Toward exploiting the attractive mechanical properties of cellulose I nanoelements, a novel route is demonstrated, which combines enzymatic hydrolysis and mechanical shearing. Previously, an aggressive acid hydrolysis and sonication of cellulose I containing fibers was shown to lead to a network of weakly hydrogen-bonded rodlike cellulose elements typically with a low aspect ratio. On the other hand, high mechanical shearing resulted in longer and entangled nanoscale cellulose elements leading to stronger networks and gels. Nevertheless, a widespread use of the latter concept has been hindered because of lack of feasible methods of preparation, suggesting a combination of mild hydrolysis and shearing to disintegrate cellulose I containing fibers into high aspect ratio cellulose I nanoscale elements. In this work, mild enzymatic hydrolysis has been introduced and combined with mechanical shearing and a high-pressure homogenization, leading to a controlled fibrillation down to nanoscale and a network of long and highly entangled cellulose I elements. The resulting strong aqueous gels exhibit more than 5 orders of magnitude tunable storage modulus G' upon changing the concentration. Cryotransmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and cross-polarization/magic-angle spinning (CP/MAS) 13C NMR suggest that the cellulose I structural elements obtained are dominated by two fractions, one with lateral dimension of 5-6 nm and one with lateral dimensions of about 10-20 nm. The thicker diameter regions may act as the junction zones for the networks. The resulting material will herein be referred to as MFC (microfibrillated cellulose). Dynamical rheology showed that the aqueous suspensions behaved as gels in the whole investigated concentration range 0.125-5.9% w/w, G' ranging from 1.5 Pa to 105 Pa. The maximum G' was high, about 2 orders of magnitude larger than typically observed for the corresponding nonentangled low aspect ratio cellulose I gels, and G' scales with concentration with the power of approximately three. The described preparation method of MFC allows control over the final properties that opens novel applications in materials science, for example, as reinforcement in composites and as templates for surface modification.

We examined the role of ATP in the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway. Our data reveal two ATP-dependent steps and suggest that the RNAi reaction comprises at least four sequential steps: ATP-dependent processing of double-stranded RNA into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), incorporation of siRNAs into an inactive approximately 360 kDa protein/RNA complex, ATP-dependent unwinding of the siRNA duplex to generate an active complex, and ATP-independent recognition and cleavage of the RNA target. Furthermore, ATP is used to maintain 5' phosphates on siRNAs. A 5' phosphate on the target-complementary strand of the siRNA duplex is required for siRNA function, suggesting that cells check the authenticity of siRNAs and license only bona fide siRNAs to direct target RNA destruction.

Hydrogen-bonding amphiphilic low molecular weight plasticizing compounds to one block of diblock copolymers to form supramolecular comblike blocks leads to hierarchical self-assembly at the block copolymer (long) and amphiphile (short) length scales, in which lamellar-in-lamellar order and the related phase transitions have previously been shown to allow thermal switching of electrical and optical properties [Science 1998, 280, 557; Nat. Mater. 2004, 3, 872]. In this work other hierarchies and phase transitions are systematically searched, a particular interest being hierarchies containing gyroid structures and the related order−order transitions. Polymeric supramolecular comb−coil diblock copolymers consisting of a polystyrene (PS) coillike block and a supramolecular comblike block based on poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) are used, where the pyridines are either directly hydrogen bonded with 3-pentadecylphenol (PDP), i.e., PS-block-P4VP(PDP)1.0, or first protonated with methanesulfonic acid (MSA) and then hydrogen bonded to PDP, i.e., PS-block-P4VP(MSA)1.0(PDP)1.0. In this way the comblike block can be noncharged or charged. The morphologies were determined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) at different temperatures. In the case of PS-block-P4VP(PDP)1.0, all classical diblock copolymer morphologies were observed at room temperature, where the P4VP(PDP)1.0 domains contain an additional lamellar structure due to the supramolecular comblike blocks. Here we report novel gyroid and hexagonal perforated layer morphologies, i.e., where the PS and P4VP(PDP)1.0 blocks form gyroid or hexagonal perforated layer order and the P4VP(PDP)1.0 domains have an internal lamellar order. Heating past ca. T = 60 °C causes an order−disorder transition within the P4VP(PDP)1.0 domains. Further heating leads to gradually reduced hydrogen bonding strength, and importantly PDP becomes soluble in PS at T > ca. 120 °C. At such temperatures PDP is found in both the P4VP and PS domains, thus leading to changes in the relative volume fractions of the domains, which in turn leads to order−order transitions. In PS-block-P4VP(MSA)1.0(PDP)1.0, typically lamellar and cylindrical block copolymeric structures were observed, where there was an additional internal lamellar order within the P4VP(MSA)1.0(PDP)1.0 domains. Coincidentally, an order−disorder transition within the P4VP(MSA)1.0(PDP)1.0 domains takes place at T = ca. 125 °C. Above that temperature, PDP is in both PS and P4VP(MSA)1.0 domains, but most interestingly at ca. T > 175 °C PDP becomes a nonsolvent for P4VP(MSA)1.0 and it is therefore expelled to predominantly to the PS domains. This manifests as an order−order transition. All samples exhibit at least two thermoreversible order−order transitions, and some of them show even five consecutive self-assembled phases as a function of temperature. Besides being amphiphilic, PDP can also be regarded as a plasticizer, i.e., relatively nonvolatile solvent, for the P4VP, PS, and P4VP(MSA)1.0 with cha...

Different types of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) and fines suspensions were produced, characterized, and then added to a papermaking pulp suspension. High and medium molar mass cationic polyelectrolytes were used as fixatives. The drainage behavior of the pulp suspensions with additives were evaluated against the strength properties of hand sheets made thereof. The effects of salt concentration, pH, fixative type, dosage and type of fibrillar material on drainage were examined. All the MFC and fines samples produced had clearly different properties due to their dissimilar production methods, and they also introduced specific responses on the measured drainage and paper strength. Generally, the addition of MFC decreased the drainage rate of pulp suspension and increased the strength of paper. However, it was shown that by optimum selection of materials and process conditions an enhancement of the strength properties could be achieved without simultaneously deteriorating the drainage.