Surface functionalization of SBA-15 particles for ibuprofen delivery

We have synthesized SBA-15 particles and functionalized their surface with different functional groups (amine, diamine, and sulfonic acid groups) to use them as carrier materials in drug delivery. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nitrogen sorption, and zeta potential measurements were used to characterize the synthesized particles. After surface functionalization, the surface of the sulfonic acid-functionalized particles was more acidic than that of the other particles. Using ibuprofen as a model drug, we found that the release rate increased at higher pH. Furthermore, the particles with the sulfonic acid groups exhibited higher release rate than those with the amine and diamine groups. We explained the difference in the release rate using different electrostatic interaction between drug and particle surface that was caused by the surface functionalization. These results should enable design of drug carrier materials based on the SBA-15 particles with the desired release rate.     

Sensitivity Analysis on Dispersive Transport in Streamline Simulation

Streamline simulations have been extensively used due to their computational speed and invulnerability to numerical dispersion. However, many works have been applied to transport modeling without considering dispersive transport. A new term, advection-dispersion ratio, is introduced, which is defined as a relative extent of advection to dispersion along a streamline. By using the advection-dispersion ratio, analytical solution to the advection-dispersion equation is mapped onto streamlines so that dispersive transport can be effectively modeled by streamline simulation. With the advection-dispersion ratio incorporated, streamline simulation was applied to model transport in an artificially fractured sample, and validated by comparing with an experiment. It is observed that the tracer breakthrough curve from the simulation matches well with that from the experiment.

By allocating variable advection-dispersion ratios to streamlines, streamline simulations were performed on various fields generated by sequential Gaussian simulation in order to analyze the effect of the advection-dispersion ratio on transport modeling. The results were then compared with the simulation results using a single representative advection-dispersion ratio over the entire flow domain. The simulation results indicate that a representative advection-dispersion ratio is applicable when the advection-dispersion ratio is high. On the other hand, different advection-dispersion ratio should be allocated to each streamline according to the characteristics of the streamline, in the case where the representative advection-dispersion ratio is low. Moreover, similar values of permeability cluster spatially in a field of high correlation length, which result in more diverse and contrastable streamline characteristics from the standpoint of advection-dispersion ratio. This explains why the results using a single representative advection-dispersion ratio differ from those using variable advection-dispersion ratios along individual streamlines.     

Vanadium oxide supported γ-alumina with bimodal porous structure for intra-particle diffusion enhancement in styrene oxidation reaction

Porous γ-alumina with well arranged secondary mesopores has been contrived using nanosized templating units. The pore size of templated mesopores is precisely controlled as the pore shrinkage is insignificant. The primary pore diameter is ca. 4 nm and the secondary pore diameter is ca. 50 nm. The porous material was characterized using N₂ adsorption/desorption, TEM, XRD and FT-IR. γ-alumina with bimodal pore size distribution shows improved intra-particle diffusion compared to γ-alumina with unimodal pore size distribution in a simple dye adsorption test. γ-alumina with different porous structures were then impregnated with vanadium oxide for catalytic effect comparison. It was perceived that secondary pores improve the styrene oxidation rate after the conversion of styrene reaches 30%.     

A STUDY OF CARBIDE GROWTH IN MAR-M247 LC ALLOY BY DIRECTIONAL SOLIDIFICATION METHOD

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A study of the dynamic behavior of dispersion-type tubular reactor models

The dynamic behavior of dispersion-type tubular reactors, referred to as finite and truncated models depending on the boundary condition representations at the reactor exit, was investigated through numerical simulations. It was found that the dynamic behavior of the two models can be identical or different depending on how thePéclet number changes.     

Nitrate Capture Investigation in Plasma-Activated Water and Its Antifungal Effect on Cryptococcus pseudolongus Cells

This research investigated the capture of nitrate by magnesium ions in plasma-activated water (PAW) and its antifungal effect on the cell viability of the newly emerged mushroom pathogen Cryptococcus pseudolongus. Optical emission spectra of the plasma jet exhibited several emission bands attributable to plasma-generated reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. The plasma was injected directly into deionized water (DW) with and without an immersed magnesium block. Plasma treatment of DW produced acidic PAW. However, plasma-activated magnesium water (PA-Mg-W) tended to be neutralized due to the reduction in plasma-generated hydrogen ions by electrons released from the zero-valent magnesium. Optical absorption and Raman spectra confirmed that nitrate ions were the dominant reactive species in the PAW and PA-Mg-W. Nitrate had a concentration-dependent antifungal effect on the tested fungal cells. We observed that the free nitrate content could be controlled to be lower in the PA-Mg-W than in the PAW due to the formation of nitrate salts by the magnesium ions. Although both the PAW and PA-Mg-W had antifungal effects on C. pseudolongus, their effectiveness differed, with cell viability higher in the PA-Mg-W than in the PAW. This study demonstrates that the antifungal effect of PAW could be manipulated using nitrate capture. The wide use of plasma therapy for problematic fungus control is challenging because fungi have rigid cell wall structures in different fungal groups.     

