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Volume 47 Issue 9, September 2015

Invited Review

  • For long-lasting implants of an artificial hip joint, it is necessary to reduce the wear of the acetabular liner made with polyethylene (PE). An articular cartilage-mimicking technology has been developed by grafting poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC)) onto a highly cross-linked PE using photoinduced polymerization. The thickness of the poly(MPC) graft layer is 100–200 nm. The poly(MPC)-grafted PE has been introduced on an artificial hip joint system as a liner for lubrication. This artificial hip joint has been used clinically since 2011 and implanted on over 20 000 patients.

    • Kazuhiko Ishihara
    Invited Review

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Focus Review

  • When biomaterials are implanted into an animal body, the body fluid proteins initially adsorb and then cells recognize the surfaces. Thus, an understanding of cellular responses to biomaterials is crucial for effective control of biomaterial–cell interactions. In this review, the current understanding of enhanced biocompatibility by exploring the roles of protein mediation at the interface is focused. The most promising nano-bio interfaces were explained, and different protein adsorption and cell adhesion processes were highlighted depending on their interfacial states.

    • Motohiro Tagaya
    Focus Review
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Original Article

  • Novel molecular design for organic–inorganic emulsifiers has been developed based on an incompletely condensed polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS). Hydrophilic poly(ethylene) glycol chains were introduced to the three silanol groups of heptaisobutyl trisilanol POSS. The obtained amphiphilic POSSs worked as good emulsifiers, and the emulsions were stable for at least 1 month without coalescence of the droplets. The simple synthetic procedure, the well-defined three-dimensional structure and the obtained stable emulsions are advantageous in developing organic–inorganic hybrid materials.

    • Hiroaki Imoto
    • Yuka Nakao
    • Kensuke Naka
    Original Article
  • A series of benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene (BDT)-based low band-gap polymers with electron-withdrawing side chains were synthesized using Stille coupling reactions. These polymers exhibited the deep HOMO levels (−5.53 to −5.65 eV) due to the incorporation of electron-withdrawing side chains. Deep HOMO levels of these polymers resulted in the higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.68% due to higher open-circuit voltage (Voc), which resulted from deep HOMO levels, compared with BDT-based low band-gap polymers without electron-withdrawing side chains.

    • Kazuhiro Nakabayashi
    • Hiroshi Otani
    • Hideharu Mori
    Original Article
  • L-Alanine-based polyisocyanides bearing oligothiophene (OT) pendants were synthesized and the influence of the OT pendants on the helix-forming abilities of the polymers was investigated. The polyisocyanide possessing quinquethiophene units with two n-hexyl chains readily formed a right-handed helical conformation with a helical array of the OT pendants biased by the chirality of the L-alanine residues. This study revealed that the simultaneous interactions of the π–π stacking and the hydrogen bonding between the pendants are required to arrange the OT units into a helically twisted manner along the backbone.

    • Tomoyuki Ikai
    • Yugaku Takagi
    • Shigeyoshi Kanoh
    Original Article
  • The cellular uptake of polymeric nanoparticles composed of biodegradable amphiphilic polymers was observed by scanning electron microscopy employing an ionic liquid for the first time. In particular, these NPs were observed when the quantum dots were immobilized on the NPs. In addition, when the cells were incubated with microparticles, the filopodia that covered the MPs were observed, and the cellular uptake of the MPs was evaluated in a time-dependent manner.

    • Fumiaki Shima
    • Takami Akagi
    • Mitsuru Akashi
    Original Article
  • A series of copolycarbonates were prepared by transesterification polymerization of isosorbide, bisphenol A and diphenylcarbonate with several catalysts. When N,N-dimethylaminopyridine was used as a catalyst, the highest molecular weight copolymers were obtained. Based on the storage and tensile moduli, the polymers exhibited a higher strength than that of the bisphenol A-based polycarbonate. Based on these properties, these copolymers exhibit the potential for use as high-performance polymeric materials.

    • Chi-Han Lee
    • Hideki Takagi
    • Makoto Kato
    Original Article
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Note

  • Spherulitic morphology of the phase-separated blend of two crystalline polyesters, poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and poly(ethylene succinate) (PES), was investigated using polarized optical and atomic force microscopes. The thin crystalline layers of PBS were exhibited on the PES-rich phases in the blend melt-crystallized at the crystallization temperature of PBS then at that of PES successively. The PBS–PES copolyesters that form through transesterification between PBS and PES in the melt, preferentially localize at the interface and can stabilize the layered structure.

    • Toshiyuki Kataoka
    • Toshitaka Abe
    • Takayuki Ikehara
    Note
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