In the reductive catalytic fractionation of lignocellulose, the choice of solvent significantly impacts the delignification efficiency, carbohydrate retention in the pulp and the macrostructure of the pulp.

No abstract

An experimental setup, making use of a Flash DSC 1 prototype, is presented in which materials can be studied simultaneously by fast scanning calorimetry (FSC) and synchrotron wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). Accumulation of multiple, identical measurements results in high quality, millisecond WAXD patterns. Patterns at every degree during the crystallization and melting of high density polyethylene at FSC typical scanning rates from 20 up to 200 °C s(-1) are discussed in terms of the temperature and scanning rate dependent material crystallinities and crystal densities. Interestingly, the combined approach reveals FSC thermal lag issues, for which can be corrected. For polyamide 11, isothermal solidification at high supercooling yields a mesomorphic phase in less than a second, whereas at very low supercooling crystals are obtained. At intermediate supercooling, mixtures of mesomorphic and crystalline material are generated at a ratio proportional to the supercooling. This ratio is constant over the isothermal solidification time.

Predensification and compression are unit operations imperative to the manufacture of tablets and capsules. Such stress-inducing steps can cause destabilization of solid dispersions which can alter their molecular arrangement and ultimately affect dissolution rate and bioavailability. In this study, itraconazole-Soluplus solid dispersions with 50% (w/w) drug loading prepared by hot-melt extrusion (HME) were investigated. Compression was performed at both pharmaceutically relevant and extreme compression pressures and dwell times. The starting materials, powder, and compressed solid dispersions were analyzed using modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SWAXS), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS). MDSC analysis revealed that compression promotes phase separation of solid dispersions as indicated by an increase in glass transition width, occurrence of a peak in the nonreversing heat flow signal, and an increase in the net heat of fusion indicating crystallinity in the systems. SWAXS analysis ruled out the presence of mesophases. BDS measurements elucidated an increase in the Soluplus-rich regions of the solid dispersion upon compression. FTIR indicated changes in the spatiotemporal architecture of the solid dispersions mediated via disruption in hydrogen bonding and ultimately altered dynamics. These changes can have significant consequences on the final stability and performance of the solid dispersions.