Spider silk is renowned for its extraordinary mechanical properties, having a balance of high tensile strength and extensibility. To date, the majority of studies have focused on the production of dragline silks from synthetic spider silk gene products. Here we report the first mechanical analysis of synthetic egg case silk fibers spun from the Latrodectus hesperus tubuliform silk proteins, TuSp1 and ECP-2. We provide evidence that recombinant ECP-2 proteins can be spun into fibers that display mechanical properties similar to other synthetic spider silks. We also demonstrate that silks spun from recombinant thioredoxin-TuSp 1 fusion proteins that contain the conserved C-terminal domain exhibit increased extensibility and toughness when compared to the identical fibers spun from fusion proteins lacking the C-terminus. Mechanical analyses reveal that the properties of synthetic tubuliform silks can be modulated by altering the post-spin draw ratios of the fibers . Fibers subject to increased draw ratios showed elevated tensile strength and decreased extensibility, but maintained constant toughness. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction studies indicate that post-drawn fibers containing the Cterminal domain of TuSp 1 have more amorphous content when compared to fibers lacking the C-terminus. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that recombinant tubuliform spidroins that contain the conserved C-terminal domain with embedded protein tags can be effectively spun into fibers, resulting in similar tensile strength but increased extensibility relative to non-tagged recombinant dragline silk proteins spun from equivalently sized proteins.

The National Academy of Sciences recently published a report which calls for improvements to the field of forensic science. Their report criticized many forensic disciplines for failure to establish rigorously-tested methods of comparison, and encouraged more research in these areas to establish limitations and assess error rates. This study applies chemometric and statistical methods to current and developing analytical techniques in fiber analysis. In addition to analysis of commercially available dyed textile fibers, two pairs of dyes are selected based for custom fabric dyeing on the similarities of their absorbance spectra and dye molecular structures. Visible absorption spectra for all fiber samples are collected using microspectrophotometry (MSP) and mass spectra are collected using electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry. Statistical calculations are performed using commercial software packages and software written in-house. Levels of Type I and Type II error are examined for fiber discrimination based on hypothesis testing of visible absorbance spectra using a nonparametric permutation method. This work also explores evaluation of known and questioned fiber populations based on an assessment of p-value distributions from questioned-known fiber comparisons with those of known fiber self-comparisons. Results from the hypothesis testing are compared with principal components analysis (PCA) and discriminant analysis (DA) of visible absorption spectra, as well as PCA and DA of ESI mass spectra. The sensitivity of a statistical approach will also be discussed in terms of how instrumental parameters and sampling methods may influence error rates.

Betulin is a naturally abundant compound in the outer bark of birch and can be easily obtained by solvent extraction. Herein, solutions of betulin were used to treat cellulosic textile fibers and improve their water repellency. Cotton fabrics impregnated in a 7.5 g L-1 solution of betulin in ethanol showed the highest water contact angle of about 153° while the impregnation in a 3.75 g L-1 solution resulted in a close effect. A terephthaloyl chloride-betulin copolymer was synthesized and dissolved in tetrahydrofuran to afford a solution with a concentration of 3.75 g L-1. The cotton fabric impregnated in this solution showed a water contact angle of 150°. Changes in morphology of the cellulose fibers before and after the treatment were observed by scanning electron microscopy, and the water repellency was measured by a standard spray test. The marketing strategy of the potential product, which will be developed based on this technique, was discussed.

