Sharif Digital Repository

Emission of CO2 and its diffusion into atmosphere is associated with negative effects on the environmental such as Green House Gases effect. Various techniques of CO2 Capture in energy conversion and processing plant are investigated. A method of CO2 Capture could be based on utilization of solar energy for producing methanol. Basic design of such a system and feasibility analysis of developing that system has been considered on the subject of the present research work. Basic design and commercial feasibility of the system producing methanol through capturing CO2 from exhaust gases of a power plant and hydrogen produced by using solar energy have done such an integrated system. The main... 

Polyampholyte hydrogels are hydrophilic networks that contain both positively- and negatively-charged functional groups on their structure. Polysulfobetaines are the most important type of polyampholytes, which have been extensively studied. However, these hydrogels exhibited poor gel strength causing limitation of their applications. Consequently, much attention has been focused on the preparation of nanocomposite hydrogels with high gel strength and lower cost using organomodified clays. In this project, Novel polyampholytic superabsorbing nanocomposites based on the zwitterionic sulfobetaine monomer [3-(methacrylamido)propyl)]dimethyl(3-sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide (MPDSAH) were... 

This thesis focouses on the preparation and super-swelling behavior of two superabsorbent hydrogel. In the first section, a new superabsorbent hydrogel based on agar was prepared and the effect of the ratio of some components(AA, AAM, MBA, APS and agar) on the swelling capasity of the hydrogel was studied. Maximum water absorbency of the optimized final product was found to be 614.5 g/g in distilled water. The structure of the hydrogel was characterized by FT-IR method and morphology of the samples was examined by scanning electron microscopy(SEM). Swelling behavior properties of optimized hydrogel sample in different swelling medium were investigated. In the second section, we report the... 

This thesis focuses on the preparation and super-swelling behavior of a superabsorbent hydrogel based on natural macro-molecules and loading potassium nitrite as an agro-chemical onto it. 1-In this investigation a new type of superabsorbent hydrogel based on Gelatin and k-Carrageenan was prepared and the effect of the feed ratio of some components (acrylic acid, MBA, APS, and agar) on the swelling capacity of the hydrogel was systematically studied. The structure of the hydrogel optimized final product was found to be 1064 g/g in distilled water. The structure of the hydrogel was characterized by FT_IR method and morphology of the samples was examined by scamming electron microscopy (SEM).... 

The use of super-swelling polymers is steadily increasing and the applications in industry are continuing to grow. With the authorization of the superabsorbents in food packaging by the Food and Drug Administration recently, demand may soon take off in the market. The worldwide production of SAPs is more than one million tons per year, representing a multibillion-dollar market. However, the increase in prices of petroleum products in recent years may be a drawback for these acrylic-based materials. Thus, there is now a need to develop natural-based super-swelling hydrogels which are more economical and environment friendly. In addition, the super-swelling gels are promising novel functions... 

Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel is a biocompatible material, which has been widely applied in drug delivery applications. Microspheres, nanospheres, and other types of particle-based drug delivery vehicles have proven capacity for long-term release. There is growing interest to overcoming the inherent pharmacological limitations of hydrogels by formulating particulate systems into the hydrogel matrix to form new delivery platforms. We here describe a simple composite system based on poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels containing entrapped drug-loaded poly (lactic acid) (PLA) microspheres for controlled delivery over extended period of time. Gamma-Irradiation and freeze-thawing was... 

Hydrogels are crosslinked hydrophilic polymers that are capable of imbedding large amounts of water or biological fluids usually to equilibrium. Because of their unique properties, these materials have become ubiquitous and indispensable materials in many applications in recent years. Synthetic methods have produced numerous hydrogel materials with excellent properties. However, their nonbiodegradability might pose long-term environmental problems and limit their use. As a consequence, various research groups have put considerable amounts of effort and resources toward development of new absorbent materials from natural polymers such as polysaccharides. In this research, new hydrogel... 

Hemophilia is a group of hereditary genetic disorders that impair the body's ability to control blood clotting due to the lack of coagulation factors. Frequent joint and soft tissue bleeding is one the most common problems amongst these patients which can become progressively destructive for cartilage tissue in case of the late treatment. In this work, injectable PEG-based hydrogel nanocomposites with mechanical and structural properties close to cartilage tissue were fabricated. First, primary copolymers with PEG blocks of 600 g.mol-1 and 900 g.mol-1 without and with 2.5 wt.% Laponite nanoclay were synthesized by two-step thermal poly (amic acid) process. After polymer purification,... 

Poly vinyl alcohol/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites were made through solution casting method. The nanocomposite were characterized by XRD , FTIR , FESEM , DSC and mechanical measurements. Graphene oxide was irradiated by gamma ray at 35 KGy in a 50/50 water-ethanol solution and then added to PVA aqueous solution in various GO concentrations (0.3 , 0.7 , 1 wt%) and sonicated. The resulting suspensions were cast into petri dishes to make thin films. Also PVA/GO Hydrogels were prepared by gamma irradiation at 20 KGy. It was observed that GO uniformly dispersed within PVA indicating strong interaction through forming hydrogen bonds between hydroxyl groups of PVA and GO surface. Tensile... 

Hydrogels are polymeric three-dimensional networks able to swell in the presence of an aqueous medium. Hydrogels from natural proteins and polysaccharides are ideal scaffolds for tissue engineering since they resemble the extracellular matrices of tissue comprised of various amino acids and sugar-based macromolecules.The biocompatible and biodegradable hydrogel scaffolds are promising materials for tissue engineering. Here, we report a new class of hydrogels derived from oxidized alginate (OA) and gelatin. The prepared oxidized alginate was shown to be efficient in crosslinking gelatin, leading to hydrogel formation. The effect of degree of oxidation and concentration of OA on the mechanical... 

Polyvinylalcohol/MWCNT nanocomposite films were fabricated via solution casting method. Glycerol was added to the polymer matrix as plasticizer in order to improve the flexibility and toughness of resultant films. Surface modification of MWCNTs were carried out by subjecting to gamma irradiation of 60Co source to total doses of 50.0 and 75 kGy in pure ethanol and in a solution with equal volume fraction of water and ethanol. The produced nanocomposites in each case which contain different type of modified MWCNTs were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mechanical and electrical measurements. The... 

Hydrogels are kind of polymers that have ability of frequently applications in agriculture, hygienic, drug delivery and etc. suitable mechanical strength is one of the features of this material. If mechanical strength reduces, efficiency of hydrogels in variety of application will decrease. There are several ways for gel strength improvement, such as cyclic structure for example fumarates, surface crosslinking and preparation of interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs). Making of nanocomposite structure in hydrogels, using nanostructures, can improve physical-mechanical properties, surprisingly. Therefore, combination of interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) and nanocomposite structures can... 

The electric field induced response of a charged droplet in an uncharged gel is calculated theoretically. For modeling, the gel is considered as a soft porous solid that is saturated with a Newtonian electrolyte and modeled as a continuum that contains 3 phases: a porous, soft and compressible solid, an incompressible Newtonian fluid and the ions inside fluid. Droplet is modeled as a charged incompressible Newtonian fluid immiscible with the gel. The droplet-gel interface is considered as a surface with electrostatic potential ζ . After obtaining governing equations, they solved by using perturbation methodology and linear superposition. Boundary conditions, especially at the droplet-gel... 

Microcarriers (MCs) are an attractive technology with various applications in tissue engineering. In this study, chitosan/gelatin MCs were fabricated with blends of different ratio of chitosan/gelatin, by using a setup containing high voltage electrostatic field and syringe pump. Optimization of blend ratio, voltage and syringe pump flow carried out by the “Design expert” software leads to fabrication of MCs with constant diameter while having various elasticity. Mechanical strength and elasticity of MCs were determined. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) were cultured on MCs dynamically by using mini-rocher in an incubator. Cells adhesion on MCs were successfully shown by... 

Cardiovascular disease is responsible for a majority of health problem in developing countries. Heart diseases are the leading cause of death in the United State with approximately 40% of the death occurs by heart failures and coronary artery defects. Myocardial infarction is one of the diseases that occurs by coronay artery blockage. Cardiac tissue engineering (CTE) is an emerging field that holds great promise towards the development of innovative treatment strategies for heart disease. There are two common scaffolds for CTE, electrospun fiber mats and hydrogels. Although fibers are known as 3D environment for cells, they actually act as a 2D surface, because of lack of cell infilteration.... 

Graphene، a molecular single layer of graphite، has tremendous applications in materials science for the development of nanocomposites، tissue engineering and supercapacitors. Graphene application and its developing applications depend on its essential properties such as excellent mechanical and thermal properties. Accordingly، investigation on graphene has drawn significant attention to itself. Hence، exploitation of these important properties including the induction of graphene sheets in polymer matrix seems to be essential. In the present survey، salep، a biodegradable polysaccharide، has been used for either the reduction of graphene oxide or functionalization of graphene. Then، reduced... 

The nucleus pulposus, which is a part of intervertebral disc, is normally hydrated and gel-like to maintain normal biomechanical functions of the disc through intradiscal pressures. In a degenerated disc, however, water content of nucleus is significantly reduced, resulting in an abnormal stress state of the annulus. Surgical interventions cannot restore the biomedical function to vertebral segment. One approach to restore the normal biomechanics of an intervertebral disc is to replace the nucleus with a prosthetic material which leads to a restoration of the behavior of the disc. The mechanical behavior of poly(vinyl alcohol) and nanodiamond hydrogel may provide a material suitable for... 

In this work, wool keratin/polyethylene oxide (PEO) nanofibrous scaffolds were fabricated by electrospinning method. Bacterial cellulose nanofibrils (BCNFs) were embedded in the electrospun keratin/PEO nanofibers. Incorporation of BCNFs into the nanofibers enhances their hydrophilicity, mechanical properties and cell viability, adhesion and proliferation. Water contact angle of the nanofibers decreased from 126˚ to 83˚by addition of 1 wt % BCNFs. A thermogelling hydrogel based on carboxylated pluronic (Pl-COOH) and gum tragacanth (GT) was fabricated and polymer conjugation was confirmed by FTIR and H-NMR spectroscopy. Morphological and viscoelastic properties of GT-grafted Pl-COOH hydrogels... 

Wound is a defect or failure in the skin texture which occurs as a result of physical or heat injuries or physiological conditions. The wound dress as a temporary cover can improve wound healing process and due to the unique properties, hydrogels have become appropriate choice for this application. Hydrogel’s structure allows drug to be loaded in the wound dress. Hydrogel wound dress should have adequate fluidity to cover wound’s bed and make full contact with the skin. Sufficient cohesion and strength is also necessary to allow the wound dress to remove from wound completely. Therefore, the study on the viscoelastic properties of hydrogel is important. In this study, polyvinyl alcohol... 

As the first barrier in front of external damages, skin is prone to the largest number of damages applied to one’s body. Acute wounds are considerably prevalent world-widely, imposing very high costs to governments. The purpose of the current project, is to propose a novel skin scaffold capable of growth factor delivery for enhancing the wound healing process in acute wounds. Such a scaffold should be able to decrease the required time for healing process, also to improve the quality of the regenerated skin compared to available commercial products. Furthermore, it should be highly biocompatible, biodegradable, and non-toxic. In this project, to manufacture the artificial skin scaffold, a...