The diploma thesis is focused on the study of the mechanism of plasticization of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) in vivo, focusing mainly on methods of isolation native PHA granules and physical and chemical methods of initiation their phase transitions. The literature search prepared in this work deals with this microbial polyester and further focuses on individual methods of isolating PHA from bacterial cells. The main task of the experimental work was to optimize the isolation process of native PHA granules, as well as to design and test processes that initiate the PHA crystallization in isolated granules, as well as analytical procedures to correctly detect this phase transition. Isolation of PHA granules from Cupriavidus necator was performed by enzymes, centrifugation several times and sonication of the cells. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and an enzymatic method in which amorphous PHA is selectively degraded by PHA-depolymerase with turbidimetric detection of its loss in dispersion was used to detect PHA crystallization. Techniques based on fluorescence staining of granules (fluorescence spectroscopy and flow cytometry) were used in a more detailed study of the mechanism of PHA plasticization in granules. The results of the analyzes confirmed, among other things, that the optimized procedure makes it possible to isolate granules in the amorphous state, which remain amorphous even after drying and are comparable to native granules in their basic physicochemical properties.

This master thesis deals with the direct synthesis of polymers from lactic acid. The theoretical part focuses on both natural and synthetic ways of production the lactic acid monomer, their advantages and properties. Furthermore, the theoretical part focuses on the synthesis of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) from lactide, and direct polycondensation from lactic acid discussing about influences of catalysts, co-catalysts as well as chain extenders. The experimental part focuses on the synthesis of PLA polymers and co-polymers wherein investigates suitable catalysts, reaction medium for azeotropic dehydration and co-catalyst influence on products. Thermal and analytical analysis of PLA polymers are mentioned at the end of the experimental part.

Les déchets plastiques s'accumulent depuis plusieurs décennies dans les océans où ils se fragmentent en particules appelés microplastiques lorsque leur taille est inférieure à 5 mm. Ces microplastiques sont retrouvés dans toutes les eaux du globe, dans les sédiments ainsi que dans de nombreux organismes marins. Le devenir physicochimique à long terme de ces particules et leur possible fragmentation en nanoplastiques sont complexes, encore peu documentés et nécessitent des études en laboratoire.Afin de comprendre les processus liés à la photodégradation et à la fragmentation des polymères dans l’environnement, mais également dans le but d’'appréhender l’évolution des fragments générés au cours de l’irradiation, un protocole de vieillissement accéléré en milieu abiotique a été mis en place sur des polymères modèles. Le suivi de l’oxydation et de la fragmentation des deux polymères étudiés,polyéthylène basse densité et polypropylène, a été mené à l’aide de techniques spectroscopiques (infrarouge, Raman), DSC, angles de contact, et microscopiques (lumière polarisée, MEB, AFM…).Ce travail a permis de mettre en évidence l’influence significative de l’environnement et de la morphologie initiale des polymères sur leurs cinétiques de vieillissement et leurs mécanismes de fissuration. Ainsi des distributions en nombres, tailles et formes de fragments très différentes ont été obtenues pour les deux polymères selon la présence d’eau. Enfin, après un long temps d’irradiation, des produits de dégradation ont pu être détectés mais la production significative de nanoplastiques n’a pas été démontrée. L'hypothèse d'une taille limite de fragmentation devrait être envisagée. / Plastic wastes have been accumulating for several decades in the oceans where they break up into particles called microplastics when their size is less than 5 mm. These microplastics are found in all earth’s waters, in sediments and in many marine organisms. Their long-term physico-chemical fate and their possible fragmentation into nanoplastics are complex, still poorly documented and require laboratory studies.In order to understand the processes related to photodegradation and fragmentation of polymers, but also in order to understand the evolution of these fragments during irradiation, an accelerated aging protocol in abiotic conditions has been set up. The oxidation and fragmentation of two model polymers, low density polyethylene and polypropylene, were monitored using spectroscopic techniques (InfraRed, Raman), DSC, contact angles and microscopic technics (light microscopy, polarized light, SEM, AFM ...).This work has demonstrated a significant influence of the environment and the initial morphology of the polymers on their kinetics of aging and cracking mechanisms. This lead to significantly different distributions in numbers, sizes and shapes of the generated fragments. Moreover, after a long time of irradiaiton, other degradation products could be detected but the significant production of nanoplastics has not been demonstrated. The possibility of a size limit below which the fragmentation rate of plastics would strongly decrease should be considered.

