International Meeting on
Advanced Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology
Scientific Program
Keynote Session:
Title: Rubber-like shape memory polymer programmable at body/room temperature: Features and applications in comfort fitting
Biography:
Dr Wei Min Huang is currently an Associate Professor (tenured) at the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. With over 20 years of experience on various shape memory materials (alloy, polymer, composite and hybrid), he has published over 180 papers in journals, such as Accounts of Chemical Research, Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, and Materials Today, and has been invited to review manuscripts from over 200 international journals (including Progress in Polymer Science, Nature Communications, Advanced Materials, and Advanced functional materials, etc), project proposals from American Chemical Society, Hong Kong Research Grants Council, etc, and book proposals from CRC and Elsevier. He has published two books (Thin film shape memory alloys – fundamentals and device applications, Polyurethane shape memory polymers) and is currently on the editorial board of over two dozens of journals
Abstract:
The shape memory effect (SME) refers to an interesting phenomenon that a piece of quasi-plastically deformed material is able to recover the original permanent shape, but only if the right stimulus is applied [1]. Such a phenomenon has been found in a range of materials, such as, metal/alloy, polymer and ceramic etc., which are technically called shape memory material (SMM) [2]. Thus, those SMMs activated upon heating are termed heating-responsive SMM.
Although at high temperatures, most shape memory polymers (SMPs) could be very soft and highly elastic, at low temperatures/room temperature, they are normally much harder than ordinary rubber-band and some of them are indeed very brittle. So far, limited rubber-like SMPs (at room temperature) have been reported in the literature. In [3], a hybrid made of silicone and melting glue is demonstrated to be rubber-like at room temperature even after being programmed with significant quasi-plastic deformation. However, it must be programmed at high temperatures, which is well above our body temperature. Similarly, the elastic shape memory foam reported in [4]requires to be programmed at high temperatures as well.
Comforting fitting is required in many applications for the purpose of personalization. And in many occasions, it is required to be contacted directly with part of the human body for perfect fitting [5]. Hence, programming of the SMP must be carried out at around body temperature and enough time window for programming (e.g., 3-5 min) is also required.In this talk, we present our most recent progress in this research field. In addition, potential applications for comfort fitting are discussed and demonstrated by prototypes.
Title: Convergence of biological and electronics materials for bioelectronic platforms
Biography:
Shweta Agarwala obtained her Ph.D. in electronics engineering in 2012 from National University of Singapore (NUS) on nanostructured materials for dye-sensitized solar cells. Currently, she is a researcher at SC3DP, NTU. Her research is aimed at printed electronics, 3D printing, bioprinting and bioelectronics platforms for electronics, biomedical and aerospace applications
Abstract:
Bringing together electronics and biology materials on a single platform can pave for highly sensitive and novel biomedical devices and clinical applications. Different morphologies, materials and composites are being combined together to have added functionalities and customized interfaces for various bio-medical and bioengineering applications. The field of bioelectronics is further fueled by innovations in electronics, biotechnology and has received a strong boost with the advent of 3D bioprinting technology. 3D printing is driving the bio-medical industry with specifications such as user customization, cost-effectiveness and short response time. The talk will focus on novel bio- and electronic materials and processes to bring them together for added functionality and wider applications. The talk will bring to light formulation of the electronic nano- and biomaterials and how to synergistically incorporate them on a single platform to perform pre-defined tasks and provide information relevant to instrument novel biomedical devices.The talk will also discuss leveraging on 3D printing techniques for tissue engineering and biocompatible biomedical platforms. We report printing, optimization and characterization of electronic tracks on bio-scaffolds for making complete bio-medical devices to understand printing capability on such platforms. The platforms provide biocompatible, flexible and robust base for the electronic circuits to be laid down. The fabricated devices and platforms are compatible with cells and tissues, are cheap, easy to fabricate and do not require any post-processing
Title: Ultrahigh responsivity near infrared photo detectors based on single semiconductor nanowires
Biography:
Prof. Raychaudhuri obtained his M.Sc from IIT,Kanpur and Ph.D from Cornell University ,Ithaca, USA. He had post-doctoral experience at the Max Planck Institute (FKF),Stuttgart as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow .He worked as a Professor at Indian Institute Science (IISc), Bangalore, as Director, National Physical Laboratory (NPL), New Delhi, and as Director of S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata, where is he is currently a Distinguished Professor Emeritus and J.C.Bose Fellow.
