Interfacial properties of two types of mucins have been investigated at the aqueous solution/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) interface. One is commercially available bovine submaxillary mucin, BSM, which consists of alternating glycosylated and nonglycosylated regions. The other one is a recombinant mucin-type fusion protein, PSGL-1/mIgG2b, consisting of a glycosylated mucin part fused to the Fc part of an immunoglobulin. PSGL-1/mIgG2b is mainly expressed as a dimer upon production. A quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation was used to study the adsorption of the mucins to PMMA surfaces. The mass of the adsorbed mucin layers, including the adsorbed mucin and water trapped in the layer, was found to be significantly higher for PSGL-1/mIgG2b than for BSM. Atomic force microscopy with colloidal probe was employed to study interactions and frictional forces between mucin-coated PMMA surfaces. Purely repulsive forces of steric origin were observed between PSGL-1/mIgG2b mucin layers, whereas a small adhesion was detected between BSM layers and attributed to bridging. Both mucin layers reduced the friction force between PMMA surfaces in aqueous solution. The reduction was, however, significantly more pronounced for PSGL-1/mIgG 2b. The effective friction coefficient between PSGL-1/mIgG 2b-coated PMMA surfaces is as low as 0.02 at low loads, increasing to 0.24 at the highest load explored, 50 nN. In contrast, a friction coefficient of around 0.7 was obtained between BSM-coated PMMA surfaces. The large differences in interfacial properties for the two mucins are discussed in relation to their structural differences.

A nonionic-cationic diblock copolymer, poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazoline) 60-b-poly((3-acrylamidopropyl)trimethylammonium chloride) 17, (PIPOZ60-b-PAMPTMA17), was utilized to electrostatically tether temperature-responsive PIPOZ chains to silica surfaces by physisorption. The effects of polymer concentration, pH, and temperature on adsorption were investigated using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring and ellipsometry. The combination of these two techniques allows thorough characterization of the adsorbed layer in terms of surface excess, thickness, and water content. The high affinity of the cationic PAMPTMA 17 block to the negatively charged silica surface gives rise to a high affinity adsorption isotherm, leading to (nearly) irreversible adsorption with respect to dilution. An increase in solution pH lowers the affinity of PIPOZ to silica but enhances the adsorption of the cationic block due to increasing silica surface charge density, which leads to higher adsorption of the cationic diblock copolymer. Higher surface excess is also achieved at higher temperatures due to the worsening of the solvent quality of water for the PIPOZ block. Interestingly, a large hysteresis in adsorbed mass and other layer properties was observed when the temperature was cycled from 25 to 45 °C and then back to 25 °C. Possible causes for this temperature hysteresis are discussed.

Thermoresponsive polymer layers on silica surfaces have been obtained by utilizing electrostatically driven adsorption of a cationic–nonionic diblock copolymer. The cationic block provides strong anchoring to the surface for the nonionic block of poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazoline), referred to as PIPOZ. The PIPOZ chain interacts favorably with water at low temperatures, but above 46 °C aqueous solutions of PIPOZ phase separate as water becomes a poor solvent for the polymer. We explore how a change in solvent condition affects interactions between such adsorbed layers and report temperature effects on both normal forces and friction forces. To gain further insight, we utilize self-consistent lattice mean-field theory to follow how changes in temperature affect the polymer segment density distributions and to calculate surface force curves. We find that with worsening of the solvent condition an attraction develops between the adsorbed PIPOZ layers, and this observation is in good agreement with predictions of the mean-field theory. The modeling also demonstrates that the segment density profile and the degree of chain interpenetration under a given load between two PIPOZ-coated surfaces rise significantly with increasing temperature.

Suggestions for how to test and verify line type heat detectors suitable for facade mounting are given. Related standards including prEN54:22 are discussed. Key words: Linjevärmedetektorer, komponentprovningar, beständighetstest, funktionstest

In March 2002, the Swedish Work Environment Authority performed an inspection at Skottsundsbackens home for elderly in the municipality of Sundsvall. The Swedish Work Environment Authority came to the conclusion that the ergonomic problems many employees had experienced were related to the floor covering in the building. The municipality lodged an appeal, but in October 2005 the appeal was rejected by the Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden. In the decision you can read that “The Swedish Work Environment Authority points out that if the floor covering has got a suitable springiness or not can not be objectively judged, since there are no test methods for this”. In spite of this, the Swedish Work Environment Authority believes that the best way to minimise the risks of strain injuries is to replace the current floor covering with a softer floor covering. Since there are existing test methods to quantify properties of springiness (i.e. shock absorption and vertical deformation) for sport surfaces, the aim of this study has been to find out whether these methods can be applied to ordinary floor coverings. If it’s possible, this might be a way of objectively judge if a floor covering is suitable or not for a certain work activity. The test methods chosen were EN 14808 Surfaces for sports areas – Determination of shock absorption and EN 14809 Surfaces for sport areas – Determination of vertical deformation. The study could also bee seen as an inventory of what values that could be expected for ordinary floor coverings in Sweden. Another goal for the study was to find out whether or not it was possible to quantify the difference between the floor covering that was replaced at Skottsundsbacken and the softer one that was finally installed. The conclusions of the study were that the mentioned test methods are suitable for measuring mechanical comfort properties of floor coverings, exceptions made for homogeneous and heterogeneous floor coverings without any kind of foam backing. These floorings has got very little ability to absorb energy and the results from the measurements can not be used to discriminate between them. Keywords: Floor covering, comfort, shock absorption, springiness, vertical deformation, EN 14808, EN 14809

