Sharif Digital Repository

Nanofiber membranes were fabricated by electrospinning poly(vinylidene fluoride). The electrospun nanofiber membranes were further modified by grafting of acrylic acid (AA) and methacrylic acid (MAA) over the surfaces of the membranes. Plasma AA graft was attempted only, and the results indicated the partial membrane pore filling with grafted AA. For MAA grafting, chemically induced polymerization using benzoyl peroxide and hydrogen peroxide was attempted. The combination of plasma and chemically induced MAA graft polymerization was also attempted. The membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and static contact angle (SCA)... 

In this work two phenol biosensors, one based on polyaniline nanofibers (PNFs) and the other based on the newly created and introduced linear-dendritic matrix of poly(citric acid)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) copolymers (PCA-PEG-PCA), were chemically modified with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzyme. These phenol biosensors showed an oxidation peak at 0.55 V. The amperometric response for biosensors based on PNFs showed a linear response range from 2.5 × 10-6 to 2.5 × 10-5 mol/L, with a detection limit of 2.5 M phenol. Also, the amperometric response for a biosensor based on PCA-PEG-PCA showed a linear response range from 2.5 × 10-6 to 4 × 10-5 mol/L, with a detection limit of 1.5 M phenol  

Surface modification of titanium implants is recently considered by several researchers. In this study, PEO was performed over commercially Ti-6Al-4V alloy pellets in an aqueous electrolyte containing calcium acetate (C.A.) and calcium glycerphosphate (Ca-GP) with a Ca/P molar ratio of 6.8, and applying current density of 0.212 A/cm2, frequency of 100 Hz and duty ratio of 60% for 4 min. In the next step, hydrothermal treatments were carried out for various durations and at different temperatures inside an autoclave chamber containing a NaOH solution with pH of 11.5. XRD and SEM results confirmed formation of needle-shaped HAp after all hydrothermal conditions. Maximum intensity of HAp peaks... 

Iron oxide nanoparticles, γ-Fe2O3NP, were deposited onto the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and CNT/γ-Fe2O3NP hybrid nanomaterials were obtained. Then linear-dendritic ABA type block copolymers consisting of polyethylene glycol as B block and poly(citric acid) as A block, PCA-PEG-PCA, were synthesized and cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (CDDP) - a platinum-based chemotherapy drug) was conjugated with their carboxyl functional groups and CDDP/PCA-PEG-PCA anticancer prodrugs were prepared. Noncovalent interactions between CDDP/PCA-PEG-PCA anticancer prodrugs and CNT/γ-Fe2O3NP hybrid nanomaterials led to CDDP/PCA-PEG-PCA/CNT/γ-Fe2O3NP drug delivery systems. There are several... 

Linear-dendritic triblock copolymers of linear poly(ethylene glycol) and hyperbranched poly(citric acid) (PCA-PEG-PCA) were used as the reducing and capping agents to encapsulate gold and silver nanoparticles (AuNPs and AgNPs). PCA-PEG-PCA copolymers in four different molecular weights were synthesized using 2, 5, 10 and 20 citric acid/PEG molar ratios and were called A 1, A 2, A 3 and A 4, respectively. Nanoparticles were encapsulated simultaneously during the preparation process. AuNPs were simply synthesized and encapsulated by addition a boiling aqueous solution of HAuCl 4 to aqueous solutions of A 1, A 2, A 3 and A 4. In the case of silver, an aqueous solution of AgNO 3 was reduced... 

Cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) prepared via TEMPO mediated oxidation are used as biodegradable filler in an epoxy matrix. Since CNWs are hydrophilic and epoxy is hydrophobic, amphiphilic block copolymer surfactants are employed to improve the interactions between the filler and the matrix. The surfactants used are Pluronics, a family of triblock copolymers containing two poly(ethylene oxide) blocks and one poly(propylene oxide) block. In this study, Pluronic L61 and L121 with molecular weight of 2000 and 4400 g/mol and hydrophilic to lipophilic balance of 3 and 1 respectively, are used and their effect on the dispersion of CNWs in epoxy is discussed. The hydrophilic tails of Pluronics... 