Process-induced Long-term Deformation Behavior of Injection Molded Semicrystalline Thermoplastics Injection molding is a very complex process because the polymer experiences a complex thermorheological history during molding that influences the molecular orientation, residual stresses, frozen-in free volume and crystallinity inside the part. These generally govern the final part properties. Therefore it is highly desirable to anticipate the effect of process parameters on the resulting microstructure and mechanical properties of the finished part in the long run. In the case of a semicrystalline thermoplastic part, the problem in understanding the deformation behavior arises from its two-phase structure and a tendency exists to concentrate primarily on the effect of the crystalline phase on the deformation behavior, while the contribution of the amorphous phase is less investigated. In this work, the influence of the processing parameters on the deformation behavior of injection molded semicrystalline thermoplastic parts, viz., syndiotactic Polystyrene (sPS) and Polybutylene terepthalate (PBT), has been monitored through creep. The resulting internal structures due to processing have been determined and the deformation behavior has been analyzed. It has been observed that only the rate of cooling shows a remarkable effect on the long-term viscoelastic behavior of an injection molded semicrystalline thermoplastic part as it influences not only the crystalline, but also the free volume fraction, whereas the different states of frozen-in orientations and pressure-induced densification have only a negligible effect. Besides, physical aging also plays an important role in the deformation behavior of the injection moldings which was manifested with the decrease in the tendency to creep. Therefore, it was suggested that the cooling rate during injection molding and the aging time can significantly affect the long-term deformation behavior of the injection molded semicrystalline thermoplastics. The results also showed that when no significant effect is observed in terms of short-term mechanical properties by changing the processing conditions, but while considering the long-term behavior they show a significant effect.

High molecular weight PBTTT-C₁₂ is blended with the pure trimer, BTTT-3, to enhance intergrain connectivity and charge transport. Analysis of the morphology and crystallinity of the blends shows that the polymer and oligomer are well-integrated, leading to high hole mobilities, greater than 0.1 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, in films that contain as much as 83% oligomer.

No description available.

Ce travail s'est concentré sur la compréhension de l'influence de la formulation et plus spécifiquement de la silice précipitée sur la résistivité électrique de séparateurs en polyéthylène destinés à des batteries au plomb. Les séparateurs de batteries en polyéthylène sont composés de silice précipitée, de polyéthylène ultra haute masse molaire (UHMWPE) et d'huile organique. La première partie de ce travail a été d'élaborer à l'échelle du laboratoire, des membranes modèles en polyéthylène. La seconde a été de comprendre l'influence de certains facteurs sur les propriétés structurales et physicochimiques des membranes. Ces facteurs sont principalement la quantité d'huile, la quantité et le grade de silice précipitée, les conditions de température lors de la cristallisation de la membrane et le mode de mise en œuvre utilisé. Les influences des quantités d'huile et de silice sur la cristallisation du polyéthylène sont méticuleusement étudiées, montrant que l'huile aide à augmenter la cristallinité finale de l'UHMWPE et que la silice joue un rôle de réservoir d'huile. Il a également été mis en évidence que la quantité ainsi que le grade de silice influencent la quantité de porosité de la membrane mouillable par l'électrolyte. La présence de silice en surface des pores est responsable de la mouillabilité de la membrane. Un paramètre empirique a donc été proposé dans le but de pouvoir quantifier l'efficacité de l'état de dispersion/distribution de la silice précipitée dans la membrane. Pour terminer, pour une formulation et un même mode de mise en œuvre, il est possible de discriminer l'efficacité des grades de silice précipitée pour l'application séparateur de batterie / This work is devoted to understand the effect of the formulation and more specifically of the precipitated silica on the resistivity of the PE-separators. The PE-separators are designed for the lead-acid batteries. PE-separators are composed of precipitated silica, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) and organic oil. The first part of this work was to elaborate PE-separator models at a laboratory scale. Then, the factors impacting the structural and physico-chemicals properties of PE-separators were investigated. These factors are mainly the amounts of oil, precipitated silica, the grade of the precipitated silica, the temperature conditions of crystallization and the device used to elaborate the membrane. The influence of the amounts of oil and precipitated silica on the crystallization of the polyethylene wasthoroughly described showing that the oil helps to increase the final crystallinity of UHMWPE and that the silica plays a role of oil reservoir. Moreover, it was shown that the amount and the grade of precipitated silica have an influence on the wettable part of the porosity of the PE-separators. The coating of the pores by the precipitated silica is responsible of the wettability of the membranes by the electrolyte. Thus, an empirical parameter has been proposed in order to quantify the efficiency of the dispersion and distribution of the precipitated silica in the membrane. The more the membranes are wettable by the electrolyte the more the resistivity of the membranes is decreased. To finish, for a same amount of components and a same method of processing, it is possible to discriminate the efficiency of each grade of precipitated silica for the battery separator application

