Sharif Digital Repository

In this research, multi-scale modeling of mixed-mode failure mechanism of quassi-brittle materials is presented. For modeling a realistic crack growth in heterogeneious media, crack initiation criterion, crack growth orientation and the macroscopic cohesive law are derived from a microscopic sample. As a microscopic crack initiation criterion, acoustic tensor is investigated and scaled acoustic tensor has been proposed by comparison its results with maximum principal tensile stress. For crack growth direction based on micro-scale, acoustic tensor and multiscale aggregating discontinuities has been investigated and multiscale aggregating discontinuities by comparison results of these methods... 

There is a growing interest in developing high-performance sensors monitoring fungicides, due to their broadly usage and their adverse effects on humans and wildlife. In the present study, a colorimetric probe has been proposed for detection of prothioconazole based on aggregation of unmodified silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Under optimized condition, linear relationships between the concentration of prothioconazole and the absorbance ratio of A500/A395 were found over the range of 0.01 µg. mL-1 to 0.4 µg. mL-1 with Detection limit as low as 1.7 ng. mL-1. Furthermore, AgNPs color change from yellow to pink-orange in presence of prothioconazole, indicates highly sensitive naked-eye... 

Following the recent developments in the field of decision making, a considerable number of problems involved with stochastic systems can be thought of whose analysis depends on a set of intricate mathematical relations. In such cases, simulation is one of the most popular tools that can be applied toward analysis of behavior of such stochastic systems. Not only does not the simulation model rely on such intricate mathematical relations, it also enjoys the added advantage of being free of any restricting assumptions which may normally be considered in a stochastic system.To analyze such problem, one may aim at determining the best combination of input variables to optimize the system... 

Tehran air quality is facing a real crisis. Reports of pertinent organizations show air quality is deteriorating in recent years and unhealthy days are increasing. As a result, study and planning in order to change this trend and moving toward improving air quality is a necessity. On the other hand, in order to make proper decisions and choosing effective approaches considering cost-effective attribute and legal, temporal and budget restrictions, selecting the right tool is essential. Air quality models are the tools which in a cost saving manner and reasonable time can provide the required results for researchers, decision makers and legislators. An applicable model correspondent with urban... 

Recently, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) based assay through employing gold nanoparticles have been developed for sensitive and selective detection of various analytes [1,2]. These are due to the extremely high extinction coefficient of Au NPs, which induces fluorescence quenching of the attached fluorophores as a result FRET ; a process which is inversely proportional to the sixth power of the distance between fluorophore and quencher [3]. Upon the addition of the analytes with much stronger affinity for Au NPs, the fluorophore molecules are detached from the surface of the Au NPs results in an increase of fluorescence intensity, which is in direct relation with... 

In the first part of this research, we have developed a simple and effective ratiometric fluorescence sensor for selective detection of dopamine (DA) in alkaline media by simply mixing thioglycolic acid (TGA) functionalized orange fluorescent cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots (QDs) with amino-functionalized blue fluorescent carbon nanodots (CDs). Under a single excitation wavelength of 365 nm, the sensor exhibits dual-emissions centered at 445 and 603 nm. The fluorescence of CdTe QDs is selectively quenched by DA, whereas the fluorescence of CDs is insensitive to the analyte. In the presence of different amounts of DA, the variations in the dual emission intensity ratios exhibit a... 

A simple and effective procedure is proposed for colorimetric detection of hydrazine and phenylhydrazine. It was found that the reduction of AuCl4- to gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) by these compunds in the presence of Tween-20 as a stabilizing agent produced very intense surface plasmon resonance peak of Au-NPs. The plasmon absorbance of the Au-NPs allows the quantitative spectrophotometric detection of the hydrazine and phenylhydrazine. The calibration curves derived from the changes in absorbance at λ = 530 and λ = 550 nm for hydrazine and phenylhydrazine, respectively were linear with concentration of hydrazine and phenylhydrazine in the range of 1.0×10-6- 2.0×10-4 M, 5×10-6 - 4×10-4 M,... 

