Nasreddine Kébir

Click grafting of seaweed polysaccharides onto PVC surfaces using an ionic liquid as solvent and catalyst.

Seaweed antibacterial polysaccharides were grafted onto poly(vinylchloride) (PVC) surfaces using an original click chemistry pathway. PVC isothiocyanate surfaces (PVC-NCS) were first prepared by nucleophilic substitution of the chloride groups by isothiocyanate groups in DMSO/water medium. Then, unmodified Ulvan, Fucan, Laminarin or Zosterin was directly grafted onto the PVC-NCS surface using 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium phosphate, an ionic liquid, as solvent and catalyst. To attest the grafting effectiveness, the new PVC surfaces were well characterized by AFM, XPS and contact angle measurements.

Design of bacteria repellent PVC surfaces using the click chemistry

Novel bacteria repellent PVC surfaces were developed. hydroxyethyl cellulose, methylcellulose, dextran and PEG containing alkyne groups were successfully synthesized and characterized. These polymers were grafted on PVC surfaces bearing azide groups (PVC-N3) by the click CuI-catalyzed Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. The grafted surfaces were homogeneous with specific nanostructures, and presented high polarity and hydrophilicity. In these conditions, hydroxyethyl cellulose and methylcellulose surfaces displayed high repellent effect against Escherichia coli.

Use of new hydroxytelechelic cis-1,4-polyisoprene (HTPI) in the synthesis of polyurethanes (PUs): Influence of isocyanate and chain extender nature and their equivalent ratios on the mechanical and thermal properties of PUs

Abstract New segmented polyurethanes (thermoplastic-elastomers) based on previously described hydroxytelechelic cis-1,4-polyisoprene (HTPI), miscellaneous isocyanates and chain extenders at various equivalent ratios were prepared by the classical one-shot method. The influence of the nature of isocyanate and chain extender, as well as their equivalent ratios, on the mechanical and thermal materials behavior was investigated. Thus, a comparative assessment of material properties was performed. Microphase separation of hard and soft segments was observed by DMTA, DSC and AFM. Moreover, according to Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), linear relationships depending on the isocyanate and chain extender nature were found between the weight loss (%) and the percentages of hard segments. A classification of thermal stability in terms of weight loss was established. With the aim of a thermo-mechanical comparative study, polyurethane elastomers based on HTPI and isocyanates without chain extender, were also synthesized.

Tandem mass spectrometry of low solubility polyamides.

The structural characterization of polyamides (PA) was achieved by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) with a laser induced dissociation (LID) strategy. Because of interferences for precursor ions selection, two chemical modifications of the polymer end groups were proposed as derivatization strategies. The first approach, based on the addition of a trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) molecule, yields principally to complementary bn and yn product ions. This fragmentation types, analogous to those obtained with peptides or other PA, give only poor characterization of polymer end-groups [1]. A second approach, based on the addition of a basic diethylamine (DEA), permits to fix the charge and favorably direct the fragmentation. In this case, bn ions were not observed. The full characterization of ω end group structure was obtained, in addition to the expected yn and consecutive fragment ions.

Exploration of polyamide structure–property relationships by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

RATIONALE Polyamides (PA) are among the most used classes of polymers because of their attractive properties. Depending on the nature and proportion of the co-monomers used for their synthesis, they can exhibit a very large range of melting temperatures (Tm ). This study aims at the correlation of data from mass spectrometry (MS) with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction analyses to relate molecular structure to physical properties such as melting temperature, enthalpy change and crystallinity rate. METHODS Six different PA copolymers with molecular weights around 3500 g mol(-1) were synthesized with varying proportions of different co-monomers (amino-acid AB/di-amine AA/di-acid BB). Their melting temperature, enthalpy change and crystallinity rate were measured by DSC and X-ray diffraction. Their structural characterization was carried out by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Because of the poor solubility of PA, a solvent-free sample preparation strategy was used with 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,5-DHB) as the matrix and sodium iodide as the cationizing agent. RESULTS The different proportions of the repeating unit types led to the formation of PA with melting temperatures ranging from 115°C to 185°C. The structural characterization of these samples by MALDI-TOF-MS revealed a collection of different ion distributions with different sequences of repeating units (AA, BB; AB/AA, BB and AB) in different proportions according to the mixture of monomers used in the synthesis. The relative intensities of these ion distributions were related to sample complexity and structure. They were correlated to DSC and X-ray results, to explain the observed physical properties. CONCLUSIONS The structural information obtained by MALDI-TOF-MS provided a better understanding of the variation of the PA melting temperature and established a structure-properties relationship. This work will allow future PA designs to be monitored.