His research interests cover a broad canvas of problems in condensed matter physics and materials physics. His current research mainly focuses on nanomaterials that include nanofabrications using nanolithography techniques such as use of electron-beam and ion-beam lithography for fabrication of single nanowires based devices including ultra-high responsivity single nanowire photodetectors. He is a fellow of all the Science Academies in India and is a winner of the S.S. Bhatnagar Award in Physical Sciences in 1994
Abstract:
In this report, we show that ultra-high responsivity ( 
> 105-106 A/Watts) Near Infra Red (NIR) photodetectors can be made from single strand of nanowires of semiconductors like Si, Ge or molecular materials like Cu:TCNQ. The nanowires used were all grown by vapour phase methods and the single nanowire devices were fabricated on SiO2/Si substrate where the electrical leads were made using a combination of optical lithography and nanolithography tools such as Electron Beam Lithography and lift off or Focused Ion beam or Focused Electron Beam deposition methods. The typical device lengths are in the range of 1-5 microns and then nanowire strands have a diameter < 100 nm. The distance between the electrodes were brought down to below 300 nm.
> 105-106 A/Watts) Near Infra Red (NIR) photodetectors can be made from single strand of nanowires of semiconductors like Si, Ge or molecular materials like Cu:TCNQ. The nanowires used were all grown by vapour phase methods and the single nanowire devices were fabricated on SiO2/Si substrate where the electrical leads were made using a combination of optical lithography and nanolithography tools such as Electron Beam Lithography and lift off or Focused Ion beam or Focused Electron Beam deposition methods. The typical device lengths are in the range of 1-5 microns and then nanowire strands have a diameter < 100 nm. The distance between the electrodes were brought down to below 300 nm. In case of the molecular material Cu: TCNQ, which gives a narrowband detector , a peak responsivity of 104 -105 A/W can be reached at 405nm with nanowire of diameter 30nm [1,2]. In case of Si nanowires (diameter ~ 80-100nm), the response is broad band and a responsivity > 104 A/W can be reached over the wavelength of 500nm to 1150nm [3]. For Ge nanowires, the response can be seen even over broader wavelength region extending well into the NIR region limited by the band-width of Ge (1850nm). The peak responsivity in this case can reach even 106 A/W at wavelength range 800nm-1000nm. Though not very large reasonable responsivity can also be seen from single strands of Y-junction CNT [4].
The ultra-high sensitivity in single nanowire devices are contributed by a number of factors that include: a) very close distance between electrodes , b) small diameter allowing for photo-transistor effects at the surface of nanowires and c) diffusion of photo generated carriers lowering the Schottky barrier at the contact interface
Oral Session 1:
- Nano Bio materials | Advanced Nano Materials | Nano Particles and Nano Structure | Nano Chemistry | Nano Photonics | Nano Biotechnology | Nano Ethics | Nano Market
Chair
Shweta Agarwala
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Title: Integration of quantum dots photo-sensor with quantum dots LED
Biography:
Wei Lei is a professor in the department of electronic engineering in Southeast University , China. His first research activities were focused on charged particle optics and application in display devices. They gave the matter of PhD degree. Since 1994, he was engaged in project cooperation between Southeast University and Philips Company. He had designed a few new electron guns for cathode ray tubes, and he also investigated the method to improve the sensitivity of deflection coil. Now, his research fields covers the nano materials for photonic detectors, field effect transistor based on nano wires, 3D display technologies, and micro-displays. He has published more than 150 hundred papers in the scientific journals, and give more than 30 invited talkings and oral presentations in the conference. Besides this, he has got 28 patents. Since 1995, he has finished 22 collaborative projects between university and industries
Abstract:
Recently, the photo thin film transistor (TFT) with colloidal quantum dots (QD) have been investigated deeply. This type of photo-TFT has high responsivity, high detectivity, and tunable detecting wavelengths. Quantum dots LED is also mentioned as a promising display with high efficiency, saturated color, and low cost. Because both QD photo sensors and QD LEDs can be fabricated with solution process, an interactive device with QD photo-TFTs and QD LEDs is studied in this work.Because PbS QDs and Ge QDs show strong absorption in infra-red (IR) waveband, it is used as the active materials for IR sensor in this work. CdSe/ZnS quantum dot has extraordinary properties of light emission, so it is used as light emitters in the QD LED. To improve the performance of photo-TFT, the QDs are deposited on the active layer to increase the photoconductivity under illumination. For the QD LED device, the ETL, HTL, and device structure are optimized to decrease the driving current. The structure of integrated devices is shown in Fig.1.Because the photo current is amplified by TFT, the responsibility of photo-sensor is about 104 A/W. For the QD LED developed in this paper, the power efficiency is about 30 lm/W for green light. The peak brightness of green light is as high as 10,060 cd/m2.
