| POLYMERS Vol.61 No.12 |
| >> Japanese | >> English |
COVER STORY
Fantastic Gifts of Polymer |
| COVER STORY: Topics and Products |
| Development of the Spreading Type Organic Insulator | Yumi OSAKU |
| <Abstract> We
have developed the transparent low outgassing organic insulator ZEOCOATR, which is suitable for various OLED displays. Until now, there was no insulator
available that has a good process compatibility and made it possible
to fabricate long life time, low power consumption OLED panels. In this
report we describe the development of the new material ZEOCOATR that satisfies all above-mentioned characteristics. Keywords: Organic Insulator / Planarization Layer / Pixel Defined Layer / Light Transparent / Low Dielectric Constant / Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) |
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| Functionalized Elastomer for Fuel-Efficient Tires | Toshihiro TADAKI |
| <Abstract> Recently,
the reduction of rolling resistance of tires has become more significant
in the tire industry, because it has a close relation to the fuel consumption
efficiency and CO2 emission of motor vehicles. Rolling resistance of
tires is closely related to hysteresis loss properties of tire tread compounds. Dispersibility of filler is considered to affect hysteresis loss. Some styrene butadiene copolymers with functional groups at chain ends have been developed by solution polymerization systems (modified S-SBRs) to achieve improved interaction with silica or carbon black. They showed significant reduction in the hysteresis loss of filled compounds. Especially, the modified S-SBR with both primary amino group and alkoxysilyl group introduced at the same chain-end exhibited excellent lower hysteresis loss properties. Keywords: Functionalized SBR / Chain-End Modification / Hysteresis Loss Reduction / Silica / Carbon Black |
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| Development of New Water Filter Products | Hatsumi TAKEDA |
| <Abstract> In
the 1950s household water filter was sold for the first time, and today,
it became the necessities of life in Japan. In 2004, Mitsubishi Rayon
put the world's first pitcher type filter applying both activated carbon
and the hollow fibre membrane on sale. The most important part of the
product development of water filters was not only the elemental technology
but also the combinatorial technology. The main feature of the pitcher
type is to purify the water without supplying pressure on the tap water.
However faucet type is the most popular style in Japan in recent years;
so more people use the pitcher type as it is so easy to do, and the sales
volume grew for more than 20 percent of the market. In the future, pitcher
type filters will be very popular around the world, for they to provide
safe drinking water and create a better life for people. Keywords: Water Filter / Pitcher / Hollow Fibre Membrane / Combinatorial Technology |
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| Observing Dialyzer Membranes Using an Electron Microscope | Hirohide OTOBE |
| <Abstract> Asahi-KASEI
and its group companies provide many kinds of polymer products to a wide
variety of industrial field, such as automobiles, electronics, textiles,
foods and medical devices. For support of their development and production,
electron microscopy (SEM, TEM) is one of the most important analytical
techniques. Increase of the demand for high-quality images sometimes
requires new developments of sample preparation and observation techniques
for SEM and TEM. As an example of such developments, we report sophisticated techniques applied for the analysis of dialyzer membranes: (1) high resolution analysis of phase separation structure, (2) observation under wet condition. Keywords: Electron Microscope / SEM / TEM / STEM / Dialyzer Membranes / High Resolution Analysis / Wet Condition |
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| Production of Highly Pure β-1,3-1,6-D-glucan, “Aqua β” | Toshio SUZUKI |
| <Abstract> Mass
production of β-1,3-1,6-D-glucan from a black yeast Aureobasidium pullulans was performed on an industrial scale. The production depended on amounts
of sucrose as a carbon source. The culture showed high viscosity in increasing
β-glucan production, so that its purification seemed to be difficult.
