Preparation and Hemocompatibility of Novel Antioxidant-Modified Polyethersulfone Membranes as Red Blood Cell Thrombosis Inhibitors.

The contact between the dialysis membrane and blood can induce oxidative stress and thrombosis, causing oxidative organ damage and impaired toxin clearance. To date, the selection of anticoagulants has focused on mechanisms inhibiting white, but not red (erythrocytes) thrombus formation. In the present study, polyethersulfone (PES) membranes are modified with the antioxidant drug tiopronin; the physicochemical properties and dialysis performance of the Tio-PES membranes are evaluated. The effects on erythrocyte thrombosis are evaluated in terms of erythrocyte morphology, prothrombotic properties (adhesion, aggregation, viscosity, sedimentation, and hemolysis), and fibrinogen (FIB)-erythrocyte interactions. The regular anticoagulant and antiplatelet properties are also assessed. Superoxide dismutase, malondialdehyde, plasma protein, and complement C3a are further determined. Finally, the biosafety of the Tio-PES membranes is evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. The Tio-PES membranes exhibit excellent physicochemical properties and improved dialysis performance. It is found that the Tio-PES membranes stabilize erythrocyte morphology, reduce erythrocyte prothrombotic properties, decrease FIB adsorption, and prevent red thrombus formation. In addition, the Tio-PES membranes exhibit excellent antioxidant properties and show biosafety in primary toxicity studies. Thus, Tio-PES membranes hold promise as novel, safe, and effective dialysis materials for potential clinical application.

Grafting Amino Groups onto Polyimide Films in Flexible Copper-Clad Laminates Using Helicon Plasma.

Polyimide (PI) films are widely used in electronic devices owing to their excellent mechanical and electrical properties and high thermal and chemical stabilities. In particular, PI films play an important role in flexible printed circuit boards (FPCBs). However, one challenge currently faced with their use is that the adhesives used in FPCBs cause a high dielectric loss in high-frequency applications. Therefore, it is envisioned that PI films with a low dielectric loss and Cu films can be used to prepare two-layer flexible copper-clad laminates (FCCLs) without any adhesive. However, the preparation of ultra-thin FCCLs with no adhesives is difficult owing to the low peel strength between PI films and Cu films. To address this technical challenge, an FCCL with no adhesive was prepared via high-power helicon wave plasma (HWP) treatment. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were tested. Also, the surface roughness of the PI film and the peel strength between the PI film and Cu film were measured. The experimental results show that the surface roughness of the PI film increased by 40-65% and the PI film demonstrated improved adhesion (the peel strength was >8.0 N/cm) with the Cu film following plasma treatment and Cu plating.

[Spectral studies of novel Na specific adsorbent Li(1+x)Al(x)Ti(2-x)(PO4)3].

A novel Na specific adsorbent Li(1+x)Al(x)Ti(2-x)(PO4)3 was synthesized by high temperature solid state reaction method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD) and scanning electron microscope(SEM). Raman and FTIR spectroscopic studies of these materials were carried out, and the vibrational bands were assigned. Their adsorption performances were investigated. The results indicate that the low concentration (x < 0.6) Al dopant does not affect the structure of the material but makes it able to selectively adsorb sodium. The adsorbing test results show that its exchange capacity is high with the maximum value of adsorption capacity of 11.76 mg x g(-1) at x = 0.4 and pH = 10.0-11.0. So it can be used to remove the microamounts impurity-sodium in the production of high purity lithium salt.