Poly(acrylic acid) was grown from substrates by photopolymerization, and the grafting process was monitored in situ by Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation (QCM-D) measurements in a 1:1 v/v mixture of water/ethanol. The polymerization process was monitored into the thick film region, where the change in frequency and dissipation with increasing film mass changes sign as predicted by the Voigt viscoelastic model. Our experimental data are compared with predictions of this model, and satisfactory agreement is found for low overtone numbers. The Voigt model was applied to analyze the measured changes in frequency, Δf, and dissipation, ΔD, in order to extract information on layer thickness, shear elasticity, μ, and shear viscosity, η, of the growing film. The increasing rate of changes in Δf and ΔD observed after about 150 s of polymerization was found to correlate with an increasing growth rate of the film thickness. For longer polymerization times a close to linear increase in thickness with time was observed. The sensitivity, defined as the derivatives of Δf and ΔD with respect to thickness, depends on overtone number and is different for the frequency and dissipation signals - facts that should be considered when investigating small changes in thick films used in e.g. sensor applications.

Corrosion is of considerable concern whenever metal is used as construction material. In this study we address whether superhydrophobic coatings could be used as part of an environmentally friendly corrosion-protective system, and specific focus is put on how the wetting regime of a superhydrophobic coating affects corrosion inhibition. Superhydrophobic alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) wax coatings were produced, using different methods resulting in hierarchical structures, where the coatings exhibit the same surface chemistry but different wetting regimes. Contact angle measurements, ESEM, confocal Raman microscopy, open circuit potential and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to evaluate the surfaces. Remarkably high impedance values of 1010Ωcm2 (at 10-2Hz) were reached for the sample showing superhydrophobic lotus-like wetting. Simultaneous open circuit potential measurements suggest that the circuit is broken, most likely due to the formation of a thin air layer at the coating-water interface that inhibits ion transport from the electrolyte to the metal substrate. The remaining samples, showing superhydrophobic wetting in the rose state and hydrophobic Wenzel-like wetting, showed less promising corrosion-protective properties. Due to the absence of air films on these surfaces the coatings were penetrated by the electrolyte, which allowed the corrosion reaction to proceed.

Hydrophobized silica nanoparticles of different sizes, from 16 to 500 nm, were used to impart roughness to a hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coating with the aim of obtaining superhydrophobic properties. The particle silanization process and the curing process of the PDMS coating were optimized to increase the contact angle (CA) of the particle containing coating. The evaluation of the coatings, by means of water CA measurements and scanning electron microscopy imaging, shows that superhydrophobicity in the adhesive rose state was achieved using combinations of two differently sized particles, with an excess of the small 16 nm ones. Superhydrophobicity in the lotus state was obtained when the filler concentration of 16 nm particles was 40 wt%, but under such conditions the coating was found to partially crack, which is detrimental in barrier applications. The preference for the rose wetting state can be explained by the round shape of the particles, which promotes the superhydrophobic rose wetting state over that of the superhydrophobic lotus state.

In this study, the time-dependent corrosion protection ability of 10-15. μm thin polydimethylsiloxane-nanoparticle composite coatings was evaluated using mainly open circuit potential and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. The best result was obtained for the coating containing 20. wt% hydrophobic silica nanoparticles, where it was possible to achieve protection for almost 80 days in 3. wt% NaCl solution. The protective properties offered by this coating are suggested to be due to a synergistic effect of the hydrophobicity of the polydimethylsiloxane matrix and the prolonged diffusion path caused by addition of hydrophobic silica particles.

We report and discuss the corrosion protective properties of a thin nano-composite coating system consisting of an 11μm thick polyester acrylate (PEA) basecoat, covered by an approximately 1-2μm thick layer of TiO2 nanoparticles carrying a 0.05μm thick hexamethyl disiloxane (HMDSO) top coat. The corrosion protective properties were evaluated on carbon steel substrates immersed in 3wt% NaCl solution by open circuit potential (OCP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The protective properties of each layer, and of each pair of layers, were also evaluated to gain further understanding of the long-term protective properties offered by the nano-composite coating. The full coating system showed excellent corrosion protective properties in the corrosive environment of 3wt% NaCl-solution for an extended period of 100 days, during which the coating impedance, at the lower frequency limit (0.01Hz), remained above 108 Ωcm2. We suggest that the excellent corrosion protective properties of the complete coating system is due to a combination of (i) good adhesion and stability of the PEA basecoat, (ii) the surface roughness and the elongated diffusion path provided by the addition of TiO2 nanoparticles, and (iii) the low surface energy provided by the HMDSO top coat.

Characterization of yeasts isolated from deep igneous rock aquifers of the Fennoscandian Sheild

Under hösten samlade Energiforsks seminarium “Ageing of Polymers in nuclear applications – Education and workshop” över 35 personer från 5 olika länder för att lära och diskutera åldring av polymerer inom kärnkraft.

Evaluation of degradability of biodegradable polyethylene (PE)