Farooq Bashir

Effect of Ti(+4) on in vitro bioactivity and antibacterial activity of silicate glass-ceramics.

A novel glass-ceramic series in (48-x) SiO2-36 CaO-4 P2O5-12 Na2O-xTiO2 (where x=0, 3.5, 7, 10.5 and 14mol %) system was synthesized by crystallization of glass powders, obtained by melt quenching technique. The differential scanning calorimetric analysis (DSC) was used to study the non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of the as prepared glasses. The crystallization behaviour of glasses was analyzed under non-isothermal conditions, and qualitative phase analysis of glass-ceramics was made by X-ray diffraction. The in vitro bioactivity of synthesized glass-ceramics was studied in stimulated body fluid at 37°C under static condition for 24days. The formation of hydroxyl-carbonated apatite layer; evident of bioactivity of the material, was elucidated by XRD, FTIR, AAS, SEM and EDX analysis. The result showed that partial substitution of TiO2 with SiO2 negatively influenced bioactivity; it decreased with increase in concentration of TiO2. As Ti(+4) having stronger field strength as compared to Si(+4) so its replacement became the cause for reduction in degradation that in turn improved the chemical stability. The compressive strength was also enhanced with progress addition of TiO2 in the system. The antibacterial properties were examined against Staphylococcus Epidermidis. Strong antibacterial efficacy was observed with the addition of TiO2 in the system.

In vitro evaluation of bioactivity of SiO2-CaO-P2O5-Na2O-CaF2-ZnO glass-ceramics

Zinc is an essential trace element that stimulates bone formation but it is also known as an inhibitor of apatite crystal growth. In this work addition of ZnO to SiO2-CaO-P2O5-Na2O-CaF2 glass-ceramic system was made by conventional melt-quenching technique. DSC curves showed that the addition of ZnO moved the endothermic and exothermic peaks to lower temperatures. X-ray diffraction analysis did not reveal any additional phase caused by ZnO addition and showed the presence of wollastonite and hydroxyapatite crystalline phases only in all the glass-ceramic samples. As bio-implant apatite forming ability is an essential condition, the surface reactivity of the prepared glass-ceramic specimens was studied in vitro in Kokubo’s simulated body fluid (SBF) [1] with ion concentration nearly equal to human blood plasma for 30 days at 37 °C under static condition. Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) was used to study the changes in element concentrations in soaking solutions and XRD, FT-IR and SEM were used to elucidate surface properties of prepared glass-ceramics, which confirmed the formation of HCAp on the surface of all glass-ceramics. It was found that the addition of ZnO had a positive effect on bioactivity of glass-ceramics and made it a potential candidate for restoration of damaged bones.

Effect of Cu-Doped Nickel Ferrites on Structural, Magnetic, and Dielectric Properties

NiCu ferrites with the general formula Ni1-xCuxFe2O4, where x=0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 have been synthesized by double sintering method. The single- phase spinel structure is confirmed by X-ray Diffractometer. This analysis showed the increasing behavior of lattice parameter due to the larger ionic radii of the Cu ion. Fourier transform infrared spectra confirmed the two prominent bands of spinel ferrites in the range (1000-400) cm-1. Magnetic properties are studied using Vibrating Sample Magnetometer. It is investigated that the saturation magnetization decreases linearly as the copper concentration increases. The surface morphology is carried out using Scanning Electron Microscopy. The dielectric properties have been investigated as a function of frequency. The dielectric constant is decreased and AC conductivity is increased at higher frequency.

Effects of Cr and Fe co-doping on structural, optical, electrical and magnetic properties of titanium dioxide (TiO2)

Abstract A series of Ti0.9Fe0.1-xCrxO2 (where x = 0.0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.6, 0.08, 0.10) was synthesized using the powder metallurgy route. The structural, morphological, magnetic, optical and electrical properties were investigated by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), UV-Vis spectroscopy and four probe technique, respectively. The rutile phase was confirmed by XRD analysis which was also verified by Raman spectroscopy. It was observed that the grain size increased as the concentration of Cr increased. M-H loops extracted from VSM analysis revealed anti-ferromagnetic, weak ferromagnetic and paramagnetic behaviors at room temperature. The band gap energy and resistivity measurements exhibited the semiconducting nature of Ti0.9Fe0.1-xCrxO2 based diluted magnetic semiconductors.

