Avascular necrosis is a disease of cell death in joints, jaw, and hips due to lack of blood supply induced by burnt, inflammation or trauma, etc. The mainstream curing these days are i) arterial infusion by partial drug delivery, and ii) the replacement of the whole joints by using artificial materials. The first method can only be applied at an early stage of the disease, and the curing results. So for more severe situations, the medical implants will become the only choice. With the need for an improved stability and biocompatibility of the medical implant materials, diamond has recently become interesting as a promising material. The combination of chemical inertness and biocompatibility makes diamond a good material for e.g. biological applications.  In order to promote localized cell adhesion and vascularization onto the diamond-covered medical implants, the prerequisite for pre-adhesion of growth factors onto the diamond surfaces is of largest interest to study more in detail. It is highly necessary that these investigations are performed on an atomic level. Therefore, theoretical simulations are a necessary complementary tool to i) aid in the analysis of experimental observations, and ii) to make recommendations for corresponding experimental studies. With the purpose to tailor-make the medical implant surface by utilizing diamond’s unique properties, the present study has investigated the interaction between diamond and various biomolecules (BMP2, RGD, heparin, fibronectin, VEGF, angiopoietin). The combined effect of various surface plane and termination type (H, O, OH, and NH₂) has been of a special interest to study. Three different groupings where obtained with regard to adhesion strength. And all of these three groups showed different dependencies of the surface termination type. For all of these different scenarios, strong bond formations were observed. Evaluation of the methods used showed that the calculated trends in adhesion energy are highly reliable.

The performance of polymeric structures as drug delivery systems and implantable devices is fully dependent on their stability and integrity in biological environments.The Layer-by-Layer (LbL) technology is a versatile technique that can be used to fabricate numerous structures such as planar ultrathin films and membranes, without using aggressive solvents.LbL relies on the use of polyelectrolytes with an opposite charge assembled onto very thin (few nm) or large (several tens of µm) structures [1, 2]. The nature of polymer interactions makes the assembly a versatile platform to load and release macromolecules [3]. The deposition of hundred layers of biopolymers (polysaccharides) on a low energy substrate (polypropylene) led to the production of a thick free-standing membrane with tunable thickness (tens of µm) and mechanical properties. For example, these membranes were able to drive bone generation in vivo after loading with the osteogenic factor BMP-2 [4].LbL free-standing membranes could be produced with various biopolymers (hyaluronic acid, collagen…) and deliver biomacromolecules such as proteins or nucleic acids or even nanoobjects for skin or mucosal applications.

The major producers of oil and gas extraction currently are the United States followed by Russia and Saudi Arabia. With the price of Brent Crude in the range of $70 dollars per barrel, other proven reserves in the world plan to develop production, such as Chile, Argentina, China, Canada, Mexico, and Norway offshore.  Moreover, countries with a sound GDP will be importing oil and gas as the most cost effective way, namely from cost competition in the International Market.  I will discuss areas of proven crude which will be competitively priced FOB to energy deficit countries, with the free market pricing. This presentation will also include updates on extraction of tight oil and gas being environmentally sound and protecting domestic water supplies.

Case histories of the extensive evolution of oil and gas production in the United States will address the following technical and environmental issues: Case histories which address hydraulic fracking below potable water supplies, proper casing, and now both vertical and horizontal drilling. Moreover, cost subsidies and economic pricing of oil and gas extraction, hydro power, coal, nuclear, wind, and solar.  There are no “dry holes” which are attributable to highly advanced geological technology. Safety and economic payback will also be discussed in this presentation.

Presentation will include drilling diagrams, natural gas treatment, delivery from source to energy deficient countries exported as LNG, and risk and cost analysis.

