Alumina powders is the most widely used in the world for oxide ceramic applications. An ideal powder is mono-dispersed powder which has not been able to be produced commercially yet.
We developed a nearly mono-dispersed alumina powder??SUMICORUNDUM??which is crystallinely grown by In Situ Chemical Vapor Deposition. SUMICORUNDUM is single crystal powder which has precisely controlled particle size, and will make a breakthrough in the manufacture of alumina ceramic.
In this report we summarize superior characteristics and several applications of SUMICORUNDUM.
( by Masahide MOHRI, Shinichiro TANAKA, Yoshio UCHIDA, Yoshinari SAWABE )

Male reproductive toxicity has been investigated using parameters such as copulation index, fertility index of male rats treated with chemicals for approximately 9 weeks before mating. But recently, much evidence suggests that these parameters are not sensitive to assess human reproductive risks.
On the tripartite-harmonization of toxicity guideline, the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare organized a collaborative assessment team consisting of the National Institute of Health Science and 16 Japanese pharmaceutical companies to determine the optimal period and parameters for detection of male reproductive disorders in rats. In this paper, we describe the recent results of our testicular toxicity studies participating in the collaborative work.
( by Madoka SASAKI, Toru UTSUMI, Hashihiro HIGUCHI, Satoshi KAWAMURA, Yasuyoshi OKUNO, Akira KOHDA, Shunji HOSOKAWA, Masatoshi MATSUO, Terushige KATO )

Baktop MC is the new microcapsule formulation containing 15 wt% of fenobucarb as an active ingredient. This was developed as the Sumitomo's second CS (Capsule Suspension) formulation for termite control to meet the needs of the market such as easy handling and safe application.
The present report describes the design of formulation, physico-chemical properties, stability, handling characteristics, efficacy, and environmental safety of Baktop MC.
( by Toshiro OHTSUBO, Izumi FUJIMOTO, Yasushi KAKUTA )

An anchor coating process using solvents is indispensably applied as an adhesive method in extrusion coating process for flexible packages. A solvent free adhesive method has been expected from the point of view of environmental preservation and productivity.
This technology, developed by Sumitomo Chemical Co.,Ltd., offers the new adhesive method without any anchor coating process.
We have discovered that high adhesion strength can be obtained by combining with two uint processes. One is the treating process for plastic substrates surface using the surface activating equipment (corona, electron beam etc.). Another is the treating process for an extruded molten polymer with ozone treating equipment.
In this paper, the mechanism for adhesion of the technology and application results are discussed.
( by Haruo HAYASHIDA, Fumio ISHIBASHI, Hiroaki TAKAHATA, Yuji GOTOH )

We have been preparing the computer network environment. We can get the necessary information on our desks by clicking the mouse and selecting the menu. So it is important how we hold valuable common informations. We can see the objective structure clearly and can grasp it quantitatively by the modeling of processes.
We show some modeling technologies and applications.
Steady-state process simulator has been used by design and production engineers. And recently the technology has been shifted from steady-state to dynamic simulation which can be used by operation engineers. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) offers the possibility of predicting the detailed flow and turbulence characteristics of reactors. Advanced process control can make up for a defect in PID-control and model predictive control is one of the typical technologies.
We show some applications such as the design of a distillation column control, the total plant operation optimization, the fluid analysis of a reactor, the improvement of a reactor control, the improvement of a film tenter equipment and its control.
( by Akira MORI )

Some rice cultivars which have high quality in taste like Koshihikari, have a tendency to lodge at the harvest season. These varieties require such fertilization as to prevent lodging. "Sumishort" is a new fertilizer containing "Uniconazole-P" as plant growth retardant developed by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
Applied to rice plants at panicle formation stage, about 25 days before heading, "Sumishort" reduces the culm length which results not only in less lodging but also in more yield. The amount of fertilizer applied at this stage varies depending on cultivar, property of the soil and climate conditions of the field. To meet every possible environmental conditions, 5 types of "Sumishort" are prepared, for farmers choice.
In this report we show the summarized data of 229 field experiments at official and private stations throughout Japan except Hokkaido conducted between 1985 and 1992, and a new design of fertilization is proposed for cultivars with a tendency to lodge.
( by Seigo OUCHI, Akira NISHIKAWA, Shoji OKADA )

