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.
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were biosynthesized using the cell free supernatant of putative probiotic Lactobacillus paracasei A26. Several biological activities of biogenic AgNPs were investigated in respect to in vitro anti-oxidant and anti-tumor potentials. Anti-oxidant potentials were screened in terms of free radical scavenging activity against two free radicals, 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and resazurin dye. AgNPs exhibited a potent scavenging activity against resazurin dye (91±0.046%) with an EC50 concentration of 146.823 µg/ml, while scavenging of DPPH was significantly (P≤0.05) reduced to 72.330±0.114% using a higher EC50 concentration of 176.12 µg/ml. The
... Show MoreConstitutional Review of 1992 and 1996 and the role of the Party of Progress and Socialism
Nanostructured tin dioxide (SnO2) thin films were prepared by thermal oxidation of Sn, which were ground and embedded in methanol then it was deposited on a glass substrate utilizing casting method. The deposited films were examined for their morphology, and crystal structure by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. In most cases, it was found that SnO2 thin films had a tetragonal phase, predominantly grown on preferred (110) and (200) planes. The deposited thin films have grain size was about 82 nm. The sensing properties of SnO2against NO2 gas were studied as a function of working temperature and time under optimal co
... Show MoreTitanium oxide nanoparticles-modified smectite (SMC-nTiO2) as a low-cost adsorbent was investigated for the removal of Rhodamine B (RhB) from aqueous solutions. The adsorbents (SMC and SMC-nTiO2) were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The effects of various parameters like contact time, adsorbent weight, pH, and temperatures were examined. Three kinetic equations (pseudo-first-order (PFO), pseudo-second-order (PSO), and intra-particle diffusion) were used to evaluate the experimental kinetic of the data and the results showed that the adsorption process is in line with the PSO kinetic model. Adsorption equilibrium isotherms were modeled using La
... Show MoreBeryllium Zinc Oxide (BexZn1-xO) ternary nano thin films were deposited using the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique under a vacuum condition of 10-3 torr at room temperature on glass substrates with different films thicknesses, (300, 600 and 900 nm). UV-Vis spectra study found the optical band gap for Be0.2Zn0.8O to be (3.42, 3.51 and 3.65 eV) for the (300, 600 and 900nm) film thicknesses, respectively which is larger than the value of zinc oxide ZnO (3.36eV) and smaller than that of beryllium oxide BeO (10.6eV). While the X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern analysis of ZnO, BeO and Be 0.2 Zn 0.8 O powder and nano-thin films indicated a hexa
... Show MoreThe effect of thickness variation on some physical properties of hematite α-Fe2O3 thin films was investigated. An Fe2O3 bulk in the form of pellet was prepared by cold pressing of Fe2O3 powder with subsequent sintering at 800 . Thin films with various thicknesses were obtained on glass substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique. The films properties were characterized by XRD, and FT-IR. The deposited iron oxide thin films showed a single hematite phase with polycrystalline rhombohedral crystal structure .The thickness of films were estimated by using spectrometer to be (185-232) nm. Using Debye Scherrerś formula, the average grain size for the samples was found to be (18-32) nm. Atomic force microscopy indicated that the films had
... Show MoreThis study involved the effect of anew nickel (II) complexs with formla [NiL2(H2O)2].2.5ETOH where L=Bis[5-(p-nitrophenyL)-4-phenyL-1,2,4-traizole-3-dithocarbamato hydrazide] diaqua. nickel(II). Ethanol(2.5).and anti-cancer drug cyclophosphamide on specific actifity of two Liver enzymes (GOT,GPT) in the (Liver,kidney) tissues and on the creatinine Level in the kidney byUtilizing an invivosystem in femalmice.The result showed that inhibition in the activity of GPT and GOT enzymes in theLiver and in both nickel (II) complex and cyclophosphamide drug (CP) . mice weretreated with three doses (90,180,320) µg/mouse for three days for each group.The Liver show's the highest rate of GPT inhibition was about 97.43% at180µg/mouse regarding the ki
... Show MoreMoisture damage is described as a reduction in stiffness and strength durability in asphalt mixtures due to moisture. This study investigated the influence of adding nano silica (NS) to the Asphalt on the moisture susceptibility of hot-mix-asphalt (HMA) mixtures under different aging conditions. NS was mixed with asphalt binder at concentrations of 2%, 4%, and 6% by weight of the binder. To detect the microstructure changes of modified Asphalt and estimate the dispersion of NS within the Asphalt, the field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) was used. To examine the performance of Asphalt mixed with NS at different aging stages (short-term and long-term aging), asphalt mixture tests such as Marshall stability,
... Show MoreNanocrystalline copper sulphide (Cu2-xS) powders were synthesized by chemical precipitation from their aqueous solutions composed of different molar ratio of copper sulfate dehydrate (CuSO4.5H2O) and thiorea (NH2)2CS as source of Cu+2, S-2 ions respectively, and sodium ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid dehydrate (EDTA) as a complex agent. The compositions, morphological and structural properties of the nanopowders were characterized by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The compositional results showed that the copper content was high and the Sulfur content was low for both CuS and Cu2S nanopowders. SEM images shows that all products consist of aggregate o
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