Within the field of pharmacologically active biopolymers the area of stable polyethers seems rather new and attractive. The high-molecular fractions (>1000 kDa) from the several species of two genera Symphytum and Anchusa (Boraginaceae) family were isolated by ultrafiltration. According to ¹³C and ¹H NMR, 1D NOE, 2D heteronuclear ¹H/¹³C HSQC and 2D DOSY esperiments the main structural element of these high-molecular fractions was found to be a new regular polymeric molecule. The polyoxyethylene chain is the backbone of this biopolymer. 3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl  and  carboxyl  groups are  regular  substituents  at  two  carbon  atoms  in the chain. The repeating unit of this regular caffeic acid-derived polyether, is 3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)glyceric acid  residue.  Thus, the structure of natural polymer under study was found to be poly[oxy-1-carboxy-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethylene] or poly[3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)glyceric acid] (PDPGA). This compound represents a new class of natural polyethers. Then the racemic monomer 2,3-dihydroxy-3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)propionic acid (DDPPA) and its enantiomers (+)-(2R,3S)-DDPPA and (-)-(2S,3R)-DDPPA were synthesized via Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation   of trans-caffeic acid derivatives using a potassium osmiate catalyst and enantiocomplementary catalysts  cinchona  alkaloid  derivatives  (DHQ)₂-PHAL  and  (DHQD)₂-PHA  as  chiral auxiliaries. Besides, methylated PDPGA was obtained via ring opening polymerization of 2-methoxycarbonyl-3-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)oxirane using a cationic initiator.  PDPGA is endowed with intriguing pharmacological activities as anticomplementary, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, burn and wound healing and anticancer properties. PDPGA and its synthetic monomer exerted anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo against androgen-dependent  and  -independent  human prostate cancer (PCA) cells via  targeting  androgen  receptor, cell  cycle  arrest  and  apoptosis  without  any toxicity, together  with  a strong  decrease  in  prostate specific antigen level in plasma. However anticancer efficacy of PDPGA against human PCA cells is more compared to its synthetic monomer. Methylated PDPGA did not show any activity against PCA. Overall, this study identifies PDPGA as a potent agent against PCA without any toxicity, and supports its clinical application.

The purpose of the study was to develop Tizanidine HCl (TZN) and Meloxicam (MLX) loaded bilayer mucoadhesive films intended for buccal administration, aiming to enhance the bioavailability. Bilayer films were prepared by solvent evaporation technique selecting arabinoxylan (ARX) as a sustained release (SR) layer forming polymer and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) E-15 as an immediate release (IR) layer forming polymer. Prepared films were subjected to in-vitro drug release, surface morphology, mechanical strength, compatibility of the ingredients, drug contents, ex-vivo mucoadhesion strength and drug permeation. Crossover study design was applied to study the in-vivo pharmacokinetics by using albino rabbits. Various pharmacokinetic parameters including AUC, Cmax, Tmax and T1/2 of both drugs loaded in films were compared with standard solution/dispersion. The results unveiled instant release and permeation of MLX from IR layer, while good controlled release and permeation characteristics of TZN from SR films over 8 h. films were of uniform thickness with smooth surface and satisfactory mechanical strength. Mucoadhesion strength was sufficient to provide suitable contact time with mucosal membrane. The pharmacokinetic study exhibited prompt absorption of MLX with better AUC 0-t (6655.64 vs 6538.99) and Cmax (436.98 vs 411.33) from oral dispersion. Similarly buccal films has shown enhanced half-life (9.91hr vs 2.51 hr), AUC 0-t (1043.4 vs 149.1) and Cmax (91.92 ng/ml vs 42.29 ng/ml) from oral solution. A statistical investigation disclosed a significantly improved pharmacokinetics of TZN and MLX after their absorption across buccal route following administration of F-ARX (p<0.05). ARX proved expedient and bilayer buccal films as a drug delivery system ascertained the dual effect of providing instant release of one active agent and persistent release of another one with improved pharmacokinetics

