Barrier Pigments

Film or sheet generally function as supports for other materials, as barriers or covers such as packaging, as insulation, or as materials of constmction. The uses depend on the unique combination of properties of the specific resins or plastic materials chosen. When multilayer films or sheets are made, the product properties can be varied to meet almost any need. Further modification of properties can be achieved by use of such additives or modifiers as plasticizers (qv), antistatic agents (qv), fire retardants, sHp agents, uv and thermal stabilizers, dyes (qv) or pigments (qv), and biodegradable activators. 

Fluorescent Pigments. The first patents for daylight fluorescent products were issued in 1947 (9,10), describing fluorescent dyed cellulose acetate fabrics with several barrier coats to improve long-term stability. These fabrics were brilliantly fluorescent and were widely used during World War II as signal panels. 

For an adequate barrier against moisture, sufficient thickness of paint must be applied. The modern trend is to apply high-build coatings based on media having high intrinsic water resistance. Such paints may be pigmented with corrosion inhibitors or minerals which impede the flow of moisture through the film. 

Inhibitive Pigment a pigment which retards or prevents the corrosion of metals by chemical and/or electrochemical means, as opposed to a purely barrier action. Red lead and zinc chromate are examples of inhibitive pigments as opposed to red iron oxide which has little or no inhibitive action. 

The retina comprises two principal components, the non-neural retinal pigment epithelium and the neural retina. The retinal pigment epithelium is an essential component of the visual system both structurally and functionally. It is important for the turnover and phagocytosis of photoreceptor outer segments, the metabolism of retinoids, the exchange of nutrients between the photoreceptors, and the choroidal blood vessels and the maintenance of an efficient outer blood-retinal barrier. 

RL Shih, VHL Lee. (1990). Rate limiting barrier to the penetration of ocular hypotensive beta-blockers across the corneal epithelium in the pigmented rabbit. J Ocular Pharmacol 6 329-336. 

Crane, U, Wallace, CA, McKillop-Smith, S, and Forrester, JV, 2000b. CXCR4 receptor expression on human retinal pigment epithelial cells from the blood-retina barrier leads to chemokine secretion and migration in response to stromal cell-derived factor 1 alpha. J Immunol 165,4372-4378. 

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