Title: Facile synthesis of Ag and Ag-CuO nanoparticles using aqueous extracts of Mimosa pigra and their catalytic activities in the degradation of some common pollutants
Biography:
Abstract:
Biosynthesis of Ag and Ag-CuO nanoparticles using aqueous leaf extracts of Mimosa pigra is presented. The nanoparticles were synthesised using different concentration ratios of aqueous leaf extract of Mimosa pigra to the silver and copper salts. The nanoparticles were characterised using UV–vis spectroscopy, fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning and transmission electron microscopies. Stable nanoparticles with average particle size of 17.5 nm (Ag) and 49.5 nm (Ag-CuO), which were capped by the plant extracts via the O-H and C=O groups from flavonoids, tannins and other biocompounds were obtained. The UV-vis spectra revealed earlier formation of surface plasmon bands for silver nanoparticles when the volume of extract was reduced, although with lower intensity. In the spectrum of Ag-CuO nanoparticles, broad bands around 400-500 nm appeared in the region of 365–369 nm. Crystallite size of approximately 50 nm for the Ag-CuO was calculated from XRD results using Schererr’s equation and the particles were well dispersed as shown by the TEM images. The photocatalytic activities of the synthesized Ag and Ag-CuO nanoparticles were studied towards the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The results provide eco-friendly reaction toward environmental remediation from common pollutants
Title: Engineering at the nanoscale: A strategy for developing high performance functional materials
Biography:
Professor Thomas is the Director of the International and Interuniversity Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and full professor of Polymer Science and Engineering at the School of Chemical Sciences of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, and Kerala, India. He is an outstanding leader with sustained international acclaims for his work in Polymer Science and Engineering, Polymer Nanocomposites, Elastomers, Polymer Blends, Interpenetrating Polymer Networks, Polymer Membranes, Green Composites and Nanocomposites, Nanomedicine and Green Nanotechnology
Abstract:
Statement of the Problem: The talk will concentrate on various approaches being used to engineer materials at the nanoscale for various applications in future technologies. In particular, the case of clay, carbon nanostructures (e.g. nanotubes, graphene), metal oxides, bionanomaterials (cellulose, starch and chitin) will be used to highlight the challenges and progress. Several polymer systems will be considered such as rubbers, thermoplastics, thermoetts and their blends for the fabrication of functional polymer nanocomposites. The interfacial activity of nanomaterials in compatibilising binary polymer blends will also be discussed. Various self assembled architectures of hybrid nanostructures can be made using relatively simple processes. Some of these structures offer excellent opportunity to probe novel nanoscale behavior and can impart unusual macroscopic end properties. I will talk about various applications of these materials, taking into account their multifunctional properties. Some of the promising applications of clay, metal oxides, nano cellulose, chitin, carbon nanomaterials and their hybrids will be reviewed. Finally the effect of dewetting up on solvent rinsing on nano scale thin films will also be discussed
Title: pH-responsive Doxorubicin-loaded cockle shell-derived nanoparticles: Release kinetics and pharmacokinetics in canine
Biography:
Danmaigoro Abubkar is currently a PhD student at Universiti Putra Malaysia. He is also a lecturer at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto- Nigeria at the department of Veterinary Anatomy
Abstract:
Nanoparticles with stimuli-responsive release mechanism has received great interest on nanomedicine. Doxorubicin-loaded pH-responsive nanocarriers could enable selectivity and specificity by reducing premature drug release in the plasma following an intravenous administration. Doxorubicin-Load cockleshell-derived nanoparticle (CSNP-DOX) was prepared via ball-milling method. Apart from the analysis of CSNP drug release kinetics at pH 4.8 and 7.4, a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) bioanalytical method was developed for the detection of doxorubicin. For the pharmacokinetics of CSNP-DOX, Animal ethics approval was sought. Six canines were divided into two groups to receive intravenous CSNP-DOX and free doxorubicin at 30 mg/m2 respectively. At predetermined time interval, blood was sampled and processed before analysed by HPLC. The pharmacokinetic parameters were determined based on the plasma doxorubicin concentration in the canines. An excellent bioanalytical method with high acceptable extraction yield and linearity of 89.87% and 0.997 within the range limit of 0.25 – 4 µg/mL was revealed from the method developed. At pH 7.4. 13.7% of DOX was released from CSNP-DOX after 96 hours while 52.6% of doxorubicin was recorded in the free doxorubicin alone. However, the amount of doxorubicin released from the nanocarriers doubled in acidic condition. CSNP-DOX increase the t1/2, Tmax and AUC0-t of doxorubicin. The plasma concentration of doxorubicin rapidly becomes lower versus time when compared to the plasma concentration of CSNP-DOX. CSNP-DOX exhibited pH-triggered and sustained-drug release properties. The pharmacokinetic parameters confirmed that CSNP has the ability to regulate and delay the release of doxorubicin in blood circulation