The surface bombardment with inert gases mainly produces structural changes, modifying topography and morphology that atomic force microscopy analysis reveals significant changes on the surface. In this paper the effect of nitrogen and argon ion implantation on surface structure and resistance against tantalum corrosion is investigated.   These experiment nitrogen ions with the energy of 30 keV and doses of 3 × 10 ¹⁷ ions/cm² are used. Roughness variations before and after implantation are observed by Atomic force microscopy (AFM). Also the corrosion analysis apparatus is used for comparison of resistance against Tantalum corrosion before and after ion implantation. Results show that nitrogen ion implantation has a substantial effect on resistance improvement against tantalum corrosion. The aim of this article is to achieve the best condition of tantalum formation. The corrosion potential curves and roughness values obviously indicate that corrosion potential variations caused to the different doses of     Nitrogen ion bombardment are inversely proportional to surface    roughness.After the corrosion test, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyzed the samples’ surface morphologies. In addition, the elemental composition is characterized by energy –dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis.

Single-stranded DNAs with specific sequence not only effectively disperse single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT), but also enable chiral separation of SWCNT, but their sorting mechanism has not been clarified yet. Here, we chose SWCNT (6,5) and single-stranded DNA (GT)₂₀ as an example, DNA-SWCNT hybrids were prepared and their structures were characterized. Quantitative measurements of intermolecular forces in DNA-SWCNT hybrids were conducted at different salt concentrations by using osmotic method in combination with X-ray diffraction. Data analysis showed that the intermolecular forces of DNA-SWCNT hybrids could be well described by using long-range electrostatic repulsion and short-range hydration repulsion at low salt concentrations; while at high salt concentrations, non-electrostatic attractions were observed, which we think were attributed to the hydrophobic interactions of exposed SWCNT surface. This study not only helps us understand DNA conformation on SWCNT surface as well as their sorting mechanism of SWCNT, but also has great significance in the assembly of SWCNT-based functional materials.

Cured modified epoxy resins, as a typical thermoset resin, is widely applied in adhesives, electronic packaging, protective coatings, composites matrix for its outstanding performance in mechanical strength, insulation ability and corrosion resistance. However, epoxy resins prone to brittle facture at low temperature, which restricts it application in some special areas, like aerospace and automotive fields. In recent years, bio-based polyether was widely used to improve the toughness of epoxy resins. Howbeit, investigations revealed that when using long-chain polyether as modifier, though it has been proved to own outstanding toughness, while at the same time, it showed deficiencies in the impact strength and Young’s modulus. In order to solve this problem, a new bio-based adipic acid-polyoxypropylene diamine copolymer with molecular weight of 2000 (AA-PPA 2000) has been synthesized by extending polyoxypropylene diamine D400 with adipic acid. The new bio-based polymer was used to modify diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy/diethyl toluene diamine (DDM) system, and the polyoxypropylene diamine D2000 was taken as the reference. The results of low-field 1H-NMR, DMA and mechanical properties test revealed that at the same condition of adding content, PPA2000 was superior to D2000 in modifying epoxy resins and maintained better overall performance. Amazingly, the results also disclosed that by using PPA2000 as toughener, intermolecular hydrogen bonds had been formed between amide groups of PPA2000 and hydroxyl groups of epoxy resins, which led to more complicated networks taken shape in the epoxy composites and thus introduced distinct advantages to the composites at achieving the synchronous enhancement of strength and fracture toughness.

