Sharif Digital Repository

Background: Smart stimulus-responsive nanocarriers represent a rapidly growing class of drug-delivery systems for cancer and other diseases. Objective: The alterations of redox potential between the intracellular environment and the extracellular space have been widely utilized as a trigger for delivery of therapeutic agents by smart stimulus-responsive nanocarriers. We set out to review the scientific literature. Method: Published papers between 1980 and the present day were surveyed. Results: The advantages of redox-activated smart delivery of drugs, genes, and imaging agents include: the amplitude of the redox-responsive signal; the simple chemical features needed to trigger the... 

Smart multilayered pH-sensitive nanocapsules were successfully fabricated using a Layer by Layer (LbL) process. The obtained products were characterized using FESEM, TEM, EDS and elemental mapping, zeta-potential, FTIR, TGA, SIMS and the Tafel polarization techniques. A 55% enhancement in ZrO2 particle size was detected in FESEM and TEM images with a corona view after the LbL process. EDS and elemental mapping analysis and measurements of zeta potential indicated the well-defined layered deposition. FTIR showed the electrostatic bonding between tolyltriazole (TTA) molecules and different overlapping layers. The thermal analysis and SIMS confirmed that 2.7% TTA loaded in nanocapsules. Tafel... 

This work presents a procedure for functionalization of graphene sheets from edges by polyglycerol. Hyperbranched polyglycerol with a bi-dentate aromatic segment in its focal point was synthesized and used to sandwich graphene sheets from the cut-edges. Due to the hydrophobicity of the flat surface of the edge-functionalized graphenes and hydrophilicity of their edges, they changed their conformation from the extended- to the closed-state and formed nanocapsules in aqueous solutions. Spectroscopy and microscopy evaluations showed that the average size for nanocapsules is 300 nm. They were able to encapsulate hydrophobic molecules such as doxorubicin in aqueous solutions with a high loading... 

Carbon nanocapsules doped separately with epoxy and polyamine were used to fabricate an epoxy nanocomposite coating. Carbon nanospheres with dual-encapsulated epoxy/polyamine were dispersed uniformly in the epoxy resin at concentrations of 2, 5, and 10 wt %. The mechanical properties of the nanocomposites were studied by tensile testing and scratch hardness measurements. Furthermore, nanocomposites were applied on mild steel substrates, and their corrosion protection and barrier performance were evaluated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Adhesion loss measurements of coatings after 240 h exposure to 3.5 wt % NaCl solution were performed by pull-off adhesion testing. Also,... 

In this work the effect of a conjugated macromolecule on the conformation of CNT was studied. Typically polyglycerol (PG) was covalently grafted onto the surface of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and MWCNT-graft-PG (MWCNT- g-PG) hybrid materials were obtained. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) experiments showed an average diameter around 100nm for MWCNT- g-PG hybrid materials in water. The difference between this size and the expected size for MWCNT- g-PG hybrid materials (the length of pristine MWCNTs was several micrometers) was assigned to the effect of the grafted PG on the conformation of MWCNT in the solution state. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) evaluations showed a change... 

In this study, a mixture of nano-encapsulated phase change materials in water has been used as the working fluid in a pulsating heat pipe in order to investigate its thermal performance. The results of the experiments showed that using the nano-encapsulated paraffin dispersed in water as working fluid improves heat transfer and decreases the thermal resistance of the pulsating heat pipe. On the other hand, among the tested concentrations for nano-encapsulated paraffin, there is an optimal value in which increasing the concentration causes an increase in the thermal resistance of the pulsating heat pipe due to the increased dynamic viscosity of the fluid. Enhancement in the thermal... 

Heat pipes are useful devices in heat transfer and particularly, in cooling systems. Given the high demand for cooling systems in various applications, an improvement in the performance of heat pipes has gained much attraction in recent years. In this study, the effects of utilizing working fluids with different thermal properties on the performance of pulsating heat pipes (PHP) are experimentally studied. Hence, nano-encapsulated phase change material (NPCM), reduced graphene oxide nanosheets, and their mixture, as a novel hybrid nanofluid, are prepared and dispersed in water as a working fluid. NPCM at 3 concentrations of 5, 10, and 20 g/L, as well as nanosheets at three concentrations of...