Title: Electrochemical properties of nanoporous based materials doped with metal oxide nanoparticles for potential application as sensors
Biography:
Omolola Esther Fayemi has her expertise in synthesis, characterization and application of nano-based materials as electrochemical sensors and wound dressing. She is very passionate about her work and aspire to develop novel materials that can be use as sensors to monitor the concentration of biological molecules in pharmaceutical samples, food and organochlorine pesticides for environmental pollution control. She is a young researcher ready for collaborations that can be of mutual benefits to both parties involved.
Abstract:
Nanotechnology is playing an increasing important role in the development of nanosensors. Recently, electrochemical biosensors based on nanostructured metal oxides gained much attention in the field of health care for the management of various important analyte in a biological system. The unique properties of nanostructured metal oxides offer excellent prospects for interfacing biological recognition events with electronic signal transduction and for designing a new generation of bioelectronics devices. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the sensing properties of different nanoporous based materials doped with different metal oxide nanoparticles towards the electrochemical detection of various biological and environmental molecules and how such devices have enabled the achievement of high sensitivity and selectivity with low detection limits. Conclusion and the significance of the study produced an observation that the sensitivity and performance of nanostructured metal oxide based sensors is improved in the presence of these materials. The use of these metal oxide nanostructured materials has allowed the introduction of many new signal transduction technologies in biosensors
Keynote Session:
Title: Luminescence in nanosized vanadate phosphor
Biography:
Dr. K.N. Shinde has completed his Ph. D. from R.T.M. Nagpur University, Nagpur, India and postdoctoral studies from Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Engineering, Sejong University, Seoul, South Korea. At present, He is an assistant professor and the Director of R & D at N.S. Science and Arts College, Bhadrawati, India. He has published more than 50 papers in reputed journals and serving as an editorial/reviewer of international journals. His research interests are synthesis of nanocrystalline materials and exploring novel materials and study their PL properties. He published a book on “Phosphate Phosphors for Solid State Lighting” with International Publication Springer series in material science. One Korean patent is on his credit. He is an active member of International centre for diffraction data (ICDD), USA
Abstract:
Recently, rare earth doped vanadate phosphors have paid considerable attention owing to their long-wavelength excitation properties, which enable their use in LEDs, fluorescent lamps, and flat panel displays. The luminescence performance of a material can be enhanced significantly by the suitable selection of host material. Since the white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) gaining much more attention. Generation of the white light by combining an ultraviolet (UV) LED and appropriate phosphors is most desirable. Hence, it is essential to develop efficient phosphors to convert the near-UV pump light with a range of 300-400 nm into the visible wavelength. In order to fabricate excellent WLEDs, the excitation wavelength of the red phosphors should match the emission of the near UV-LEDs (350-410 nm) or blue LEDs (440-470 nm). Therefore, the phosphor materials play an important role in WLEDs. Most vanadates exhibit intense broadband emission from 400 nm to 700 nm under UV excitation because of tetrahedral VO4 with Td symmetry. The broadband emission spectra of vanadate phosphors are due to the charge transfer (CT) of an electron from the oxygen 2p orbital to the vacant 3d orbital of V5+ in tetrahedral VO4 with Td symmetry. The luminescence is attributed to the 3T2→1A1 and 3T1 →1A1 transitions. The preparation and photoluminescent properties of orthovanadate are M3–3x/2(VO4)2:xEu(0.01≤x≤0.09 for M=Ca and 0.03 for M=Sr and Ba) reported. The vanadate phosphors powder are synthesized using the solution combustion method. These phosphors are annealed at different temperatures and the impact of temperature is clearly seen on particle size. The particles become larger with increasing temperature and reach maximum at 1050, 1150 and 1250°C for Ca, Sr and Ba host, respectively. Eventually, the photoluminescence properties of these compounds under near UV-excitation are expected to make them applicable as efficient and novel luminescent materials for white light LED
