Sharif Digital Repository

Graphene oxide nanoplatelets (GONPs) with extremely sharp edges (lateral dimensions ∼20-200 nm and thicknesses <2 nm) were applied in extraction of the overexpressed guanine synthesized in the cytoplasm of leukemia cells. The blood serums containing the extracted guanine were used in differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) with reduced graphene oxide nanowall (rGONW) electrodes to develop fast and ultra-sensitive electrochemical detection of leukemia cells at leukemia fractions (LFs) of ∼10-11 (as the lower detection limit). The stability of the DPV signals obtained by oxidation of the extracted guanine on the rGONWs was studied after 20 cycles. Without the guanine extraction, the DPV peaks... 

Both natural montmorilonite (CN) and organically modified montmorilonite (CB) improved significantly the mechanical performance of novolac phenolic resin (PF)/woven glass-fiber (GF) composites due to their nanodispersion and good interfacial interaction with the matrix. It was revealed that the incorporation of 2.5 wt% of the clays enhances the elastic modulus up to 38% for CN and 43% for CB. Aging of PF/GF composites at various aqueous solutions, i.e. water, brine and acidic environments, increased stiffness of the composite (∼100-250% increase in elastic modulus) due to possible secondary crosslinking caused by water molecules and hydroxyl groups of PF resin. However, aging led to the... 

In this work, a series of solvent- and water-injection scenarios were conducted on horizontal five-spot glass micromodels that were saturated initially with heavy oil. Sandstone and limestone rock look-alike and network patterns with different pore structures were used in the experiments. The results show that the ultimate oil recovery of a water-alternating-solvent (WAS) scheme was greater than that of a simultaneously water-alternating-solvent (SWAS) scheme, and the efficiency of a solvent-soak scheme also offers a greater recovery. Likewise, the WAS scheme resulted in greater oil recovery when compared with continuous solvent injection (CSI), with the same amount of solvent consumption.... 

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes decorated with Fe 3O 4 nanoparticles (Fe 3O 4NPs/MWCNT) were prepared and used to construct a novel biosensor for the simultaneous detection of adenine and guanine. The direct electro-oxidation of adenine and guanine on the modified electrode were investigated by linear sweep voltammetry. The results indicate a remarkable increase in the oxidation peak currents together with negative shift in the oxidation peak potentials for both adenine and guanine, in comparison to the bare glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The surface morphology and nature of the composite film deposited on GCE were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy,... 

In this work, ultraviolet photodetectors based on electrodeposited ZnO sheet thin films were fabricated on a glass substrate. Before electrodeposition, a thin buffer layer of ZnO was deposited on the glass by pulsed laser deposition method. This layer not only acted as a nucleation site for ZnO sheet growth, but also made it possible to use cheap glass substrate instead of conventional fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate. Our results showed that photoresponse properties of the photodetectors strongly depend on the sheet sizes. The smaller sheets exhibited enhanced photosensitivity, shortened fall times and decreased gain compared to larger ones. We showed that photodetectors based on... 

Spontaneous water imbibition into the matrix blocks is known as the main mechanism for increased oil recovery from naturally fractured oil reservoirs. The rate of oil recovery and its ultimate value is mostly affected by wettability of the rocks and their pore structure. Oil viscosity also greatly influences the rate of oil recovery. A novel experimental model was utilized to study the imbibition mechanism under different wettability conditions. Matrix blocks made from different grain types and size distributions of glass beads were saturated with two different types of synthetic oil, to mimic the oil-saturated matrixes. The wetting characteristic of the models used in this study were... 

The influence of Zr 2 on the crystallization behavior, microstructure, and machinability of SiO 2-Al 2O 3-MgO-K 2O-B 2O 3-F glasses was investigated. The crystallization of the glass-ceramic was markedly affected by addition of ZrO 2. These glasses crystallize more rapidly. The number of mica crystals increases, whereas the size of the mica crystals decreases drastically. Machining of these glass-ceramics was found to be good, as confirmed by a drilling test using conventional steel tools. Such mechanical properties are attributable to the microstructure of these glass-ceramics. Very fine crystals are homogeneously distributed in glass matrix  

Many heavy oil reservoirs contain discontinuous shales which act as barriers or baffles to flow. However, there is a lack of fundamental understanding about how the shale geometrical characteristics affect the reservoir performance, especially during polymer flooding of heavy oils. In this study, a series of polymer injection processes have been performed on five-spot glass micromodels with different shale geometrical characteristics that are initially saturated with the heavy oil. The available geological characteristics from one of the Iranian oilfields were considered for the construction of the flow patterns by using a controlled-laser technology. Oil recoveries as a function of pore... 

A composite film constructed of surfactant doped over-oxidized polypyrrole and multi-walled carbon nanotube was prepared on the surface of glassy carbon electrode by the electro-polymerization method. Surface characterization of the modified electrode was performed by scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectrometry. The investigations have been proved that the over-oxidation of the modifier film resulted in a porous thin layer that improves the interlayer diffusion mechanism for the electroactive species. On the other hand, the negative charge density on the surface of the electrode excludes the negative analytes (e.g. ascorbate and Fe(CN)63?/4?)... 

Non-isothermal differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to study the nucleation and crystallization behavior of mica glass-ceramics with LiF as nucleating agent. The models enabled establishing the kinetic parameters for crystal growth of individual phases. The activation energies for crystal growth were found to be in the range of 161-301 KJ/mol, 416-424 KJ/mol, and 583-1011 KJ/mol for base glasses, samples with substitution of Li2O for K2O and samples with addition of LiF, respectively. Formation of transparent glass-ceramics from studied glass-samples has been investigated. Transparency is assumed to occur in the... 

