U.S.-Mexico Collaborative Research: Characterization of Liquid Crystals and Colloidal Semiconductor Particles by Positron Annihilation

该奖项将支持锡拉丘兹的一组研究人员 在J. Fendler教授的指导下， 与研究所的一个类似小组合作研究 墨西哥墨西哥城国家核研究所， L教授的方向。A.风口 过去几 多年来，合作者成功地参与了 胶束，微乳液， 液晶、囊泡和聚合囊泡。 所有这些 分子聚集体有一个共同的主题， 生物膜的功能。 拟议的 合作，研究人员打算继续调查 使用核技术的膜模拟物， 我们的目标是增加我们对生物化学的理解， 膜。 合作者的工作特点是其生产力， 互惠互利。 囊泡和聚合囊泡已经被 在美国制备，而微乳液和液体 晶体已经在墨西哥制备和表征。 的 聚集体的结构和形态已经被 美国研究小组使用静态和动态光 散射和本征和非本征光谱方法。 的 另一方面，墨西哥的一个小组使用偏振光 用于液晶表征的显微镜， 在使用正电子湮没技术方面经验丰富， 确定不同系统中的相位变化。 使用这些 技术使调查人员能够发现微妙的， 表面活性剂形态的显著变化。 另夕h 拟议的研究具有很大的应用潜力， 提高石油采收率，控制药物释放，催化， 控制各种化学过程。

This award will support a group of researchers at Syracuse University under the direction of Prof. J. Fendler to carry out collaborative research with a similar group at the Instituto National de Investigaciones Nucleares in Mexico City, Mexico, under the direction of Prof L. A. Fucugauchi. Over the past several years the collaborators have been successfully engaged in the preparation and characterization of micelles, microemulsions, liquid crystals, vesicles and polymerized vesicles. All of these molecular aggregates have a common theme in that they mimic the functions of a biological membrane. For the proposed period of collaboration, the researchers intend to pursue the investigation of membrane mimetics using nuclear techniques with the long range goal of increasing our understanding of the chemistry of biological membranes. The collaborators' work has been characterized by its productivity, and mutual benefits. Vesicles and polymerized vesicles have been prepared in the United States while microemulsions and liquid crystals have been prepared and characterized in Mexico. The structures and morphologies of the aggregates have been investigated by the U.S. group using static and dynamic light scattering and intrinsic and extrinsic spectroscopic methods. The Mexican group, on the other hand, has used polarized light microscopy for the characterization of liquid crystals and is experienced in the use of positron annihilation techniques to determine phase changes in the different systems. The use of these techniques has allowed the investigators to detect subtle and significant changes in surfactant morphologies. Additionally, the proposed research has a significant potential for application to enhanced oil recovery, controlled drug release, catalysis, and the control of various chemical processes.