Cured modified epoxy resins, as a typical thermoset resin, is widely applied in adhesives, electronic packaging, protective coatings, composites matrix for its outstanding performance in mechanical strength, insulation ability and corrosion resistance. However, epoxy resins prone to brittle facture at low temperature, which restricts it application in some special areas, like aerospace and automotive fields. In recent years, bio-based polyether was widely used to improve the toughness of epoxy resins. Howbeit, investigations revealed that when using long-chain polyether as modifier, though it has been proved to own outstanding toughness, while at the same time, it showed deficiencies in the impact strength and Young’s modulus. In order to solve this problem, a new bio-based adipic acid-polyoxypropylene diamine copolymer with molecular weight of 2000 (AA-PPA 2000) has been synthesized by extending polyoxypropylene diamine D400 with adipic acid. The new bio-based polymer was used to modify diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy/diethyl toluene diamine (DDM) system, and the polyoxypropylene diamine D2000 was taken as the reference. The results of low-field 1H-NMR, DMA and mechanical properties test revealed that at the same condition of adding content, PPA2000 was superior to D2000 in modifying epoxy resins and maintained better overall performance. Amazingly, the results also disclosed that by using PPA2000 as toughener, intermolecular hydrogen bonds had been formed between amide groups of PPA2000 and hydroxyl groups of epoxy resins, which led to more complicated networks taken shape in the epoxy composites and thus introduced distinct advantages to the composites at achieving the synchronous enhancement of strength and fracture toughness.

Avascular necrosis is a disease of cell death in joints, jaw, and hips due to lack of blood supply induced by burnt, inflammation or trauma, etc. The mainstream curing these days are i) arterial infusion by partial drug delivery, and ii) the replacement of the whole joints by using artificial materials. The first method can only be applied at an early stage of the disease, and the curing results. So for more severe situations, the medical implants will become the only choice. With the need for an improved stability and biocompatibility of the medical implant materials, diamond has recently become interesting as a promising material. The combination of chemical inertness and biocompatibility makes diamond a good material for e.g. biological applications. 

In order to promote localized cell adhesion and vascularization onto the diamond-covered medical implants, the prerequisite for pre-adhesion of growth factors onto the diamond surfaces is of largest interest to study more in detail. It is highly necessary that these investigations are performed on an atomic level. Therefore, theoretical simulations is a necessary complementary tool to i) aid in the analysis of experimental observations, and ii) to make recommendations for corresponding experimental studies.

With the purpose to tailor-make the medical implant surface by utilizing diamond’s unique properties, the present study has investigated the interaction between diamond and various biomolecules (BMP2, RGD, heparin, fibronectin, VEGF, angiopoietin). The combined effect of various surface plane and termination type (H, O, OH, and NH₂) has been of a special interest to study. Three different groupings where obtained with regard to adhesion strength. And all of these three groups showed different dependencies of the surface termination type. For all of these different scenarios, strong bond formations were observed. Evaluation of the methods used showed that the calculated trends in adhesion energy are highly reliable.

The demand for energy continued to outstrip supply and necessitated the development of biomass option. Residues were the most popular forms of renewable energy and currently biofuel production became much promising. Agricultural wastes contained high moisture content and could be decomposed easily by microbes. Agricultural wastes were abundantly available globally and could be converted to energy and useful chemicals by a number of microorganisms. Compost or bio-fertiliser could be produced with the inoculation of appropriated thermophilic microbes which increased the decomposition rate, shortened the maturity period and improved the compost (or bio-fertiliser) quality. The objective of the present research was to promote the biomass technology and involved adaptive research, demonstration and dissemination of results. With a view to fulfill the objective, a massive field survey was conducted to assess the availability of raw materials as well as the present situation of biomass technologies. In the present communication, an attempt had also been made to present an overview of present and future use of biomass as an industrial feedstock for production of fuels, chemicals and other materials. We may conclude from the review paper that biomass technology must be encouraged, promoted, invested, implemented, and demonstrated, not only in urban areas but also in remote rural areas.

