Polyrotaxane approach for synthesis of continuous beds for capillary electrochromatography.

The polyrotaxane formation approach was evaluated for synthesis of continuous beds for capillary electrochromatography. This approach has the advantage of generating diverse electroosmotic and chromatographic properties without chemical reactions. The polyrotaxane derivatized continuous beds were formed adding the macrocyclic compounds to the solution of neutral acrylic monomers and crosslinker prior to the initiation of the polymerisation. Cationic and anionic derivatives of beta-cyclodextrin were used as macrocyclic compounds. Investigation of the electroosmotic properties indicated a template directed and enthalpy controlled self-assembly of the polyrotaxanes during the polymerisation of the continuous beds. This process was monomer-composition dependent and favored by the hydrophobicity of the polymeric skeleton. The morphology of the continuous beds was evaluated using high-resolution optical microscopy with CCD camera and atomic force microscopy. Reversed-phase capillary chromatography driven by electroosmosis, originating from the polyrotaxane structure, was performed using several test mixtures. Not primarily designed for the chiral chromatography the polyrotaxane derivatized continuous beds demonstrated enantioselective separation of D,L-metoprolol. The stability of the polyrotaxane derivatized continuous beds was tested. The beds demonstrated reproducible electroosmotic properties in the range from pH 4 to pH 9 (RSD=0.69%).

Intermittent contact AFM using the higher modes of weak cantilever.

Employing the higher vibration modes of weak cantilevers enables operating frequencies up to megahertz to be reached, at the same time keeping the force on the sample reasonably low. This allows the interaction time between the tip and the surface to be reduced and should cause the response of surface to be dominated by surface stiffness. The simple distributed mass cantilever model is presented which shows that higher eigenmodes exhibit better sensitivity to surface properties. The images of laser-treated polymer on glass show the ability of the method to distinguish between the material phases with different properties.

Ultrasonic actuators for nanometre positioning

This paper deals with ultrasonic motors based on bimodal plate vibrations and their application to nanometre resolution stepper positioning systems. The concept of a linear ultrasonic motor drive capable of nanometric steps, long-range travel and reversible controlled motion is presented. The motor concept developed is based on the superposition of a longitudinal and bending vibrations of a rectangular resonator. The ultrasonic motor model based on system identification via discrete observations and prediction has been developed for control applications. The control algorithm for ultrasonic motors has been developed and theoretical investigations have been made. The open loop positioning system with designed stepper ultrasonic drive produced 10 nm resolution and 5% displacement repeatability. The system with computer controlled position feedback has shown 0.3 micron positioning accuracy over the 100 mm positioning range.