Reactive coupling of poly(ethylene glycol) on electroactive polyaniline films for reduction in protein adsorption and platelet adhesion

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-coupled polyaniline (PANI) film surfaces were prepared by incorporating the chlorinie end-capped methoxy PEG (mPEGCl) of molecular weight of about 2000 onto the emeraldine (EM) base form of PANI via N-alkylation. The microstructure and composition of the mPEG-coupled PANI (mPEG-c-PANI) surfaces were characterized by atomic force microscopy, contact angle measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The concentration of surface-coupled mPEG increased with the increase in concentration of the mPEGCl solution. The mPEG-c-PANI film surfaces exhibited enhanced ability to repel protein adsorption, with only an moderate reduction in their electrical conductivity. The mPEG-c-PANI surface with a high concentration of coupled mPEG also exhibited good resistance towards platelet adhesion.

Combine-ARMS: a rapid and cost-effective protocol for molecular characterization of beta-thalassemia in Malaysia

Beta-thalassemia major patients have chronic anemia and are dependent on blood transfusions to sustain life. Molecular characterization and prenatal diagnosis of beta3-thalassemia is essential in Malaysia because about 4.5% of the population are heterozygous carriers for beta-thalassemia. The high percentage of compound heterozygosity (47.62%) found in beta-thalassemia major patients in the Thalassaemia Registry, University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Malaysia, also supports a need for rapid, economical, and sensitive protocols for the detection of beta-thalassemia mutations. Molecular characterization of beta-thalassemia mutations in Malaysia is currently carried out using ARMS, which detects a single beta-thalassemia mutation per PCR reaction. We developed and evaluated Combine amplification refractory mutation system (C-ARMS) techniques for efficient molecular detection of two to three beta-thalassemia mutations in a single PCR reaction. Three C-ARMS protocols were evaluated and established for molecular characterization of common beta-thalassemia mutations in the Malay and Chinese ethnic groups in Malaysia. Two C-ARMS protocols (cd 41-42/IVSII #654 and -29/cd 71-72) detected the beta-thalassemia mutations in 74.98% of the Chinese patients studied. The CARMS for cd 41-42/IVSII #654 detected beta-thalassemia mutations in 72% of the Chinese families. C-ARMS for cd 41-42/IVSI #5/cd 17 allowed detection of beta-thalassemia mutations in 36.53% of beta-thalassemia in the Malay patients. C-ARMS for cd 41-42/IVSI #5/cd 17 detected beta-thalassemia in 45.54% of the Chinese patients. We conclude that C-ARMS with the ability to detect two to three mutations in a single reaction provides more rapid and cost-effective protocols for beta-thalassemia prenatal diagnosis and molecular analysis programs in Malaysia.

Surface modification of stainless steel by grafting of poly(ethylene glycol) for reduction in protein adsorption

The surface of stainless steel was first modified by the silane coupling agent (SCA), (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane. The silanized stainless-steel surface (SCA-SS surface) was subsequently activated by argon plasma and then subjected to UV-induced graft polymerization of poly(ethylene glycol)methacrylate (PEGMA). The chemical structures and composition of the pristine, silane-treated, plasma-treated and PEGMA graft-polymerized stainless-steel coupon surfaces were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. The graft polymerization of PEGMA onto the plasma-pretreated SCA-SS surface was studied with different argon plasma pretreatment time, macromonomer concentration, and UV graft polymerization time. In general, a brief plasma pretreatment, high PEGMA concentration, and long UV graft polymerization time readily resulted in a high graft concentration. The PEGMA graft-polymerized stainless-steel coupon (PEGMA-g-SCA-SS) with a high graft concentration, and thus a high PEG content, was found to be very effective in preventing bovine serum albumin and gamma-globulin adsorption.

