Polymer Journal
Vol. 38, No. 11 (November, 2006)

[Award Accounts: SPSJ Award (2004)] Web Release Date: October 19, 2006

1099-1104 Sequence-Specific Aggregation Behavior of DNA-Carrying Colloidal Nanoparticles Prepared from Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-graft-Oligodeoxyribonucleotide  M. Maeda [Full Text PDF(J-STAGE)]

Graft copolymers consisting of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) as the trunk and single-stranded DNA as branches were prepared to form DNA-carrying nanoparticles above physiological temperature. We found that aggregation of the nanoparticles was induced at relatively high salt concentration (400 mM NaCl) by the hybridization of surface-anchored DNA with full-match complementary DNA. In contrast, single-base mismatches at the distal end stabilized the colloidal dispersion so that the dispersion remained transparent. The phenomenon is applicable to SNP typing when combining with the single-base primer extension reaction.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: October 4, 2006

1105-1113 Structure and Properties of Novel Fibril Silicate/Rubber Nanocomposites  M. Tian, Y. Lu, W. Liang, L. Cheng, and L. Zhang [Full Text PDF(J-STAGE)]

Palygorskite (AT) mineral was selected as a nano-fiber precursor to construct a novel nano-fiber/rubber nanocomposites by using a simple and cost-efficient preparation method. Upon shear force during traditional mechanical mixing, the numerous nano-fibers contained in palygorskite micro-powder were released into rubber matrix. These nanocomposites exhibit stress-strain characteristics that are similar to that of micro-short fiber reinforced rubber, evident anisotropy in mechanical properties, good processing properties, as well as low cost and easily practiced by industry.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: September 21, 2006

1114-1126 Melt Miscibility and Mechanical Properties of Metallocene LLDPE blends with HDPE: Influence of Mw of LLDPE  T. Hameed and I. A. Hussein [Full Text PDF(J-STAGE)]

Melt rheology of m-LLDPE blended with linear HDPE revealed strong influence of Mw on melt miscibility. Low Mw m-LLDPE/HDPE blends are suggested to be miscible, whereas, viscosity of high Mw m-LLDPE/HDPE blends showed negative deviation behavior suggesting layered morphology of these blends. The DSC results suggest that compatibility in the solid state is independent of Mw and BC. Small strain mechanical properties of these blends were found to be a strong function of blend compatibility and the specific properties of the blend components.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: September 21, 2006

1127-1136 Molecular Structure, Crystallinity and Morphology of Polyethylene/Polypropylene Blends Studied by Raman Mapping, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Wide Angle X-Ray Diffraction, and Differential Scanning Calorimetry  T. Furukawa, H. Sato, Y. Kita, K. Matsukawa, H. Yamaguchi, S. Ochiai, H. W. Siesler, and Y. Ozaki [Full Text PDF(J-STAGE)]

Raman mapping and SEM images of 80/20 Metallocene polyethylene/polypropylene blend.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: October 4, 2006

1137-1145 Thermal and Mechanical Characterization of Electrospun Blends of Poly(lactic acid) and Poly(glycolic acid)  L. I. Ramdhanie, S. R. Aubuchon, E. D. Boland, D. C. Knapp, C. P. Barnes, D. G. Simpson, G. E. Wnek, and G. L. Bowlin [Full Text PDF(J-STAGE)]

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(glycolic acid) (PGA) have long been popular polymers in the development of tissue engineering scaffolds due to their biocompatibility, bioabsorbability, and good tensile strength. Electrospinning is an attractive approach for the production of non-woven, nano- to micron-scale fibrous tissue engineering scaffolds of complex geometries. In this study, we characterize electrospun blends of PLA and PGA via scanning electron microscopy (as shown), tensile testing, differential scanning calorimetry, and phase contrast microscopy to gain a better understanding of these blended structures for potential use in biomedical applications.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: October 4, 2006