On the other hand, its purification method was completed under alkaline
conditions, especially removal of cells, because of lowering the viscosity
by treatment with alkaline solution. Finally, the β-glucan powder named
“Aqua βTM” was highly purified to more than 80% and supplied as an ingredient
for functional food from DS Wellfoods Co., Ltd. It has high efficacy
enhancing intestinal
immunity and protecting allergy. Recently, heat shock protein 70 (HSP70)
was found to be induced on a surface of stomach to protect from stomach
ulcer. Keywords: β-Glucan / Black Yeast / Intestinal Immunity / IgA / Allergy / Stomach Ulcer / Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70) |
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| The World's 1st Transdermal Patch for Treatment of Asthma | Yoshihisa NAKANO |
| <Abstract> DDS
is the technology that can optimize drug administration and reduce undesired
side effects. Now we cannot develop a therapeutically-effective drug
product without this technology. One of the most important materials
supporting the DDS technology is a polymer. Nitto Denko developed the
world's first transdermal patch, the HokunalinR Tape, based on an unique DDS technology which enables to absorb the required
dosage of an asthma treatment drug via the skin. When the patch is applied
to the skin, the drug penetrates the skin and is absorbed into the blood
stream through the capillaries to flow throughout the body. Unlike conventional
oral and inhaled formulations, the HokunalinR Tape has the advantage of appropriately controlling the concentration of the
drug in the body. This means that users can better control asthma attacks,
which frequently occur in the early morning, and that the burden on caregivers
is also greatly reduced. This proprietary technology is subsequently
applied in the development of other transdermal patches. Keywords: DDS / Transdermal Patch / Chronotherapy / Asthma Bronchodilator |
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| Development of Aluminum Based Catalyst for PET | Shoichi GYOBU |
| <Abstract> PET
catalysts remain in PET after polymerization and cause negative impacts
on the performance of PET, the processability for thermoforming process
and the performance of final products. After a global development race from 1950s to 1970s, Antimony compounds were selected as effective PET catalysts and have been used for many decades. We started the fundamental study about PET catalysts and created a new concept for PET catalyst chemistry, that is, “activating the less active metal compounds by combining with co-catalysts”. We re-examined the periodic table based on this concept and found that Aluminum compounds can be activated by combining with co-catalysts, though Aluminum compounds have been believed to be less active as PET catalysts. We also found that PET made with this new Aluminum catalyst system has higher thermal stability and higher transparency. PET made with this new catalyst system are now used in photovoltaic backsheet film and PET bottle. We have also started to license this technology. Keywords: Polyester / PET / Catalyst / Aluminum / Antimony / Co-Catalyst |
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| Development of Edge-LED Lighting ‘SumilookR’ | Katsuhiko IWASAKI, Kazunari KAWABE |
| <Abstract> Edge-LED
lighting fixtures, successfully developed by Sumitomo Chemical in cooperation
with Koizumi Lighting Technology Corp. and others, and launched in 2010,
attract increasing attention, amidst the rising public awareness about
energy austerity, especially following the nuclear power plant accident.
LED lighting fixtures can be divided roughly into edge-LED and direct-LED
types. Edge-LED type has LED arrays installed near an edge of a light
guide plate that emits light through it. The plate has a uniquely-designed
dotted pattern on the back surface for reflection purposes. In both types,
a diffuser plate is used. Sumitomo Chemical is a global producer of acrylic
sheets used for these plates. Edge-LED lighting fixtures have the advantage
of emitting soft and uniform non-glare light, in addition to the small
thickness of the fixture. Capitalizing on its abundant expertise in the
polymer design through control of optical properties of acrylic sheets, Sumitomo Chemical is working to
make edge-LED fixtures available to wider market applications. Keywords: LED Lighting Fixture / Edge-LED Lighting Fixture / Sign / Light Guide Plate / Diffuser Plate / Acrylic Sheet |
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| Polymer Science and I: A Personal Account |
| Look Back on My Research Life at Yamagata University | Satoshi INAYAMA |
| <Abstract> I look back at my research life at Yamagata University in the past 12 years. Experiences and impressions in the laboratories, where I did my research works in undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral periods, are described. |
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| Front-Line Polymer Science |
| Application of Functional Amyloid for Bio-Nanotechnology | Naoki TANAKA |
| <Abstract> Amyloid
fibril, a fibrous cross-β sheet protein aggregate, was first discovered
in the context of a variety of neurodegenerative diseases including
Alzheimer and Parkinson disease. Later studies showed that a variety
of peptides and proteins unrelated diseases also forms amyloid fibril,
indicating that the amyloid fibril formation is a common phenomenon
of the polypeptide. Recently, growing studies showed that organisms
from bacteria to mammals utilized these nonpathological protein self-assemblies
as “functional amyloid”, which is applicable in the field of bio-nanotechnology.
In this review, the basic knowledge from the studies about the amyloid
fibril is explained,
and the applications of functional amyloid for the cell culture technology
and the treatment of Alzheimer diseases are introduced. Keywords: Amyloid Fibril / Neurodegenerative Diseases / Functional Amyloid / Bio-nanotechnology / Chaperone Amyloid / Cell Culture Technology |
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