The existing mold concept of fabricating magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) tends to encounter several flux issues due to magnetic flux losses inside the chamber. Therefore, this paper presents a new approach for enhancing particle alignment through MRE fabrication as a means to provide better rheological properties. A closed-loop mold, which is essentially a fully guided magnetic field inside the chamber, was designed in order to strengthen the magnetic flux during the curing process with the help of silicone oil (SO) plasticizers. The oil serves the purpose of softening the matrix. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the surface morphology of the fabricated MRE samples. The field-dependent dynamic properties of the MREs were measured several ways using a rheometer, namely, strain sweep, frequency sweep, and magnetic field sweep. The analysis implied that the effectiveness of the MRE was associated with the use of the SO, and the closed-loop mold helped enhance the absolute modulus up to 0.8 MPa. The relative magnetorheological (MR) effects exhibited high values up to 646%. The high modulus properties offered by the MRE with SO are believed to be potentially useful in industry applications, particularly as vibration absorbers, which require a high range of stiffness.
Semi-flexible pavement surfacing is a composite pavement that utilizes the porous pavement structure of the flexible bituminous pavement, which is subsequently grouted with appropriate cementitious materials. This study aims to investigate the compressive strength, flexural strength, and workability performance of cementitious grout. The grout mixtures are designed to achieve high strength and maintain flow properties in order to allow the cement slurries to infiltrate easily through unfilled compacted skeletons. A paired-sample t-test was carried out to find out whether water/cement ratio, SP percentages, and use of silica fume influence the cementitious grout performance. The findings showed that the replacement of 5% silica fume with an adequate amount of superplasticizer and water/cement ratio was beneficial in improving the properties of the cementitious grout.
This study examines the effects of varying the concentrations of sorbitol (S) and glycerol (G) on the physical, morphological, thermal, and mechanical properties of Dioscorea hispida, starch-based films. In this context, the films of Dioscorea hispida starch were developed using solution casting technique with glycerol (G), sorbitol (S), and a mixture of sorbitol-glycerol (SG) as plasticizers at the ratios of 0, 30, 45, and 60 wt%. The films' moisture contents were increased when increasing the plasticizer contents. The tensile strengths were decreased, but elongations at break were increased; 7.38%-11.54% for G-plasticized films, 10.17%-15.76% for S-plasticized films, and 14.41%- 16.10% for SG-plasticized films with increasing plasticizer concentrations of the film samples. Varying plasticizer concentrations exhibited a minor effect on the S-plasticized film's thermal properties. Significant decrement in the glass transition temperatures of Dioscorea hispida starch films was observed when the plasticizer contents were raised from 30% to 60%. Significantly, the present work has shown that plasticized Dioscorea hispida starch can be considered a promising biopolymer for the applications of biodegradable films.
Plasticized poly(lactic acid) PLA with epoxidized vegetable oils (EVO) were prepared using a melt blending method to improve the ductility of PLA. The plasticization of the PLA with EVO lowers the Tg as well as cold-crystallization temperature. The tensile properties demonstrated that the addition of EVO to PLA led to an increase of elongation at break, but a decrease of tensile modulus. Plasticized PLA showed improvement in the elongation at break by 2058% and 4060% with the addition of 5 wt % epoxidized palm oil (EPO) and mixture of epoxidized palm oil and soybean oil (EPSO), respectively. An increase in the tensile strength was also observed in the plasticized PLA with 1 wt % EPO and EPSO. The use of EVO increases the mobility of the polymeric chains, thereby improving the flexibility and plastic deformation of PLA. The SEM micrograph of the plasticized PLA showed good compatible morphologies without voids resulting from good interfacial adhesion between PLA and EVO. Based on the results of this study, EVO may be used as an environmentally friendly plasticizer that can improve the overall properties of PLA.
Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy studies of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and chitosan polymer blend doped with ammonium nitrate (NH(4)NO(3)) salt and plasticized with ethylene carbonate (EC) have been performed with emphasis on the shift of the carboxamide, amine and hydroxyl bands. 1% acetic acid solution was used as the solvent. It is observed from the chitosan film spectrum that evidence of polymer-solvent interaction can be observed from the shifting of the carboxamide band at 1660 cm(-1) and the amine band at 1591 cm(-1) to 1650 and 1557 cm(-1) respectively and the shift of the hydroxyl band from 3377 to 3354 cm(-1). The hydroxyl band in the spectrum of PVA powder is observed at 3354 cm(-1) and is observed at 3343 cm(-1) in the spectrum of the PVA film. On addition of NH(4)NO(3) up to 30 wt.%, the carboxamide, amine and hydroxyl bands shifted from 1650, 1557 and 3354 cm(-1) to 1642, 1541 and 3348 cm(-1) indicating that the chitosan has complexed with the salt. In the PVA-NH(4)NO(3) spectrum, the hydroxyl band has shifted from 3343 to 3272 cm(-1) on addition of salt from 10 to 30 wt.%. EC acts as a plasticizing agent since there is no shift in the bands as observed in the spectrum of PVA-chitosan-EC films. The mechanism of ion migration is proposed for the plasticized and unplasticized PVA-chitosan-NH(4)NO(3) systems. In the spectrum of PVA-chitosan-NH(4)NO(3)-EC complex, the doublet CO stretching in EC is observed in the vicinity 1800 and 1700. This indicates that there is some interaction between the salt and EC.
Rice starch is known to have an excellent film-forming behaviour in the packaging industry but inadequate attention was given to this biopolymer to be developed into thin films for drug delivery. Accordingly, rice starch thin films containing a model drug, paracetamol and plasticisers (glycerol or sorbitol) were developed using film casting technique. This study focuses on investigating the impact of plasticiser and drug loading on drug release pattern of rice starch films which has not been explored to date. The obtained rice films were characterised for their physicochemical properties including swelling and dissolution study. The highest drug dissolution rate was achieved in the rice films with a low drug loading due to drug amorphicity in nature. When drug loading increases, the swelling behaviour of rice films plays a dominant role in releasing drug in the crystalline form. The role of plasticiser was indicated by the plasticiser-starch interaction where a strong interaction allows drug solubilisation more readily in the dissolution medium. It is envisaged that rice films could be tailored to achieve desired drug release pattern with different plasticiser.
The physicochemical properties of κ-carrageenan films extracted from Eucheuma cottonii (E. cottonii) incorporated with different concentrations and types of plasticizers were studied. Glycerol, sorbitol, and polyethylene glycol-300 (PEG-300) in the range of 10-60% were used as plasticizers. The results showed that the thickness and moisture content (MC) of films increased significantly (p≤0.05) with the increase in plasticizer concentration. Sorbitol-plasticized films had the lowest values. Sorbitol-plasticized films have better mechanical properties and the lowest water vapor permeability (WVP), solubility and water uptake ratio (WUR) compared with glycerol and PEG-plasticized films (p≤0.05). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra showed the intermolecular reactions between κ-carrageenan and the plasticizers in the films. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations indicated that sorbitol-plasticized films have a compact structure, even at the highest concentration. The melting temperature (Tm) of films decreased (p≤0.05) with an increase in the plasticizer concentration. Here, the glycerol-plasticized films had the lowest values. X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed broad and narrow peaks of the un-plasticized κ-carrageenan film at 2θ=20.0° and 2θ=8.4°, respectively. The intensity of the broad peak increased and the narrow peak disappeared as the concentration of plasticizers increased. In conclusion, films from E. cottonii successfully produced with sorbitol as the plasticizer exhibited good physical properties as packaging films.
Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is known to be a useful material in substituting the conventional petroleum-based polymer used in packaging, due to its biodegradability and high mechanical strength. Despite the excellent properties of PLA, low flexibility has limited the application of this material. Thus, epoxidized palm olein (EPO) was incorporated into PLA at different loadings (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 wt%) through the melt blending technique and the product was characterized. The addition of EPO resulted in a decrease in glass transition temperature and an increase of elongation-at-break, which indicates an increase in the PLA chain mobility. PLA/EPO blends also exhibited higher thermal stability than neat PLA. Further, the PLA/1 wt% EPO blend showed enhancement in the tensile, flexural and impact properties. This is due to improved interaction in the blend producing good compatible morphologies, which can be revealed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis. Therefore, PLA can be efficiently plasticized by EPO and the feasibility of its use as flexible film for food packaging should be considered.
In this work, poly(lactic acid) (PLA) a fully biodegradable thermoplastic polymer matrix was melt blended with three different epoxidized palm oil (EPO). The aim of this research was to enhance the flexibility, mechanical and thermal properties of PLA. The blends were prepared at various EPO contents of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 wt% and characterized. The SEM analysis evidenced successful modification on the neat PLA brittle morphology. Tensile tests indicate that the addition of 1 wt% EPO is sufficient to improve the strength and flexibility compared to neat PLA. Additionally, the flexural and impact properties were also enhanced. Further, DSC analysis showed that the addition of EPO results in a decrease in T(g), which implies an increase in the PLA chain mobility. In the presence of 1 wt% EPO, TGA results revealed significant increase in the thermal stability by 27%. Among the three EPOs used, EPO(3) showed the best mechanical and thermal properties compared to the other EPO's, with an optimum loading of 1 wt%. Conclusively, EPO showed a promising outcome to overcome the brittleness and improve the overall properties of neat PLA, thus can be considered as a potential plasticizer.
Chemical modification of natural rubber (NR) has frequently been attempted to improve the performance in specific application. 30% poly(methyl metacrylate) (PMMA) grafted into NR (MG30) has been explored as a potential candidate for polymer electrolytes. The complexation effect of salt and plasticizer in polymer host electrolytes had been investigated using FTIR. The carbonyl stretch of MG30 locates at 1729 cm-1, with the addition of lithium trimethanesulfonate (LiCF3SO3) salt, new band evolves at lower frequency region at 1643-1645 cm-1. The nondegenerate vibrational mode of nus(SO3) of salted electrolytes appearing at 1031-1034 cm-1 comes from 'free' trimethanesulfonate anions and the 1040-1046 cm-1 absorption from the monodentate ion paired with triflates. These indicate MG30-salt interaction. When MG30 and ethylene carbonate (EC) formed film, the CH3 asymmetric bend of MG30 appearing at 1447cm-1 is shifted to 1449 cm-1 in the EC-polymer complex. The CO stretching at 1729 cm-1 also shifted to 1728 cm-1. Hence, the EC-MG30 system is complexed to each other. EC-LiCF3SO3 interactions are indicated by the shifting of CO bending band of EC from 718 cm-1 being shifted to 720 cm-1 in the complex. In Li+-EC interaction where the ring breathing region at 897 cm-1 in EC has shifted to 899 cm-1 in EC-salt spectrum. The band appearing at 1643-1645 cm-1 due to the coordination of Li+
The potential of Averrhoa bilimbi pectin (ABP) as a source of biopolymer for edible film (EF) production was explored, and deep eutectic solvent (DES) (1% w/w) containing choline chloride-citric acid monohydrate at a molar ratio of 1:1 was used as the plasticizer. The EF-ABP3:1, which was produced from ABP with large branch size, showed a higher value of melting temperature (175.30 °C), tensile stress (7.32 MPa) and modulus (33.64 MPa). The EF-ABP3:1 also showed better barrier properties by obtaining the lowest water vapor transmission rates (1.10-1.18 mg/m2.s) and moisture absorption values (2.61-32.13%) depending on the relative humidity compared to other EF-ABPs (1.39-1.83 mg/m2.s and 3.48-51.50%, respectively) that have linear structure with smaller branch size. From these results, it was suggested that the galacturonic acid content, molecular weight, degree of esterification and pectin structure of ABP significantly influenced the properties of EFs. The interaction of highly branched pectin chains was stronger than the linear chains, thus reduced the effect of plasticizer and produced a mechanically stronger EF with better barrier properties. Hence, it was suggested that these EFs could be used as alternative degradable packaging/coating materials.