It is well known that the oil recovery is affected by wettability of porous medium; however, the role of nanoparticles on wettability alteration of medium surfaces has remained a topic of debate in the literature. Furthermore, there is a little information of the way dispersed silica nanoparticles affect the oil recovery efficiency during polymer flooding, especially, when heavy oil is used. In this study, a series of injection experiments were performed in a five-spot glass micromodel after saturation with the heavy oil. Polyacrylamide solution and dispersed silica nanoparticles in polyacrylamide (DSNP) solution were used as injected fluids. The oil recovery as well as fluid distribution in... 

The present study was an attempt to examine the effects of carbon and cellulose fibers on the tribological characteristics of rubber-based friction materials (RBFMs). A fiber free RBFM as a reference material and a series of fiber included RBFMs at different volume fractions were prepared by two-roll mill. The friction tests were per-formed at different sliding velocities and various drum temperatures. The mechanical properties and surface microstructure of friction specimens were also examined. It was revealed that the carbon fiber infiuences slightly the coefficient of friction (COF) of RBFM but it improves the wear resistance and the fade behavior considerably. It reduces the drum... 

This review covers the most recent developments of inorganic and organic-inorganic composite coatings for orthopedic implants, providing the interface with living tissue and with potential for drug delivery to combat infections. Conventional systemic delivery of drugs is an inefficient procedure that may cause toxicity and may require a patient's hospitalization for monitoring. Local delivery of antibiotics and other bioactive molecules maximizes their effect where they are required, reduces potential systemic toxicity and increases timeliness and cost efficiency. In addition, local delivery has broad applications in combating infection-related diseases. Polymeric coatings may present some... 

The physical properties including glass transition temperature and permeability behavior of clay-filled epoxies are reviewed in this chapter. There is no consensus in the literature on how nanoclay affects the α-relaxation temperature in epoxy systems. This perhaps rises from the complexity of nanoclay morphology in polymeric resins and the interphase properties since morphology of nanoclay and interphase characteristics are two key parameters to control the glass transition process in epoxy nanocomposites. In addition, the possible existence of several α-transitions in montmorillonite-filled epoxies due to the existence of several relaxation domains may account for the controversial... 

We have studied the effect of negative chemical pressure in the RuGd 1.5(Ce 0.5-xPr x)Sr 2Cu 2O 10-δ with Pr content of 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2. This is also investigated using the bond length results obtained from the Rietveld refinement analysis. The c parameter and cell volume increase with x for 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.15. The width of the resistivity transition also increases with Pr concentration, indicating higher inhomogeneity and oxygen deficiency. The difference in the ionic valences of Pr 3+,4+ and Ce 4+ causing different hole doping, the difference in the ionic radii, and oxygen stoichiometry affect the superconducting transition. The magnetoresistance shows a cusp around 135 K which lies between the... 

In this study, lithium disilicate glass-ceramic in the TiO2-ZrO2-Li2O-CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 system was investigated for dentistry applications by incorporation of P2O5 and Nb2O5 as nucleation agent. The influence of the particles size (nano and submicron size) and nucleating agents on the crystalline phases, microstructure, crystallization mechanism and mechanical properties were investigated. Our data indicated that in ceramic glass with nano and submicron P2O5, the main crystalline phase was lithium disilicate. The results also showed that change of P2O5 particle's size had significant effect on the crystalline phases and microstructure. By replacement of submicron P2O5 with submicron Nb2O5,... 

A new sensitive and selective electrochemical sensor was developed for determination of naltrexone (NAL) in pharmaceutical dosage form and human plasma. Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist which is commonly used for the treatment of narcotic addiction and alcohol dependence. A voltammetric study of naltrexone has been carried out at the surface of glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with Nafion-doped carbon nanoparticles (CNPs). The electrochemical oxidation of naltrexone was investigated by cyclic and differential pulse voltammetric techniques. The dependence of peak currents and potentials on pH, concentration and the potential scan rate was investigated. The electrode characterization... 

In this work, an experimental and theoretical study has been conducted to investigate the permeability reduction due to CaSO4 scale deposition in packed column porous media. Permeability reduction by calcium sulphate deposition follows a systematic trend considering various important parameters that are affected in this complex process. Hence, a novel dimensionless model has been proposed for the prediction of permeability reduction rate with high accuracy. The developed model is based on the data obtained from glass bead and carbonate grain packed column at low pressure. The proposed model was validated with Berea sandstone cores data at high pressure (100-20,678 kPa), various flow rates... 

A comprehensive understanding of the role of reservoir heterogeneities induced by flow barriers and connate water on sweep efficiency of different EOR scenarios is rarely attended in the available literature. In this work, different miscible/immiscible EOR processes were conducted on various one-quarter five-spot glass micromodels incorporating small-scale flow barriers. Microscopic and macroscopic observations revealed the reduction of sweep efficiency, premature breakthrough of displacing fluids, the severity of fingering at displacement front which leaves a large amount of oil behind the flow barriers untouched, and significant increasing trend of oil recovery after breakthrough in the... 

A nano-composite material consisting of amine functionalized TiO 2-coated carbon nanotubes was prepared and used for glucose oxidase (GOx) absorption. The GOx bearing nanomaterial was fixed on a glassy carbon electrode to construct a novel biosensor for glucose determination. The direct electrochemistry of immobilized GOx and its electron transfer parameters at the modified glassy carbon electrode were reported. The apparent heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (ks) of GOx was estimated to be 3.5 s-1, which is higher than those reported previously. Amperometric detection of glucose resulted in a rapid (3 s) and stable response in the linear concentration range from 1.8 to 266 μM....