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Modification Methods (modification + methods)
Selected AbstractsChemical modification of polyethersulfone nanofiltration membranes: A reviewJOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE, Issue 1 2009B. Van der Bruggen Abstract Polysulfone (PS) and poly(ether)sulfone (PES) are often used for synthesis of nanofiltration membranes, due to their chemical, thermal, and mechanical stability. The disadvantage for applying PS/PES is their high hydrophobicity, which increases membrane fouling. To optimize the performance of PS/PES nanofiltration membranes, membranes can be modified. An increase in membrane hydrophilicity is a good method to improve membrane performance. This article reviews chemical (and physicochemical) modification methods applied to increase the hydrophilicity of PS/PES nanofiltration membranes. Modification of poly(ether)sulfone membranes in view of increasing hydrophilicity can be carried out in several ways. Physical or chemical membrane modification processes after formation of the membrane create more hydrophilic surfaces. Such modification processes are (1) graft polymerization that chemically attaches hydrophilic monomers to the membrane surface; (2) plasma treatment, that introduces different functional groups to the membrane surface; and (3) physical preadsorption of hydrophilic components to the membrane surface. Surfactant modification, self-assembly of hydrophilic nanoparticles and membrane nitrification are also such membrane modification processes. Another approach is based on modification of polymers before membrane formation. This bulk modification implies the modification of membrane materials before membrane synthesis of the incorporation of hydrophilic additives in the membrane matrix during membrane synthesis. Sulfonation, carboxylation, and nitration are such techniques. To conclude, polymer blending also results in membranes with improved surface characteristics. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009 [source] Development of fully functional proteins with novel glycosylation via enzymatic glycan trimmingJOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 8 2009Melinda L. Toumi Abstract Recombinant glycoproteins present unique challenges to biopharmaceutical development, especially when efficacy is affected by glycosylation. In these cases, optimizing the protein's glycosylation is necessary, but difficult, since the glycan structures cannot be genetically encoded, and glycosylation in nonhuman cell lines can be very different from human glycosylation profiles. We are exploring a potential solution to this problem by designing enzymatic glycan optimization methods to produce proteins with useful glycan compositions. To demonstrate viability of this new approach to generating glycoprotein-based pharmaceuticals, the N -linked glycans of a model glycoprotein, ribonuclease B (RNase B), were modified using an ,-mannosidase to produce a new glycoprotein with different glycan structures. The secondary structure of the native and modified glycoproteins was retained, as monitored using circular dichroism. An assay was also developed using an RNA substrate to verify that RNase B had indeed retained its function after being subjected to the necessary glycan modification conditions. This is the first study that verifies both activity and secondary structure of a glycoprotein after enzymatic glycan trimming for use in biopharmaceutical development methods. The evidence of preserved structure and function for a modified glycoprotein indicates that extracellular enzymatic modification methods could be implemented in producing designer glycoproteins. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 98:2581,2591, 2009 [source] EVA Nanocomposites Elaborated with Bentonite Organo-Modified by Wet and Semi-Wet MethodsMACROMOLECULAR MATERIALS & ENGINEERING, Issue 9 2007Miguel Angel Cárdenas Abstract EVA copolymer/organoclay nanocomposites were prepared using melt-compounding. Organoclays were obtained using wet and semi-wet modification methods. These methods enable us to obtain organoclays with adequate modifier incorporation, but organoclays with a homogeneous and narrow agglomeration size distribution were obtained only with the wet method. TS and EB were higher for nanocomposites obtained with organoclays prepared using the wet method. Analysis of Limiting Oxygen Index, UL94 test and Cone Calorimeter test showed that the retardant properties of nanocomposites were also influenced by the kind of modifiers and the modification method. [source] Denaturation of replication protein A reveals an alternative conformation with intact domain structure and oligonucleotide binding activityPROTEIN SCIENCE, Issue 5 2004Jonathan E. Nuss Abstract Replication protein A (RPA) is a heterotrimeric, multidomain, single-stranded DNA-binding protein. Using spectroscopic methods and methylene carbene-based chemical modification methods, we have identified conformational intermediates in the denaturation pathway of RPA. Intrinsic protein fluorescence studies reveal unfolding profiles composed of multiple transitions, with midpoints at 1.5, 2.7, 4.2, and 5.3 M urea. CD profiles of RPA unfolding are characterized by a single transition. RPA is stabilized with respect to the CD-monitored transition when bound to a dA15 oligonucleotide. However, oligonucleotide binding appears to exert little, if any, effect on the first fluorescence transition. Methylene carbene chemical modification, coupled with MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry analysis, was also used to monitor unfolding of several specific RPA folds of the protein. The unfolding profiles of the individual structures are characterized by single transitions similar to the CD-monitored transition. Each fold, however, unravels with different individual characteristics, suggesting significant autonomy. Based on results from chemical modification and spectroscopic analyses, we conclude the initial transition observed in fluorescence experiments represents a change in the juxtaposition of binding folds with little unraveling of the domain structures. The second transition represents the unfolding of the majority of fold structure, and the third transition observed by fluorescence correlates with the dissociation of the 70- and 32-kD subunits. [source] Close-to-streamline numerical study on gas velocity distribution in industrial scale electrostatic precipitator gas inlet hoodASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 4 2010Jie Zhang Abstract The uniformity of gas velocity distribution in gas inlet hoods is important to guarantee high dedust efficiency in electrostatic precipitators (ESPs), especially for high solid concentration applications. The close-to-streamline numerical method was developed to geometrically 1:1 simulate an industrial scale ESP gas inlet hood, which had complicated internal structures, such as dedust angle irons and gas distribution perforated plates with up to 10 000 holes. The realizable k-, model was used for the gas flow simulation. The numerical results of the gas velocity distribution show reasonable agreement with the field measurements. The outlet gas velocity distribution was non-uniform, which was lower in the central region and higher in the near-wall regions. The gas flow characteristics were analysed to reveal the main influence factors on gas velocity distribution and put forward corresponding modification methods. After the retrofit, the field measurements of the outlet gas velocities showed that the gas velocity distribution improved. The non-uniform index of outlet gas velocity distribution decreased greatly from 0.355 to 0.244. The visible dust emissions from the chimney disappeared which indicated increased dedust efficiency. Therefore, the close-to-streamline method can simulate gas velocity distribution in complicated structures of ESP gas inlet hoods. Copyright © 2010 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||