Super-engineering plastics have been widely used as advanced materials for electrical parts, automotive parts, and so on.
This report, forcusing on SUMIKASUPER LCP, SUMIKAEXCEL PES, and VICTREX PEEK, covers their marketing and technological potentials.
( by Hideo NOMURA, Satoshi NAGANO, Mitsuo MAEDA, Tohru NAGASHIMA, Kuniaki ASAI )

The electron microscope investigation for studying the microstructures of polymeric materials has been improved by the innovation of instrument and sample preparation methods. Using these advanced methods, we can easily know the morphology of polymeric materials, elemental composition, the interface part between polymers in polymer alloy, and micromechanical processes etc. And recently, the new instrument, the scanning probe microscope, has been developed to measure the surface properties.
Now we descrived here mainly the technical application of electron microscopic methods using several data.
( by Shin-ya UTSUMI, Keitaro KOJIMA, Masaki NAKAJIMA )

In the 19th century, aroma chemicals were first synthesized by a chemical method. Since then, aroma chemicals have been widely used in various fields. Nowadays, they have become indispensable to our pleasant life.
This review describes an introduction to the aroma chemicals and a summary of the four aroma chemicals which have been developed in Sumitomo Chemical.
( by Shin TANAKA, Masahito SEKIGUCHI, Hiroshi SHIMIZU, Yasuhiko HIGASHIO )

"What to make?" and "How to make?" are two big propositions in organic synthesis. The answer is "computer". Recent global trends of new organic synthesis utilizing a computer are serveyed along the R&D stages in organic synthesis as follows: 1) Information retrieval from electronic databases, 2) Computational chemistry including molecular design and synthesis-route design, 3) An automated system for organic synthesis including a robot, 4) Automatic elucidation of a molecular structure based on its spectroscopic data, and 5) Combinatorial chemistry which is a revolutional method for creation of a new drug. Several examples in our laboratory are also presented.
( by Iwao DOHGANE, Hiroshi SATO )

Advance in molecular biology enables the expression of human P450s in heterologous hosts such as yeast and bacteria. Biotechnology and Environmental Health Science Laboratories of Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. have constructed and basically evaluated recombinant yeast strains expressing human P450s. These series of recombinant yeast strains revealed the usefulness for the followings :

*enetic polymorphism and gene diagnosis of P450s,
*rediction of human metabolites and identification of the responsible P450 isozyme involved in the drug metabolism,
*rug-drug interaction,
*imic of human liver,
*nti human P450 antibody. In addition, we discuss metabolism and toxicology studies in the future from the standpoint of biochemistry and molecular biology.
( by Kunio SHIBA, Masayoshi MATSUI, Koichiro KOMAI, Hiromi YOSHINO, Koichi SAITO, Hideo KANEKO, Iwao NAKATSUKA )

High purity chemicals are always used in a cleaning process of the semiconductor manufacturing. Since the device integration techniques getting highly developed, the lower contamination is prefered to be acceptable. On the other hand, the wafer cleaning technology has been improved, which coincides with the technology development for the wafer surface evaluation. We successfully clarified the adhesion behavior of contaminants in a cleaning solution and the effects of device characteristics through the cleaning process.
In this paper, we describe the wafer cleaning technique using high purity chemicals. Especially, the behavior of metallic contamination and the particle removal process are discussed. Finally, we present our results of the prevention from contamination to wafers.
( by Masayuki TAKASHIMA, Kenichi SAWARA )

As to manufacture of microcapsules containing bioactive compound such as pesticide, control of particle size, control of polymerization reaction, mixing condition of non-Newtonian viscous liquid and preventive measures against detorioration of particles must be taken into consideration from the viewpoint of design and operation of the dispersion process.
In this paper the influence of scale-up factors (chip speed of stirrer, We number, etc.) on the particles is specifically discussed with our experimental results based on the bench-scale test using a continuous disperser. In addition, deterioration of the particles caused by pump mixing is briefly described as well.
( by Kunitoshi TAKAHASHI )