Impact Of Silica Nanoparticles Research Articles

Development of sol-gel synthesis and characterization of meso porous SiO2 nanopowder for improvement of nanomullite/SiC ceramic filter

The study investigates the synthesis of mesoporous SiO2 nanoparticles with uniform spherical morphology via the sol-gel method. A strategic approach of this research was to control the particle size within the sol, achieved by incorporating ammonium polycarboxylate (APC) as an additive. The primary objective of this paper is to utilize these modified particles in the fabrication of ceramic filters for metal melt filtration, aiming to enhance their functional properties. Various analytical methods, including DLS, XRD, FTIR, DTA/TG, XPS, SEM, and TEM/EDS, were employed to evaluate the product formation mechanism during the sol-gel process. It was demonstrated that by controlling the pH within an acidic range of 3, precursor particles containing the Si source formed in sizes below 10 nm within the sol, a phenomenon that is fundamental in controlling the final product size to be under 50 nm. The addition of APC, through an electrosteric mechanism, contributed to the stability of the precursor particles within the sol. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) images revealed that the silica nanoparticles possess a spherical shape with a uniform size of approximately 25 nm. Nitrogen adsorption/desorption porosimetry indicated that the nanoparticles have mesoporous with an average pore size of 2.5 nm and a specific surface area of 120 m2/g. This method can be conveniently used to prepare silica nanoparticles with desirable morphology and mesostructure. Polyurethane foam filters were impregnated with nanosilica particles using a slurry casting method. Subsequently, the effects of varying percentages of nanosilica particles in the slurry on the compressive strength, density, and porosity of the ceramic foam filters were examined. Additionally, the impact of silica nanoparticles on the slurry's viscosity was studied using rheometry. The optimal sintering temperature was reported to be 1250 °C. XRD results indicated the formation of mullite phase alongside silicon carbide and alumina phases at 1250 °C. SEM microstructural analysis showed that the mullite phase formed in nanometric dimensions within the ceramic foam bodies. The emergence of the mullite phase in nanometric dimensions within the filter microstructure is one of the factors contributing to the reinforcement and enhancement of refractoriness.

Silica Nanoparticles Shed Light on Intriguing Cellular Pathways in Human Tracheal Smooth Muscle Cells: Revealing COX-2/PGE2 Production through the EGFR/Pyk2 Signaling Axis.

The use of manufactured silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) has become widespread in everyday life, household products, and various industrial applications. While the harmful effects of crystalline silica on the lungs, known as silicosis or chronic pulmonary diseases, are well understood, the impact of SiNPs on the airway is not fully explored. This study aimed to investigate the potential effects of SiNPs on human tracheal smooth muscle cells (HTSMCs). Our findings revealed that SiNPs induced the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA/protein and the production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) without causing cytotoxicity. This induction was transcription-dependent, as confirmed by cell viability assays and COX-2 luciferase reporter assays. Further analysis, including Western blot with pharmacological inhibitors and siRNA interference, showed the involvement of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) EGF receptor (EGFR), non-RTK Pyk2, protein kinase Cα (PKCα), and p42/p44 MAPK in the induction process. Notably, EGFR activation initiated cellular signaling that led to NF-κB p65 phosphorylation and translocation into the cell nucleus, where it bound and stimulated COX-2 gene transcription. The resulting COX-2 protein triggered PGE2 production and secretion into the extracellular space. Our study demonstrated that SiNPs mediate COX-2 up-regulation and PGE2 secretion in HTSMCs through the sequential activation of the EGFR/Pyk2/PKCα/p42/p44MAPKs-dependent NF-κB signaling pathway. Since PGE2 can have both physiological bronchodilatory and anti-inflammatory effects, as well as pathological pro-inflammatory effects, the increased PGE2 production in the airway might act as a protective compensatory mechanism and/or a contributing factor during airway exposure to SiNPs.