Polyethylene oxide (PEO)/chitosan (CS)/graphene oxide (GO) electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds were successfully developed via electrospinning process for controlled release of doxorubicin (DOX). The SEM analysis of nanofibrous scaffolds with different contents of GO (0.1, 0.2, 0.5 and 0.7 wt.%) indicated that the minimum diameter of nanofibers was found to be 85 nm for PEO/CS/GO 0.5% nanofibers. The π-π stacking interaction between DOX and GO with fine pores of nanofibrous scaffolds exhibited higher drug loading (98%) and controlled release of the DOX loaded PEO/CS/GO nanofibers. The results of DOX release from nanofibrous scaffolds at pH 5.3 and 7.4 indicated strong pH dependence. The... 

A series of water-soluble ABA triblock copolymers consisting of a polyethylene glycol central block joined to two blocks of six different homopolymers have been synthesized via simple solvent-free and ecofriendly routes and characterized by FTIR and 1HNMR spectroscopy. Dispersing and slump-retaining abilities of the copolymers in cement slurries were evaluated by mini-slump spread method. Rheological measurements of samples with the best performance were carried out using a rate-controlled coaxial cylinder viscometer. The test results indicate that the dispersing power of the copolymers in cement pastes is strongly affected by the structure and degree of polymerization of the monomers  

In this study, the partitioning of β-amylase in aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) with a molar mass of 6000 and 10 000 and KH 2PO 4 at T = (301.65 and 304.65) K was experimentally studied. In addition, the partitioning of amyloglucosidase in ATPS containing polyethylene glycol with molar mass of 4000, 6000, and 10 000 in the presence of Na 2SO 4 at T = (301.65 and 305.65) K was investigated. The effects of molar mass of PEG, temperature, mass fractions of salt, and the length of the tie line on partition coefficients of the enzymes were also studied. The experimental results showed that while the partition coefficients of enzymes decrease with increasing... 

The partition constants of l-lysine HCl were measured in polymer-salt aqueous two-phase systems. These systems contain poly(ethylene glycol) with a nominal molecular weight of 4000 or 10000 and two different salts (dipotassium hydrogen phosphate or trisodium citrate 5-hydrate). The experimental data were obtained at temperatures of (293.15, 298.15, and 303.15) K. The effects of temperature, pH, polymer and salt concentrations, polymer molecular weight, and salt type on the partitioning of l-lysine HCl were also studied. The results showed that salt concentration has a significant effect on the partition constant while temperature has less effect. The Diamond and Hsu model was used to... 

Linear-dendritic ABA triblock copolymers containing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as B block and hyperbranched poly(citric acid) (PCA) as A blocks were synthesized through polycondensation. The molecular self-assembly of synthesized PCA-PEG-PCA copolymers in water led to formation of nanoparticles and fibers in different sizes and shapes depending on the time and size of PCA blocks. Ten days after dissolving PCA-PEG-PCA copolymers in water, the size of fibers had reached several millimeters. Mixing a water solution of fluorescein as a small guest molecule and PCA-PEG-PCA copolymers led to the encapsulation of fluorescein by products of molecular self-assembly. To investigate their potential... 

A novel injectable in situ gelling thermosensitive chitosan-block-poly(ethylene glycol) formulation was synthesized for drug delivery applications. Block copolymerization of monomethoxy-poly(ethylene glycol) onto chitosan using potassium persulfate as an initiator was carried under a nitrogen atmosphere in aqueous solution. The effects of potassium persulfate and poly(ethylene glycol) concentrations, reaction time and reaction temperature on block polymerization were studied by determining the yield of reaction (%Y), polymerization efficiency (%E) and add-on percentage (%Add-on). Keeping the other conditions constant, the optimum reaction conditions were found to be initiator = 0.01 M,... 

In this research, partitioning of β-amylase and amyloglucosidase was investigated in polymer-salt aqueous two-phase systems containing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) with different molecular weights such as 4000, 6000 and 10,000 and Na2SO4 or KH2PO4. The experimental partition coefficients were measured at T = (298.5, 301.5, 303.5, 305.5 and 308) K. The results showed that the concentration of salt in feed had more effect on partition coefficients of β-amylase and amyloglucosidase in aqueous two-phase systems than the concentration of polymer in initial feed. Also, the results indicated that temperature had a small effect on partitioning of β-amylase and amyloglucosidase enzymes. The partition... 

