高分子 Vol.71 No.2
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特集 異分野との融合
展望 COVER STORY: Highlight Reviews
芸術と化学の触媒になる
Becoming a “Catalyst” for Art and Chemistry
大橋 啓之
Keishi OHASHI
<要旨> 超低消費電力ディスプレイ用に開発されたエレクトロクロミック材料の新たな用途の探索を目的として、異分野の複数の専門家による従来価値観にとらわれない画素実現への挑戦を試みた。本稿は、その挑戦「落ち葉プロジェクト」における、芸術・デザイン、化学、エレクトロニクスという異分野間の共同作業の経緯を報告する。
Keywords: Electrochromism / Chemistry / Art / Electronics / Interdisciplinary Field / Display / Pixel / Fallen Leaves
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トピックス COVER STORY: Topics and Products
血液適合性ポリマーの高靭性化と3Dプリンティング
Toughening and 3D Printing of Blood-Compatible Polymer
浅井 文雄・竹岡 敬和
Fumio ASAI, Yukikazu TAKEOKA
<要旨> Poly(2-methoxyethyl acrylate) (PMEA) has attracted attention as a biocompatible polymer that is used as an antithrombotic coating agent for medical devices. However, PMEA is a viscous liquid polymer with low Tg, and its physical strength is poor even if a cross-linker is used, so it is difficult to make tough and freestanding objects from it. Here, we design and fabricate a biocompatible elastomer made of tough, self-supporting PMEA-silica composites. The toughness of the composite elastomer increases as a function of silica particle filling, and the stress at break of it is significantly improved. In addition, the composite elastomer shows the potential to have an antithrombotic property, while the results of the platelet adhesion test of the composite elastomer show that the number of adhered platelets is not significantly affected by the silica addition. Since the composite elastomer can be rapidly 3D-printed into complex geometries, it is expected to contribute to the development of medical devices from readily available materials.
Keywords: Composite Elastomer / Toughness / Nonlinear Elasticity / Blood Compatible / Stereography
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プラスチック成形から発想した新しい製パン技術
Novel Baking Technology Based on Polymer Processing Technique
西岡 昭博
Akihiro NISHIOKA
<要旨> The process of bread baking in food science corresponds to the foam molding process of the polymer processing science. Strong correlation between the melt rheological properties and the processability is commonly recognized. When we obtain the proper viscoelastic property of rice batter, then rice bread is possible to make. Development of this bread making technology is based on the idea to use amorphous rice flour as thickening agent. In addition, we developed a novel production method of amorphous rice flour by using a mill. This method was realized by a newly invented mill system called Shear and Heat Milling Machine (SHMM). It was clarified that the rheological properties such as strain hardening of rice dough is controlled by adding the amorphous rice flour obtained from the SHMM. High quality rice bread is possible with rice batter even without gluten. Recently, investigations on the effect of starch molecular architecture influencing the processability of rice dough are conducted. In the future, these series of studies will finally reveal a correlation between the architecture of starch molecules and the bread-making property.
Keywords: Polymer Processing / Rheology / Starch / Baking Technique / Amorphous Rice Flour
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ナノファイバー化技術を用いた未利用資源の農業分野での利活用
Utilization of the Unused Resources Using Nanofibrillation Technology in Agriculture
上中 弘典
Hironori KAMINAKA
<要旨> For utilization of waste crab and prawn shells known as representative unused waste resources, the effective use of chitin, a major component of fungal cell walls and arthropod exoskeletons, is essential due to its various physiological functions in living organisms. The utilization of chitin in agriculture has been limited due to its insolubility although chitin can induce disease resistance and growth promotion in plants. Nanofibrillation technology can produce chitin nanofiber (CNF) with high dispersibility even in water. Nanofibrillation technology was also applied to crab and prawn shells and spent mushroom substrate (SMS), which produces a CNF complex with other components. CNF induced disease resistance and promote growth in plants like other derivatives. CNF complexes derived from both shells conferred stronger plant disease resistance than standard CNF. The function of CNF complex produced from SMS would be derived from cellulose but not chitin. Our findings proposed nanofibrillation is a promising technology to produce functional and valuable new materials from unused resources in agriculture.
