The concentration and temperature dependence of the gelation kinetics of high-methoxyl pectin (HMP; 60% sucrose, pH 3) was investigated using measurements of small-amplitude oscillatory shear. The rate of gelation close to the gel point can be described as a second-order rate process using the kinetic model of Ross-Murphy (Carbohydr. Polym. 1991, 14, 281) and a critical exponent close to that p...

We investigate the structural, dynamical, and viscoelastic properties of colloid-polymer mixtures at intermediate colloid volume fraction and varying polymer concentrations, thereby tuning the attractive interactions. Within the examined range of polymer concentrations, the samples varied from fluids to gels. In the liquid phase, an increasing correlation length of the density fluctuations when...

The flow-induced self-assembly of entangled Bombyx mori silk proteins is hypothesised to be aided by the ‘registration’ aligned protein chains using intermolecularly interacting ‘sticky’ patches. This suggests that upon chain alignment, a hierarchical network forms collectively stretches and induces nucleation in precisely controlled way. Through lens polymer physics, we argue if all would stre...

BACKGROUND Addition of disinfectant to irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials can eliminate the disinfection step to avoid dimensional changes associated with it. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of various disinfectant mixing liquids on the properties of commercially available irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials. MATERIALS AND METHODS Four commercial...

Hydrogels formed from the self-assembly of oligopeptides are being extensively studied for biomedical applications. The kinetics of their gelation, as well as a quantitative description of the forces controlling the rate of assembly has not yet been addressed. We report here the use of multiple particle tracking to measure the self-assembly kinetics of the model peptide FKFEFKFE (KFE8). KFE8 fo...

BACKGROUND The platelet gel is made by embedding concentrate platelets within a semisolid (gel) network of polymerized fibrin. It is believed that this blood component will be used more and more in the treatment of several clinical conditions and as an adjunctive material in tissue engineering. Several systems are available to produce platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for topical therapy. Recently, a ...

Various solubilizers were tried during preformulation study. Propylene glycol and Transcutol were selected as solubilizers for further study. Poloxamer 407 gives gelation temperature in nasal temperature range 280 to 350 in 18% w/v concentration. Addition of bioadhesive polymer from 0.2% to 0.7% further lowered the gelation temperature from 340 to 290. Gelation temperatures obtained using two d...

In order to evaluate the gelation behavior of macromonomeric azoinitiators (MIMs), the free radical polymerization of MIM and macrocrosslinkers (MCRs) have been compared. MIMs were synthesized by the reaction between 4,49-dicyano-4,49-azovaleryl chloride and poly(ethylene glycol)s PEG-400, -1000, -1500, -2000 and 4-vinylbenzyl chloride. MCRs were obtained by vinylation of both hydroxyl ends of ...

We report the spontaneous patterning of polymer microgels by confining a polymer blend within microspheres. A poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and gelatin solution was confined inside water-in-oil (W/O) microdroplets coated with a layer of zwitterionic lipids: dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (PC). The droplet confinement affected the kinetics of the phase separa...

We have investigated the electric conductivity, dielectric relaxation behavior, and viscosity for the aqueous solution of cyanobacterial megamolecules, molecular weight =1.6×10(7) g/mol, named sacran. Sacran is an anionic polyelectrolyte which has carboxylate and sulfate groups on the saccharide chain. The electric conductivity and the zero shear viscosity demonstrated three crossover concentra...