Oral Session 1:
- Nano composites | Nano Sensors | Carbon Nano Tubes |Nano Electronics | Nano Tribology | Nano Pollution and Nano Toxicology | Nano Applications | Nano Biotechnology | Nano Ethics | Nano Market
Chair
A K Raychaudhuri
S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, India
Title: Environmental friendly superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) based on cellulose nanofibers (CNFs)
Biography:
Seyed Rahman Djafari Petroudy has been working as an Assistant Professor at the SBU University in Iran. He has published many interesting papers in well-known journals such as Carbohydate Polymers, Cellulose and Journal of Polymer and the Environment
Abstract:
The current study was aimed to use CNF as strength enhancer of two naturally superabsorbents (SAPs) i.e., Acrylic Acid (AA) and Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) based SAPs. The results showed that increasing the CNF content may be resulted in decreasing the Swelling Capacity (SC) of the produced SAPs. The produced SAPs showed excellent swelling capacity in comparison to sodium polyacrylate based SAPs and due to biodegradable and non-toxic properties can be replaced with aforementioned SAPs. The Ionic Sensitivity (IS) of all produced SAPs was investigated and resulted in increased and decreased IS with increasing the CMC and CNF content respectively. Centrifuged swelling resulted sufficient strength of the SAPs based on AA during the water absorption due to increasing CNF addition. Additionally, the antibacterial test also studied and the results showed that SAPs based on AA containing chitosan had bactericidal property against Escherichia coli whereas CMC based SAPs exhibited no antibacterial property versus aforesaid bacteria
Title: A simplistic two-step route to synthesize titanium dioxide structures and their application as humidity and ethanol vapor sensors
Biography:
Dr. Rupali Nagar is working at Symbiosis Institute of Technology (SIT), Pune, India as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Science. She completed her Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT D) and continued her research while working at Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT M) as Project Officer till 2012. Her research interests include studying nanomaterials for energy and gas sensing applications
Abstract:
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) structures have been extensively used among metal oxide semiconductors owing to their comprehensive industrial applications as gas sensor, humidity sensor, solar cells, photocatalyst and laser diodes. Here, a low cost and simplistic process of synthesizing TiO2 structures by sol-gel method is reported. The as-synthesized structures were tested for humidity sensing properties in bulk as well as thin film form for relative humidity (Rh) levels ranging from 8% to 90%. Doctor-blade technique was employed to make the film sensor while a pellet of 8 mm diameter was used as the bulk sensor reference. The sensors showed a quality response at low Rh values at room temperature; a condition required for an ideal sensor. The stability of the bulk and film sensors was tested over five cycles and the response observed was stable as well as reproducible. While the change in resistance for bulk sensor was observed to be in the range of 103 to 106 Ω, it ranged from 108 to 1011 Ω in the case of film sensor. Experiments on ethanol vapor sensing in the range from 0-400 ppm (parts per million) have shown that the sensors are selective towards ethanol vapors and have exhibited good response at higher concentrations (~300 ppm) in thin film form without showing any saturation. X-ray diffraction studies, scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy have been employed to investigate the structural, morphological and optical properties of the synthesized samples. It is observed that the as-synthesized samples have anatase phase, no distinct morphology and a band-gap of 3.3 eV. Both the pellets as well as film sensor demonstrate the sensing behaviour at room temperature and ambient pressure. Further, the sensors have not been heated between cycles, which show that the sensor’s capacity to adsorb and absorb the test gas/vapour is good and therefore the sensor is recyclable
Title: Enhanced thermal stability and electrical characteristics of sputtered Pt thin film for low temperature solid oxide fuel cells
Biography:
Kang-Yu Liu has received both the Bachelor and Master degrees in School of Material Engineering from National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan in 2004 and 2006 respectively. From 2007 to 2012, he has served as a Research Engineer at Fuel Cell Department, Corporate R&D Center, Delta Electronic, Inc., where he focused on the development of polymer-based fuel cells. He is currently pursuing his PhD degree under the supervision of Assistant Professor Su Pei-Chen at School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University. His main research interests focus on fuel cell & energy conversion Technology