The capacity of microwave non-destructive testing (NDT) technique to characterize the matrix property of binary polymeric films for use as transdermal drug delivery system was investigated. Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) 3000 were the choice of polymeric matrix and plasticizer, respectively with loratadine as the model drug. Both blank and drug loaded HPMC-PEG 3000 films were prepared using the solvent-evaporation method. These films were conditioned at the relative humidity of 25, 50 and 75% prior to physicochemical characterization using the established methods of ultra-violet spectrophotometry, differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy methods, as well as, novel microwave NDT technique. Blank films exhibited a greater propensity of polymer-polymer interaction at the O-H domain upon storage at a lower level of relative humidity, whereas drug loaded films exhibited a greater propensity of polymer-polymer, polymer-plasticizer and/or drug-polymer interaction via the O-H, C-H and/or aromatic C=C functional groups when they were stored at a lower or moderate level of relative humidity. The absorption and transmission characteristics of both blank and drug loaded films for microwave varied with the state of polymer-polymer, polymer-plasticizer, and/or drug-polymer interaction of the matrix. The measurements of microwave NDT test at 8 and 12 GHz were sensitive to the polar fraction of film involving functional group such as O-H moiety and the less polar environment of matrix consisting of functional groups such as C-H and aromatic C=C moieties. The state of interaction between polymer, plasticizer and/or drug of a binary polymeric film can be elucidated through its absorption and transmission profiles of microwave.
Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic studies have been undertaken to investigate the interactions among components in a system of hexanoyl chitosan-lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate (LiCF(3)SO(3))-diethyl carbonate (DEC)/ethylene carbonate (EC). LiCF(3)SO(3) interacts with the hexanoyl chitosan to form a hexanoyl chitosan-salt complex that results in the shifting of the N(COR)(2), CONHR and OCOR bands to lower wavenumbers. Interactions between EC and DEC with LiCF(3)SO(3) has been noted and discussed. Evidence of interaction between EC and DEC has been obtained experimentally. Studies on polymer-plasticizer spectra suggested that there is no interaction between the polymer host and plasticizers. Competition between plasticizer and polymer on associating with Li(+) ions was observed from the spectral data for gel polymer electrolytes. The obtained spectroscopic data has been correlated with the conductivity performance of hexanoyl chitosan-based polymer electrolytes.
Difficulty in swallowing tablets or capsules has been identified as one of the contributing factors to non-compliance of geriatric patients. Although orally disintegrating tablet was designed for fast disintegration in mouth, the fear of taking solid tablets and the risk of choking for certain patient populations still exist.
It is well known that the endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) dibutylphthalate (DBP) inhibits testosterone synthesis and can lead to feminisation in male laboratory animals. Moreover, it has long been speculated that human exposure would result in the similar effects, but this is difficult to study because specific human exposure cohorts are rare. We report increases in the incidences of hypospadias (p<0.05), cryptorchidism (p<0.05) and breast cancer (p<0.05) in the children of New Zealand soldiers who served in Malaya (1948-1960) and were exposed to DBP applied daily to their clothing as an acaricide to prevent tick-transmitted bush typhus. In addition, we modelled absorption of DBP from the soldiers' clothing and using published data for skin absorption, and calculated a large theoretical absorbed dose of 64 mg/kg body weight/day which is similar to DBP's lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) of 50 mg/kg body weight/day and thus indicates a biological effect is possible. This is the first report of a multigenerational developmental effect following DBP exposure in human males.