We report herein the development of a highly sensitive colorimetric method for detection of D- Penicillamine using citrate capped gold nano particles (Au-NPs) .This assay relies upon the distance-dependent of gold nanoparticles surface plasmonic resonance band of gold nanoparticles. By replacing the thiol-containg chelator drug, D-Penicillamine, with citrate on the gold nano particles surface, a new peak appearing at a longer wavelength intensifies and shifts further to the red from the original peak position which depends on ionic strength, D- Penicillamine and gold nanoparticles. The ratio intensities of absorbance at longer wavelength (630 nm) to original wavelength (521 nm) allow the... 

Pesticides are broadly applied in croplands, glasshouses, and orchards in order to increase agricultural products and their quality. Among the variety of pesticides, organophosphorus pesticides (OPs), possessing high insecticidal activity, acute toxicity and relatively short environmental persistence, have been widely used for pest control in agriculture. However, this effect might lead to adverse health impacts or death for mammals and humans. Thus, even at trace levels, it is of great importance to develop a simple, sensitive, inexpensive and real-time detection method for monitoring the levels of pesticides in the environment, foodstuffs and biological samples. The integration of metallic... 

In the first section of this research, we have developed a simple and rapid colorimetric method for determination of tizanidine using citrate capped gold nanoparticles. Under optimal conditions, the AuNPs easily aggregate upon addition of tizanidine and the solution color changes from red to gray. This color change was followed using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The detection limit was calculated to be 0.48 µM. The method was successfully applied for determination of tizanidine in Spalex© tablets. In the last section, the anti-aggregation effect of Hg(II) on the tizanidine-AuNPs system was utilized with the aim of developing a colorimetric method for detection of Hg(II). Addition of... 

In the first part of this research, we reported a liquid sensor array for detection and classification of biological thiols, based on aggregation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with different coatings as sensor elements. Thiol mediated aggregation of AuNPs was visualized via UV–vis spectra. The spectral changes, as a consequence of aggregation of AuNPs, made a unique pattern of spectra for each analyte and allowed for the selective detection and discrimination of the biological molecules. HCA and PCA analysis demonstrated the discrimination of various thiols of different concentrations (i.e. 10–800 mmol L-1 for cysteine, 200–700 mmol L-1 for both glutathione and glutathione disulfide).... 

The increasing role of nanotechnology in our every-day-life, has aroused global concern regarding their hazardous potential, resulting in a demand for parallel risk assessment. Quatitative structure-activity relationships enable researches to use unique properties of nanoparticles as predictors for their toxicity or any other biological response. Extracting rational correlations between physicochemical properties of nanoparticles and their biological response, not only reveals the way that nanoparticles behave upon entering into biological media, but also leads to the design of safer and efficient nanoparticles for various applications of interest. This PhD dissertation presents QSAR tools... 

The first report of anti-aggregation-based sensor arrays is presented. The strategy is based on the competitive interaction of citrate-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and heavy metal ions (i.e., Hg(II), Ag(I), Fe(III), and Pb (II)) with three aggregation reagents (i.e., cysteine, melamine, and arginine). In the presence of aggregation reagent,the color and UV–vis spectra of AuNPs are changed indicating the aggregation ofAuNPs. Addition of the aggregation reagents which are firstly treated with the ions, causes AuNPs turn from the aggregation to the dispersion state. The anti-aggregation capability of ions towards various aggregation reagents is different because of distinct stability... 

Dopaminergic agents are compounds that modulate dopamine-related activity in the brain and peripheral nerves within the pathways on both sides of the blood-brain barrier. Atypical levels of them can precipitate a multitude of neurological disorders, whose timely diagnosis signifies not only stopping the advancement of the illness but also surmounting it. A silver metallized gold nanorod (AuNRs) conditional sensor array, designed to detect dopaminergic agents for assessing nervous system disorders, yielded significant results in simultaneous detection and discrimination of Benserazide (Benz), Levodopa (L-DOPA), and Carbidopa (Carb). The array was composed of two different concentrations of...