Surface modification of natural rubber latex films via grafting of poly(ethylene glycol) for reduction in protein adsorption and platelet adhesion

Natural rubber (NR) latex films with surface grafted poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chains were prepared by UV-induced graft copolymerization of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) monomethacrylate (PEGMA) onto the plasma-pretreated NR latex films. PEGMA macromononers of different molecular weights were used. The UV-induced graft copolymerization of PEGMA onto the plasma-pretreated NR latex films was also explored with PEGMA of different macromonomer concentrations and with different UV graft copolymerization time. The surface microstructures and compositions of the PEG-modified NR latex films were characterized by contact angle, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements. In general, higher macromonomer concentration and longer UV graft copolymerization time led to a higher graft yield. Water contact angle measurements revealed that the hydrophilicity of the NR latex film surface was greatly enhanced by the grafting of the PEG chains. The NR surface with a high density of grafted PEG was very effective in reducing protein adsorption and platelet adhesion. A lower graft concentration of the high-molecular-weight PEG was more effective than a high graft concentration of the low-molecular-weight PEG in reducing protein adsorption and platelet adhesion.

Dynamic holography for optical interconnections. I. Noise floor of low-cross-talk holographic switches

Reconfigurable optical interconnects constructed by recording dynamic holograms onto spatial light modulators may be crucial elements in all-optical networks. The extremely low cross-talk level of such free-space holographic switches was shown by an analytic approximation and verified experimentally. The fiber-to-fiber switch utilizes the spatial filtering properties of single-mode fibers, and its cross-talk noise is limited to the sidelobe power as a result of diffraction of the clipped Gaussian beam at the hologram aperture edges, provided that all higher orders are avoided. Greater than 45-dB cross-talk isolation has been measured at transverse-axis locations, and locating a fiber port at off-transverse-axis directions promises to double this level if aberrations are negligible.

Modification of Si(100) surface by the grafting of poly(ethylene glycol) for reduction in protein adsorption and platelet adhesion

The modification of argon plasma-pretreated single-crystal Si(100) wafer surfaces via the UV-induced graft polymerization of poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA) macromonomer (molecular weight approximately 340) for biomaterials applications was explored. The modified Si(100) surfaces were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Surface peroxide concentrations resulting from the argon plasma treatment and subsequent atmospheric exposure were determined by a coupling reaction with diphenylpicrylhydrazyl. The results suggested that a short plasma treatment time of 10 s and brief air exposure were sufficient for generating an optimum amount of peroxides and hydroperoxides for the subsequent UV-induced graft polymerization. The graft concentration of the PEGMA polymer increased with increasing PEGMA macromonomer concentration for the graft polymerization and with increasing UV graft polymerization time. The PEGMA graft-polymerized silicon surface with a high poly(ethylene glycol) graft concentration was very effective in preventing protein adsorption and platelet adhesion. The grafted PEGMA polymer layer on the Si(100) surface exhibited fairly good stability during storage in a buffer solution.

Dynamic holography for optical interconnections. II. Routing holograms with predictable location and intensity of each diffraction order

An analysis of dynamic phase-only holograms, described by fractional notation and recorded onto a pixelated spatial light modulator (SLM) in a reconfigurable optical beam-steering switch, is presented. The phase quantization and arrangement of the phase states and the SLM pixelation and dead-space effects are decoupled, expressed analytically, and simulated numerically. The phase analysis with a skip-rotate rule reveals the location and intensity of each diffraction order at the digital replay stage. The optical reconstruction of the holograms recorded onto SLM's with rectangular pixel apertures entails sinc-squared scaling, which further reduces the intensity of each diffraction order. With these two factors taken into account, the highest values of the nonuniform first-order diffraction efficiencies are expected to be 33%, 66%, and 77% for two-, four-, and and eight-level one-dimensional holograms with a 90% linear pixel fill factor. The variation of the first-order diffraction efficiency and the relative replay intensities were verified to within 1 dB by performing the optical reconstruction of binary phase-only holograms recorded onto a ferroelectric liquid crystal on a silicon SLM.