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.
Glass Ionomer Cement (GIC) is one of the important dental temporary filing materials. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of adding 3, 5 and 7 wt. % of TiO2 microparticles to conventional GIC powder (Riva Self Cure) on mechanical properties and its effect on absorption and solubility processes. TiO2 particles additives improved compressive strength and biaxial flexural strength, where the compressive strength increased with increasing in the added ratio, while the highest value of the biaxial flexural strength was at 3 wt.%. The addition of TiO2 particles improved the surface Vickers microhardness values, with highest value at 5 wt. %. On other hand TiO2 addition im
... Show MoreSerine Palmitoyltransferase SPT is the key enzyme in the de novo sphingolipids biosynthesis pathway in eukaryotes, including the intracellular parasite Leishmania. Previous studies showed that this enzyme SPT is expressed only in divided promastigote forms and it is non-essential in the amastigotes form of Leishmania major, which is known as the old world leishmaniasis. In this study we have studied the viability of new world lesihamniasis, Leishmania mexicana. Cytotoxicity test used to determine the effect of the SPT inhibitor myriocin which did not significantly affect the viability of the two forms of the in vitro cultures of the parasite p<0.05, procyclic promastigotes and amastigotes, in which cell viability for miltefosine trea
... Show MoreThe creation and characterisation of biodegradable blend films based on chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol for application in a range of packaging is described. The compatibility between the chitosan and PVA polymers was good. Composite films had a compact and homogeneous structure, according to the morphology analysis. The mechanical test result of PVA/CH at concentrations 5% showed, that The higher values of TS recorded in sample (p1, with 40 MPa) while the lower values appeared in sample (p9, with 22.09 MPa), the TS decreased gradually as the amount of PVA increased in blend film. While the blend film of pure Chitosan exhibits a poor mechanical strength which makes it a poor candidate for packaging but Blending CH with PVA together improved
... Show MoreBackground: Contact between implant material and bones must be strong and fast creation, to fulfill these properties appropriate surface modifications must apply on used implants. In this contribution; double surface modifications are applied on Ti-6Al-4V alloy to accelerate osseointegration. Materials and methods: Anodic process is utilized to create titania nanotubes (TNTs) on the screws made from Ti-6Al-4V alloy. These implants were coated with nano ZrO2 particles. Second modification was annealing anodized screws at 8000C, and implanted in tibiae of nine adult New Zealand white rabbits. Results: Physical and histological consequences of two surface modifications on Ti-6Al-4V alloy screws were studied. Scanning electron microscope (SEM)
... Show MoreThe research targets study of influence of additives on sand mold’s properties and, consequently, on
that of carbon steel CK45 casts produced by three molds. Three materials were selected for addition
to sand mix at weight percentages. These are sodium carbonates, glycerin and oat flour. Sand molds
of studied properties were produced to get casts from such molds. The required tests were made to
find the best additives with respect to properties of cast. ANSYS software is used to demonstrate
the stresses distribution of each produced materials. It is shown that the mechanical properties of
casts produced is improved highly with sodium carbonates and is less with oat flour and it is seem a
few with glycerin additives
The electrospun nanofibers membranes (ENMs) have gained great attention due to their superior performance. However, the low mechanical strength of ENMs, such as the rigidity and low strength, limits their applications in many aspects which need adequate strength, such as water filtration. This work investigates the impact of electrospinning parameters on the properties of ENMs fabricated from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) solved in N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF). The studied electrospinning parameters were polymer concentration, solution flow rate, collector rotating speed, and the distance between the needle and collector. The fabricated ENMs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to understand the surface morphology and es
... Show MoreFiber reinforced polymer composite is an important material for structural application. The diversified application of FRP composite has taken center of attraction for interdisciplinary research. However, improvements on mechanical properties of this class of materials are still under research for different applications. In this paper we have modified the epoxy matrix by Al2O3, SiO2 and TiO2 nano particles in glass fiber/epoxy composite to improve the mechanical and physical properties. The composites are fabricated by hand lay-up method. It is observed that mechanical properties like flexural strength, hardness are more in case of SiO2 modified epoxy composite compare to other nano
... Show MoreBackground: Dental stone casts come into contact with impression materials and becomes susceptible to cross contamination from saliva and blood. This study was done to evaluate the physical and mechanical properties of dental stone type IV after treatments with various disinfecting agents and regimes (methods). Materials and Methods: Type IV dental stone and different types of disinfecting agents were used and divided into seven groups: G1: dental stone without disinfection (control group), G2: dental stone mixed with silver nitrate powder 0.5% , G3: dental stone mixed with silver nitrate powder 1%, G4: dental stone mixed with copper sulfate powder 0.5%, G5: dental stone mixed with copper sulfate powder 1% ,G6: dental stone immersed in prop
... Show MoreThe physical, the thermal and the mechanical properties of Nano-composites, that consisted of Polyprime EP epoxy that reinforced by multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), have been studied. Various loading ratios, 0.1, 0.5, and 1 wt. %of MWCNT shave been infused into epoxy by a magnetic stirrer and then the hardener mixed with the mthat supplied with the epoxy. All sample shave been cutting using CNC machine. Tensile test, three-point bending, hardness tests, lee's disk, differential scanning calorimetry, water absorption and dielectric and electrical conductivity test were utilized on unfilled, MWCNT-filled epoxy to identify the loading effect on the properties of materials. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to determine the
... Show MoreIn this study, Laser Shock Peening (LSP) effect on the polymeric composite materials has been investigated experimentally. Polymeric composite materials are widely used because they are easy to fabricate and have many attractive features. Unsaturated polyester resin as a matrix was selected and Aluminum powder with micro particles as a reinforcement material was used with different volume fraction (2.5%, 5% and 7.5%). Hand lay-up process was used for preparation the composites. Fatigue test with constant amplitude with stress ratio (R =-1) was carried out before and after LSP process with two levels of energy (1Joule and 2Joule). The result showed an increase in the endurance strength of 25.448% at 7.5% volume fraction when peened is 1J
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