampling enabled reliable quantification of minute amounts of free CXB...

  16. Surfactants and the Rayleigh-Taylor instability of Couette type flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frenkel, A. L.; Halpern, D.; Schweiger, A. S.

    2011-11-01

    We study the Rayleigh-Taylor instability of slow Couette- type flows in the presence of insoluble surfactants. It is known that with zero gravity, the surfactant makes the flow unstable to longwave disturbances in certain regions of the parameter space; while in other parametric regions, it reinforces the flow stability (Frenkel and Halpern 2002). Here, we show that in the latter parametric sectors, and when the (gravity) Bond number Bo is below a certain threshold value, the Rayleigh-Taylor instability is completely stabilized for a finite interval of Ma, the (surfactant) Marangoni number: MaL Ma2. For Ma Ma2, and also for MaL Ma2 as functions of the Bond number. We note that (for an interval of the Bond number) there are two distinct criticalities with nonzero (and distinct) critical wavenumbers.

  17. Entropy of adsorption of mixed surfactants from solutions onto the air/water interface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, L.-W.; Chen, J.-H.; Zhou, N.-F.

    1995-01-01

    The partial molar entropy change for mixed surfactant molecules adsorbed from solution at the air/water interface has been investigated by surface thermodynamics based upon the experimental surface tension isotherms at various temperatures. Results for different surfactant mixtures of sodium dodecyl sulfate and sodium tetradecyl sulfate, decylpyridinium chloride and sodium alkylsulfonates have shown that the partial molar entropy changes for adsorption of the mixed surfactants were generally negative and decreased with increasing adsorption to a minimum near the maximum adsorption and then increased abruptly. The entropy decrease can be explained by the adsorption-orientation of surfactant molecules in the adsorbed monolayer and the abrupt entropy increase at the maximum adsorption is possible due to the strong repulsion between the adsorbed molecules.

  18. SP-A-enriched surfactant for treatment of rat lung transplants with SP-A deficiency after storage and reperfusion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Erasmus, ME; Hofstede, GJH; Petersen, AH; Batenburg, JJ; Haagsman, HP; Oetomo, SB; Prop, J

    2002-01-01

    Background. The function of pulmonary surfactant is affected by lung transplantation, contributing to impaired lung transplant function. A decreased amount of surfactant protein-A (SP-A) after reperfusion is believed to contribute to the impaired surfactant function. Surfactant treatment has been

  19. DISTRIBUTION OF A 2ND DOSE OF EXOGENOUS SURFACTANT IN RABBITS WITH SEVERE RESPIRATORY-FAILURE

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    PLOTZ, FB; STEVENS, H; HEIKAMP, A; OETOMO, SB

    Newborn infants with respiratory distress who fail to respond to surfactant treatment receive a second dose of surfactant. The effect of this strategy on the distribution of surfactant to the lung is unknown. We therefore investigated the distribution of the first (100 mg/kg body weight) and second

  20. Molecular dynamics studies and quantification of the effect of chirality on the formation of liquid crystal mesophases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Solymosi, Miklos

    2002-01-01

    Results are presented from theoretical studies and from a series of molecular dynamics simulations undertaken to quantify the effect of chirality on the formation of liquid crystal mesophases. In the theoretical studies we have proposed a scaled chiral index with a formulation which allows comparison to be made between molecules comprising different numbers of atoms. We have undertaken chirality calculations utilizing the proposed scaled chiral index, G 0S , for one optimized static molecular geometry for a range of liquid crystal chiral dopants and ferroelectric liquid crystal molecules. The scaled chiral index, G 0S , allows a rapid calculation to be made of a pseudoscalar quantity which shows a good correlation with the helical twisting power of liquid crystal chiral dopants in a nematic liquid crystal solvent. This could prove a powerful aid in the design of novel dopant molecules where the dopant is rigid and the helical twisting is predominantly a steric effect. The same scaled chirality index, G 0S , calculation for ferroelectric liquid crystal molecules hints at an inverse correlation with spontaneous polarization agreeing with some experimental results. The scaled chiral index is a chemically useful index that can also be decomposed into atomic or functional group contributions, thereby creating a new measure of the asymmetric potential of functional groups and their different possible substitution positions. In the molecular dynamics simulation studies we have investigated two three-site Gay-Berne models, one chiral and the other achiral, each with a rotated central site forming a zigzag shape. In the chiral model one of the end site was additionally rotated out of the plane of the other two sites by a chiral angle θ c . Results from the achiral phase simulations support the theory that steric molecular shape can be associated with a driving force that leads to the smectic A - smectic C phase transition since such a transition was observed in the achiral