| POLYMERS Vol.66 No.11 |
| >> Japanese | >> English |
COVER STORY
Materials Revolution with Polymers by Adding Something Extra |
| COVER STORY: Highlight Reviews |
| Creation of Nanocomposite Gels and its Developments | Kazutoshi HARAGUCHI |
| <Abstract> Polymer hydrogel is one of the unique (soft, wet, and environmentally friendly) materials in polymer science because its primary component is water. Nanocomposite hydrogel (NC gel), consisting of an organic(polymer)-inorganic(clay) network structure, was first developed 15 years ago. NC gels are prepared by in-situ, free-radical polymerization with high yields under mild conditions (near-ambient temperature, without stirring). Various shapes and fine surface structures of NC gels are readily obtained using different templates. NC gels exhibit extraordinarily high mechanical toughness, high transparency (structural uniformity), and a number of interesting new characteristics, which originate from the unique polymer-clay network structure. Recently, a number of modified or new types of NC gels have been reported. Herein, we present a comprehensive report on the formation and deformation of polymer-clay network structure and the recent developments in NC gel syntheses and characteristics. Keywords: Hydrogel / Nanocomposite / Clay / Network Structure / Stimuli-responsive / Mechanical Toughness / Self-organization / N-isopropylacrylamide |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| Designing Intramolecular Potential Structure by Utilizing Dendrimers | Ken ALBRECHT, Kimihisa YAMAMOTO |
| <Abstract> Controlling the conformational fluctuation in polymeric systems is usually difficult. In this review we introduce a method to reduce the conformational fluctuation of macromolecules by utilizing π-conjugated dendritic structures. These dendritic molecules can be used widely to mimic the functions of proteins, as electronic materials, and as luminescence materials. Keywords: Dendrimer / Potential Programming / Phenylazomethine / Carbazole / Biomimetics / Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence / Molecular Recognition / Nanoparticle |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| Organic-Inorganic Nanohybrid Particles | Syuji FUJII |
| <Abstract> Organic-inorganic nanohybrid materials have garnered substantial academic and industrial interest for a long time. Recent progress in polymer chemistry and interfacial chemistry enable us to synthesize functional organic-inorganic nanohybrids in a form of colloidal particles. Thanks to their high specific surface area, moderate mobility in media and film-forming ability, the nanohybrid particles have found their applications such as particulate emulsifiers, synthetic mimics for cosmic dust, key materials in paints and coatings. In this perspective, technical advances in the field of synthesis of the nanohybrid particles are briefly reviewed. Given the commercial availability of a wide range of relatively cheap monomers/polymers and inorganic nanoparticles and the use of well-established, environmentally friendly techniques such as polymerizations/mixing in aqueous media, the sythesis methods reviewed here are particularly amenable to industrial scale-up. Keywords: Nanohybrid / Particle / Colloid / Dispersion / Interface / Morphology / Polymer Chemistry / Polymerization |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| COVER STORY: Topics and Products |
| Cells and Polymers | Michiya MATSUSAKI |
| <Abstract> Cell functions are controlled by fabrication of layer-by-layer nanofilms on cell membranes. We applied this method to construct 3D-tissues for pharmaceutical assessments. Keywords: Cell / Polymer / Extracellular Matrix / Layer-by-Layer / Three-Dimensional Tissues / Human Tissue Model / Pharmaceutical Assessment |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| Functionalization of Polymeric Materials via Surface Modification with Biominerals | Ayako OYANE |
| <Abstract> Apatite (a human biomineral) exhibits good biocompatibility and osteoconductivity, and has long been used in dental and orthopedic applications. Liquid-phase apatite coating processes using supersaturated calcium phosphate (CaP) solutions are useful in surface functionalization of polymeric materials. We have developed two simple processes for apatite coatings: a precursor-assisted process and a laser-assisted process. In the precursor-assisted process, a polymer substrate is precoated with amorphous CaP nanoparticles by alternate dipping in calcium and phosphate solutions, followed by immersion in a supersaturated CaP solution. In the laser-assisted process, a polymer substrate that is immersed in a supersaturated CaP solution is irradiated with weak pulsed laser light for several tens of minutes. Using such processes, apatite coating has been applied to a variety of polymeric materials including a biodegradable polymer (PCL, PLGA, collagen, etc) scaffold, an artificial tendon, and a cell culture plate. These coating processes and the resulting polymers with functionalized surfaces have the potential for use in a wide variety of biomedical applications. Keywords: Apatite / Calcium Phosphate / Biomimetic Process / Coating / Composite / Scaffold / Laser / Gene |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| Hybrid Fluid Material of Proteins and Surfactants | Tatsuya NOJIMA |
| <Abstract> A high-protein content (max 311 mg/mL) water-immiscible fluid material, “Protein Condensate (PC)” is generated by the mixing of aqueous solutions of protein and both anionic and cationic surfactant. The formation of PC is contrary to the common knowledge of protein research, that is to say, surfactant improves the dispersibility and mediates the solubilization of protein in water. PC formation is not limited to particular proteins. We demonstrated that a wide variety of proteins form PC preserving the native structure and the activity. Although the combination of proteins and surfactants is a fairly common practice in protein research, PC formation is the first demonstration of a stable fluidic form of a complex of protein and surfactant occurring in water and segregated from the water. Keywords: Protein / Surfactant / Assembly / Phase Separation / Fluid Material / Soft Material / Protein Condensation |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| Polymer Science and I: A Personal Account |
| A Drawing Chemist | Mitsuo HARA |
| <Abstract> This personal account describes a relationship between a chemist and drawing skills. Drawing cartoons was the author’s old hobby. In addition, the author also had learned drafting. These skills served the author well in designing and manufacturing illustrations, which can improve the quality of measurements. |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| Front-Line Polymer Science |
| Bio-Inspired Structural Colored Materials | Yukikazu TAKEOKA |
| <Abstract> In this review paper, I introduce the preparation and the optical properties of bio-inspired structural colored materials using white and black materials. Stimulus-sensitive structural colors are regarded as very attractive new display and sensor components, but they suffer from generally high angular dependences. Recently, bio-inspired materials that display color appearance without angular dependence have been developed by using materials with a short-range order in their refractive index. Moreover, these colored materials change their brilliant structural colors depending on the environments, and may have a potential for the application as display and sensor components. Keywords: Bio-Inspired / Structural Color / Polymer Gel |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| Copyright(C) 2017 The Society of Polymer Science, Japan All Rights Reserved. |