Comparison of phenotype characteristics of rat annulus fibrosus cells cultured on flexible silicone membrane and in plastic plate

Objective：To compare the phenotype characteristics of rat annulus fibrosus （AF） cells cultured on flexible silicone membranes and those in plastic plates. Methods：The morphology of AF cells cultured in different suhstrates was examined. Proteoglycan was stained by toluidine blue. Contents of collagen type Ⅰ, collagen type Ⅰ and aggrecan mRNAs were determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR）. The expression of integrin β1 was monitored by flow cytometry. By using propidium iodide （PI）, the cell cycle in AF cells was analyzed. Cell adhesion to silicone membrane was also measured. Results：The AF cells cultured on different suhstrates were morphologically undistinguishable. Toluidine blue staining showed that there was also no difference between AF cells cultured on these 2 substrates. They still had the same expression levels of collagen type Ⅰ , collagen type Ⅰ, aggrecan mRNAs, and integrin β1. No significant difference was observed in the distribution of the cell cycle. AF cells grew well on silicone membrane. Conclusion：AF cells cultured on flexible silicone membrane maintain the stability of phenotype and may he appropriate for further studying the metabolic responses to mechanical stimuli at the cellular level.

Application of modified atmosphere packaging using silicone membrane system for shelf life extension of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) and its effect on physico-chemical properties

Objectives:The study was conducted to prolong the shelf life of freshly harvested pomegranate fruits and to find out its physiochemical properties during storage.Materials and Methods:Pomegranate fruits of variety‘Bhagawa’were stored in 200,300 gauge high-density polyethylene(HDPE)package,and silicone membrane modified atmospheric storage system at ambient conditions and 10℃.Gas composition inside the package,texture,color,and overall quality parameters were evaluated at these two storage temperatures.The physico-chemical properties such as total soluble solids,titratable acidity,ascorbic acid content,total,reducing,and non-reducing sugars,and physiological loss in weight(PLW)were also determined.Results:In ambient storage,the shelf life of pomegranate fruit was 10 days,whereas in modified atmosphere packaging(200 gauge HDPE,300 gauge HDPE,and silicone membrane system),the shelf life of pomegranate fruits was extended up to 60,60,25 days at ambient and 96,96,65 days at 10℃temperature,respectively.Conclusions:Among the 200,300 gauge HDPE package,and silicone membrane system treatments T1,T5,and T8,respectively,were found better with respect to all the sensory and quality parameters studied.

Facile fabrication of durable superhydrophobic fabrics by silicon polyurethane membrane for oil/water separation

Nowadays, oil contamination has become a major reason for water pollution, and presents a global environmental challenge. Although many efforts have been devoted to the fabrication of oil/water separation materials, their practical applications are still hindered by their weak durability, poor chemical tolerance,environmental resistance, and potential negative impact on health and the environment. To overcome these drawbacks, this work offers a facile method to fabricate the eco-friendly and durable oil/water separation membrane fabrics by alkaline hydrolysis and silicon polyurethane coating. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy results demonstrate that silicon polyurethane membrane could be coated onto the surface of hydrolyzed polyester fabric and form a micro-/nano-scaled hierarchical structure. Based on this, the modified fabric could have a stable superhydrophobic property with a water contact angle higher than 150°, even after repeated washing and mechanical abrasion 800 times, as well as chemical corrosion. Moreover, the modified fabrics show excellent oil/water separation efficiency of up to 99% for various types of oil–water mixture. Therefore, this durable, eco-friendly and cost-efficient superhydrophobic fabric has great potential in large-scale oil/water separation.

Modified silicon carbide whisker reinforced polybenzimidazole used for high temperature proton exchange membrane

Polybenzimidazole containing ether bond（OPBI） was reinforced with silicon carbide whisker（m Si C） modified by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane（KH550）, and then doped with phosphoric acid（PA） to obtain OPBI/m Si C/PA membranes. These OPBI/m Si C/PA membranes have excellent mechanical strength and oxidative stability and can be used for high temperature proton exchange membrane（HT-PEM）. The tensile strength of OPBI/m Si C/PA membranes ranges from 27.3 to 36.8 MPa, and it increases at first and then decreases with the increase of m Si C content. The high m Si C content and PA doping level contribute to improving the proton conductivity of membranes. The proton conductivity of PBI/m Si C-10/PA membrane is 27.1 m S cm-1 at 170℃ without humidity, with an increase of 55.7% compared with that of OPBI/PA membrane. These excellent properties make OPBI/m Si C/PA membranes promising membrane materials for HT-PEM applications.

Study on the Blood Gas Sensor Based on Optical Absorption Technology

Continuous intra-arterial blood gas monitoring is used clinically in hospital and intensive care unit settings.The blood gas can be detected by the colormetric indicators which are sealed in the silicone membrane.The glass tubing of the sensor should be as thin as possible since it affects response time and the bicarbonate buffer shifts the sensitivity of the sensor. In this paper,the sensitivity shifts by the bicarbonate buffer was researched.When carbon dioxide diffuses into the indicator, the carbon acid is produced and the bicarbonate buffer is used to control internal acidity.Because the sensitivity of the pCO_2 sensor is increased by controlling the concentration of the bicarbonate buffer,the bicarbonate buffer is used to obtain the optimum resolution in this investigation.Moreover,the different concentrations of the bicarbonate buffer for blood gas measurements are discussed in detail.