Molybdenum oxide nanostructures were synthesized utilizing the solution combustion method where the ammonium molybdate powder and an organic additive were used as precursors. Different organic additives including ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), polyethylene glycol 200 (PEG 200), sorbitol and urea were used as surfactants in order to investigate the effect of additive structure on morphology and particle size of products. Also various reaction parameters such as the additive/Mo molar ratio, concentration of metal ion in solution, pH of the reaction, and temperature of the synthesis media were changed to study effects on product morphology and size. Outcomes were characterized by... 

The chemical synthesis and in vitro drug delivery response of folate-modified, polyethylene glycol-functionalized gold nanoparticles were studied. Lysine-capped gold nanoparticles were first prepared. Subsequently, the widely used anticancer agent doxorubicin (DOX) was successfully attached to the surface of folate-modified, polyethylene glycol-functionalized gold nanoparticles. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to confirm the functionalization and conjugation steps in the chemical synthesis. The DOX-loading efficiency determined by UV-vis spectrometer was 80%. Drug release experiments displayed a controlled-release behavior... 

Homopolymer hydrogel of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS) and its nanocomposite counterpart were prepared to study their swelling properties. The hydrogels showed ability to absorb and retain electrolytes as well as binary mixtures of water and organic solvents (i.e., methanol, ethanol, acetone, ethylene glycol (EG), polyethylene glycol, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). The nanocomposite gel exhibited lower swelling in all solvent compositions in comparison with non-composite gel. Unlike conventional acrylic acid-based hydrogels, the poly(AMPS) gels showed superabsorbing capacity in pure ethanol, methanol, EG, DMSO and NMP. Meanwhile, swelling... 

Doxorubicin-loaded nanocarriers were produced employing folate-modified polyethylene glycol (PEG)-functionalized gold nanoparticles for targeted delivery to positive folate-receptor cancer cells. Doxorubicin and folate were, respectively, conjugated to activated-folate and activated-PEG. The conjugates formed doxorubicin nanocarrier with an average size of 12 nm in diameter. The drug release response of functionalized gold nanoparticles was characterized by an initial rapid drug release followed by a controlled release. The doxorubicin nanocarriers showed higher cytotoxic effect on folate-receptor-positive cells (KB cells) than folatereceptor-negative cells (A549 cells). Cell viability in... 

Doxorubicin (DOX), a common cancer chemotherapeutics, was conjugated to folate-modified thiolated-polyethylene glycol-functionalized gold nanoparticles. The in vitro, controlled release behavior of DOX-loaded gold nanoparticles was observed using porous dialysis membranes (cut-off = 2 kDa). DOX-loaded gold nanoparticles had higher cytotoxicity for folate-receptor-positive cells (KB cells) compared to folate-receptor-negative cells (A549 cells) which were 48 and 62% viable for 10 μM doxorubicin, respectively. This indicates the potential of these nano-carriers for targeted-delivery. In addition, healthy cell viability was 69% for 10 μM free doxorubicin whereas for the same content of drug in... 

Linear-dendritic copolymers containing hyperbranched poly(citric acid) and linear poly(ethylene glycol) blocks (PCA-PEG-PCA) were used as reducing and capping agents to synthesize and support gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). PCA-PEG-PCA copolymers with 1758, 1889 and 3446 molecular weights, called A1, A2 and A3 through this work, respectively, were synthesized using 2, 5, and 10 citric acid/PEG molar ratios. The diameter of A1, A2 and A3 in a fresh water solution was investigated using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and it was between 1.8 and 2.8 nm. AuNPs were simply synthesized and supported by addition a boiling aqueous solution of HAuCl4 to aqueous solutions of A1, A2 and A3. Supported AuNPs... 

The partitioning of penicillin G acylase in aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS's) containing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) 20000 or 35000 and potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4) or sodium citrate (C 6H5Na3O7 ·5H2O) has been measured at three temperatures, (301.2, 307.2, and 310.2) K. The effects of temperature, polymer molecular weight, and polymer and salt concentrations on the partitioning of penicillin G in the ATPS were studied. The experimental data showed that the composition of salt has a large effect on partitioning of penicillin G in ATPS, and the temperature of the system has a small effect on the partitioning. The UNIFAC-FV group contribution model (Pazuki et al., Ind. Eng. Chem....