Abstract:
This work demonstrates a thermal stable nanoporous cathode with atomic layer deposited ZrO2 capping and Pt-Ni alloying to effectively inhibit the thermal agglomeration of nanoporous Pt. The ZrO2 capping is found to confine the surface nanoporous morphology and Pt alloying with Ni is found to constrain its underlaying microstructure at high temperature operation of 450 °C. The output current using ZrO2 capped PtNi cathode has a significant improved stability, comparing with pure Pt cathode. The material characterization and electrical impedance spectrum were discussed towards the enhanced thermal stability and electrochemical behaviors
Title: Nano-fabrication of metal/heterometal oxides nanostructures using sol-gel process
Biography:
Ajay Saini is pursuing his PhD in “Nano-fabrication of oxides nanostructures and their application” under the supervision of Dr. Veena Dhayal, Assistant Professor, Manipal University Jaipur. He is a qualified professional, engaged in hands-on R&D work in industry as well as in the academic research projects He has expertise in the synthesis, design, and characterization of materials (Organic moieties and nanomaterials) using various spectroscopic techniques. He has published 4 research papers in international journals of high repute and presented 5 research papers in national and international conferences
Abstract:
Metal/heterometal oxides nanostructures play an important role in materials science applications. Several applications such as photocatalysis, in waste water treatment, lithium ion batteries, microelectronic circuits, solar cells, as sensors, as piezoelectric devices have been reported in literature. Earlier approach to synthesis was through solid state chemistry route, but in the recent years alternate approach using solution techniques have emerged, including coprecipitation, sol-gel process, hydrothermal processing, and solvothermal methods for fabrication of oxides nanostructures. Among these, sol-gel is a versatile method for the growth of nanostructures, such as nanorods, nanowires, nanobelts and hierarchical nanostructures, due to its simplicity, easy handling process and capability to control over grain size. Metal alkoxides are commonly used precursors for the synthesis of oxides nanostructures. The modification in metal alkoxides i.e. substitution of alkoxo group by chelating ligands such as oximes, β-ketones, schiff’s base, glycerols, etc.; changes electronic environment of the precursor, which affects the kinetics of hydrolysis as well as condensation reactions, leads to altered morphology and functionality of oxides nanostructures. The introduction of modifiers not only generates steric effects, but also increase the gelation time and maintained the viscosity of the sol.
The present authors have experimented to modify the precusors of aluminum and titanium alkoxides, and also studied the effect of precursor chemistry on the morphology and size of the nanostructured metal/heterometal oxides by sol-gel technique. The paper presents the approach to modify the precusors of aluminum and titanium alkoxides, leading to modified nanoparticles with altered morphology. The nano-structures so obtained were found to possess better antiscratch and anti-corrosive properties, making them an attractive possibility for surface protective coatings
Title: Mechanical and thermal characteristics of solvent blended EPDM/neoprene clay nanocomposites: A comparative study
Biography:
Ginil Mon (34 yrs.) a chemist who has specialized in Polymer Chemistry got his doctorate for his thesis “Thermal And Mechanical Characteristics of Novel Peroxide-Cured Ethylene Propylene Diene Terpolymer-Neoprene Composite Films with Clay/Graphite Fillers” from the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University. His paper presented in Indraprastha International Conclave on Nano Science and Technology, New Delhi during November 16-17, 2010 was adjudged the best. He has six publications to his credit with 34 citations, h-index 4 and i10-index 1. An International Resource Person, he is working in Nanotechnology, Polymer Nanocomposites, Spectroscopy and Molecular Docking. A fellow of Indian Science Congress, member of editorial boards for journals, reviewer of four international journals, currently he is teaching in the Department of Chemistry and Research, Nesamony Memorial Christian College, Marthandam near Cape Commorin
Abstract:
Nanocomposites have definite advantages over conventional composites due to their light weight, low cost and excellent mechanical, thermal, optical and electrical properties. Clays and layered silicates are well suited for this purpose as they provide polymer-clay Nanocomposites (PCNs) and polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites (PLSNs). Elastomers and rubbers are very promising polymeric matrices for the preparation of PCNs because of their multi-characteristic applications. Non-polar EPDM demands polar inducement in the form of compatibilizing agents for getting a homogeneous blend with neoprene.