Unexpected Inhibitory Role of Silica Nanoparticles on Lung Cancer Development by Promoting M1 Polarization of Macrophages.

Inhalation exposure to silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) is frequently inevitable in modern times. Although the impact of SiNPs on the ecological niche of the lungs has been extensively explored, the role and mechanism of SiNPs in the microenvironment of lung tumors remain elusive. In this investigation, Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) was implanted into the left lung in situ after 28 days of intratracheal SiNPs injection into the lungs of mice. This study evaluates the effects of SiNPs on the tumor immune microenvironment both in vitro and in vivo. Our findings indicate that SiNPs can suppress lung cancer by modulating the immune microenvironment of tumors. SiNPs treatment promotes macrophage M1 polarization by activating both NF-κB pathway and glycolytic mechanisms. This phenomenon may be associated with lung inflammation and fluctuation in the pre-metastatic and metastatic microenvironments induced by SiNPs exposure in mice. Additionally, we have shown for the first time that SiNPs have an inhibitory effect on lung carcinogenesis and its progression. This study uniquely demonstrates that SiNPs suppress lung cancer by promoting M1 polarization of macrophages in the immune microenvironment of lung tumors. Our findings are critical in exploring the interaction between SiNPs and lung cancer.

Influences of nano-SiO2 on the tensile, flexural, and compressive characteristics of the open-hole carbon fiber-reinforced polymer laminated composites: experimental study

Carbon fiber are of great importance materials exploited in various industrial applications in the recent years. Because of its strong flexural and compressive properties, these fibers have been commonly utilized as a reinforcement for producing polymer composite laminates. Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates are subjected to extreme forces and damaged. In the component assembly of the structures, one of the conventional damages that still occurs on the CFRP laminates is holes that is created on the specimen by drilling tools, which causes a reduction in the laminates’ mechanical strength. One of the suggested ways to strengthen the mechanical properties of composites is to add nanoparticles. Therefore, the impact of silica nanoparticles (nano-SiO2) on the tensile, flexural, and compressive characteristics of the open-hole CFRP laminated composites is experimentally determined in this research. Nano-SiO2 with various weight percentage of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 is added into the CFRP. A scanning electron microscope images are used to observe the microscopic structure of the composites. The results showed that adding 1–3 wt.% of nano-SiO2 into the CFRP enhances the tensile, flexural, and compressive strength of the specimens and reduces the fiber pull out and delamination.

Toxicity and Impact of Silica Nanoparticles on the Configuration of Gut Microbiota in Immunodeficient Mice.

Nanoparticles (NPs), having exceptional physicochemical and electrical characteristics with lower toxicity, have evolved as dynamic drug delivery carriers in living organisms. Potentially, the intragastric gavage of silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) affects gut microbiota profiles in immunodeficient mice. In this study, the impact of SiNPs of variable size and dosage was investigated in cyclophosphamide (Cy)-induced immunodeficient mice, specifically on their immune functions and gut microbiota, through physicochemical and metagenomic analysis. SiNPs of different sizes and doses were gavaged to Cy-induced immunodeficient mice for 12 days at an interval of 24 h to investigate their effects on immunological functions and the gut microbiome of mice. Our results showed that SiNPs had no significant toxicological effects on the cellular and hematological activities of immunodeficient mice. Furthermore, after the administration of different levels of SiNPs, no immune dysfunction was found in the immunosuppressed mice groups. However, gut-microbial studies and comparisons of characteristic bacterial diversity and compositions demonstrated that SiNPs significantly affect the abundance of different bacterial communities. LEfSe analysis revealed that SiNPs significantly increased the abundance of Lactobacillus, Sphingomonas, Sutterella, Akkermansia, and Prevotella, and potentially reduced Ruminococcus and Allobaculum. Thus, SiNPs significantly regulate and modify the configuration of the gut microbiota in immunodeficient mice. These dynamic variations in the intestinal bacterial community, abundance, and diversity provide new insight into the regulation and administration of silica-based NPs. This would be helpful for the further demonstration of the mechanism of action and prediction of the potential effects of SiNPs.

