Analytische Chemie
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Thermoresponsive polymers have shown great potential in applications such as bioseparation, drug delivery and diagnostic. Only few thermoresponsive polymers that present an upper critical solution temperature (UCST), i.e. phase separate from solution upon cooling, in a relevant temperature range have been reported so far. Moreover, the most studied UCST type polymers namely polybetaines are difficult to use under physiological conditions, which significantly restricts their potential applications. Therefore, UCST polymers with sharp and robust phase transition in physiological conditions (in the presence of salts, ions etc.) are highly needed in order to extend the range of applications of this class of polymers.
Herein, a robust UCST-type copolymer of acrylamide (AAm) and acrylonitrile (AN) (poly(AAm-co-AN)) was prepared by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization[4] and its thermo-induced aggregation behavior in aqueous media was studied. At temperature below the UCST, the copolymer chains were aggregated together. The aggregate size was found to be larger with increasing AN contents and became smaller upon dilution of the copolymer solutions. While above the UCST, the copolymer chains were expanded and weekly associated in solution. The association between the copolymer chains formed smaller aggregates with increasing the AN contents or the dilution of the solutions. A model is proposed to explain such aggregation behavior.
We present a temperature sensor based on a polymer exhibiting a Lower Critical Solution Temperature (LCST) in aqueous solution encapsulated in a capillary. Parameters are chosen such that the solution exhibits a cloud point in a temperature range of 30° C to 39°C. The characteristic of thermoresponsive polymers with an LCST, is that above that temperature phase separation of the polymer takes place which leads to a temperature-dependent formation of a cloudy suspension. An optical intensity measurement over the desired temperature range is established by an increase of optical attenuation inside the polymer solution caused by a rising temperature. For our purpose, the polymer capillary is connected to transmitter and receiver via a Polymer Optical Fibre (POF). Our intensity measurement is, to the best of our knowledge, a novel method and can be considered simple when compared to existing fibre-based temperature measurement techniques. Due to the lack of electrical components at the probe, this sensor is suitable for measurements in strong electromagnetic fields and environments for which flying sparks are hazardous, i.e., inflammable fluids or gases. Furthermore, all manufactured sensors share the same temperature dependence and, therefore, are well-suited for comparative measurement, e.g., flow measurement systems. With the given temperature range, a body temperature measurement is also suitable.
We present a high-precision fiber-optic temperature sensor based on a polymer possessing a Lower Critical Solution Temperature (LCST) in aqueous solution encapsulated in a capillary. For a temperature higher than the LCST the transparent homogenous polymer solution changes into a suspension which forms an opaque fluid. The resulting temperature-dependent turbidity influences the transmission characteristics measured using a simple fiber-optic system.
The presented development provides a small-sized, robust temperature sensor, patented by the BAM (patent nr.: EP 3 043 161 B1), easy to integrate in many application fields, especially for process monitoring.