Correlation between Oxidative Stress and Transforming Growth Factor-Beta in Cancers

The downregulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) facilitates precancerous tumor development, even though increasing the level of ROS can promote metastasis. The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) signaling pathway plays an anti-tumorigenic role in the initial stages of cancer development but a pro-tumorigenic role in later stages that fosters cancer metastasis. TGF-β can regulate the production of ROS unambiguously or downregulate antioxidant systems. ROS can influence TGF-β signaling by enhancing its expression and activation. Thus, TGF-β signaling and ROS might significantly coordinate cellular processes that cancer cells employ to expedite their malignancy. In cancer cells, interplay between oxidative stress and TGF-β is critical for tumorigenesis and cancer progression. Thus, both TGF-β and ROS can develop a robust relationship in cancer cells to augment their malignancy. This review focuses on the appropriate interpretation of this crosstalk between TGF-β and oxidative stress in cancer, exposing new potential approaches in cancer biology.     

Miscibility and processibility in linear low density polyethylene and ethylene-propylene-butene-1 terpolymer binary blends

Blends of linear low density polyethylene (ethylene-octene-1 copolymer) and ethylene-propylene-butene-1 terpolymer (ter-PP) mixed in a twin-screw extruder have been characterized by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), rheometric mechanical spectrometry, a capillary rheometer, and a universal test machine. Melting and crystallization behaviors by DSC and the α, β, and γ dynamic mechanical relaxations proposed that the blend is immiscible in the amorphous and crystalline phases by observing the characteristic peaks arised solely from those of the constituents. The lack of interfacial interaction between the components was suggested by the SEM study. A strong negative deviation of melt viscosity from the additive rule and the Cole-Cole plot confirmed the immiscibility in melt state. Incorporation of ter-PP induced a reduction in melt viscosity, shear stress, and final load. Flexural modulus and yield stress were linearly increased with ter-PP content, while the tensile strength and elongation at break were more or less changed. Although this blend system is immiscible in the solid and melt states, addition of less than 20 wt % ter-PP in the blend is viable for engineering applications with the advantages of improved processibility and mechanical properties. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 63: 1265–1274, 1997     

Effects of mixing temperatures on the morphology and toughness of epoxy/polyamide blends

A new mixing process was explored to increase further the fracture toughness and to investigate the toughening mechanisms of epoxy/nylon blend. In this process, without mechanical mixing, the mixtures of epoxy and premade nylon 6 powder were heated without the curing agent to specific temperatures, referred to as the “mixing temperature.” For epoxy/nylon blends, at sufficiently high temperatures, a semi‐interpenetrating network‐like structure can be developed at the interphase via the reaction between the amine end group and the epoxide group. The depth of interphase and the extent of reaction depends on the mixing temperature. The strong dependency of the fracture energy on mixing temperature reveals the positive effect of the newly developed structure at the interphase. The increase of fracture toughness is possibly due to the enhanced crack fingering bifurcation/deflection mechanism resulting from the lamellae developed in the interphase and the enhanced plastic deformation of epoxy as a result of preyielding of the interphase. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 72: 1055–1063, 1999     

Homogeneously distributed magnetite in the polystyrene spherical particles using the miniemulsion polymerization

The polystyrene spherical particles with homogeneously distributed magnetites were prepared using the conventional miniemulsion polymerization. In the first, the magnetite nanoparticles were coated with oleic acid in aqueous Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ solution using excess ammonium hydroxide via co-precipitation method. In the second, the miniemulsion polymerization of styrene was carried out using various concentrations of potassium persulfate (KPS) as an initiator, H-08E as an emulsifier, hexadecane as a co-emulsifier and acrylic acid as a dispersing agent in the presence of oleic acid coated magnetite at 70 °C for 24 h. The particle size and its distribution of the homogeneously embedded magnetites were influenced by the concentration of the initiator (KPS) and acrylic acid (AAc). In addition, the emulsifier, H-08E, affects the size and the shape of the PS particles. The optimum conditions for the homogeneously distributed magnetite in the spherical PS particles with the narrow distribution were 5 wt.% styrene, 0.2 g KPS, 0.2 g AAc, and 0.12 g H-08E by inducing 364 nm in diameter, 12.04% in the coefficient of variation (C_v) and 22.1% of the maximum magnetite content.