Impact of silica nanoparticles on the digestibility and growth efficiency of rohu (Labeo rohita)

The research was conducted to evaluate the effect of silica nanoparticle (NP) on the growth and digestibility of rohu (Labeo rohita) in the Wet Laboratory, Department of Aquaculture, Bangladesh Agricultural University. Highly pure, activated silica NP at different levels 0, 1, 2, 3 mg/kg were incorporated into different treatments T0, T1, T2, T3possessing three copies. Thirty fish with a mean weight (± SD) of around 2.62 ± 0.02 g were assigned in a recirculatoryaquaculture system, maintained in each treatment and fed with their respective diets in 12 tanks. Feeds were supplied at the rate of 10% for 4 weeks and 5% of the body weight for the rest of the experimental period. Water quality parameters were within the acceptable range during the study period. Results showed that growth parameters and feed efficiency dramatically increased as silica NP levels rose at 2 mg/Kg and then decreased. The highest final weight (9.25 ± 0.07) g, percent weight gain (252.99 ± 2.6) %, final length (8.6 ± 0.14) cm, length gain (3.2 ± 0.13) cm, SGR (2.1 ± 0.01) %/day, FCE (71.67 ± 0.21), apparent protein digestibility (87.17 ± 2.6) %, dry matter digestibility (78.17 ± 1.18) % and survival rate (97.5 ± 0.71) % were found in T2and thehighest FCR (1.56 ± 0.02) was found in T0. The current investigation found that the growth performance was optimal of L. rohitafound at the level of silica up to 2 mg/kg and then decreased. The findings could be incorporated in fish feed producing practices for increased fish production

Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Silica Nanoparticles on Interfacial Tension and Wettability during Low Salinity Water Flooding: A Micromodel Study

Objective The present paper investigates the effect of nanoparticle concentrations on the interfacial tension and wettability during the low salinity water flooding (LSWF) at microscale. Method A wide range of LSW concentrations were prepared and investigated for their ability to modulate the interfacial tension with crude oil. The impact of salinity on the fluid-rock interactions was studied through contact angle measurements on water-wet, intermediate-wet and oil-wet glass substrates. Nanofluid systems at a fixed concentration of 0.1wt% were prepared by mixing the hydrophilic silica NPs with a wide range of LSW concentrations. Likewise, the impact of silica nanoparticles on the IFT was investigated. Results The fluids interactions results suggest that the lowest IFT value can be achieved at 5000ppm. Contact angle studies in all wettability systems indicated a negligible effect of water salinity on the wettability alteration. However, the presence of silica nanoparticles in low saline water significantly reduced the values of IFT and contact angle. Consequently, the wettability was altered to a more water-wet condition. Conclusion Oil displacement experiments in both water-wet, intermediate-wet and oil-wet glass micromodels indicated that LSW-augmented functional silica nanoparticles can offer enormous potential for improving oil recovery. A synergistic effect of LSW and the adsorption of nanoparticles at the interfaces appears to explain the improved oil sweep efficiency.

Impact of Silica Nanoparticles on the Durability of fly Ash Concrete

In the present study, the mechanical and durability properties of silica nanoparticle (SNP)-incorporated fly ash (FA) concrete mix were examined after 365 days of exposure. The dosages of FA replaced by cement in the present study were 30%, 40%, and 50%, while 3% SNPs were added by the weight of cement in the FA incorporated mix. For a comparison of SNPs with silica fume (SF), 6% SF was added (by the weight of cement) and entire casting was performed at a constant water to binder (w/b) ratio of 0.29. The present work is the extension of a previous study wherein durability properties of the same mixes were reported for up to 180 days of exposure. Compressive strength results show that in the presence of SNPs, the enhancement in compressive strength was in the range of 10–14%, while, in presence of SF, 8–10% of the enhancement was observed as compared to control. However, exposed samples in a carbonation environment showed that the compressive strength of the control and SF incorporated mix increased, while SNP-incorporated samples showed negligible enhancement. Further, sulphate exposed mix show that compressive strength decreases, however, the SNP-incorporated mix showed the lowest reduction compared to other mixes. Therefore, the study shows that the SNP-incorporated mix has higher mechanical properties and more durability compared to other mixes in a severe environment.

