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Predecessor
Volume 70, Issue 7
Displaying 1-7 of 7 articles from this issue
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Comprehensive Papers
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Yuji HIGAKI, Wei MA, Motoyasu KOBAYASHI, Atsushi TAKAHARA2013 Volume 70 Issue 7 Pages 301-308
Published: July 25, 2013
Released on J-STAGE: July 25, 2013
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThere are many natural materials with self-cleaning and anti-fouling surfaces. Their surface texture and the anti-fouling mechanisms are individually distinct, and depend on their environment and functionality. In this article, anti-fouling materials of high-density superhydrophilic polyelectrolyte brushes and fluoropolymer-infused nano-textured films were presented. Polyelectrolyte brushes repel n-hexadecane droplets under water, whereas the oil spreads in air. The oil repellent behavior in water was explained by hydration and swelling of the polyelectrolyte brushes in water as well as the low adhesion force between the brush and the oil due to the low interfacial tension. Nano-textured alumina gel films modified with low surface tension perfluoroalkyl phosphonic acid and infused with lubricating perfluoropolyether were fabricated. The liquid layer is stable, transparent, and slippery for both polar and non-polar liquids such as n-hexadecane and toluene. These materials have a potential for application as artificial anti-fouling coatings.View full abstractDownload PDF (1148K) -
Takayuki KUROKAWA, Md. Anamul HAQUE, Jian Ping GONG2013 Volume 70 Issue 7 Pages 309-316
Published: July 25, 2013
Released on J-STAGE: July 25, 2013
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSIn this highlight, we introduce a novel anisotropic hydrogel with a perfect 1D photonic crystal structure based on the uni-axial alignment of lamellar bilayers. The polymerized lamellar bilayers were stacked periodically and entrapped in a polyacrylamide matrix. This hydrogel shows perfect one-dimensional swelling and magnificent structural color by multilayer interference according to Bragg’s law of diffraction. Owing to the softness and large deformability, the color of the gel can reversibly be tuned by compressive mechanical stimulation over the entire visible wavelength range. The single-domain lamellar bilayers not only diffract light, but also serve as reversible sacrificial ‘bonds’ that dissociate upon deformation, exhibiting large hysteresis as an energy dissipation mechanism. This gives the gel high tensile strength and fatigue resistance. Both the molecular dissociation and lipid-like mobile nature of DGI molecules in the bilayers dramatically enhance the resistance against crack propagation by showing an extra-ordinary blunting effect, which gives the gel very high toughness.View full abstractDownload PDF (1267K) -
Seiichi TADA, Wei WANG, Zha LI, Takanori UZAWA, Yoshihiro ITO2013 Volume 70 Issue 7 Pages 317-325
Published: July 25, 2013
Released on J-STAGE: July 25, 2013
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSEvolutionary molecular engineering, which is selection of desirable molecules from a random peptide/oligonucleotide library, has been developed as biomimetic process of Darwinian evolution. In this article, several selection methods for peptide aptamers will be discussed. Subsequently, our recent work on the selection of novel functional peptide aptamers from the random peptide library and incorporation of non natural amino acids will be reviewed.View full abstractDownload PDF (960K)
Original Papers
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Takayuki MUROSAKI, Takaya NOGUCHI, Yasuyuki NOGATA, Jian Ping GONG2013 Volume 70 Issue 7 Pages 326-330
Published: July 25, 2013
Released on J-STAGE: July 25, 2013
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSIn this study, we investigate the settlement behavior of barnacle cyprid larvae on several kinds of natural polymer gels. 24 well plates were used for all of the settlement tests. The results show that several natural polymer gels have antifouling activities against barnacle settlement. In particular, agarose gels show high antifouling performance. The antifouling activities of a κ-carrageenan gel is relatively low compared with other natural polymer gels, however it shows high release activity against settled barnacles. Furthermore, the results from the settlement test of agarose coated wells indicate that antifouling properties of hydrogels consist of inhibition, anti-adhesion, and easy release effects.View full abstractDownload PDF (623K) -
Takashi NISHIYAMA, Hiroki YOKOTA, Takeshi YAMAUCHI, Norio TSUBOKAWA, H ...2013 Volume 70 Issue 7 Pages 331-336
Published: July 25, 2013
Released on J-STAGE: July 25, 2013
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSIn this research work, a new polymer gel bio-reactor was developed by using the Bio-TRIZ which is known as an innovative problem-solving method. Bio-TRIZ method provides engineers with new ideas which come from nature technology. In the present case, tube feet of starfish and human digestive mechanism provide points to an improvement of a polymer gel bio-reactor, and helped to design the membrane bio-reactor possessing a micro rod structure. On the silicon wafer which specifically has many piles of micron size, enzyme immobilized a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) gel was prepared by repeating a freeze-thaw cycle and dissolution of PVA solution, on a silicon wafer which specifically has many micron-sized piles. A membrane bioreactor which has such a micro rod structure was prepared by using an enzyme-loaded PVA gel. Furthermore, taking advantage of the feature of the PVA gel is biocompatibility and has the outstanding hydration water holding characteristics, a biochemical reaction was carried out using such an enzyme immobilized PVA gel.View full abstractDownload PDF (767K)
Note
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Hideyuki MITOMO, Yukie WATANABE, Yasutaka MATSUO, Kenichi NIIKURA, Kun ...2013 Volume 70 Issue 7 Pages 337-340
Published: July 25, 2013
Released on J-STAGE: July 25, 2013
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSTop-down processes, such as photolithography, have been approaching a limit with regard to the fabrication of fine structures. For the preparation of molecular-scale fine structures, it is important that conventional self-assembly methods should be adapted to a “programmable self-assembly” as a next-generation bottom-up system. We aim to fabricate nano-gap electrodes by sequence-selective metallization of template DNA. We have already reported the fabrication of sequence-selective platinum nano-wires using poly(guanine) and poly(adenine-thymine) diblock DNA, which is enzymatically polymerized as a template. That method, however, cannot be extended to the preparation of oligoblock DNA. In this study, we prepared triblock DNA sequences using guanine as a platinum-binding natural nucleotide and 7-deaza-guanine as a platinum-nonbinding unnatural nucleotide for the construction of platinum nano-wires with nano-gap structures.View full abstractDownload PDF (585K)
Outlook
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Ryuzo FURUKAWA, Emile. H. ISHIDA2013 Volume 70 Issue 7 Pages 341-350
Published: July 25, 2013
Released on J-STAGE: July 25, 2013
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSIt is important that we gain an affluent lifestyle with technologies that cause a lower burden on the environment because of increasing environmental restrictions in the future. We need to change drastically our own lifestyle because individuals are the smallest unit for the excessive expansion of human activities. In this paper, we developed a lifestyle design method using backcasting as a part of a nature technology innovation system. The nature technology innovation system consists of four parts, ‘Designing lifestyle’, ‘Identifying technology’, ’Asking nature’, and ‘Re-designing technology’. This empirical study of more than 1500 cases identify the key factors for designing lifestyles by business persons and show one example of innovation by Tohoku University using the lifestyle design method. We suggest that the lifestyle design method using backcasting is useful for companies to develop new products which make the users change their lifestyles towards a lower environmental burden.View full abstractDownload PDF (687K)
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