Eggshell derived hydroxyapatite microspheres for chromatographic applications by a novel dissolution - precipitation method

Hydroxyapatite ((Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂, HAp) based chromatography matrix has attracted great interest in the field of protein separation. However, researchers have been trying to combat the growing costs associated with the HAp matrix. In the present investigation, we utilized a cheap biological waste material, viz. eggshells, for the development of hydroxyapatite (HAp) resins and evaluated them for protein purification. Initially, the calcite of the eggshell carbonate was converted into metastable vaterite microspheres. The HAp microspheres (ECHAp) were then prepared from eggshell carbonate microspheres using a novel dissolution-precipitation process. Synthetic source calcium carbonate was also used to prepare HAp microspheres (CHAp) for comparison. The purity and morphology of the apatite microspheres were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) method, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and laser diffraction particle analysis. Although both the apatites have similar morphology, the ECHAp has a larger surface area of 33.8 m² g^?1 compared to CHAp of 17.27 m² g^?1 by surface area analysis method. A commercial HAp matrix (CHT) with similar properties was also studied for comparison. All the apatite microspheres were found to have a similar protein binding capacity for bovine serum albumin (BSA). But ECHAp showed better protein separation for BSA and lysozyme mixture compared to CHAp and CHT matrices. The ECHAp matrix was also found to be highly stable over 20 purification cycles. Hence, the eggshell waste seems to have the potential for HAp matrix by a novel carbonate route with ease of preparation and also an economical packing material for chromatographic purification of biomolecules.     

Damage accumulation in plasma-sprayed zirconia under cyclic loading

The stiffness and hysteretic response due to mechanical and thermo-mechanical cycling have been studied in plasma-sprayed yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ). Mechanical cycling of free-standing cantilevers of YSZ shows that the progressive decrease in stiffness is accompanied by monotonic increase in hysteretic energy dissipation per cycle and a permanent ratcheting displacement of ∼20 nm/cycle. Below a critical stress, it varies from coating to coating, ratcheting accompanied by a slow decrease in stiffness does not lead to failure even after ∼1000 cycles. In contrast, at higher stresses, the rates of ratcheting and decrease in stiffness increase rapidly, leading to the nucleation of macrocracks that lead to fracture failure. Prior thermal cycling of coatings on Inconel substrate up to 700°C, which induced an estimated cyclic thermal stress of ∼35 MPa, led to a pronounced reduction in stiffness and mechanical cycling life. During bending, damage accumulates in the tension side of the cantilever and the volume going through the compression cycle remains relatively undamaged.     

A macro- and micromechanics investigation of hot cracking in duplex steels

The relationship between microstructure and high temperature ductile tearing in duplex stainless steels has been investigated. Several grades were considered corresponding to different chemical compositions, different volume fractions and morphologies of the ferrite and austenite phases and different oxide inclusion contents. The high temperature cracking resistance has been quantified using both the essential work of fracture (EWF) and the fracture strain. The EWF discriminates the different grades of duplex steels and the different microstructures in terms of hot tearing resistance better than does the fracture strain. Metallographic characterization reveals that damage preferentially nucleates near inclusions at the austenite/ferrite boundary. Voids grow inside the ferrite until they coalesce. Damage develops more rapidly when increasing either the mismatch of rheology between the phases, which was evaluated by micro-scale strain measurements, or the inclusion content. The cracking resistance is related to the plastic work performed in the fracture process zone whereas the fracture strain depends on the damage kinetics. Both processes involve length scales related to the morphology and to the microstructure dimensions. Guidelines for improving the hot cracking resistance of duplex steels are formulated.     

Patent research in salmonellosis prevention

Salmonella is one of the major causes of food borne diseases throughout the world. In recent years, there has been an increasing focus to treat or prevent Salmonella infection in humans by various means. This study gives a summary of the various research perspectives, as indicated by the patent disclosures. The study brings out the key patent filers, various technologies involved in salmonellosis prevention, their applications and the research focus of various companies/research institutions.     

Fabrication of Thermoelectric Devices Using Thermal Spray: Application to Vehicle Exhaust Systems

Thermoelectric devices produce electricity directly from heat; they are small, have no moving parts, and are quiet. Commercially available thermoelectric devices, however, are expensive and labor intensive to produce, and come in very limited form factors. This article presents initial results for the use of thermal spray to directly fabricate thermoelectric devices. The target application is automotive exhaust systems and other high-volume heat sources. In this work, FeSi₂ and Mg₂Si metal silicides were sprayed. Characterization of the Mg₂Si deposits indicates that both the thermal conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient are roughly one half the values of bulk Mg₂Si. The electrical conductivity, however, is several orders of magnitude lower than bulk measurements in the literature, with likely reasons including impurities in the starting powder, oxidation during spraying, and using an undoped material. Fe _x Co_4?x Sb₁₂ skutterudite material has also been sprayed; however, not enough powder was available to fabricate samples large enough for characterization. The steps required to fabricate a thermoelectric device are presented, including the formation of the bottom and top metallic layers and the thermoelectric legs using thermal spray and laser micromachining. A technique for bridging the air gap between adjacent thermoelectric elements for the top layer based on a sacrificial filler material has also been demonstrated.     

Effect of Ternary Addition of Iron on Shape Memory Characteristics of Cu-Al Alloys

The effect of alloying Cu-Al alloys with Fe on their transformation temperatures and shape memory properties was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and bend test. It was found that the minor additions of iron resulted in change of transformation temperatures and led to excellent shape memory properties of the alloys. Since the transformation temperatures are high, they are an ideal choice for high-temperature applications.     

Adaptive delivery of video data over wireless and mobile environments

We present an architecture for the adaptable delivery of video data under variable connection characteristics and into devices of variable capabilities. The main application of the proposed architecture is video delivery in wireless and mobile environments. The architecture is based on the Universal Multimedia Access concept and the MPEG‐7 standard. Based on the network and the mobile device, as well as constraints imposed by user preferences and the multimedia content, video is delivered through a careful application of a combination of off‐line and on‐line reductions to the video stream. We present our architecture and describe an implementation of a system based on the architecture. We present basic performance evaluation results to quantify the merit of our approach. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.