Abstract Biodegradable starch-glycerol based films were obtained. The influence of lipid compounds (palmitic, stearic and oleic acid), other polymers (hydroxypropylmethylcellulose and sodium caseinate) and bioactive compounds (¿-tocoferol, D-limonene and orange essential oil) on film properties (oxygen and water vapour barrier, optical, mechanical, nano- and microstructural). Furthermore the effect of storage time on films¿ properties was also considered. Fatty acids addition did not improve the water vapour ability of films except for non-stored saturated fatty acids containing films. X-ray diffraction results showed that cristallinity of films increased with storage time, thus increasing the stiffness and decreasing the gloss of films. Furthermore, crystallinity affected the water sorption capacity of films as function of relative humidity and temperature. Glass transition temperature of starch films varied with saturated fatty acids addition. However, oleic acid did not affect this parameter. The presence of fatty acids promoted the formation of V-type structures, thus indicatin the formation of amylose-lipid complexes that inhibited the developmet of other crystalline structures. The effect of the incorporation of other biopolymers to improve the functionality of starch films was also studied. Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) addition inhibited starch retrogradation. However, obtained films were more permeable, specially in case of oxygen. HPMC addition produced phase separation as it was observed by scanning electron microscopy. On the contrary, sodium caseinate incorporation (NaCas) allowed to obtain homogeneous films and less permeable to oxygen. Obtained films showed less mechanical resistance in comparison with pure starch films but a greater flexibility without increasing the water vapour permeability. Rearrangement of polymers chains during storage reduced the mechanical resistance, the extensibility and the gloss of composite films. Regarding the obtained results, the film including a starch:protein ratio of 50:50 was choosen as the film with the most adequate properties. Composite film (starch:Nacas ratio = 50:50) was studied as a matrix for the incorporation o active compounds (¿-tocopherol, D-limonene and orange essential oil). The effect of ¿-tocopherol addition was compared with the incorporation of oleic acid and their mixture. Lipids addition promoted phase separation between starch and NaCas due to the different interactions between each polymer and the lipids. Furthermore, oleic acid addition increased significantly the oxygen permeability whereas ¿-tocopherol greatly improved the antioxidant capacity of films without affecting the oxygen permeability. D-limonene and orange essential oil incorporation was carried out by forming rapeseed and soy nanoliposomes, which acted as carriers of bioactive components. Nanoliposomes incorporation was performed directly in starch-NaCas dispersions without any homogenization, to avoid nanoliposomes damages. Bioactive compounds addition did not confer antimicrobial capacity to the films (except for soy-orange oil nanoliposomes containing film) probably due to the high stability of nanoliposomes and the low antibacterial activity of D-limonene and orange essential oil. / Se han desarrollado y caracterizado films biodegradables a base de almidón de maíz y glicerol como plastificante, evaluando al mismo tiempo el efecto de la adición de componentes lipídicos (ácido palmítico, esteárico y oleico), otros polímeros (hidroxipropilmetilcelulosa y caseinato de sodio) y compuestos bioactivos (¿-tocoferol, aceite esencial de naranja y D-limoneno) sobre las propiedades de los films (propiedades barrera al vapor de agua y al oxígeno, ópticas, mecánicas, micro y nanoestructurales). Asimismo se evaluó la influencia del tiempo de almacenamiento en las propiedades de los films. La adición de ácidos grasos no mejoró notablemente la permeabilidad al vapor de agua excepto en el caso de los films con ácidos grasos saturados y solo en films no almacenados. Los resultados de difracción de rayos X mostraron que la cristalinidad aumentó con el tiempo de almacenamiento, incrementándose la rigidez, y disminuyendo el brillo de los films. Del mismo modo, la cristalinidad afectó a la capacidad de sorción de agua de los films en función de la humedad relativa y la temperatura. La temperatura de transición vítrea de los films de almidón se vio afectada por la adición de ácidos grasos saturados pero no por la adición de ácido oleico. La presencia de dichos componentes promovió la formación de estructuras cristalinas tipo V, indicando la