Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy was used to investigate the properties of residual water in lyophilized formulations of a proprietary tri-phosphate drug containing a sugar (trehalose, lactose or sucrose) or dextran. The dielectric properties of each formulation were determined in the frequency range (0.1 Hz-0.1 MHz) and temperature range (30˚C-T g ). The temperature dependence of the relaxation times for all samples showed Arrhenuis behaviour, from which the activation energy was derived. Proton hopping through the hydrogen-bonded network (clusters) of water molecules was suggested as the principle mode of charge transport. Significant differences in dielectric relaxation kinetics and activation energy were observed for the different formulations, which were found to correlate with the amount of monophosphate degradation product.

The advantages of green composites are including, but not limited to their environmental friendly nature, lightweight, reduction of production energy and costs, recyclability. This work focuses on the mechanical, thermal and dynamic mechanical properties of biocomposites. For that purpose biosourced polymers were used, namely polylactic acid (PLA) and sisal fiber, and biocomposites were extruded and then injection molded with different contents of sisal fibers (5%, 10%, 15%). The results show that the increase of the rate of reinforcement improves the mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties of the biocomposites made. By the increase of the sisal fiber content the degree of crystallinity of the matrix was increased from 47% to 61%, as sisal fibers were acted as a nucleating agent for the PLA.

This work aims to investigate the physical and mechanical properties of sisal fiber and yarn of Moroccan origin. The cellulosic and non-cellulosic constituents of the Moroccan sisal fiber were identified by FTIR spectroscopy. The thermal properties were studied by thermogravimetric analysis. The hydrophilicity of the fiber was evaluated by the contact angle. The results show that the sisal fiber has a low thermal stability. The mechanical properties of the fiber analyzed by the Impregnated Fiber Bundle Test (IFBT) method show that the porosity of the impregnated yarns and the twist angle of the yarns influence the elastic modulus of the sisal fiber. The physical and mechanical properties of the manufactured sisal yarns were also characterized and analyzed. The obtained results reveal an interesting potential to use the Moroccan sisal fiber in development of bio-sourced composite materials.

The rheological properties and spectrum infrared of polysaccharides extracted from Cystoseira myriophylloides algae were investigated in the concentrations range from 3 to 9% (w/v) and at different temperatures. Results of rheological characteristics in a steady shear rate showed pseudoplastic properties and the dynamic rheological properties showed a fluid-like viscoelastic behavior. The flow and viscoelastic characteristics of polysaccharides were described using the power-law (the Ostwald model). The values of flow behavior index of the sample were close to unity (0.91) for 3% and it decreased up to 0.71 for 9% revealing the shear-thinning (pseudoplastic) nature of these polysaccharides. Moreover, the consistency coefficient increased non-linearly with concentration and it was described by a power law. The flow behavior as a function of temperature was satisfactorily described using the Arrhenius law and the activation energy values were extracted. It decreased from 15.68 and 17.21 kJ/mol when the concentration increased from 5 to 9% (w/v). Additionally, in dynamic rheological measurements, tan δ > 1 and G″ > G′ reveling a shear-thinning behavior. Finally, the analysis of the FTIR spectra of these polysaccharides showed the presence of uronic acid groups. This behavior would suggest that polysaccharides extracted from Cystoseira myriophylloides could be an interesting additive as thickeners.

This paper introduces a dielectrophoretic system for the analysis Clausius-Mossotti factor. The literature in this domain has shown that the real part contains information calculated by the crossover frequency. We validated in this study that the imaginary part also contains the information calculated by the relaxation frequency. Our findings confirm a relationship between relaxation frequency and crossover frequency, and also the variation of the imaginary part as a function of real part, being a semicircle, and finally we applied our model of polystyrene in deionised water.