Effect of polar solvents on the crystalline phase of polyamides

Nitric oxide-releasing semi-crystalline thermoplastic polymers: preparation, characterization and application to devise anti-inflammatory and bactericidal implants

Semi-crystalline thermoplastics are an important class of biomaterials with applications in creating extracorporeal and implantable medical devices. In situ release of nitric oxide (NO) from medical devices can enhance their performance via NO's potent anti-thrombotic, bactericidal, anti-inflammatory, and angiogenic activity. However, NO-releasing semi-crystalline thermoplastic systems are limited and the relationship between polymer crystallinity and NO release profile is unknown. In this paper, the functionalization of poly(ether-block-amide) (PEBA), Nylon 12, and polyurethane tubes, as examples of semi-crystalline polymers, with the NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) within, is demonstrated via a polymer swelling method. The degree of crystallinity of the polymer plays a crucial role in both SNAP impregnation and NO release. Nylon 12, which has a relatively high degree of crystallinity, exhibits an unprecedented NO release duration of over 5 months at a low NO level, while PEBA tubing exhibits NO release over days to weeks. As a new biomedical application of NO, the NO-releasing PEBA tubing is examined as a cannula for continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion. The released NO is shown to enhance insulin absorption into the bloodstream probably by suppressing the tissue inflammatory response, and thereby could benefit insulin pump therapy for diabetes management.

New Solvent for Polyamide 66 and Its Use for Preparing a Single-Polymer Composite-Coated Fabric

Polyamides (PAs) are one of the most important engineering polymers; however, the difficulty in dissolving them hinders their applications. Formic acid (FA) is the most common solvent for PAs, but it has industrial limitations. In this contribution, we proposed a new solvent system for PAs by replacing a portion of the FA with urea and calcium chloride (FAUCa). Urea imparts the hydrogen bonding and calcium ion from the calcium chloride, as a Lewis acid was added to the system to compensate for the pH decrease due to the addition of urea. The results showed that the proposed solvent (FAUCa) could readily dissolve PAs, resulting in a less decrease in the mechanical properties during the dissolution. The composite prepared using the FAUCa has almost the same properties as the one prepared using the FA solution. The solution was applied on a polyamide 66 fabric to make an all-polyamide composite-coated fabric, which then was characterized. The FAUCa solution had a higher viscosity than the one prepared using the neat FA solvent, which can be an advantage in the applications which need higher viscosity like preparing the all-polyamide composite-coated fabric. A more viscous solution makes a denser coating which will increase the water /gas tightness. In conclusion, using the FAUCa solvent has two merits: (1) replacement of 40% of the FA with less harmful and environmentally friendly chemicals and (2) enabling for the preparation of more viscous solutions, which makes a denser coating.

Preparation of Bio-Based Polyamide Elastomer by Using Green Plasticizers

The purpose of this work was to study the effects of three green plasticizers H₂O, glycerol, and soybean oil, on the properties of bio-based BDIS polyamides. The BDIS polyamides synthesized from the following biomass monomers: 1,4-butanediamine (BD), 1,10-decanediamine (DD), itaconic acid (IA), and sebacic acid (SA). It is interesting to note that the amorphous BDIS (IA-80%) polyamide was changed from the glassy state to the rubbery state after water soaking and induced crystallization at the same time. The H₂O-plasticized non-crosslinked BDIS (IA-80%) polyamides can be very useful for the preparation of physical water gel. The glycerol- and soybean oil-plasticized BDIS (IA-80%) polyamides displayed excellent toughness. The plasticized BDIS (IA-80%) polyamides were characterized by Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), mechanical testing, and X-ray diffraction (XRD).