EPDM/neoprene matrices are prepared by solvent blending without any compatibilizing agents. Morphological studies and single Tg values have established an excellent compatibility of the blend, further confirmed by their enhanced mechanical characteristics. Organo-modified MMT Clay (CA-MMT) and locally available Kaolinite have been filled in the EPDM/Neoprene matrices to prepare their respective nanocomposites. The CA-MMT is adjudged as the most efficient filler as shown by the comparative studies, even though kaolinite too has shown comparable characteristics in a few cases. It is suggested that kaolinite could be a promising filler to be modified further to attain still better results.
Title: Therapeutic natural lipid nanoformulation rectifies molecular parameters of critical-inflammation pathogenesis
Biography:
Dr. Debjyoti Paul, is presently a post-doc in the laboratory of Sr. Professor Parimal Chandra Sen, Molecular Medicine division of the Bose Institute, Centenary Campus, located in Kolkata. Dr. Paul did his Ph.D. from the University of Calcutta in nano-formulations of therapeutic conjugated linolenic acid isomer, and has provided one of the earliest evidences of such lipids as nano-systems in ameliorating bio-molecular parameters against, diabetes, pathogenic mitogens and allergens. He has also been a pioneer in putting forward a stable formulation system to emulsify such PUFAs for clinical applications that can be nano-sized without leading to the formation of undesirable lipid-artifacts. His present focus is in developing nano-carriers to deliver novel drugs against mi-RNAs associated with Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells
Abstract:
Background: Nano-formulating natural biomolecules, including naturally occurring polyunsaturated fatty acid rich systems with proven therapeutic benefits, are being viewed as elegant solutions for unlocking the untapped potential of such molecules for translational research against critical disease pathogenesis. However, despite preliminary and at best theoretical promises, empirical evidences to establish the higher bio-functionality of therapeutic lipids as nano-templates are starkly lacking. In this context, this work presents encouraging real-time findings against both in vivo and ex vivo inflammation models for a therapeutic lipid, alpha-eleostearic acid (ESA), encapsulated in a novel and thoroughly characterized bio-compatible nano-emulsion (NE) system (particle sizes less than 200 nm).
Methods: A protocol involving high pressure homogenizer was developed to fabricate novel formulations of ESA and was characterized with standardized methods of DLS and TEM. Molecular biological tools and assays were employed to arrive at a definite conclusion.
Results: Among the treated experimental groups, the pro-inflammatory profile was found to be significantly mitigated in the hypersensitized rats administered with 0.25% ESA-NE formulation. ESA NE also restored the cell cycle phases of splenocytes to normal conditions and in a more emphatic manner as compared to ESA CE. The short-term effect of the formulations in the isolated human PBMCs challenged with and without lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for cell-surface bio-marker (CD 14, CCR5/CD195) expressions, also revealed novel findings.
Conclusion: The novel ESA NE formulation shows lot of palpable promise for clinical applications against pathogenic and delayed type-hypersensitivity.