1146-1151 Synthesis of Electron-Donating Polymer Having Vinylogous TTF in the Main Chain  S. Inagi, K. Naka, D. Iida, and Y. Chujo [Full Text PDF(J-STAGE)]

An electron-donating polymer containing vinylogous TTF in the main chain was synthesized by oxidative polymerization. The vinylogous TTF unit in the polymer easily formed the dication by electrochemical method and by the addition of the electron acceptor because of the reduced coulombic repulsion in the dication species.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: October 4, 2006

1152-1159 Conformational Analysis of Poly(propionaldehyde azine) in Dilute Solution  A. Hashidzume, Y. Ueno, and T. Sato [Full Text PDF(J-STAGE)]

The conformation of poly(propionaldehyde azine) (PrAz) in tetrahydrofuran was investigated by viscosity measurements before and after trans-to-cis photoisomerization and also by the rotational isomeric state (RIS) model. This study elucidated that the extended conformation of trans-pPrAz (before photoisomerization) arose mainly from the difficulty of gauche conformation around the carbon-carbon bond in the main chain, and that the photoisomerization formed preferentially the anti-cis isomer, resulting in a larger characteristic ratio to avoid severe steric hindrance between the ethyl groups.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: October 11, 2006

1160-1164 Polymerization of trans-2-Butene with (α-Diimine)Ni(II) Complex in Combination with Et2AlCl  K. Endo and Y. Kondo [Full Text PDF(J-STAGE)]

The polymerization of trans-2-butene with (α-diimine)Ni(II) complex 1 in combination with Et2AlCl gave a high molecular weight polymer with repeating units of –CH2–CH2–CH(CH3)– predominantly. The molecular weight control of the polymer is also achieved with (α-diimine)Ni(II) complex 1/Et2AlCl.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: October 11, 2006

1165-1172 Effect of Interfacial Reaction and Morphology on Rheological Properties of Reactive Bilayer  H. Y. Kim, H. J. Kim, and J. K. Kim [Full Text PDF(J-STAGE)]

Plot of |η*| at ω=0.1 rad/s and 180 °C versus rms roughness for symmetric PS-mCOOH/PMMA-GMA bilayer with total thickness of 0.6 mm. This result shows that the increase of rms roughness (or interfacial reaction) is strongly related to the increase of |η*|. Interestingly, it seems that |η*| is proportional to the rms roughness for larger rms roughness (>40 nm), whereas a linear relationship is not valid for the smaller rms roughness.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: October 11, 2006

1173-1181 Helicity Induction in N-[(4-Butyl)triphenylmethyl]methacrylamide Sequence via Radical Copolymerization with Chiral Monomers  A. K. M. F. Azam, M. Kamigaito, M. Tsuji, and Y. Okamoto [Full Text PDF(J-STAGE)]

The radical copolymerization of N-[(4-butyl)triphenylmethyl]methacrylamide (BuTrMAM) with optically active monomers, such as N-[(R)-(+)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethyl]methacrylamide, N-[(S)-(−)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethyl]methacrylamide, N-((S)-(+)-1-cyclohexylethyl)methacrylamide, N-((R)-(−)-1-cyclohexylethyl)methacrylamide, N-((S)-(−)-1-benzylpyrrolidin-3-yl)methacrylamide, and N-((R)-(+)-1-benzylpyrrolidin-3-yl)methacrylamide, was carried out. The optical activity of the obtained copolymers significantly depended on the monomer contents. When the chiral monomer content was low in the copolymers, the chiral monomeric units were effective in inducing an excess of the one-handed helix consisting of BuTrMAM monomeric sequences. The helicity induction was most effectively attained using N-[1-(1-naphthyl)ethyl]methacrylamide at low temperature.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: October 19, 2006

1182-1188 Chitinase-Catalyzed Copolymerization to a Chitin Derivative Having Glucosamine Unit in Controlled Proportion  A. Makino, M. Ohmae, and S. Kobayashi [Full Text PDF(J-STAGE)]

Chitinase-catalyzed copolymerization of an N,N ′-diacetylchitobiose oxazoline monomer (1) with an N-acetylchitobiose oxazoline monomer (2) has been investigated. Chitinase from Bacillus sp. catalyzed ring-opening copolyaddition of monomers 1 and 2, giving rise to the corresponding copolymer. The degree of N-deacetylation (DDAc) of the product was controlled by varying the comonomer feed ratio.