Graphene has received extensive attention and wide application in electrical device, energy materials, and biomaterials, due to its large surface area and excellent performance in mechanical, thermal conductive, electrical and optical properties. All the properties depend on the distinct structure of graphene, such as layers, scale, surface defects. However, the difficulty of fast and efficient preparing high-quality graphene limits its industrial application. In this study, a conjugated IL named 1-methyl-3-pyrenemethyl-imidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([MPIM][PF6]) was synthesized and used to exfoliate graphite into graphene with the assistance of microwave irradiation. Owing to the cation-π interaction and additional strong π-π interaction between [MPIM][PF6] and graphite, large-scale, defect-free and few-layer high-quality graphene (GNP^IL) was efficiently prepared. And the results show that a relatively high yield of 40% is obtained. Moreover, the GNP^IL has good dispersability and conductivity due to the presence of ionic liquids in the interlayer. The high-quality GNP^IL could be dispersed in organic solvent homogeneously and stably with a high content, which is beneficial for its further applications. The AFM results show that the ionic liquid-functionalized graphene has a thickness of 4 to 6 nm and 5 to 10 layers. FTIR curves further prove ionic liquids exist in the graphene sheets. UV-Vis is used to characterize the dispersibility of the graphene in the organic solvent. Furthermore, this GNPIL is used to improve the conductivity and mechanical property of polymer. Compared with the resistivity of pure polymer, the resistivity of the composites decreases by eleven orders of magnitude, when 0.75 wt% graphene is added. With the increase of graphene content, the tensile strength of the composites increases gradually and when the content is 0.75 wt%, the tensile strength reaches the maximum, after that, it decreases. However, the thermal properties of composites do not change too much after the addition of graphene, so the composite still maintains good thermal properties.

The aim of this study was to produce the bioplastic packaging from banana pseudo-stem (Musa spp. cv. Nam-Wah). The cellulose of banana pseudo-stem was extracted with sodium hydroxide and then lignin removed with hydrogen peroxide. The cellulose powder was then synthesized to biopolymer: carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) by chloroacetic acid in alkaline condition. The percent yield of cellulose from banana pseudo-stem was 20.25% whereas the yield of CMC was 140.89%. The obtained CMC powder had 95.33% purity and a degree of substitution (DS) at 0.768. It was water soluble with low viscosity at 114 cPs and appeared in pale yellow color. CMC solutions were added with 3 different additives viz. glycerol, sorbitol and polyethylene glycol at 10, 20, 30 and 40% (w/v) concentrations to form bioplastic film. The higher content of all additives resulted to the thicker film, greater elongation (%), poorer water solubility and lower tensile strength. Film without any additives had the highest tensile strength. The films formed with 40% sorbitol had the highest elongation while oxygen could transmit through film with 40% polyethylene glycol at greater rate than other films.  Besides, films with 10% glycerol had the highest water solubility. All CMC-based bioplastic films could be degraded within 24 hours by burying it in high moisture content soil. Afterward, CMC films were processed to sachets for storing dry coffee powder. CMC-20% polyethylene glycol sachets could maintain quality of dry coffee powder if stored in refrigerated condition whereas CMC-30% polyethylene glycol could retain quality of dry coffee as similar as the coffee packed in aluminum foil bags at ambient air. The results indicated that bioplastic derived from the pseudo-stem of banana could be a potential material for dry food packaging.

Not at least because of the increased environmental awareness of many consumers, environmentally friendly hydraulic fluids are often used in Germany like areas such as forestry or in maritime applications. According to EN ISO 6743-4 and DIN ISO 15380, hydraulic fluids of the classes HETG (native esters), HEES (synthetic esters), HEPR (mostly polyalphaolefins) and HEPG (polyglycols) are considered to be environmentally compatible /ISO03, OEC92, DIN01/. Against the background of the expensive raw materials and the potential competition with foodstuffs, the search for raw materials alternatives has been intensified in recent years. IFAS is currently investigating so called Biopolymers. They have strong thickening properties when dissolved in water. Similar to polymer thickeners for mineral oil-based hydraulic fluids (HVLP), their technical suitability depends greatly on the stability with regard to shear stresses. Against the background, IFAS was set up a fluid aging test bench which exposes the fluid to near-application shear loads as far as possible. The test rig creates a pressure of 160 bar, at 10 l/min with a pressure-relief valve /Bus95/. For the experiments with water-based media, the fluid temperature is adjusted, for example, to 30 °C, in order to avoid cavitation effects. The presentation shows the development of the hydraulic test rig and first measurement results. They show a stability of a solution under hydraulic loads.