Title: Overview of nanotechnology applications with focusing about agricultural sector
Biography:
Zakaria Fouad Fawzy - Professor - National Research Centre and Assessor Accreditation Council “Organic farming and Food safety”. He is the first Egyptian researcher attended of the talented young scientist program in China “Organic Agriculture”. He got an opportunity for more than two international projects in Egypt as a principal investigator about Climate Changes Issues in China and Egypt. Dr Zakaria is professor in the Agriculture and Biological Division, National Research centre since 2013. Also, he is Assessor in the Egyptian Accreditation Council. Dr Zakaria is Former President of the Youth Scientific Research Association. He was attended many scholarships and fellowships such as , scholarship “ PostDoctor “ in china from 2011 to 2012 and fellowship “ Talented Young Scientists Program” in China from 2014 to 2015 “ Organic Agriculture”. He created about four Memorandum of Understanding “MoU” and Memorandum of Agreement “MoA” between National Research Centre and other international scientific organization such as – Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research- Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Institute of Technology- Ministry of Science and Technology – China. He is a member in many scientific organizations and acts as reviewer and referee as well as board member in the field of organic agriculture and climate changes issues for different national and international journals and organizations. Also, Dr. Zakaria won many awards and he was attend a huge number of conferences, training and workshops in Egypt and other many countries in worldwide as well as he was published five scientific books and more than 45 scientific research paper. Dr. Zakaria contributed significantly to the expansion of knowledge of organic agriculture and climate changes issues through public lectures on scientific research centers and various Egyptian and Chinese universities, and because he is principal investigator of some international and national projects he contributed significantly in helping to learn organic agriculture and climate changes and using smart climate agriculture as a new trend in the field of agriculture. He work a Progress Patent invention entitled “A new natural compound to increase productivity and immunity of horticultural and field crops " - Application No. 2077/2015 - Advanced side - Academy of Scientific Research and Technology - Patent office
Abstract:
Attempts to apply nanotechnology in agriculture began with the growing realization that conventional farming technologies would neither be able to increase productivity any further nor restore ecosystems damaged by existing technologies back to their pristine state; in particular because the long-term effects of farming with “miracle seeds”, in conjunction with irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides, have been questioned both at the scientific and policy levels, and must be gradually phased out. Nanotechnology in agriculture has gained momentum in the last decade with an abundance of public funding, but the pace of development is modest, even though many disciplines come under the umbrella of agriculture. Specifically in agriculture, technical innovation is of importance with regard to addressing global challenges such as population growth, climate change and the limited availability of important plant nutrients such as phosphorus and potassium.Nanotechnology applied to agricultural production could play a fundamental role for this purpose and research on agricultural applications is ongoing for largely a decade by now. This also touches on the issue of nanotechnology in developing countries. Despite these potential advantages, the agricultural sector is still comparably marginal and has not yet made it to the market to any larger extent in comparison with other sectors of nanotechnology application. Nanotechnology devices and tools, like nanocapsules, nanoparticles and even viral capsids, are examples of uses for the detection and treatment of diseases, the enhancement of nutrients absorption by plants, the delivery of active ingredients to specific sites and water treatment processes. The use of target-specific nanoparticles can reduce the damage to non-target plant tissues and the amount of chemicals released into the environment. Nanotechnology derived devices are also explored in the field of plant breeding and genetic transformation.
Title: Promising features of Au nanoparticles on near-infrared photoluminescence from Si/SiGe other than LSPR
Biography:
Zhenyang Zhong has completed his Ph.D at the age of 29 years from Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China and postdoctoral studies from Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria and Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart, German. He is the professor in Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. He has published 39 papers in reputed journals and serving as an editorial board member of Journal of Material Sciences & Engineering
Abstract:
Au nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted broad attentions thanks to their superior capability to modify the optical, the electrical and the thermal properties of the surrounding medium [1]. All those unique features and various applications of Au NPs are mainly based on the strong interaction with resonant photons through localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) [2]. A question naturally arises whether the Au NPs can also remarkably modulate the properties of the surrounding median under the off-resonant excitation.
In this report, the Si/SiGe heterostructures are grown on Si (001) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The Au NPs on the Si/SiGe heterostructures are obtained by annealing an ion-sputtered Au thin film at 400 ℃ for 30 min in the vacuum. It is found that the PL from the Si and the SiGe is comprehensively modified by the Au NPs under the excitation without the surface Plasmon resonance. Moreover, the PL spectra sensitively depend on the size of the Au NPs, the excitation power and the thickness of Si between the Au NPs and the SiGe, as shown in Figure 1(a). A model is proposed in terms of the electrostatic effect of the naturally charged Au NPs due to the electron transferring through the nanoscale metal/semiconductor Schottky junction without an external bias and an external injection of carriers [3]. It reveals that Au NPs can substantially modify the energy band structures (see Fig. 1b-c), the distribution and the transition of carriers in the nanoscale region below the Au NPs. Our results demonstrate that the Au NPs on semiconductor can efficiently modulate the light-matter interaction from the fundamental aspect of the matter as well as the light. Such promising electrostatic effects of the metal NPs open an alternative door to design innovative optoelectronic,photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic devices based on the strong light-matter interaction