Keywords: Chitin Nanofiber / Crab Shells / Disease Resistance / Growth Promotion / Nanofibrillation / Plant / Prawn Shells / Spent Mushroom Substrate
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高分子系ミルフィーユ構造のキンク制御と材料創製
New Mechanical Strengthening Concept of Polymer Millefeuille Structure with Kink Control
石神 明・伊藤 浩志
Akira ISHIGAMI, Hiroshi ITO
<要旨> A new type of high strength magnesium (Mg) alloy having a long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) structure has been discovered in the field of metals. The LPSO structure was formed by a combination of hard and soft layers generating a mille-feuille multilayer-like structure. A kink structure was formed by hot forging the mille-feuille materials, resulting in improvement of mechanical strength of the materials. However, the kink formation and strengthening mechanism have not clearly been understood yet. In this study, the fabrication of polymer multilayer films having mille-feuille-like structures has been investigated. The effect of injection molding and heat treatment conditions on formation of the SBS microphase-separated structure as mille-feuille has also been analyzed. We have investigated various kink forming methods to clarify the relationship between the kink structure and mechanical properties of these polymer mille-feuille structures.
Keywords: Mille-Feuille Structure / Polymer Multilayered Film / Triblock Copolymer / Kink Formation / Mechanical Strengthening
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ゲルアクチュエータ
Gel Actuator
原 雄介
Yusuke HARA
<要旨> Soft actuators made of soft materials such as polymer gels and conductive polymers are lightweight and flexible, can be driven silently and have excellent molding processability. Such properties are not found in conventional actuators (electromagnetic motors, hydraulic pumps, etc.) used in the fields of mechanical engineering and robotics. In the field of robotics, soft actuators are adopted as a power source for small robots. In addition, soft actuators are also being used for pumps and valves that are driven in microfluidic systems. The soft actuator can operate by various external stimulations such as light, electric field, pH, and chemical reaction. This topic is introducing the outline of the results obtained by collaborating with researchers in robotics, mechanical engineering, and analytical chemistry regarding the self-oscillating gel actuators driven by the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction.
Keywords: Soft-Actuator / Gel / BZ Reaction / Robotics / Mechanical Engineering / Microfluidic Systems
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細胞を高分子で架橋したハイドロゲルの作製および生医学材料としての応用展開
Living Hydrogels Generated by Click Cross-Linking Reactions of Azide-Modified Cells with Alkyne-Modified Polymers and Its Biomedical Applications
長濱 宏治
Koji NAGAHAMA
<要旨> To date, many scientists have investigated both cells and cellular functions, resulting in the identification of molecular mechanisms underlying the cellular functions. Based on these findings, medical scientists and pharmacologists have developed many technological applications for cells and cellular functions in medicine. How can polymer scientists utilize cells and cellular functions? Here, we show a new concept for utilizing cells and their functions from the viewpoint of polymer science. In particular, we for the first time develop cell cross-linked living bulk hydrogels by bioorthogonal click cross-linking reactions of azide-modified mammalian cells with alkyne-modified biocompatible polymers. Importantly, we demonstrate the novel and unique functionalities of the living hydrogels, originating from the basic functions of the cells incorporated in the living hydrogels as active cross-linking points. The findings of this study provide a promising new route to generating living cell-based next-generation innovative materials, technologies, and medicines. In this report, we describe the unique functions of the gels and its biomedical applications.
Keywords: Hydrogels / Cells / Alginate / Click Reaction / Self-Healing Capability / Tissue Engineering / Mechanobiology
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グローイングポリマー Polymer Science and I: A Personal Account
エントロピーと私
Entropy Follows Me
犬束 学
Manabu INUTSUKA
<要旨> This is a story when I was a university student. I loved entropy, but entropy did not love me. The more I learned, the less I knew. So we decided to go our separate ways. But later, entropy came to see me again... with polymer !
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高分子科学最近の進歩 Front-Line Polymer Science
ポリマー変調器の超高速光ファイバ通信への展開
Polymer Modulator for Ultra-High Speed Optical Fiber Communications
横山 士吉
Shiyoshi YOKOYAMA
<要旨> Recent progress of highly efficient and high-speed electro-optic (EO) modulator technology has received intensive research attentions in microwave photonics and fiber-optic networks. Among the different types of materials used in the modulator, the EO polymer offers intrinsic advantages such as a large EO coefficient, low dielectric constant and loss, and excellent compatibility with other materials and silicon substrates. Therefore, the EO polymer modulators open up a variety of opportunities for realizing unique wideband applications. In particular, achieving higher baud rates is an important objective toward optical interconnection at short-reach applications, so that the polymer modulator might be a cost-effective >100 G serial solution. To date, EO polymer modulators have shown outstanding performance such as high data rate transmission, low-power consumption, and easy integration to other substrates in a form of thin film polymer modulator, organic-silicon hybrid, or traveling-wave polymer on silicon waveguide. The progress makes the polymer device one of the few possible solutions to realize over 100 Gbaud high-speed signalization.
Keywords: Electro-Optic / Polymer / Modulator / On-Off-Keying / Pulse-Amplitude-Modulation / Waveguide / Mach-Zehnder Interferometer
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