Sharif Digital Repository

Separation of particles or cells has various applications in biotechnology, pharmaceutical and chemical industry. Inertial cell separation, in particular, has been gaining a great attention in the recent years since it has exhibited a label-free, high-throughput and efficient performance. In this work, first, an inertial contraction–expansion array microchannel device, capable of passively separating two particles with diameters of 4 and 10 μm, was numerically studied. Then, the validated model was combined with curved geometries in order to investigate the effect of curve features on the separation process. The overall purpose was to investigate the interaction between the two different... 

In order to evaluate the dynamic behavior of floating offshore wind turbines, the authors consider two approaches. A numerical method is used to investigate Tension Leg Platform (TLP) offshore wind turbine response behavior under a parked condition. This code considers nonlinearities due to changes in the tension of tethers. The off-diagonal components of stiffness, damping and mass matrices are considered to calculate coupling. This code solves the nonlinear equation of motion at each time step. However, in order to validate the data generated by the code, a scaled-down model was fully tested in the marine laboratory. The importance of these series of experiments is due to the fact that... 

With the introduction of restructuring concepts to traditional power systems, a great deal of attention is given to the utilization of distributed generation. Since the integration of DG units has been known as an alternative for main grid as a resource for energy supply, the determination of optimal sizing and sitting is an important issue in the planning procedure of DG. This work presents a comprehensive multi-objective model for integration of distributed generations into a distribution network, regarding various technical, economical and environmental issues such as reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and investment & running costs while the bus voltages shall be kept within... 

This paper probes the impact of utilizing an IPFC on the reliability indices of interconnected power systems. First, a concise presentation of IPFC and its structure are provided and the reliability model of two unequally-rated parallel transmission lines equipped with IPFC is then extracted. The assumed IPFC is composed from two parallel converting bridges associated with each line. Afterwards, based-on equivalent assisting unit approach, different commonly-used adequacy indices including the loss of load expectation (LOLE), loss of energy expectation (LOEE) and system minutes (SM) are calculated. A set of numerical analyses are conducted to illustrate the sensitivity of these indices with... 

Skeletal muscle tissue engineering aims to fabricate tissue constructs to replace or restore diseased or injured skeletal muscle tissues in the body. Several biomaterials and microscale technologies have been used in muscle tissue engineering. However, it is still challenging to mimic the function and structure of the native muscle tissues. Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is a powerful tool to mimic the hierarchical structure of native tissues. Here, 3D bioprinting was used to fabricate tissue constructs using gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA)-alginate bioinks. Mechanical and rheological properties of GelMA-alginate hydrogels were characterized. C2C12 myoblasts at the density 8 × 106 cells/mL... 

Organ-on-a-chip technology tries to mimic the complexity of native tissues in vitro. Important progress has recently been made in using this technology to study the gut with and without microbiota. These in vitro models can serve as an alternative to animal models for studying physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. While these models have greater physiological relevance than two-dimensional (2D) cell systems in vitro, endocrine and immunological functions in gut-on-a-chip models are still poorly represented. Furthermore, the construction of complex models, in which different cell types and structures interact, remains a challenge. Generally, gut-on-a-chip models have the potential to... 

Cell survival during the early stages of transplantation and before new blood vessels formation is a major challenge in translational applications of 3D bioprinted tissues. Supplementing oxygen (O2) to transplanted cells via an O2 generating source such as calcium peroxide (CPO) is an attractive approach to ensure cell viability. Calcium peroxide also produces calcium hydroxide that reduces the viscosity of bioinks, which is a limiting factor for bioprinting. Therefore, adapting this solution into 3D bioprinting is of significant importance. In this study, a gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) bioink that is optimized in terms of pH and viscosity is developed. The improved rheological properties... 

Oral administration is a pillar of the pharmaceutical industry and yet it remains challenging to administer hydrophilic therapeutics by the oral route. Smart and controlled oral drug delivery could bypass the physiological barriers that limit the oral delivery of these therapeutics. Micro- and nanoscale technologies, with an unprecedented ability to create, control, and measure micro- or nanoenvironments, have found tremendous applications in biology and medicine. In particular, significant advances have been made in using these technologies for oral drug delivery. In this review, we briefly describe biological barriers to oral drug delivery and micro and nanoscale fabrication technologies.... 

Irregular hemodynamics affects the progression of various vascular diseases, such atherosclerosis or aneurysms. Despite the extensive hemodynamics studies on animal models, the inter-species differences between humans and animals hamper the translation of such findings. Recent advances in vascular tissue engineering and the suitability ofin vitromodels for interim analysis have increased the use ofin vitrohuman vascular tissue models. Although the effect of flow on endothelial cell (EC) pathophysiology and EC-flow interactions have been vastly studied in two-dimensional systems, they cannot be used to understand the effect of other micro- and macro-environmental parameters associated with... 

Microchannels in hydrogels play an essential role in enabling a smart contact lens. However, microchannels have rarely been created in commercial hydrogel contact lenses due to their sensitivity to conventional microfabrication techniques. Here, we report the fabrication of microchannels in poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly(HEMA)) hydrogels that are used in commercial contact lenses with a three-dimensional (3D) printed mold. We investigated the corresponding capillary flow behaviors in these microchannels. We observed different capillary flow regimes in these microchannels, depending on their hydration level. In particular, we found that a peristaltic pressure could reinstate flow in... 

Animal models and traditional cell cultures are essential tools for drug development. However, these platforms can show striking discrepancies in efficacy and side effects when compared to human trials. These differences can lengthen the drug development process and even lead to drug withdrawal from the market. The establishment of preclinical drug screening platforms that have higher relevancy to physiological conditions is desirable to facilitate drug development. Here, a heart-on-a-chip platform, incorporating microgrooves and electrical pulse stimulations to recapitulate the well-aligned structure and synchronous beating of cardiomyocytes (CMs) for drug screening, is reported. Each chip... 

Scar tissue size following myocardial infarction is an independent predictor of cardiovascular outcomes, yet little is known about factors regulating scar size. We demonstrate that collagen V, a minor constituent of heart scars, regulates the size of heart scars after ischemic injury. Depletion of collagen V led to a paradoxical increase in post-infarction scar size with worsening of heart function. A systems genetics approach across 100 in-bred strains of mice demonstrated that collagen V is a critical driver of postinjury heart function. We show that collagen V deficiency alters the mechanical properties of scar tissue, and altered reciprocal feedback between matrix and cells induces...