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.
Chitosan (CH) / Poly (1-vinylpyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate) (PVP-co-VAc) blend (1:1) and nanocomposites reinforced with CaCO3 nanoparticles were prepared by solution casting method. FTIR analysis, tensile strength, Elongation, Young modulus, Thermal conductivity, water absorption and Antibacterial properties were studied for blend and nanocomposites. The tensile results show that the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the nanocomposites were enhanced compared with polymer blend [CH/(PVP-co-VAc)] film. The mechanical properties of the polymer blend were improved by the addition of CaCO3 with significant increases in Young’s modulus (from 1787 MPa to ~7238 MPa) and tensile strength (from 47.87 MPa to 79.75 MPa). Strong interfacial
... Show MoreThe pure and Sb doped GeSe thin films have been prepared by thermal flash evaporation technique. Both the structural and optical measurement were carried out for as deposited and annealed films at different annealing temperatures.XRD spectra revealed that the all films have one significant broad amorphous peak except for pure GeSe thin film which annealed at 573 K, it has sharp peak belong to orthorhombic structure nearly at 2θ=33o . The results of the optical studies showed that the optical transition is direct and indirect allowed. The energy gap in general increased with increasing annealing temperature and decreased with increase the ratio of Sb dopant. The optical parameters such as refractive index, extinction coefficient and r
... Show MoreThe pure and Sb doped GeSe thin films have been prepared by thermal flash evaporation technique. Both the structural and optical measurement were carried out for as deposited and annealed films at different annealing temperatures.XRD spectra revealed that the all films have one significant broad amorphous peak except for pure GeSe thin film which annealed at 573 K, it has sharp peak belong to orthorhombic structure nearly at 2θ=33o. The results of the optical studies showed that the optical transition is direct and indirect allowed. The energy gap in general increased with increasing annealing temperature and decreased with increase the ratio of Sb dopant. The optical parameters such as refractive index, extinction coefficient and real and
... Show MoreIn this study, pure SnO2 Nanoparticles doped with Cu were synthesized by a chemical precipitation method. Using SnCl2.2H2O, CuCl2.2H2O as raw materials, the materials were annealed at 550°C for 3 hours in order to improve crystallization. The XRD results showed that the samples crystallized in the tetragonal rutile type SnO2 stage. As the average SnO2 crystal size is pure 9nm and varies with the change of Cu doping (0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%, 3%),( 8.35, 8.36, 8.67, 9 ,7, 8.86)nm respectively an increase in crystal size to 2.5% decreases at this rate and that the crystal of SnO2 does not change with the introduction of Cu, and S
... Show MorePurepolyaniline and doped with hydrochloric acid was prepared in different molarities at room temperature. The a.c electrical properties were stadied.AC conductivityσac (ω), is found to vary as ωS in the frequency range (100Hz-10MH), S< 1and decreases indicating a dominate hopping process. Thedielectric constant ε1and dielectric loss ε2 have been determined for bulk polyaniline. ε1 decrease with the increase frequency. Electrical conductivity measurements increase with the increases both of the amount of HCl and the dose of radiation. The dielectric investigations show decrease with dose radiation.
Background: To evaluate the effect of antierosive agents (10% Nano-Hydroxyapatite (NHA), 10% Casein Phophopeptide-Amorphous Calcium Phosphate (CPP-ACP), and combination of 10% NHA and 10% CPP-ACP) on loss of minerals from enamel surface of permanent teeth treated with antierosive agents when exposed to an acidic beverage and investigate the morphological changes of treated enamel surface after demineralization with cola based beverage under Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Materials and Methods: Sixty maxillary first premolars were randomly divided into four groups, 15 teeth for each group. Group I treated with 10% NHA, Group II treated with 10% CPP-ACP, Group III treated with 10% NHA and 10% CPP-ACP, and Group IV did not treat with any
... Show MorePolypyrrole/silver (PPy/Ag) nanocomposites was synthesized via a chemical oxidative method. The AFM analysis is performed to study the surface roughness, morphology and size distribution of the PPy particles and PPy-ag nanocomposites. The results indicated that as the concentration of Ag in the nanocomposite increases, the roughness also increases. The size of nanoparticles was also evaluated and found in the range of 15 nm to 125 nm. The PPy/Ag nanocomposites exhibited an effectiveness against Gram-negative Escherichia coli showing an inhibition zone of 4mm and displayed poor efficacy against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus. Based on given adequate antibacterial characteristics of PPy/Ag nanocomposites, it can be identified as a pro
... Show MoreThe assessment of data quality from different sources can be considered as a key challenge in supporting effective geospatial data integration and promoting collaboration in mapping projects. This paper presents a methodology for assessing positional and shape quality for authoritative large-scale data, such as Ordnance Survey (OS) UK data and General Directorate for Survey (GDS) Iraq data, and Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI), such as OpenStreetMap (OSM) data, with the intention of assessing possible integration. It is based on the measurement of discrepancies among the datasets, addressing positional accuracy and shape fidelity, using standard procedures and also directional statistics. Line feature comparison has been und
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