Dentre a grande variedade de polímeros naturais que podem ser aplicados na área médica, a quitosana e o alginato têm sido amplamente destacados. A quitosana é obtida a partir da desacetilação da quitina que é extraída do exoesqueleto de crustáceos, ou seja, de rejeitos da indústria pesqueira. O alginato é um polissacarídeo obtido de algas, muito utilizado na indústria farmacêutica. O objetivo deste trabalho foi a produção de fibras têxteis à base de quitosana, alginato e híbrida (alginato/quitosana) para aplicação na área médica, devido as propriedades de biocompatibilidade, antimicrobiana, cicatrizante, entre outras, presente nesses polímeros. As fibras de quitosana foram preparadas por um gel, dissolvendo a quitosana 2,5% (m/v) em ácido acético 2% (v/v), após a preparação do gel foram extrudadas em uma solução de precipitação contendo sulfato de sódio 0,5M e hidróxido de sódio 1M. As fibras foram produzidas com um gel de alginato a 5% (m/v) através da extrusão em solução de cloreto de cálcio 2% (m/v). As híbridas foram produzidas através da extrusão do gel de alginato em uma solução 0,2% (m/v) de quitosana. Algumas fibras foram produzidas com 2,5 % de glicerol, adicionado diretamente ao gel. As microcopias eletrônicas de varredura (MEV) mostram regularidades ao longo do comprimento e ranhuras laterais nas fibras produzidas. As amostras foram testadas e obtiveram bons valores de absorção de água, chegando a 215% em 30 dias para a fibra híbrida. Quanto a perda de massa, as fibras produzidas com glicerol obtiveram maior degradação. As amostras também foram submetidas a calorimetria exploratória diferencial (DSC) para análise do comportamento térmico. O glicerol foi responsável por deslocar os picos endotérmicos para a direita em relação aquelas sem glicerol, ou seja, em uma temperatura maior, enquanto os picos exotérmicos ocorreram em uma temperatura menor. Nos testes físicos, foi obtido baixos valores de tenacidade e alto título. As fibras são atóxicas e os resultados mostraram a potencialidade do uso desses polímeros na produção de fibras têxteis. / Among the wide variety of natural polymers that can be applied in medical area, chitosan and alginate have beem widely deployed. Chitosan is obtained from the deacetylation of chitin, wich is extracted from the exoskeleton of shellfish, and is characterized as a reject of fishing industry. The alginate is polysaccharides obtained from algae and have commom use in pharmaceutical industry. The objective of this work is the production of textile fibers based on chitosan, alginate, and hybrid (alginate/chitosan) for application in medical field, because of the properties of biocompatibility, antimicrobial, wound healing capability, among others, present in these polymers. The fibers of chitosan were prepared by a gel, by dissolving the chitosan 2.5% (w/v) in acetic acid 2% (v/v), after preparation of the gel, it was made a extrusion in a precipitating solution containing sodium sulfate 0,5 M and sodium hydroxide 1 M. Other fiber was produced using an alginate gel 5% (w/v) by extrusion in calcium chloride solution 2% (w/v). Hybryd fibers were made by extruded the same alginate gel in a chitosan solution 0.2 % (w/v). Some fibers have been produced with 2.5% (w/v) glycerol added directly to the gel. The electronic microscopy shows regularities along the length of lateral. The samples were tested and showed good values of water absorption, reaching 215% in 30 days for the hybrid fiber. As for weight loss, the fibers produced with glycerol had higher degradation. The samples were also subjected to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to analyze thermal behavior. Glycerol was responsible for the endothermic peaks shift to the right in relation of the one without glycerol, occurring in a higher temperature, while the exotermic peaks occurred at a lower temperature. In the physical tests, was obtained low values of tenacity and high yarn number. The fibers are nontoxic and the results showed the potential use of these polymers in the production of textile fibers.

Os estudos de Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida (ACV) aplicados ao setor têxtil tiveram inicio na década de 1990, sendo realizados principalmente nos Estados Unidos e na Europa. No Brasil, os estudos de ACV aplicados a produtos têxteis utilizando dados nacionais iniciaram nos últimos dois anos. As normas ISO 14040 e 14044 fornecem a estrutura indispensável para a ACV, no entanto, ainda que balizadas por recomendações, certas escolhas metodológicas são realizadas pelo executor do estudo. Na maioria dos ciclos de vida do produto, há pelo menos um processo que tem mais de um produto como saída, e para o qual não é possível coletar dados em separado, sendo necessário aplicar um procedimento de alocação. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a influência da aplicação de diferentes procedimentos de alocação no resultado final de um estudo de ACV aplicado à produção de fibras têxteis, através da análise de estudos publicados e da realização de estudo de caso. A revisão dos estudos publicados na literatura baseou-se no método de revisão bibliográfica sistemática. Dentre as publicações que apresentaram o procedimento de alocação selecionado, o que representa apenas 34% dos estudos, a alocação econômica foi realizada em sete estudos, seguido da alocação baseada em critérios físicos (massa) em cinco estudos. No estudo de caso realizado para a produção de 1 tonelada de fibra de algodão no Brasil, a alocação de todo o impacto para a fibra de algodão resultou em 4120kg/CO2 equivalente, enquanto alocando por massa e critério econômico, respectivamente, obteve-se 1627kg/CO2 equivalente e 3419kg/CO2 equivalente. Para a fibra de politereftalato de etileno (PET), observou-se que o método de alocação selecionado altera a fronteira do estudo, que por sua vez impacta no resultado final. Os resultados encontrados no presente estudo reforçam a necessidade de reportar explicitamente as escolhas metodológicas e realizar análise de sensibilidade. / Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies applied to the textile sector started in the 1990s, being conducted primarily in the United States and Europe. In Brazil, the LCA studies applied to textiles using national data began in the last two years. The ISO standards 14040 and 14044 provide the necessary structure to the LCA, however, certain methodological choices even that oriented, are made by the analyst. In most product life cycles, there is at least one process that has more than one product as output, and for which it is not possible to collect separate data, being necessary to apply an allocation procedure. This study has aimed to evaluate the influence of applying different allocation procedures in the results of an LCA study applied to textile fibers, through the analysis of published studies and conducting a case study. The review of published studies was performed based on the systematic review method. Among the publications that have presented the allocation procedure selected, which represents only 34% of the studies, economic allocation was performed in seven studies, followed by allocation based on physical criteria (mass) in five studies. In the case study for the production of one ton of cotton fibers in Brazil, allocating the full impact for cotton fiber resulted in 4120kg/CO2 equivalent, while allocating according to mass and economic criteria, respectively, resulted in 1627kg/CO2 equivalent and 3419kg/CO2 equivalent. For the PET fiber, it was observed that the allocation procedure changes the system boundary, and hence the results. The results of this study emphasize the need to explicitly communicate the methodological choices and perform sensitivity analysis on LCA results.