Effect of Alkalinity on Sand Production Due to Optimized Smart Water Based on the Scale Minimization: Impact of Silica Nanoparticles

Smart water injection in oil and gas reservoirs is one of the most popular and low-cost methods to increase the recovery factor of reservoirs. However, due to the abundance of sandstone reservoirs in the world and the necessity to increase recovery in these types of reservoirs, injection of smart water will disturb the distribution of intergranular stresses in the porous media which results in sand production that causes many problems in many parts of the petroleum industry. For this reason, the necessity to investigate possible parameters affecting sand production was increased. Also, according to the relative researches, the injection of smart water changes the reservoir pH, which could change the sand production rate. In this paper, a comprehensive study on the effect of pH or alkalinity on sand production, as well as the effect and mechanism of silica nanoparticles, has been performed to control the grains separated from the rock. The effect and mechanism of silica nanoparticles with economic concerns have also been analyzed, which can significantly reduce and control the amount of sand production. In this paper, we can determine the effectiveness and the most effective parameters in an acidic or basic environment.

Sandstone Reservoir Wettability Alteration Due to Water Softening: Impact of Silica Nanoparticles on Sand Production Mechanism

Low salinity water in the oil reservoirs changes the wettability and increases the oil recovery factor. In sandstone reservoirs, the sand production occurs or intensifies with wettability alteration due to low salinity water injection. In any case, sand production should be stopped and there are many ways to prevent sand production. By modifying the composition of low salinity water, it can be adapted to be more compatible with the reservoir rock and formation water, which has the least formation damage. By eliminating magnesium and calcium ions, smart soft water (SSW) is created which is economically suitable for injection into the reservoirs. By stabilizing the nanoparticles in SSW, nanofluids can be prepared which with injection into the sandstones reservoir increase the oil recovery, change the wettability and increase the rock strength. In this present, SSW composition was determined by compatibility testing, and the SiO2 nanoparticle with 1000 ppm concentration was stabilized in SSW. Eight thin sections were oil wetted by using normal heptane solution and different molars of stearic acid and two thin sections were considered as base thin sections to compare the effect of wettability alteration on sand production. Thin sections were immersed in SSW and Nanofluid, the amount of contact angle and sand production were measured in both cases. The amount of sand produced and the contact angle in SSW was higher than the Nanofluid. The silica nanoparticles reduced the contact angle (more water wetting) and by sitting between the sand particles, more than 40%, it reduced sand production.

Impact of silica nanoparticles on the morphology and mechanical properties of sol-gel derived coatings

Although corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of sol-gel coatings have been studied independently, there are limited studies that consider both collectively. However, since any form of mechanical damage could impair the protective function of the coating, it is prudent to consider the mechanical durability of coatings as well as their corrosion resistance.The present work considers the impact of silica nanoparticles on the morphology and mechanical properties of a sol-gel derived coating. The relationships between the results obtained from tests such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), nanoindentation or erosion test with previously reported corrosion results obtained via salt spray or electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) are discussed. Results show that reinforcing a sol-gel coating with silica nanoparticles and, particularly, functionalised silica nanoparticles led to coatings with improved mechanical properties and enhanced erosion impact resistance. The role of nanoparticles on improving mechanical properties and corrosion resistance, which is of importance within the coating industry, is discussed.

Impact of Silica Nanoparticles on Rat Immune Responses

Impact of Silica Nanoparticles on Rat Immune Responses

FABRICATION OF MIXED MATRIC MEMBRANE INCORPORATED WITH MODIFIED SILICA NANOPARTICLES FOR BISPHENOL A REMOVAL

The introduction of inorganic nanoparticles in polymeric dope solution for the fabrication process of membrane can potentially enhance the separation performances of membrane without negatively affecting its permeability. In this study, hollow fiber mixed matrix membranes were prepared by incorporating polyethersulfone (PES) membranes with silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanoparticles at different concentration. Prior to separation tests, the prepared membranes were characterized by SEM, EDX, DSC, water contact angle, and FTIR-ATR in order to study the impact of silica nanoparticles on the properties of the membranes. Bisphenol A (BPA) was selected as the subject compound of this study because it is one of the emerging pollutants that have been frequently detected in the water treatment plant (WTP). BPA was spike into the pre-treated water sample taken from the WTP and was used as the feed solution to evaluate the membrane performance in terms of water flux and removal rate. The addition of SiO2 was reported to improve the hydrophilicity of membrane and induce greater micro-voids formation in the membrane structures, leading to increased water flux during BPA filtration process. The presence of more silanol (Si-OH) and siloxane (Si-O-Si) bonding groups resulted from increased SiO2 contents in membrane has improved membrane adsorption rate and further increased BPA removal.

Impact of Silica Nanoparticles on the Heterotrophic Denitrification

Silica nanoparticles (Si NPs) have a wide range of uses in semiconductors, battery cathode material, and high power laser source materials. However, Si NPs would flow into the wastewater treatment inevitably, and then potentially harmful interactions can occur between nanoparticles and wastewater systems, especially in denitrification process. The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of Si NPs on nitrate nitrogen removal under anaerobic conditions by employing activated sludge. Our data demonstrates that Si NPs had positive effects on denitrification at the beginning and did not display any measurable effect on nitrite nitrogen removal at the concentration of 100 mg/L and below. The denitrification process was elucidated by using the first-order reaction kinetics equation. This study provided useful data for understanding the effects of Si NPs on wastewater treatment.

The impact of silica nanoparticles on the performance of polymer solution in presence of salts in polymer flooding for heavy oil recovery

Due to role of polymer in increasing sweep efficiency during oil recovery, much attention has been paid to the using polymer solutions in enhanced oil recovery methods. In spite of the existence of the great researches in this area, the role of nanoparticles in modification of the polymer performance in the presence of salts has not been examined before. Furthermore, there is no information about how the dispersed silica nanoparticles affect the heavy oil recovery during the polymer flooding in the presence of divalent cations. In this study, a series of polymer flooding experiments are performed in a quarter five-spot glass micromodel saturated with heavy oil. Solutions of polyacrylamide and dispersed silica nanoparticles in polyacrylamide (DSNP) with different salinities are used as the injectants to examine the effect of silica nanoparticles on the polyacrylamide performance in the presence of salts during polymer flooding of heavy oil, the oil recovery values were measured in different salinities. Furthermore, viscosity measurements are performed to help analyzing the results of polymer flooding tests. The oil recovery is measured via analysis of the continuously captured images during the displacement. Also, microscopic monitoring is used to analyze the distribution of residual heavy oil and polymer solution at the pore level. The results showed that the oil recovery decreases by increasing the salt concentration during the polyacrylamide flooding whereas in case of flooding with suspension of silica nanoparticles in polyacrylamide, decreasing rate in oil recovery is lower. The results of viscosity measurements showed that increasing the salt concentration lowers the viscosity of polyacrylamide solution to a minimum value which at higher values salts had a reverse effect and increased solution viscosity. Moreover, viscosity of silica nanosuspension in polyacrylamide was higher than that of polyacrylamide solution at the same salinity. This increase in viscosity becomes more noticeable by increasing the silica nanoparticles concentration. Finally oil recovery values versus injectant viscosity were plotted for different condition of salinity which confirmed the previous results, it means oil recovery was increased wherever injectant viscosity has been increased.