The Use of Computational Methods for the Development of Molecularly Imprinted Polymers

Recent years have witnessed a dramatic increase in the use of theoretical and computational approaches in the study and development of molecular imprinting systems. These tools are being used to either improve understanding of the mechanisms underlying the function of molecular imprinting systems or for the design of new systems. Here, we present an overview of the literature describing the application of theoretical and computational techniques to the different stages of the molecular imprinting process (pre-polymerization mixture, polymerization process and ligand-molecularly imprinted polymer rebinding), along with an analysis of trends within and the current status of this aspect of the molecular imprinting field.

Effect of various formulation ingredients on thermal characteristics of PVC/clay nanocomposite foams: experimental and modeling

The effect of various ingredients – nanoclay (NC), azodicarbonamaide (ADCA), paraloeid K-400 and calcium stearate (Ca.St) – on thermal behavior of melt blended poly (vinyl chloride)/NC nanocomposites was investigated. Combinations of two artificial intelligence algorithms were performed for modeling of the systems. The formulation ingredients affect the thermal features of the compounds. Upon increasing the effect of various ingredients, i.e. NC, ADCA, K-400 and Ca.St, an increase in ash content was observed, hence, the thermal stability increased. The effect of ingredients on initial degradation temperature (T5%) and half degradation temperature (T50%) was not obvious. The artificial neural network (model) and the clonal selection algorithm (optimizer) were performed for proper modeling of the systems. These models were used to determine the role of T5%, T50% and char based on the contents of ingredients. The result successfully modeled the process parameters.