Thesis. 1977. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Chemistry. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND SCIENCE. / Includes bibliographical references. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1980. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Bibliography: leaves 91-93. / by Byung Hoon Kim. / M.S.

Includes photographs of project. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

O presente estudo teve como objetivo o desenvolvimento e caracterização de scaffolds à base de fibras têxteis de alginato, quitosana e híbridas sem e com glicerol para aplicação em engenharia de tecido ósseo. As fibras foram produzidas e utilizadas para o desenvolvimento dos scaffolds e caracterizadas quanto ao título, tenacidade, alongamento e tração. Para a produção dos scaffolds foram testadas quatro metodologias de secagem: à temperatura ambiente, à 25oC, à 45oC e por congelamento em ultrafreezer e liofilização. A metodologia de congelamento em ultrafreezer e liofilização apresentou estruturas mais regulares e foi a selecionada para reprodução dos scaffolds. Os scaffolds foram produzidos com fibras de alginato, quitosana e híbridas sem e com glicerol e caracterizados por: microscopia óptica e eletrônica de varredura, viabilidade celular, DSC/TG, absorção de água e perda de massa, estudo de biomineralização e biodegradação. Os resultados obtidos com o teste de tração das fibras mostraram que as fibras híbridas apresentaram um valor de tenacidade 27,3% maior que as de alginato e 55,2% que de quitosana, indicando que a interação entre os polímeros melhorou a tenacidade. Os ensaios de viabilidade celular realizados tanto com MTT (Brometo de 3-(4,5- dimetiltiazol-2-il)-2,5-difenil-tetrazólio) quanto com cristal violeta mostraram que todos os scaffolds não apresentaram toxicidade, e que nos scaffolds de quitosana sem e com glicerol pode ter ocorrido proliferação celular. Com relação aos ensaios de DSC/TG, os resultados mostraram que nos scaffolds híbridos houve indícios de interação entre os polímeros alginato e quitosana, devido ao deslocamento dos picos endotérmicos e exotérmicos dos híbridos em relação aos de alginato e quitosana, como observado na DSC/TG. Quanto à capacidade de absorção de água e perda de massa os resultados indicaram a possibilidade do glicerol ter funcionado como um estabilizante, pois os scaffolds que o continham em suas estruturas apresentaram maior percentual de absorção de água e menor perda de massa comparados aos que não o continham. No estudo de biomineralização foi detectada presença de hidroxiapatita desde o terceiro dia nos scaffolds de quitosana sem e com glicerol e híbrido sem glicerol. No estudo de biodegradação foi observado um aumento gradual de degradação até o sétimo dia, em que ocorreu um pico de degradação dos scaffolds, seguido por uma estabilidade no décimo dia. Por meio das microscopias realizadas pôde ser observado o ataque da enzima nas estruturas das fibras, também comprovado pelo resultado de concentração dos açúcares redutores. Comparando os scaffolds sem e com glicerol, a presença do glicerol pode ter influenciado na estabilidade das estruturas dos scaffolds. Levando em consideração todos os resultados, pode-se concluir que o scaffold híbrido apresentou bons resultados mecânicos e biológicos, indicando que a mistura dos dois polímeros pode ser considerada um avanço no desenvolvimento do biomaterial / This study aimed the development and characterization of scaffolds based on alginate, chitosan and hybrids textile fibers with and without glycerol for bone tissue engineering. The fibers were produced and used for the development of scaffolds and characterized as the title, tenacity, elongation and traction. For the production of scaffolds four drying methodologies were tested: at room temperature, at 25oC, at 45oC and freeze-drying. The freeze-drying method. The results of freeze-drying method showed more regular structures and this methodology was selected to reproduce the scaffolds. The scaffolds were produced with alginate, chitosan and hybrids fibers with and without glycerol and characterized by: optical and scanning electron microscopy, cell viability, DSC/TG, water absorption and weight loss, biomineralization study and biodegradation. The results obtained with the fibers of the tensile test showed that the hybrid fibers presented better toughness values, comparing to polymers alginate and chitosan: 27.3% higher that alginate and 55.2% that of chitosan, indicating that the interaction between the polymers improved toughness. Cell viability assays performed with MTT (3- (4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl) - 2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium) and crystal violet showed that all scaffolds showed no toxicity, and that in scaffolds of chitosan with and without glycerol may have occurred cell proliferation. The results of DSC/TG tests showed that the hybrid scaffolds presented evidence of interaction between chitosan and alginate polymers, due to the displacement of the endothermic and exothermic peaks of the hybrid in relation to alginate and chitosan, as observed in the DSC/TG. Regarding water absorption capacity, and weight loss results indicate the possibility of glycerol have worked as a stabilizer, because the scaffolds that contain it in their structures showed a higher percentage of low water absorption and less percentage of weight loss compared to those not contained. In biomineralization study was detected the presence of hydroxyapatite from the third day on scaffolds of chitosan with and without glycerol and hybrid without glycerol. It was observed in the study of biodegradation a gradual increase of degradation up to the seventh day that there was a peak of degradation of the scaffolds, followed by stability in the tenth day. Through microscopy performed could be observed the enzyme attack on the fiber structures also proved by the result of concentration of reducing sugars. Comparing the scaffolds with and without glycerol, the glycerol presence may have influenced the stability of the structures of scaffolds. Considering all the results, it can be concluded that the hybrid scaffold exhibited good mechanical and biological results, indicating that mixing of the two polymers can be considered an advance in the development of biomateria

