Aspects concerning the temperature influence on the polymer/polymer interactions between poly(aspartic acid) and poly(ethylene glycol)

Investigation of the magnetic field effect upon interpolymeric complexes formation based on bovine serum albumin and poly(aspartic acid)

The study presents a novel strategy for obtaining highly ordered interpolymeric complexes based on a protein, bovine serum albumin and a synthetic polymer, poly(aspartic acid). In this approach, experimental tests were carried out in the presence of a magnetic field of different intensities, namely 0.11 T and 0.3 T produced by permanent magnets. The influence of the magnetic force on the complexation process and the resulted self-assembled structures were studied by means of FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, DLS, SEM microscopy and in vitro assay. The changes in the FTIR spectra acquired after 24 h of exposure were connected with conformational changes in the secondary structure and increased interactions between polymers, particularly when a higher intensity field was used. Due to a large anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility characteristic to both proteins and polypeptides, the magnetic field generated ordered assemblies consisting in globular structures of nanometric dimensions. This assembly strategy using magnets, along with remote manipulation capability can provide a versatile, contact-free, and inexpensive tool to create new, complex materials with tailorable characteristics.

Development of anti-scale poly(aspartic acid-citric acid) dual polymer systems for water treatment

The formation of calcium sulphate and calcium carbonate scale poses major problems in heat exchangers and water cooling systems, thereby affecting the performance of these types of equipment. In order to inhibit these scale formations, new types of biodegradable water soluble single polymer and dual poly(aspartic acid-citric acid) polymers were developed and tested. The effectiveness of single polymer and four different compositions of poly aspartic acid and citric acid dual polymer systems as scale inhibitors were evaluated. Details of the synthesis, thermal stability, scale inhibition and the morphological characterization of single and dual polymers are presented in this scientific paper. It was found that the calcium sulphate scale inhibition rate was in the range 76.06-91.45%, while the calcium carbonate scale inhibition rate observed was in the range 23.37-30.0% at 65-70 °C. The finding suggests that the water soluble dual polymers are very effective in sulphate scale inhibition in comparison of calcium carbonate scale inhibition.