Bacterial colonization of polymeric medical aids causing so-called nosocomial infections is one of the main problems linked with the extensive use of polymeric devices in clinical applications. In this study, the properties of medical-grade polyvinyl chloride were modified by incorporating crystal violet into its bulk structure. Sodium montmorillonite was used as a carrier for the crystal viole...

The Langmuir-Schaefer (LS) method has been investigated as a means to control the structure of hybrid organoclay thin films consisting of montmorillonite and dimethyldioctadecylammonium (DODA) cations. We observed a significant modification of the compression isotherms as a function of clay mineral concentration in the subphase, implying clay interaction with the alkylammonium monolayer. For a ...

Nanocomposites have been shown to significantly reduce the peak heat release rate, as measured by cone calorimetry, for many polymers but they typically have no effect on the oxygen index or the UL-94 classification. In this review, we will cover what is known about the processes by which nanocomposite formation may bring this about. Montmorillonite will be the focus in this paper but attention...

The influence of rhizosphere/rhizoplane culture conditions on the ability of various rhizobia to bind soybean seed lectin (SBL) was examined. Eleven strains of the soybean symbiont, Rhizobium japonicum, and six strains of various heterologous Rhizobium species were cultured in root exudate of soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) and in association with roots of soybean seedlings which were growing ...

Functional bionanocomposites based on two layered silicates, the commercial montmorillonite known as Cloisite®Na and a natural bentonite from Algeria, were prepared by intercalation of cationic starch, synthesized with two different degrees of substitution, 0.85 and 0.55. After characterization of the prepared bionanocomposites by XRD and zeta potential measurements, batch studies were conducte...

Heterostructures based on ZnO-TiO₂/delaminated montmorillonite coated with Ag have been prepared by sol-gel and photoreduction procedures, varying the Ag and ZnO contents. They have been thoroughly characterized by XRD, WDXRF, UV-Vis, and XPS spectroscopies, and N₂ adsorption, SEM, and TEM. In all cases, the montmorillonite was effectively delaminated with the formation of TiO₂ anatase particle...

The respiration of three phenotypes of Histoplasma capsulatum, the causal agent of histoplasmosis in humans, was markedly reduced by low concentrations of montmorillonite but was reduced less by even higher concentrations of kaolinite or attapulgite (palygorskite). The reduction in respiration followed a pattern that suggested saturation-type kinetics: an initial sharp reduction that occurred w...

Adsorption of three sulfonamide antimicrobials to clay minerals was investigated as a function of pH, ionic strength, and type of exchangeable cation. Sulfonamide antimicrobial adsorption exhibited pronounced pH dependence consistent with sorbate speciation and clay properties. Sulfonamide antimicrobials did not intercalate into montmorillonite, and surface charge density influenced sorption by...

Adsorption of the chloroacetanilide herbicides acetochlor, alachlor, metolachlor, and propachlor was determined on soils and soil components, and their structural differences were used to explain their sorptivity orders. On all soils and soil humic acids, adsorption decreased in the order: metolachlor > acetochlor > propachlor > alachlor. On Ca(2+)-saturated montmorillonite, the order changed t...

The arylidienes of spiro thiazolidines (5) containing α,β-unsaturated function have been used as component of Micheal addition with equimolar amount of 2-aminopyridine (6a) to give novel spiro [indole-3,2′-pyrido[1,2-a]thiazolo[5,4-e]pyrimidines] (7) in a single step under microwaves in presence of montmorillonite KSF as solid support. The new improved synthetic method for spiro [indole-3, 2′-t...