By surrounding small droplets with a coating, one can obtain micrometer-size capsules (microcapsules), and combine multiple properties into a single system. This technology has allowed the design of advanced and functional materials. Amino resins are composed principally of urea and/or melamine and formaldehyde, and exhibit advantages as wall-forming materials, such as high mechanical strength and chemical resistance. In this review, a general description of the encapsulation process by in situ polymerization of amino resins is given. Characterization methods, and the influence of the physical and design parameters are discussed. A mechanistic description, and some of the promising avenues of research are also presented.

A novel microplasma-OES system was used to determine the concentration of Pd stabilized by a dendritic (arborescent) copolymer in ethanol.

Microplasmas are receiving increasing attention in the scientific literature and in recent conferences. Yet, few analytical applications of microplasmas for elemental analysis using liquid samples have been described in the literature. To address this, we describe two applications: one involves the determination of Zn in microsamples of the metallo-enzyme Super Oxide Dismutase. The other involves determination of Pd-concentration in microsamples of Pd nanocatalysts. These applications demonstrate the potential of microplasmas and point to the need for future fundamental studies.

The application of porous polymeric monolith (PPM) columns as an effective tool for bacterial cell lysis within microfluidic chips is demonstrated. By taking advantage of the large surface area and controllable pore size inherent to PPMs, we developed a double mechanism cell lysis technique. The bacterial cell wall is mechanically sheared by flowing through the porous medium of the PPM column, but it is also damaged and disintegrated by physical contact with the antibacterial polymeric biocide covering the porous surface. This leads to leakage of the intracellular contents. The stable and non-leaching antibacterial column introduced in this work alleviates the need for chemical or enzymatic lysins and their potential release of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) inhibitors. The PPM columns were obtained by the photoinitiated free radical copolymerization of n-butyl methacrylate (BuMA) and N-(tert-butyloxycarbonyl)aminoethyl methacrylate (Boc-AEMA) in the presence of a cross-linker and porogenic solvents. The porous network was synthesized directly inside a microfluidic channel fabricated in a cross-linked poly(methyl methacrylate) (X-PMMA) substrate by laser micromachining. After removing the Boc protecting group with phosphoric acid, an amphiphilic and cationic network structure reminiscent of synthetic mimics of antimicrobial peptides (SMAMPs) was obtained. The antibacterial activity of the PPM columns was tested against Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells. Cell lysis was evidenced by DNA release, which was then amplified by PCR and confirmed by gel electrophoresis, to verify that the antibacterial monolithic columns did not strongly interfere with the PCR process.

The thermal properties of a sorbitol‐type nucleating agent (viz. 1,2,3‐trideoxy‐4,6:5,7‐bis‐O‐[(4‐propylphenyl)methylene]‐nonitol (TBPMN)) were examined in this study, and the influence of common processing additives assessed. In addition, we describe a novel approach to monitor in situ the self‐assembly of the nucleator in presence of additives by optical microscopy. The performance of sorbitol compounds is closely associated to their chemical structure and ability to self‐assemble. TBPMN formed elongated fibrils from the melt under inert atmosphere, in molted polypropylene, or in presence of antioxidants. However, calcium stearate (CaSt) and glycerol monostearate hampered growth, and yielded thinner fibrils. In presence of the additives, melting point depression of the nucleator occurred, and resulted in a lower degree of crystallinity upon cooling. Performance evaluation of the nucleator in polypropylene blends revealed an increased crystallization temperature when antioxidants were present, while CaSt inhibited nucleator activity. The effect of mono‐glycerides was found highly dependent on the processing conditions. Noteworthy, blends containing all the additives displayed the highest performance. This study highlights the importance of the preparation method of polymer additive blends to achieving the best performance in the final product. Characterization was performed by thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, optical microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry.