Size Of Spherical Particles Research Articles

Luminescence properties and temperature sensing characteristics of Bi2WO6: Er3+, Tm3+, Yb3+ phosphors

Bi2WO6:x%Er3+, y%Tm3+, 6%Yb3+ (x = 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6; y = 0, 1) upconversion luminescent materials were prepared via a high-temperature solid-state method. XRD studies showed that Er3+, Tm3+ and Yb3+ doping at various concentrations had little effect on the orthorhombic structure of the Bi2WO6 crystal system. SEM images showed that the morphologies of the Bi2WO6: 1%Tm3+, 6%Yb3+ and Bi2WO6: 4%Er3+, 1%Tm3+, 6%Yb3+ powder samples were uneven, with agglomeration of nearly spherical particles and particle sizes of 0.5–5 μm. The average granularities of the samples were slightly smaller after Er3+ codoping. With 980 nm excitation (power: 500 mW), Bi2WO6: 4%Er3+, 6%Tm3+, 6%Yb3+samples exhibited the strongest luminescence upconversion. With increasing Er3+ doping levels, the intensity of Er3+ luminescence in the Bi2WO6: x%Er3+, 1%Tm3+, 6%Yb3+ samples first increased and then decreased, whereas the Tm3+ luminescence significantly decreased, indicating energy transfer from Tm3+ to Er3+. For Bi2WO6: 4%Er3+, 1%Tm3+, 6%Yb3+ samples excited with 100–500 mW powers and at 980 nm, the 525 nm and 530 nm green emission peaks for Er3+ and 685 nm and 705 nm red emission peaks for Tm3+ resulted from two-photon absorption. For the Bi2WO6: 4%Er3+, 1%Tm3+, 6%Yb3+ sample excited at 980 nm, the temperature was characterized by the I543nm/I705nm fluorescence intensity ratio; at 298 K, the maximum Sa was 0.806 K-1, and the maximum Sr was 0.0243 K-1. When the temperature was characterized by the I705nm/I525nm fluorescence intensity ratio, Sa was 0.0256 K−1 at 573 K, and the maximum Sr was 0.0382 K-1. At 298 K, the sample showed a minimum temperature resolution of 0.026 K. As the temperature increased from 298 K to 573 K, the luminescence color of the sample gradually shifted from the green to orange-yellow.

Oral proniosomal amitriptyline and liraglutide for management of diabetic neuropathy: Exceptional control over hyperglycemia and neuropathic pain

Exploitation of nanocarriers provides a compartment for enclosing drugs to protect them from degradation and potentiate their therapeutic efficiency. In the current study, amitriptyline- and liraglutide-loaded proniosomes were constructed for management of diabetic neuropathy, a serious complication associated with diabetes, that triggers spontaneous pain in patients and results in impaired quality of life. The developed therapeutic proniosomes were extensively characterized via dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy. High entrapment efficiency could be attained for both drugs in the proniosomes, and the reconstituted amitriptyline- and liraglutide-loaded niosomes possessed spherical morphology and particle sizes of 585.3 nm and 864.4 nm, respectively. In a diabetic neuropathy rat model, oral administration of the developed amitriptyline- and liraglutide-loaded proniosomes significantly controlled blood glucose levels, reduced neuropathic pain, oxidative stress and inflammatory markers, and improved histological structure of the sciatic nerve as compared to the oral and subcutaneous administration of amitriptyline and liraglutide, respectively. Loading of the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline and the antidiabetic peptide liraglutide into proniosomes resulted in exceptional control over hyperglycemia and neuropathic pain, and thus could provide an auspicious delivery system for management of neuropathic pain and control of blood glucose levels.

Maintaining modulus of polypropylene composites with ultra-high low temperature toughness by synergistic branched polyethylene and nucleating agents

In this work, the synergistic effect of highly branched polyethylene (HBPEs, s = 1, 2) elastomers featuring dendritic structure and α-type nucleating agents (NA1, NA2) on the toughness and stiffness of block polypropylene (PP–B) was investigated. Blends of PP-B/HBPE/nucleating agent ternary systems were prepared, yielding materials with exceptionally high low-temperature toughness and minimal stiffness loss. The results indicate that HBPE enhances the low-temperature impact strength of the system but leads to a reduction in modulus. After the addition of the nucleating agent, both the low-temperature toughness and stiffness of the blend are improved simultaneously. The PP-B/HBPE2/NA2 (90/10/0.2) blend achieves the optimal balance between low-temperature toughness and stiffness, with its low-temperature impact strength increasing by a factor of 7 compared to PP-B, reaching 56.9 kJ/m2, and a bending modulus of 1110 MPa, nearly identical to PP-B. Dynamic mechanical properties and phase morphology results indicate that HBPE reduces the glass transition temperature of the rubber phase in the blended system and exhibits good compatibility with PP-B. Analysis of the crystallization behavior reveals that the significant increase in the crystallization temperature of PP-B and the substantial reduction in the size of spherical particles observed in PP-B/HBPE/NA blends are facilitated by NA1 and NA2. Additionally, NA1 and NA2 promote the transformation of the PP-B matrix into α-type crystals and enhance the crystallinity of PP-B.

Effect of spherical alumina crystalline phase content and particle size distribution polydispersity on the properties of silicone rubber composites

High loading of thermally conductive fillers for enhancing thermal conductivity (TC) conflicts with proper rheological viscosity in excellent thermal interface materials (TIMs), which remains a significant challenge. The physical properties (crystalline phase, particle size and distribution, etc.) of thermally conductive filler are the base of the high load in the polymer. In this paper, the α-phase content of spherical aluminum (S–Al2O3) increases after calcination, leading to the viscosity of composites increasing sharply but was only slightly improved for the TC. The polydispersity of the S–Al2O3 particle size distribution was regulated to fill the silicone rubber under the premise of controlling the same average particle size, crystalline phase content and filling amount. Results indicated the viscosity of the sample with a polydispersity value of 0.74 was 41.21 Pa s at a shear rate of 10 s−1 at 66 vol%, which was 87.7% lower than that of the sample with a polydispersity value of 0.48. And the viscosity difference became more prominent with the increasing filling amount. However, the difference in TC between several groups of samples with different polydispersity is insignificant at 60–67 vol%, which provides practical, theoretical guidance for achieving controllable viscosity and developing low-viscosity TIMs in the processing process.

Fabrication and Characterization of Binary Fe60 –Co40 Alloy by Powder Metallurgy Method

Binary pure powders Fe60 –Co40 (wt%) fabricated by powder metallurgy technology ,compacted at 10Mpa and heat treated at 850,950 and 1050℃ for (1hr)sintering time, then slow cooling to RT. The aim of this paper to study and characterize the effect of heat treatments on the structural , microstructural and magnetic properties using x-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM)coupled with Energy Dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and the Vibration Sample Magnetometer (VSM).The structural results show that two face centered cubic (FCC) for Fe and Co respectively ,with a third phase of hexagonal(HCP) for Co element are observed clearly at all treated temperatures. The composition of elements in the Fe60-Co40 alloy are also detected from EDX analysis. The SEM resulted morphology shows the aggregation as cluster of spherical particles size at 1050℃ . The magnetic properties are increasing significantly with increasing the heat treatment until 1050℃ and above that at 1150℃ treated ,dropped suddenly.

Multifunctional integrated electrochemical sensing platform based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles decorated single-wall carbon nanotubes network for sensitive determination of gallic acid

An efficient ultrasonic-assisted one-pot strategy was applied to prepare the multifunctional nanocomposite of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) and mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs). To achieve the sensitive detection of gallic acid (GA), the SWCNT@MSNs/GCE sensor could be fabricated by using the above nanocomposite as electrode sensitizer. For the SWCNT@MSNs nanocomposite, SWCNT with one-dimensional hollow nanostructure could form three-dimensional reinforced carbon conductive network with excellent conductivity property, high specific area, efficient charge transport channels; MSNs with mesoporous structure and large active surface area presented obvious spherical morphology and uniform particle size dispersion, which effectively boosted the accumulation capability of GA on the SWCNT@MSNs/GCE sensor. Moreover, SWCNT with excellent conductivity property could greatly remedy the non-conductivity of MSNs. The synergistic combination of SWCNT and MSNs optimized the electrochemical property of SWCNT@MSNs/GCE sensor for the detection of GA. The SWCNT@MSNs/GCE sensor exhibited good GA electrochemical detection performance (pH = 2.0, linear GA concentration: 0.03–30 μM, limit of detection: 3.806 nM). The relatively low relative standard deviation values can be achieved for the reproducibility, reproducibility and anti-interference measurements. When applied for the detection of GA amount in real tea samples, the satisfactory recoveries of 97.14–101.2% and RSD values of 1.05–4.40 could be obtained at the SWCNT@MSNs/GCE sensor.

Comparative analysis of polydopamine and casein coated Arabic gum stabilized silver nanoparticles for enhanced antimicrobial activity of quercitrin

This study focuses on the green synthesis of silver nanoparticle (Ag NPs) stabilized by gum Arabic as a nanocarrier for quercitrin which was subsequently modified with casein (Cs) and polydopamine (PDA) to improve its antimicrobial potential against S. aureus. The developed gum Arabic based AgNPs (GA-Ag NPs) exhibited 67.31 ± 0.01% encapsulation efficiency for quercitrin. Furthermore, the synthesized AgNPs were characterized using various techniques including UV–visible spectroscopy, Dynamic light scattering (DLS), FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), and AFM (Atomic force microscopy). Finally, antibacterial activity of synthesized AgNPs was investigated against resistant and sensitive S. aureus strains. Results demonstrated the spherical shape morphology and nano range particle size for Cs and PDA modified quercetrin loaded GA-Ag NPs. Both the systems exhibited sustain drug release profile with maximum release of more than 70%. Furthermore, antibacterial study revealed that the MIC and MBIC of quercetrin significantly decreased after being functionalized with Cs and PDA. Results were further confirmed by analyzing the morphological changes in the bacterial cells utilizing AFM. However, the results were more obvious for PDA functionalized quercetrin loaded GA-AgNPs upon comparison with Cs modified system. Hence, the developed PDA functionalized NPs can serve as efficient delivery vehicles over the existing systems for increasing the bactericidal potentials of quercitrin.

Sonophoresis-assisted transdermal delivery of antimigraine-loaded nanolipomers: Radio-tracking, histopathological assessment and in-vivo biodistribution study

Migraine is a disabling neurovascular polygenic disorder affecting life quality with escorted socioeconomic encumbrances. Herein, we investigated the consolidated amalgamation of passive lipomer approach alongside active sonophoresis assisted transdermal delivery of zolmitriptan (ZT) using high frequency ultrasound pre-treatment protocol to mitigate migraine attacks. A modified nanoprecipitation technique was utilized to prepare zolmitriptan loaded lipomers (ZTL) adopting 23 factorial design. Three factors were scrutinized namely lipid type, ZT: lipid ratio and ZT: Gantrez® ratio. The prepared systems were characterized regarding particle size, zeta potential, polydispersity index, entrapment efficiency and in-vitro release studies. The best achieved ZTL system was evaluated for ZT- Gantrez® intermolecular interactions, drug crystallinity, morphology, ex-vivo permeation and histopathological examination. Finally, a comparative in-vivo biodistribution study through radiotracking technique using Technetium-99 m was adopted. L2 was the best-achieved ZTL system with respect to spherical particle size (390.7 nm), zeta-potential (−30.8 mV), PDI (0.2), entrapment efficiency (86.2%), controlled release profile, flux (147.13 μg/cm2/hr) and enhancement ratio (5.67). Histopathological studies proved the safety of L2 system upon application on skin. L2 revealed higher brain Cmax (12.21 %ID/g), prolonged brain MRT (8.67 hr), prolonged brain 0.23 hr), significantly high relative bioavailability (2929.36%) and similar brain Tmax (0.5 hr) compared to I.V. route with higher brain/blood ratio. Thus, sonophoresis assisted transdermal delivery of ZTL offers a propitious alterative to alleviate migraine symptoms.

Attaching protein-adsorbing silica particles to the surface of cotton substrates for bioaerosol capture including SARS-CoV-2

The novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has necessitated a global increase in the use of face masks to limit the airborne spread of the virus. The global demand for personal protective equipment has at times led to shortages of face masks for the public, therefore makeshift masks have become commonplace. The severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has a spherical particle size of ~97 nm. However, the airborne transmission of this virus requires the expulsion of droplets, typically ~0.6–500 µm in diameter (by coughing, sneezing, breathing, and talking). In this paper, we propose a face covering that has been designed to effectively capture SARS-CoV-2 whilst providing uncompromised comfort and breathability for the wearer. Herein, we describe a material approach that uses amorphous silica microspheres attached to cotton fibres to capture bioaerosols, including SARS CoV-2. This has been demonstrated for the capture of aerosolised proteins (cytochrome c, myoglobin, ubiquitin, bovine serum albumin) and aerosolised inactivated SARS CoV-2, showing average filtration efficiencies of ~93% with minimal impact on breathability.

Fabrication of CuNPs Using Schiff Base Ligand and Their Catalytic Reduction of Pharmaceutical Drugs, Fluorescence Selective Detection of Cd2+, Antimicrobial, and Antioxidant Activities.

Here, we have approached the synthesis of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) Schiff base (5-trifluoromethoxy-2-(((2chloro-5-(methyl)phenyl)imino)methyl)phenol)). The synthesized CuNPs were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, PL, FTIR, powder XRD, and TEM analysis. From the UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, an absorption peak was observed at 585 nm. As a result of the powder XRD and TEM studies, spherical particle sizes ranged between 4 and 10 nm. FT-IR analysis confirmed the presence of functional groups ‒OH, C=C, -C=N-, and C‒H triggers the synthesis of CuNPs. Further, the catalytic property of the CuNPs were revealed by the degradation of pharmaceutical drugs such as Capecitabine (CAP) and Ciprofloxacin (CIP) in 90 min of reaction time in the presence of NaBH4. The reaction kinetics followed pseudo-first-order with k-values (rate constant) 0.248 min-1 and 0.307 min-1. In addition, the synthesized CuNPs have exhibited selective sensing detection of Cd2+ metal ions in different range of concentration (10-100 µM) by spectrofluorometrically with the limit of detection (LOD) is 0.0284 nM and limit of quantification (LOQ) is 0.0586 nM. The CuNPs revealed significant antioxidant activities against DPPH as a common free radical at 50 µg/mL with 71.24% of scavenging activity. The maximum antimicrobial potential and zone of inhibition of P. Aeruginosa is 17.25±0.8 mm and A. niger is 12.1 mm by using CuNPs.

Numerical Simulation of the Collision Breakage Process between the Agglomerate and Hammer in a Hammer Crusher Using DEM

This paper focuses on simulating the collision breakage process between the agglomerate and hammer in a hammer crusher by the discrete element method (DEM) as the interaction between particles. This enables us to consider the energy change in the collision breakage process of the hammer. The agglomerate model is built by using the EDEM 2.7 software according to the principle of closest packing in crystallography, while the hammer model is modeled into an assembly of different sizes of spherical particles to make the collision breakage process between the agglomerate and hammer as the one of interrelation of particles. With these models, we mainly investigated collision force, collision impulse, energy breaking agglomerate, and the relationship between the specific breakage energy and agglomerate damage ratio. The collision force is represented as Gaussian function, the collision impulse is represented by the function of the mass ratio of agglomerate to hammer and the product of agglomerate mass and collision velocity, and the relationship between the specific breakage energy and agglomerate damage ratio is represented by exponential function. Finally, it can be seen from this study that, when crushing the agglomerate by hammer impact, it is necessary to increase the specific breakage energy by 1.75 times in order to increase the agglomerate damage ratio from 85% to 90% but 2.13 times in order to increase 95%. The proposed method can be used for the further development and design of the various types of crusher.

Influence of copper and iron transition metals in the photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide microspheres

This work proposes the combined sol–gel/solvothermal synthesis method to prepare Cu-doped TiO2 and Fe-doped TiO2 microstructures, and further study their photocatalytic activity in the degradation of Eriochrome Black T (EBT) at neutral conditions using a simulated sunlight source. TiO2:at%M (at%=0.25, 0.5, and 1.0; M = Cu or Fe) catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, Scanning electron microscopy, Diffuse reflectance UV–Vis spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis. All synthesized catalysts showed TiO2 anatase phase with spherical morphology and average particle size of 4 to 8 μm. Transition metal doping did not modify the TiO2 anatase phase. TiO2:at%M catalysts exhibited lower bandgap energies than pure TiO2. TiO2:0.5at%Fe showed the lowest bandgap energy (2.87 eV). TiO2 catalysts with a transition metal content of 0.25at% showed a higher surface area compared to the rest of dopant concentrations. The inclusion of the metallic elements in the TiO2 structure enhances the photocatalytic efficiency of the TiO2 anatase under visible light. TiO2:0.25at%Cu showed the highest EBT degradation yields of 90% color removal, 61% total organic carbon (TOC) reduction, and 87% chemical oxygen demand decrease at 180 min. TiO2:0.25at%Cu and TiO2:0.50at%Fe microspheres retained good degradation efficiency for color and TOC removals even after being reused for three cycles.

Enhance the oral insulin delivery route using a modified chitosan-based formulation fabricated by microwave

Chitosan (Cs) was subjected to ball milling and subsequently functionalized with Dinitro salicylic acid (Cs-DNS) to enhance the efficacy of oral insulin delivery. The hydrodynamic spherical particle sizes exhibited 33.29 ± 5.08 nm for modified Cs-DNS NPs. Irrespective of insulin entrapment, zeta potential measurements revealed positively charged Cs-DNS NPs (+ 35 ± 3.5 mV). The entrapment performance (EP%) was evaluated in vitro, and insulin release patterns at various pH levels. The EP% for Cs-DNS NPs was 99.3 ± 1.6. Cs- DNS NPs retained a considerable amount of insulin (92 %) in an acidic medium, and significant quantities were released at increasing pH values over time. In vivo investigations, the diabetic rats which taken insulin-incorporated NPs had lower serum glucose levels (SGL) after 3 h to (39.4 ± 0.6 %) for Cs- DNS NPs. For insulin-incorporated Cs- DNS NPs, the bioavailability (BA%) and pharmacological availability (PA%) were 17.5 ± 0.31 % and 8.6 ± 0.8 %, respectively. The assertion above highlights the significance and effectiveness of modified chitosan in promoting insulin delivery, decreasing SGL levels, and guaranteeing safety.

Design and synthesis of high performance magnetically separable exfoliated g-C3N4/γ-Fe2O3/ZnO yolk-shell nanoparticles: a novel and eco-friendly photocatalyst toward removal of organic pollutants from water.

Herein, a new visible-light active exfoliated g-C3N4/γ-Fe2O3/ZnO yolk-shell nanoparticles (NPs) was synthesized as a magnetically separable photocatalyst. For an in-depth understanding of the magnetic photocatalyst's structural, morphological, and optical properties, the products were extensively characterized with FT-IR, XRD, TEM, HRTEM, FESEM, EDS, EDS-mapping, VSM, DRS, EIS, and photocurrent. The photocatalyst was then utilized to degrade Levofloxacin (LEVO) and Indigo Carmine (IC) by visible light at room temperature. The exfoliated g-C3N4/γ-Fe2O3/ZnO yolk-shell NPs photocatalyst revealed 80% and 95.6% degradation efficiency for Levofloxacin and Indigo Carmine within 25 and 15min, respectively. In addition, the optimal factors such as concentration, loading of photocatalyst, and pH were also assessed. Levofloxacin degradation mechanistic studies showed that electrons and holes significantly contribute to the photocatalytic process of photocatalyst degradation. In addition, after 5 times regeneration, exfoliated g-C3N4/γ-Fe2O3/ZnO yolk-shell NPs remained as an excellent magnetic photocatalyst for the eco-friendly degradation of Levofloxacin and Indigo Carmine (76% and 90%), respectively. The superior photocatalytic performance of exfoliated g-C3N4/γ-Fe2O3/ZnO yolk-shell nanoparticles (NPs) was mostly ascribed to the synergistic advantages of stronger visible light response, larger specific surface area, and the more effective separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers. Based on these results, the highly effective magnetic photocatalyst achieved better results than numerous studied catalysts in the literature. The degradation of Levofloxacin and Indigo Carmine under environmentally friendly conditions can be achieved using exfoliated g-C3N4/γ-Fe2O3/ZnO yolk-shell NPs (V) as an efficient and green photocatalyst. The magnetic photocatalyst was characterized by spectroscopic and microscopic methods, revealing a spherical shape and particle size of 23nm. Additionally, the magnetic photocatalyst could be separated from the reaction mixture by a magnet without significantly reducing its catalytic activity.

Profitable approach for the synthesis of Mn3O4 phase materials and its interesting pigmentation applications

A simple precipitation synthesis of Mn3O4 phase with average crystalline size of 27.8 nm in the form of as-precipitated product crystallized in tetragonal symmetry, space group, I41/amd (141) with the lattice parameters of a = 0.5761(3) nm and c = 0.9451(6) nm. The rod-shaped (diameter of ∼ 400 nm) morphology with a spherical particle size of ∼ 50 nm is observed for the as-precipitated product. A weight loss of ∼ 4% is noted for the as-precipitated product powder up to 1000 °C with neither exothermic nor endothermic peaks in the thermal profiles. The UV–Vis absorbance spectrum reveals an absorption edge at 550 nm, which is due to optical band gap absorption with a calculated band gap (Eg) of 1.95 eV from the Tauc plot. The NIR (750 – 2500 nm) spectrum shows the NIR reflectance of 27–66 % and 50–69 % in the solar and color pigment regions, respectively. As a result, the present obtained Mn3O4 powder can be used in the color pigmentation industry. The Raman reveals a dominant peak at ∼ 652 cm−1 and two minor peaks at 315 and 369 cm−1 are due to A1g, Eg, and T2g Raman active modes of tetragonal Mn3O4 phase materials.

Brain targeting of zolmitriptan via transdermal terpesomes: statistical optimization and in vivo biodistribution study by 99mTc radiolabeling technique

Zolmitriptan (ZT) is a potent second generation triptan, commonly administered to alleviate migraine attacks. ZT suffers various limitations; massive hepatic first pass metabolism, P-gp efflux transporters susceptibility, and limited (≈40%) oral bioavailability. Transdermal route of administration could be explored to enhance its bioavailability. A 23.31 full factorial design was constructed to developed twenty-four ZT loaded terpesomes via thin film hydration technique. The influence of drug: phosphatidylcholine ratio, terpene type, terpene concentration and sodium deoxycholate concentration on the characterization of the developed ZT-loaded terpesomes was assessed. Particle size (PS), zeta potential (ZP), ZT entrapment efficiency (EE%), drug loading (DL%) and drug released percentages after 6 h (Q6h) were the selected dependent variables. Further morphological, crystallinity, and in-vivo histopathological studies were conducted for the optimum terpesomes (T6). 99mTc-ZT and 99mTc-ZT-T6 gel were radio-formulated for in-vivo biodistribution studies in mice following transdermal application of 99mTc-ZT-T6 gel, relative to 99mTc-ZT oral solution. T6 terpesomes [comprising ZT and phosphatidylcholine (1:15), cineole (1% w/v) and sodium deoxycholate (0.1% w/v)] were optimum with respect to spherical PS (290.2 nm), ZP (-48.9 mV), EE% (83%), DL% (3.9%) and Q6h (92.2%) with desirability value of 0.85. The safety of the developed T6 terpesomes was verified by the in-vivo histopathological studies. 99mTc-ZT-T6 gel showed maximum brain concentration (5 ± 0.1%ID/ g) with highest brain to blood ratio of 1.92 ± 0.1 at 4 h post transdermal application. Significant improvement of ZT brain relative bioavailability (529%) and high brain targeting efficiency (315%) were revealed with 99mTc-ZT-T6 gel, which confirmed successful ZT delivery to the brain. Terpesomes could be safe, successful systems capable of improving ZT bioavailability with high brain targeting efficiency.Graphical

The Motion and Deposition of Small Particles in The Human Lung Acinus, Part A: Micron-size, Infinitely Long Airway

A simple geometrical model of the human lung acinus is investigated. The goal is to get a preliminary insight of the deposition of various size particles. The model comprises of micron- size spherical particles suspended in air, moving inside micron-size, infinitely long pipes. The particle motion is affected by gravity, fluid convection and Brownian motion. Simulations were performed for a 360 mm diameter pipe, a typical size of airways in the human lung acinus. Applying a MATLAB program, it is found that the motion of small particles, (10-9 ¸ 10-8 m) in diameter, is mainly controlled by diffusion, medium size particles (10-7 ¸ 10-6 m) are mainly affected by fluid convection and large particles (> 2.5×10-6 m) are dominated by gravity. Ninety percent of small particles deposit within 1 mm of the pipe’s length and during 0.1 seconds, medium size particles require 115 mm and 17 seconds and large particles need 8 mm and 1.5 seconds.

Lithium storage properties of Sn/C composite anode materials

In this paper, tin-carbon composites were prepared by the hot carbon reduction method and used as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. The results show that the hot carbon reduction method can effectively reduce SnO2 to spherical metallic tin, and the excess of carbon affects the size and shape of tin spherical particles. The higher the tin content is, the higher the lithium intercalation potential of the anode material is. The improvement of cyclic stability of tin-carbon composites is at the expense of reversible capacity. The core-shell structure of pitch pyrolysis carbon can effectively inhibit the reversible capacity decay caused by tin volume expansion.

Microencapsulation of Lactobacillus casei in psyllium–gelatin gum enriched with selenium: effects on bacterial survival under gastrointestinal and storage conditions

SummaryThe current study aimed to evaluate the viability of microencapsulated Lactobacillus casei to simulated gastrointestinal digestion and storage after optimisation of the psyllium (PG) and gelatin (GE) gum mixtures (2:1, 1:2, 1:1, 0:1 and 1:0) enriched with selenium (Se). Our results exhibited that the size of spherical particles ranged from 643.9 ± 1.77 to 1151.5 ± 3.38 μm. The ratio of 2PG:1GE showed the highest encapsulation efficiency (89.8% ± 0.77) and selenium entrapment (6.92 ± 0.16 ppm). Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) data exposed new spectra in the 2PG:1GE samples. Microencapsulated L. casei with 2PG:1GE were resistant to simulated gastric conditions (pH 1.8, 1 h) and bile solution (pH 7.4, 120 min), and during the storage period at room temperature, leading to significant (p < 0.05) higher survival in comparison with free cells. In short, this study optimised the concentrations of PG and GE to entrap Se and carry L. casei efficiently, providing significant protection during exposure to various aggressive conditions.

Toxicological assessment of Phormidium sp. derived copper oxide nanoparticles for its biomedical and environmental applications

Driven by the need to biosynthesized alternate biomedical agents to prevent and treat infection, copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) have surfaced as a promising avenue. Cyanobacteria-derived synthesis of CuONPs is of substantive interest as it offers an eco-friendly, cost-effective, and biocompatible route. In the present study biosynthesized CuONPs were characterized and investigated regarding their toxicity. Morphological analysis using TEM, SEM and AFM showed the spherical particle size of 20.7 nm with 96% copper that confirmed the purity of CuONPs. Biogenic CuONPs with IC50 value of 64.6 µg ml−1 showed 90% scavenging of free radicals in superoxide radical scavenging assay. CuONPs showed enhanced anti-inflammatory activity by 86% of protein denaturation with IC50 value of 89.9 µg ml−1. Biogenic CuONPs exhibited significant toxicity against bacterial strains with lowest MIC value of 62.5 µg ml−1 for B. cereus and fungal strain with a MIC value of 125 µg ml−1 for C. albicans. In addition CuONPs demonstrated a high degree of synergistic interaction when combined with standard drugs. CuONPs exhibited significant cytotoxicity against non-small cell lung cancer with an IC50 value of 100.8 µg ml−1 for A549 and 88.3 µg ml−1 for the H1299 cell line with apoptotic activities. Furthermore, biogenic CuONPs was evaluated for their photocatalytic degradation potential against methylene blue dye and were able to removed 94% dye in 90 min. Free radical scavenging analysis suggested that CuONPs assisted dye degradation was mainly induced by hydroxide radicals. Biogenic CuONPs appears as an eco-friendly and cost effective photocatalyst for the treatment of wastewater contaminated with synthetic dyes that poses threat to aquatic biota and human health. The present study highlighted the blend of biomedical and photocatalytic potential of Phormidium derived CuONPs as an attractive approach for future applications in nanomedicine and bioremediation.