The microvoiding in crack-tip plastic zone in a partly exfoliated polyamide 6–silicate nanocomposite is investigated through the experimental measurement of microvoid size distribution and the computer simulation in context of nonlinear fracture mechanics. In order to analyze the effect of silicate content on fracture resistance, the evolution of the collective microvoids induced by the silicat...

Polyamide 6 (PA6) was melt-blended with an intumescent flame retardant (FR), multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), and nanoclay particles to produce multi-component FR-PA6 nanocomposites. FR-PA6 nanofibers were processed from varied nanocomposite formulations via electrospinning. Electrospinnability, morphology, along with combustion and thermal properties of the nanofibers were investigated. Bo...

Polyamide 6 intercalated/exfoliated (PIE) cements are fabricated and characterized. With the reinforcing nanointerphase, the flexure strength of a PIE cement is higher than that of ordinary cements by an order of magnitude. The optimum nanointerphase content is around 10 wt.%. This technique has great potential in developing advanced precast and repair technologies. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rig...

Pyrrole-imidazole (Py-Im) polyamides can bind to the predetermined base pairs in the minor groove of double-helical DNA with high affinity. These synthetic small molecules can interfere with transcription factor-DNA interaction and inhibit or activate the transcription of corresponding genes. In the present study, we designed and synthesized a Py-Im polyamide to target -545 to -539 base pairs o...

A prototype of a novel class of DNA alkylating agents, which combines the DNA crosslinking moiety chlorambucil (Chl) with a sequence-selective hairpin pyrrole-imidazole polyamide ImPy-beta-ImPy-gamma-ImPy-beta-Dp (polyamide 1), was evaluated for its ability to damage DNA and induce biological responses. Polyamide 1-Chl conjugate (1-Chl) alkylates and interstrand crosslinks DNA in cell-free syst...