Polyethylene oxide applications

The term poloxamer is widely used to describe a series of ABA block coploymers of polyethylene oxide and polypropylene oxide, extensively used in industry as antifoams, emulsifiers, wetting agents, rinse aids, and in numerous other applications [1-5]. Poloxamers are amphiphilic in character, being comprised of a central polypropylene oxide (PO) block, which is hydrophobic, sandwiched between two hydrophilic polyethylene oxide (EO) blocks as shown below ... 

The same research group proved the applicability of PEO-silicas to the separation of ribonucleic acids and studied how the log k vs m slopes are affected by the molecular weight of polyethylene oxide, the type of salt used in eluent... 

To illustrate the application of corresponding-states theory to polymer solution calculations, we consider two cases of sol-vent/polymer vapor-liquid equilibria. The first case we consider is that of the chloroform/polystyrene solution. The second is that of benzene/polyethylene oxide. 

Fig. 22 Images and data representing development and application of DLS on a chip a one iteration in the design of a microfluidic DLS fabricated from aluminum with the surface anodized black to reduce surface reflections b image of a microfluidic chip that integrates polymer synthesis with DLS. The machined channels have been covered by a Kapton sheet fixed with adhesive c data for temperature depended micelle formation of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-polyethylene oxide triblock copolymer (Pluronic P85) at 2% by volume in water. (Derived from [106] with permission)...

Other polyethers which have found limited application are polyethylene oxides) and some mixed polyester-polyethers such as Peedo-120 (Union Carbide), a diester of poly (1,4-butylene oxide )diol and azelaic acid. 

Curve 3 in Figure 7.14 applies primarily to amphipathic species. Most long-chain amphipathic molecules are insoluble unless the hydrophobic alkyl part of the molecule is offset by an ionic head or some other suitably polar head such as a polyethylene oxide chain, — (CH2CH20)n—. Like their insoluble counterparts, these substances form an oriented monolayer even at low concentrations. Figure 7.15 shows some actual experimental plots of type 3 for the ether that consists of a dodecyl chain and a hexaethylene oxide chain (n — 6) in the general formula just given. Example 7.4 illustrates the application of the Gibbs equation to these data. 

Industrial Applications. Polyethylene oxide)s also have numerous industrial uses. 

The effects of longer and shorter side chains on the epoxide compared to PBO are shown in Table VII. Polyethylene oxide led to a small improvement in impact strength and melt flow rate, but the heat distortion temperature was decreased. Polypropylene oxide and polyhexene-1 oxide had enhancing effects similar to and even a bit greater than those of PBO. Polyphenylglycidyl ether appeared to be inert when added to modified CPVC. Finally, in this application, the linear PTHF was harmful to properties. 

On the other hand, polyphosphazene 3.79 and its variants are non-crystalline. Then-ionic conductivities at room temperature are 1,000 times or more greater than that of polyethylene oxide).164 166 For battery type applications, 3.79 must be cross-linked lightly to prevent slow liquid-like flow, but this can be accomplished by radiation techniques without lowering the conductivity. An analogous type of polymer, with a poly-siloxane backbone and oligoether side groups, is being studied for similar applications. 

The nonionic triblock copolymer polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide polyethylene oxide (PEO-PPO-PEO) has been widely used in medicine and has shown low toxicity. Wanka et al. [91] studied aggregation behavior of PEO-PPO-PEO polymeric micelles. In this study, the hydrophobic core of this micellar system consisted of dehydrated poly(oxy-propylene) groups which were surrounded by an outer shell of hydrated poly(oxyethylene) groups. The feasibility of using PEO-PPO PEO micelles as a topical ocular carrier for gene delivery was addressed in an in vivo study on nude mice and albino rabbits [92], Each animal eye was treated with a topical application (10 pL for mouse and 50 pL for rabbit) of 0.08 mg/mL of plasmid and 0.3% (w/v) PEO-PPO-PEO polymeric micelles. After 2 days of three times per day topical delivery, the reporter expression was detected in the treated eyes... 

The mechanism of separation with linear polymers is as follows. At a certain polymer concentration known as the entanglement threshold, the individual polymer strands begin to interact with each other, leading to a meshlike structure within the capillary. This allows DNA separation to take place. Many of the common polymers are cellulose derivatives, such as hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose, and methylcellulose. Other applicable polymers include linear polyacrylamide, polyethylene oxide, agarose, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, and poly-N. Ar-dimethylacrylamide. High-resolution separation up to 12,000 bp has been reported using entangled polymer solutions. 

Polyethylene oxide) (PEO) is a semicrystalline water-soluble polymer [64, 65], with a crystallinity that is very sensitive to the thermal history of the sample, making this property interesting as an indicator of degradation. Because it is biodegradable and biocompatible, PEO is a good candidate for environmental and medical applications [66-68]. The mechanisms of thermo- and photo-oxidation of PEO have already been investigated [69, 70] on the basis of IR identification of the oxidation products and are summarized in Scheme 10.1. 

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