“BigBags”, made of stretched standard polymer tapes (e.g. iPP, PE-HD, PET, and PA), are suitable packaging materials with the required mechanical properties for heavy loads, e.g. fertilizers in agricultural applications.  Based on environmental aspects, synthetic highly-stretchable polymer tapes should be replaced by resource-saving Biopolymer tapes with high-strength properties. Thus, the goal of this study was to avoid polymer-waste, especially in agricultural applications. It is known that linear, unbranched polymer chains allow for a high stretchability, but unfortunately Biopolymers usually have a more complex structure compared to synthetic polymers. Until now no Biopolymer-compounds with high-strength properties are known and basic know-how about correlations between stretching parameters and materials properties is very scarce, especially for Biopolymers. Compounds of starch and Biopolyesters are promising materials for production of biodegradable products, because of their availability, renewability and biodegradability. However, compared to stretchable films made of synthetic polymers elongations at break of starches are lower by a factor of 100. Plasticizers are used to increase flexibility and stretchability of starch. Starch compounded with plasticizers is termed “thermoplastic starch” (TPS). The most common plasticizer is glycerol, which reduces the intermolecular bonding forces by increasing the inter(macro)molecular distance.  In this study the influence of different starch pretreatments (e.g. acid degradation) and starch sources (potatoe, maize etc.) to the strechability and mechanical properties were investigated. The aim was to develop high-strength TPS-Biopolyester-compounds, which allow for a high stretchability and stiffness as required in BigBag-applications. Furthermore, correlations between material properties and stretching parameters of Biopolymer-compounds were evaluated. It was found   that parameters, such as sample geometry, temperature, degree, as well as velocity of stretching have an influence on mechanical properties. Thick and narrow samples, higher temperatures and lower velocities of stretching result in better mechanical properties. Ultimately, results indicate that the degree of stretching should be lower than 100%.

Statement of the Problem:  Cardiovascular diseases have emerged as global pandemic affecting 26 million people worldwide and responsible for the highest number of deaths annually. The two most important factors that lead to heart failures are hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. Overall, 26.4 % of the world’s adult population had hypertension in 2000 and the percentage is predicted to increase by about 60% i.e. to 29.2% of the total adult population by the year 2025.

Purpose of the Study is to estimate the effect of Chitosan, a natural biopolymer which is regarded as safe, non-toxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable with good absorption properties and thus is known to have various applications in pharmaceuticals and food industry. On the other hand, synthetic drugs show many side effects in patients such as asthma attacks, swelling, aching muscles and fever. Chitosan is a linear polysaccharide poly-β-(1->4) - glucosamine obtained from exoskeleton of edible crab Sartoriana spinigera.

Methodology and Theoretical orientation: Extraction of Chitosan is done by the process of demineralization and deproteinization of exoskeleton of crab to obtain chitin. Deacetylation of chitin is done in which acetyl groups are removed from chitin to obtain chitosan. The In vitro ACE assay was done using 1nM Hippuryl-His-Leu as substrate. Kidney cortex plasma membranes were used as ACE enzyme source. Enzyme hydrolyses the substrate into hippurate. Pyridine and Benzene Sulphonyl Chloride were used as chromogenic agents. The yellow color formed was measured at 410nm in an ELISA Plate Reader. Captopril was used as a standard compound.

Findings: It was observed that chitosan sample 10µg/ml, 50µg/ml and 100µg/ml showed 73.35±10.2%, 84.99±15.4% and 99.7±12.8% ACE in vitro inhibitory activity respectively.Captopril,2.5 nM assayed as a standard compound showed 85.37±16.7% ACE inhibitory activity.

Conclusion and Significance: Present study indicated that Chitosan (50µg/ml and 100µg/ml) showed strong ACE in-vitro inhibitory activity. Chitosan having ACE inhibitory activity may be used as an antidote to hypertension and could find application in biomedical devices and drug delivery.