Resilient polymeric materials such as silicone elastomers are currently used for maxillofacial prostheses construction but the strength of these materials and their clinical performance need to be optimized with the addition of reinforcing fillers. This study investigates the effect of zirconia nanopowder addition on tear strength, tensile strength, elongation at break, Shore A hardness, surface roughness and cytotoxicity of VST-50 maxillofacial silicone. Silicone base was mixed with different amounts (1%, 2% and 3%) of zirconia nanopowder using a vacuum mixer. Silicone without filler was used as control for comparison. Scanning Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy were utilized to assess the efficiency of high-shear vacuum mixing as filler dispersion method and the surface topography, respectively. Both SEM and AFM images showed that the zirconia nanopowder were distributed fairly well within the polymer. Statistically, highly significant increase in tear strength, tensile strength and hardness with non-significant decrease in elongation at break and non-significant increase in surface roughness were seen with 1% and 2% groups. Whereas with 3% group, there was significant improvement in tear strength, tensile strength and hardness but there was significant undesirable decrease in elongation and increase in roughness. Cytotoxicity test revealed that the addition of zirconia nanopowder was nontoxic to Rat Embryonic Fibroblast (REF) cells and there was non-significant change in the cell viability of all study groups after 24- and 72-hours incubation periods. In conclusion, the addition of 2% by weight nano zirconia to VST-50 maxillofacial silicone could be beneficial in enhancing its performance.
Colloidal crystals (opals) made of close-packed polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) were fabricated and grown by Template-Directed methods to obtain porous materials with well-ordered periodicity and interconnected pore systems to manufacture photonic crystals. Opals were made from aqueous suspensions of monodisperse PMMA spheres with diameters between 280 and 415 nm. SEM confirmed the PMMA spheres crystallized uniformly in a face-centered cubic (FCC) array. Optical properties of synthesized pores PMMA were characterized by UV–Visible spectroscopy. It shows that the colloidal crystals possess pseudo photonic band gaps in the visible region. A combination of Bragg’s law of diffraction and Snell’s law of refraction were used to calculate t
... Show MoreBackground. “Polyetheretherketone (PEEK)” is a biocompatible, high-strength polymer that is well-suited for use in dental applications due to its unique properties. However, achieving good adhesion between PEEK and hydrophilic materials such as dental adhesives or cement can be challenging. Also, this hydrophobicity may affect the use of PEEK as an implant material. Surface treatment or conditioning is often necessary to improve surface properties. The piranha solution is the treatment of choice to be explored for this purpose. Methods. PEEK disks of 10 mm diameter and 2 mm thickness were used in this study. Those samples were divided into five groups (each group has five samples). The first is the control group, in which no
... Show MoreThe physical and chemical parameters of Tigris River water in AL- Kut City have been studied. Three stations have been chosen. . The sampling of study was made monthly and for six months from September 2014 until February 2015.The result of turbidity values showed height mean in summer 84 NTU, The decrease of turbidity was one of the positive results to the effect of AL-Kut Dam on the Tigris River after the Dam and on the total suspended solids. The electrical conductivity was 1340 µs/cm in winter that may be due to the existence of the polluted elements. The river water was fresh (0.48‰ semiebrachish) with a good aerated water and the height of the dissolved oxygen mean value has been noticed 13.1mg/L at many times. Over satura
... Show MoreX-ray diffraction pattern reveled the tetragonal crystal system of SnO2 Thin films of SnO2 were prepared on glass substrates using Spray Pyrolysis Technique. The absorption and transmition spectra were recorded in the rang of 300-900nm, the spectral dependences of absorption coefficient were calculated from transmission spectra. The direct and allowed optical energy gap has been evaluated from plots of (αhυ)² vs. (hυ) . The energy gap was found to be 2.4-2.6eV. The optical constant such as extinction coefficient( k ) and absorption coefficient ( α) have been evaluated.
This contribution investigates structural, electronic, and optical properties of cubic barium titanate (BaTiO3) perovskites using first-principles calculations of density functional theory (DFT). Generalized gradient approximations (GGA) alongside with PW91 functional have been implemented for the exchange–correlation potential. The obtained results display that BaTiO3 exhibits a band gap of 3.21 eV which agrees well with the previously experimental and theoretical literature. Interestingly, our results explore that when replacing Pd atom with Ba and Ti atoms at 0.125 content a clear decrease in the electronic band gap of 1.052 and 1.090 eV located within the visible range of electromagnetic wavelengths (EMW). Optical parameters such as a
... Show MoreThe preferable design for unsaturated symmetrical spherical
double-pole piece electron lens required good focal properties, and in this present study investigate effect of air gap wide (S) on the properties of the projector lens specialized the minimum projector
focal length 1Fr) . and the properties of the axial magnetic field
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distribution:(the maximum
... Show MoreAngiogenesis is important for tissue during normal physiological processes as well as in a number of diseases, including cancer. Drug resistance is one of the largest difficulties to antiangiogenesis therapy. Due to their lower cytotoxicity and stronger pharmacological advantage, phytochemical anticancer medications have a number of advantages over chemical chemotherapeutic drugs. In the current study, the effectiveness of AuNPs, AuNPs-GAL, and free galangin as an antiangiogenesis agent was evaluated. Different physicochemical and molecular approaches have been used including the characterization, cytotoxicity, scratch wound healing assay, and gene expression of VEGF and ERKI in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell line. Re
... Show MoreCdSe quantum dots possess a tuning energy gap which can control gap values according to the size of the quantum dots, this is made the material able to absorb the wavelengths within visible light. A simple model is provided for the absorption coefficient, optical properties, and optical constants for CdSe quantum dots from the size 10nm to 1nm with the range of visible region between (300-730) nm at room temperature. It turns out that there is an absorption threshold for each wavelength, CdSe quantum dots begin to absorb the visible spectrum of 1.4 nm at room temperature for a wavelength of 300 nm. It has been noted that; when the wavelength is increased, the absorption threshold also increases. This applies to the optical propertie
... Show MoreApplications of superconductor compounds were considered as modern and important topics, especially these which are exposures to one of the nuclear radiation kinds. So, we gone to investigate the influence of fast neutrons irradiation on electrical and structural characteristics of HgxSb1-xBa2Ca2Cu3O8+δ superconducting compound at (x = 0.7) in ratio. The superconducting specimens were synthesized using solid state technique. Specimens were exposure to the nuclear radiation using fast neutrons with doses (0, 9.06 x1010, 15.3 x 1010 and 18.17 x 1010) n/cm2 respectively. Electrical and X-ray diffraction properties of superconductor specimens before and after irradiation were investigated under standard conditions. Results of X-ray diffraction
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