Fundamental Properties of Saloplastic Polyelectrolyte Complexes

非技术性：聚电解质是一种可溶于水的带电聚合物，用于从洗发水到净水处理等各种产品。如果带有相反电荷的聚电解质溶液混合在一起，它们就会沉淀成生物相容的、坚固的、弹性的单个聚合物的混合物。这些复合体在延长药物释放和软骨替代方面具有潜在的医疗应用。它们也可用作水净化和海水淡化的膜。尽管它们的合成很简单，但不可能像人们更熟悉的“热塑性塑料”那样，通过热软化将它们加工成有用的形式。该项目将探索使用盐水而不是加热来软化和处理聚电解质复合体的新的、通用的方法。通过加盐进行软化，称为“盐塑性”，是一种降低聚合物加工能耗的新技术。由于它不使用挥发性有机溶剂，因此也是环保的。这个项目将探索几个基本问题：不同聚合物的混合物如何响应不同的盐？模拟软骨特性所必需的弹性是如何受盐控制的？如何在SaloPlatform中加入额外的强度，使其在用作椎间盘替代物时能够持久使用？在探索这些基本材料性质问题的同时，该项目将支持和促进与法国斯特拉斯堡大学的国际合作。该项目的教育方面还将包括商业学院和佛罗里达州立大学化学系之间的合作，其中创业和化学专业的学生将联手为该项目和其他项目开发的技术撰写商业化计划。技术：聚电解质是一种可溶于水的带电聚合物，用于从洗发水到净水处理等各种产品。如果带有相反电荷的聚电解质溶液混合在一起，它们就会沉淀成生物相容的、坚固的、粘弹性的单个聚合物的混合物。与传统热塑性塑料不同，聚电解质复合体不能在干燥时通过热软化进行加工。取而代之的是，它们可以用盐水塑化。盐浓度的增加会逐渐破坏聚电解质之间的离子配对。这种“盐塑性”与加热一起被用来控制PECS的粘弹性。这个项目的首要目标是探索盐和热与食盐塑料性能相关的基本方式。在四个小主题中的第一个主题中，将探讨具有不同相互作用强度的不同对聚电解质的玻璃化转变或软化温度。第二部分将考察共混物与具有相同组成的共聚物的加工响应。下一个副主题将试图回答有关分子量在粘弹性中的作用的基本问题。最后，更多的化学交联剂将被构建到大量的盐类塑料中，以稳定这种材料，以便在生物医学应用中长期使用，如人造软骨。

NON-TECHNICAL:Polyelectrolytes are water-soluble, charged polymers used in products ranging from shampoos to water purification treatments. If solutions of polyelectrolytes with opposite charges are mixed they precipitate into complexes that are biocompatible, rugged, elastic blends of the individual polymers. These complexes have potential medical applications in extended drug delivery and replacement for cartilage. They are also useful as membranes for water purification and desalination. Although their synthesis is straightforward, it has been impossible to process them into useful forms using heat softening, as is used for the more familiar "thermoplastics". This project will explore novel, versatile methods for softening and processing polyelectrolyte complexes using salt water instead of heat. Softening by adding salt, termed "saloplasticity", is a new technique that lowers energy consumption for polymer processing. Because it is performed with no volatile organic solvents it is also environmentally friendly. Several fundamental questions will be explored in this project: how do blends of different polymers respond to different salts? How is elasticity, essential for mimicking the properties of cartilage, controlled by salt? How can additional strength be built into saloplastics so they will last when used as replacements for intervertebral discs? At the same time these fundamental materials properties questions are explored, the project will support and promote international collaborations with the University of Strasbourg, France. Among the educational aspects of this project will also be a collaboration between the College of Business and the Department of Chemistry at Florida State University wherein Entrepreneurship and Chemistry students team up to write commercialization plans for technology developed by this and other projects. TECHNICAL:Polyelectrolytes are water-soluble, charged polymers used in products ranging from shampoos to water purification treatments. If solutions of polyelectrolytes with opposite charges are mixed they precipitate into complexes that are biocompatible, rugged, viscoelastic blends of the individual polymers. Unlike traditional thermoplastics, polyelectrolyte complexes, PECs, cannot be processed when dry by heat softening. Instead, they may be plasticized with salt water. Increasing salt concentration progressively breaks the ionic pairing between polyelectrolytes. This "saloplasticity" is used along with heating to control the viscoelasticity of PECs. The overarching goal of this project is to probe the fundamental ways salt and heat are related to the properties of saloplastics. In the first of four subtopics, the glass transition, or softening temperature, of different pairs of polyelectrolytes with different strengths of interaction will be probed. The second part will look at the processing response of blends versus copolymers having the same composition. The next subtopic will attempt to answer fundamental questions about the role of molecular weight in saloplastic viscoelasticity. Finally, additional chemical crosslinks will be built into bulk saloplastics to stabilize the material for long-term use in biomedical applications such as artificial cartilage.