Surface grafting and modification of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) were performed on nylon 6,6 carpet fibers to achieve permanent stain and soil resistance. PAA was grafted to nylon and modified with 1H, 1H-pentadecafluorooctyl amine (PDFOA) using an amidation agent, 4-(4,6-dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-4-methylmorpholinium chloride (DMTMM). The first goal was to optimize acrylamide modification of PAA in solution. Aqueous reactions with taurine, hydroxyethyl amine, and butyl amine progressed ~100%, while PDFOA reactions in MeOH progressed ~80%. Reaction products precipitated at 77% butyl or 52% PDFOA acrylamide contents. The second goal was to optimize the PAA grafting process. First, PAA was adsorbed onto nylon 6,6 films. Next, DMTMM initiated grafting of adsorbed PAA. PAA surface coverage was ~78%, determined by contact angle analysis of the top 0.1-1 nm and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis of the top 3-10 nm. The third goal was to modify PAA grafted nylon films with butyl amine and PDFOA. Randomly methylated beta-cyclodextrin (RAMEB) solubilized PDFOA in water. Contact angle detected ~ 100% surface reaction for each amine, while XPS detected ~77% butyl amine (H2O) and ~50% for PDFOA (MeOH or H2O pH=7) reactions. In H2O pH=12, the PDFOA reaction progressed ~89%, perhaps due to greater efficiency, access and solubility. The fourth goal was to perform surface depth profiling via angle-resolved XPS analysis (ARXPS). The PAA surface coverage from contact angle and XPS was confirmed. Further, adsorbed PAA was thicker than grafted PAA, supporting the theory that PAA adsorption occurs in thick layers onto nylon followed by DMTMM-activated spreading and grafting of thinner PAA layers across the surface. The PDFOA reaction in MeOH produced a highly fluorinated but thin exterior and an unreacted PAA interior. The PDFOA reaction in H2O pH=12 produced a completely fluorinated exterior and highly fluorinated interior. Thus surface modification levels from contact angle and XPS were confirmed. The final goal was to PAA-graft and PDFOA-modify nylon 6,6 fabrics and carpets. PDFOA modification achieved significant water and oil repellency. Stainblocking was slightly improved for ionized PAA-g-nylon and greatly improved for PDFOA-modified PAA-g-nylon. However, traditional stainblockers may be necessary to completely prevent dye penetration into carpet tufts.