We have successfully prepared a new retardation film consisting of a liquid crystal material and polycarbonate. The film shows the retardation arising from the orientation of both the liquid crystal molecules and the polycarbonate main chain. The retardation due changes with temperature according to its thermal property. The retardation film, showing a reversible retardation change with temperature, is effectively used as a c ompensation film in a STN mode LCD to give a high contrast in a wide temperature range.
( by Masato KUWABARA, Takanobu NOGUCHI, Toshihiro OHNISHI, Kazuaki SAKAKURA, Hideo KUROIWA )

Limber® [(RS)-5-chloro-N-(1,3-dihydro-1,1,3-trimethylisobenzofuran-4-yl)-1,3-dimethylpyrazole-4-carboxamide] is a new rice sheath blight fungicide containing¡Èfurametpyr¡Éas an active ingredient developed by Sumitomo Chemical Co.,Ltd. Since 1989,under the code number S-658, the biological performance of Limber® in the control of rice sheath blight has been examined through intensive laboratory and field trials. Limber® shows excellent control against rice sheath blight by foliar application with wettable powder and dust formulations and submerged application with granule formulation. Limber® has been registered in October 1996 as a rice sheath blight fungicide in Japan.
( by Tatsuya MORI, Masayoshi IMAI, Yukio OGURI, Naohiko ISOBE, Toru TANI, Toru HAGA )

Recently, SRS air-bag has been adopted to compact cars with the movement of standardization. Air-bag is ordinarily covered with the article called "air-bag cover". Thinner part of air-bag cover, which was installed beforehand,is torn by the swelling of air-bag, permitting the spread of air-bag. Nowadays, as a material for the cover, thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) are widely used. In this paper we show low temperature impact resistance and so on as required properties for this use, and mention the relationship between material and use, with some examples using olefinic TPE.
( by Tatsuo HAMANAKA, Hiroshi OOYAMA, Keitaro KOJIMA, Toshitsugu KIKUCHI, Tadashi HIKASA )

A reactive dye is most popular in dyes for cellulosic fibers. But it requires much amount of salt in dyeing. So dyeing industry hopes to reduce the amount of salt because of environmental and economical issues. We have developed an environment conscious low salt dyeing method, "LET'S METHOD", using Sumifix Supra dyes. In this paper, we show development process and features of "LET'S METHOD".
( by Kasumi YAMAMOTO, Takeshi WASHIMI )

The utility of mass spectrometry (MS) for the analysis of biological molecules has been enhanced by the development of soft ionization techniques such as electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI). Innovative advances in instrumentation have resulted in higher mass resolution, sensitivity and mass accuracy. Advancements in the technique have led to new or improved applications in various areas, including biological chemistry and biotechnology. This review describes such technological advances and our applications to biotechnology.
( by )

Apparatus used in the chemical industries are subjected to complicated and various aggressive environments, and as a result often undergo considerable corrosion. So in order to realize stable operation and life extension of equipments, adequate management of the operation condition and the corrosion prevention effect by catching th ecorrosion state of equipment is of great importance. As this means to grasp the corrosion state adequately, corrosion monitoring nethods are very usefull.
In this paper, we present information concerning the abstract of corrosion monitoring methods and the examples applied in Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
( by Kazuo FUJITA, Masaaki NAGAYAMA, Kazuya KOSHINO, Yoshihisa TOKUMASU )