formación de complejos entre los lípidos y las cadenas de amilosa e inhibiendo la formación de otros tipos de formas cristalinas. Se analizó también el efecto de la incorporación de otros biopolímeros en la posible mejora de la funcionalidad de los films de almidón. En las mezclas con hidroxipropilmetilcelulosa (HPMC), se inhibió la retrogradación del almidón en los films composite, pero se observó un efecto negativo en las propiedades barrera de los mismos, que fueron más permeables, principalmente al oxígeno. La adición de HPMC produjo separación de fases en los films (observada por microscopía electrónica de barrido). Por el contrario, la incorporación de caseinato de sodio (NaCas) permitió formar films homogéneos y menos permeables al oxígeno. Los films presentaron una resistencia mecánica algo menor que los films de almidón puro pero una mayor flexibilidad sin incrementar los valores de permeabilidad al vapor de agua. La reorganización de las cadenas de los polímeros con el tiempo de almacenamiento provocó la disminución de la resistencia mecánica, la deformabilidad y el brillo de los films composite. Atendiendo a los efectos observados, se eligió como formulación más adecuada el film composite formado por almidón y NaCas con un ratio de polímeros del 50:50. El film composite de almidón y NaCas (50:50) se estudió como matriz para la incorporación de compuestos bioactivos como son el ¿-tocoferol y el aceite esencial de naranja o su principal componente, el D-limoneno. El efecto de la adición de ¿-tocoferol se comparó con la influencia de la adición de ácido oleico y también con la adición de ambos compuestos. La adición de lípidos provocó una separación de fases entre el almidón y el NaCas debido a la diferente interacción entre cada polímero y los lípidos. Asimismo la adición de ácido oleico incrementó significativamente la permeabilidad al oxígeno, al contrario que el ¿-tocoferol, que además impartió a los films una elevada capacidad antioxidante. La incorporación de aceite esencial de naranja y D-limoneno se realizó utilizando nanoliposomas de lecitina de soja y lecitina de colza que encapsularon los compuestos activos. La incorporación de nanoliposomas en los films se realizó directamente en las dispersiones acuosas sin posterior homogeneización para evitar su ruptura. La adición de los compuestos bioactivos en forma de nanoliposomas no confirió capacidad antimicrobiana a los films, salvo en el caso de los nanoliposomas de lecitina de soja con aceite esencial, debido probablemente a la dificultad de los compuestos encapsulados para difundir en el film por la gran estabilidad de los liposomas y a la baja actividad antilisteria del D-limoneno y el aceite esencial de naranja. / Jiménez Marco, A. (2013). Propiedades de films de almidón de maíz. Influencia de la incorporación de lípidos, biopolímeros y compuestos bioactivos [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/28214 / TESIS / Premios Extraordinarios de tesis doctorales

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Osteogenesis imperfecta is a rare congenital disease commonly characterized by brittle bones caused by mutations in the genes encoding Type I collagen, the single most abundant protein produced by the body. The murine model (oim) exists as a natural mutation of this protein, converting its heterotrimeric structure of two Col1a1 molecules and a single Col1a2 molecule into homotrimers composed of only the former. This defect impacts bone mechanical integrity, greatly weakening their structure. Femurs from male wild type (WT), heterozygous (oim/+), and homozygous (oim/oim) mice, all at 12 weeks of age, were assessed using assays at multiple length scales with minimal sample processing to ensure a near-physiological state. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) demonstrated detectable differences in the organization of collagen at the nanometer scale that may partially attribute to alterations in material and structural behavior obtained through mechanical testing and reference point indentation (RPI). Changes in geometric and chemical structure through the use of µ-Computed Tomography and Raman spectroscopy respectively indicate a smaller, brittle phenotype caused by oim. Changes within the periodic D-spacing of collagen point towards a reduced mineral nucleation site, supported by reduced mineral crystallinity, resulting in altered material and structural behavior in oim/oim mice. Multi-scale analyses of this nature offer much in assessing how molecular changes can compound to create a degraded, brittle phenotype.

博士(工学) / Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University