[Note] Web Release Date: September 21, 2006

1189-1193 A Positive-Type Alkaline-Developable Photosensitive Polyimide Based on the Poly(amic acid) from 2,2′,6,6′-Biphenyltetracarboxylic Dianhydride and 1,3-Bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzene, and a Diazonaphthoquinone  K. Sakayori, Y. Shibasaki, and M. Ueda [Full Text PDF(J-STAGE)]

A positive-type alkaline-developable photosensitive polyimide (PSPI) based on the poly(amic acid) (PAA-BB) from 2,2′,6,6′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride and 1,3-bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzene, and diazonaphthoquinone (DNQ-1) has been developed. PAA-BB showed an excellent solution stability and a high transmittance at 365 nm. The PSPI containing 80 wt % of PAA-BB and 20 wt % of DNQ-1 exhibited a sensitivity of 110 mJ/cm2 and a contrast of 2.0.

[Short Communication] Web Release Date: September 21, 2006

1194-1197 Size Exclusion Chromatography of Standard Polystyrenes with a Wide Range of Molecular Weight Up to 7.45× 106 on Monolithic Silica Capillary Columns  K. Ute, S. Yoshida, T. Kitayama, T. Bamba, K. Harada, E. Fukusaki, A. Kobayashi, N. Ishizuka, H. Minakuchi, and K. Nakanishi [Full Text PDF(J-STAGE)]

A mixture of 8 polystyrene standards with molecular weight (Mp) from 2,900 to 7,450,000 was chromatographed on monolithic silica with 15 or 20 nm mesopores in a fused silica capillary using tetrahydrofuran as eluent. Elution peaks due to each polystyrene standard were separated clearly. Plots of the log Mp of each polystyrene standard against its retention volume were fitted nicely to a straight line, even in the molecular weight range higher than those expected from the mesopore size of the monolithic silica.

[Short Communication] Web Release Date: September 21, 2006

1198-1204 Preparation and Characterization of Polypropylene Grafted Halloysite and Their Compatibility Effect to Polypropylene/Halloysite Composite  M. L. Du, B. C. Guo, M. X. Liu, and D. M. Jia [Full Text PDF(J-STAGE)]

Polypropylene (PP) grafted halloysite (g-halloysite) was prepared via a two-step coupling process, and g-halloysite was then compounded with PP to form composite. The PP/g-halloysite composite possesses substantially increased mechanical properties although the dispersion of the halloysite in it is less uniform than that in the unmodified one. The increase in mechanical properties is attributed to the better compatibility and stronger interfacial interactions between PP and halloysite. This work provides an effective method for modification of inorganics utilized in polyolefin.

[Short Communication] Web Release Date: October 4, 2006

1205-1209 Synthesis and Polymerization of Novel Vinyl Monomers having Intramolecular Urethane Bond and Glycerin Group  E.-C. Kang, A. Ogura, T. Iwata, S. Kataoka, and Y. Maruhashi [Full Text PDF(J-STAGE)]

IPGMOU monomer synthesized with IPG and MOI, and GLYMOU monomer with two hydroxyl groups synthesized by the deprotection of isopropylidene group in IPGMOU monomer. GLYMOU polymer synthesized by the free radical polymerization of GLYMOU monomer and also synthesized by the deprotection of IPGMOU polymer. The 10 wt % weight-loss degradation temperatures of IPGMOU and GLYMOU polymers were 282 and 240 °C, respectively. The glass transition temperatures of IPGMOU and GLYMOU polymers were 43 and 63 °C, respectively.