Abstract:
A method of adjustably tailoring the effective bulk density of a solid material in which a mixture comprising the solid material, a film-forming polymer and a volatile solvent are sprayed into a drying chamber such that the solvent evaporates and the polymer dries into hollow shells having the solid material captured within the shell walls. Shell density may be varied as a function of solid/polymer concentration, droplet size and drying temperature.
Abstract:
There is provided a method of making microcarrier beads having the steps of forming a bead made of a lightly crosslinked styrene copolymer core and also having functional groups on the surface of the bead and washing the microcarrier beads with basic and acidic solutions to make the beads compatible for cell culture. Also provided is a microcarrier bead made of a styrene copolymer core with a tri-methylamine exterior which has been washed in basic and acidic solutions to make the beads compatible for cell culture. The method of using microcarrier beads for increased growth of anchorage dependent cells having the steps of washing the microcarrier bead with basic and acidic solutions and mixing the microcarrier bead with an anchorage dependent cell containing culture medium is also provided.
Abstract:
An insert for a roller bottle of the type used in cell culture for vaccine manufacture is formed of a polymeric resilient material whereby it can be bent or rolled so that it can pass through the opening of the roller bottle. Once the insert is inside the bottle, it is released so that its resilient characteristic causes it to unbend or unroll. The insert is wider than the diameter of the roller bottle, and therefore it is urged against the interior wall of the roller bottle. Apertures and/or notches are provided in the insert to increase the turbulence of a fluid and to decrease the fluidic shear forces in the roller bottle as it is rotated in conventional operation. A significant increase in productivity is achieved because particles, which may be microcarrier beads, are maintained in suspension, and prevented from sinking to the bottom of the fluid medium where cells cannot grow. The roller bottle system is thereby transformed into a microcarrier suspension culture system.
Abstract:
In processes utilizing a source of laser energy for achieving a thermonuclear fusion reaction, it is necessary to have fusion fuel prepared in a configuration with minute dimensions and the present invention contemplates preparing this fuel by introducing into hollow microspheres (typically comprised of glass) of predetermined size, in the range of 250 to 2,000 micrometers, a gaseous thermonuclear fuel. One way of accomplishing this is to cause diffusion of gaseous thermonuclear fuel through the walls of the microsphere under conditions of suitable temperature and pressure so that it may be achieved in a reasonable time, after which the fuel can be frozen out on the walls of the microsphere to provide a fusion fuel in a hollow spherical shape. Suitable coatings of additional materials may be applied to the fueled microsphere by appropriate coating methods to complete complex thermonuclear fuel pellet configurations.
Abstract:
A container for the storage, shipping and dispensing of hydrogen isotopes such as hydrogen, deuterium, tritium, or mixtures of the same which has compactness, which is safe against fracture or accident, and which is reusable. The container consists of an outer housing with suitable inlet and outlet openings and electrical feed elements, the housing containing an activated sorber material in the form, for example, of titanium sponge or an activated zirconium aluminate cartridge. The gas to be stored is introduced into the chamber under conditions of heat and vacuum and will be retained in the sorber material. Subsequently, it may be released by heating the unit to drive off the stored gas at desired rates.
Abstract:
A method of manufacturing a glass frit for use in the manufacture of uniform glass microspheres to serve as containers for laser fusion fuel to be exposed to laser energy which includes the formation of a glass gel which is then dried, pulverized, and very accurately sized to particles in a range of, for example, 125 to 149 micrometers. The particles contain an occluded material such as urea which expands when heated. The sized particles are washed, dried, and subjected to heat to control the moisture content prior to being introduced into a system to form microspheres.
Abstract:
A method and apparatus for making uniform pellets for laser driven fusion reactors which comprises selection of a quantity of glass frit which has been accurately classified as to size within a few micrometers and contains an occluded material, such as urea, which gasifies and expands when heated. The sized particles are introduced into an apparatus which includes a heated vertical tube with temperatures ranging from 800.degree. C to 1300.degree. C. The particles are heated during the drop through the tube to molten condition wherein the occluded material gasifies to form hollow microspheres which stabilize in shape and plunge into a collecting liquid at the bottom of the tube. The apparatus includes the vertical heat resistant tube, heaters for the various zones of the tube and means for introducing the frit and collecting the formed microspheres.
Abstract:
A filter-separator pour-out cap for attachment to the neck opening of a container to separate particulate material from a liquidic suspension in the container when the container is tipped to pour out its contents. The cap comprises a filter-separator section having an upstream face at which flow from the container enters and a downstream face at which flow exits. This section comprises successive elements that are spaced axially apart from each other and are constructed and arranged to present at the upstream face juxtaposed uniformally spaced apart edges that define the entrances of openings that pass through the filter-separator from the upstream face to the downstream face. These elements have, in transverse cross section, a taper which narrows in the direction from the upstream face to the downstream face so that the openings are of progressively increasing taper in the same direction. In one embodiment of the invention these elements are identical circular rings. In another, the elements are convolutions of a helix. Various embodiments of caps are disclosed.
Abstract:
An ICF target comprising a spherical pellet of fusion fuel surrounded by a concentric shell; and a process for manufacturing the same which includes the steps of forming hemispheric shells of a silicon or other substrate material, adhering the shell segments to each other with a fuel pellet contained concentrically therein, then separating the individual targets from the parent substrate. Formation of hemispheric cavities by deposition or coating of a mold substrate is also described. Coatings or membranes may also be applied to the interior of the hemispheric segments prior to joining.
Abstract:
A container for the storage, shipping and dispensing of pellets filled with gases such as hydrogen, deuterium, tritium, or mixtures of the same which has compactness, which is safe against fracture or accident, and which is reusable. The container consists of an outer housing with suitable inlet and outlet openings and electrical feed elements, the housing containing an activated sorber material in the form, for example, of titanium sponge or an activated zirconium aluminate cartridge. The gas to be stored is introduced into the chamber in the form of small spheres of material such as glass, plastic or plastic-carbon, or other materials which typically contain hydrogen isotopes. A specified quantity of filled pellets are introduced into the chamber after which it is evacuated and the sorber baked out by heating. Thus, any breakage in transit of the pellets will permit the gas to be sorbed and prevent release until the cartridge is again reheated.