Onset of local ordering in some copper-based alloys: critical solute concentration vis-a-vis various solutionhardening parameters

The mode of planar distribution of solute atoms in Cu single crystals alloyed with 0.5 to 8.0 at.%Ge has been investigated via the temperature dependence of the critical resolved shear stress of these alloys. It is found that there exists a critical solute concentration cm ≈ 5 at.%Ge below which the distribution of solute atoms in the crystal is random, and above which some local ordering occurs. This together with such data available in the literature for Cu-Zn, Cu-Al and Cu-Mn alloys, i.e. cm ≈7 at. %Zn, 7 at.%Al and 1 at.%Mn, when examined as a function of the size-misfit factor δ = (1/b)(db/dc)of a given binary alloy system, shows that the value of cm strongly depends on δ; the smaller the magnitude of δ, the greater the value of cm and vice versa. Also, the value of cm is found to correlate well with the electron-to-atom ratio (e/a)of the Cu-Zn, Cu-Al, Cu-Ge and Cu-Mn alloys with the solute concentration c = cm. However, no systematic correlation exists between the critical solute concentration cm for the onset of local ordering and the modulus-mismatch parameter η = (1/G)(dG/dc).

Synthesis, characterization of CaF2 doped silicate glass-ceramics

This paper reports the fabrication and characterization of silicate glass-ceramics doped with (0-12mol%) CaF2. TGA-DSC analysis was carried out to determine the crystallization temperature and stability of glass measured by two glass parameters; Hruby parameter KH=(Tx-Tg)/(TL-Tx) and Weinberg parameter KW=(Tc-Tg)/TL. It was found that with CaF2 doping improved sinterability at low temperature and provided stability to the glass. The XRD pattern exhibits a single phase of combeite and doping of CaF2 cause increase in crystallite size. Microstructure of samples was also improved with CaF2 addition, pores were significantly reduced. After 15days immersion in simulated body fluid all samples developed apatite layer onto its surface. Hence, the addition of CaF2 provided bioactive glass-ceramic material having a low processing temperature.

Optical, structural, and chemical properties of CR-39 implanted with 5.2 MeV doubly charged carbon ions

Poly-allyl-diglycol-carbonate (CR-39) specimens were irradiated with 5.2 MeV doubly charged carbon ions using Pelletron accelerator. Ion dose was varied from 5 × 1013 to 5 × 1015 ions cm−2. Optical, structural, and chemical properties were investigated by UV–vis spectroscopy, x-ray diffractometer, and FTIR/Raman spectroscopy, respectively. It was found that optical absorption increases with increasing ion dose. Absorption edge shifts from UV region to visible region. The measured opacity values of pristine and ion implanted CR-39 range from 0.0519 to 4.7959 mm−1 following an exponential growth (9141%) with the increase in ion dose. The values of direct and indirect band gap energy decrease exponentially with an increase in ion dose by 59% and 71%, respectively. However, average refractive index in the visible region increases from 1.443 to 2.864 with an increase in ion dose, by 98%. A linear relation between band gap energy and crystallite size was observed. Both the number of carbon atoms in conjugation length and the number of carbon atoms per cluster increase linearly with the increase in ion dose. FTIR spectra showed that on C+2 ions irradiation, the intensity of all bands decreases gradually without appearance of any new band, indicating degradation of polymer after irradiation. Raman spectra revealed that the density of −CH2− group decreases on C+2 ions irradiation. However, the structure of CR-39 is completely destroyed on irradiation with ion dose 1 × 1015 and 5 × 1015 ions cm−2.

Influence of Ta2O5 doping on mechanical and biological properties of silicate glass-ceramics

Abstract The mechanical properties of silicate glass-ceramics were evaluated based on the compressive strength tests. It was found that Ta2O5 addition improved densification, refinement of the microstructure and toughening of the bodies. The maximum compressive strength of the bodies with 1 mol% Ta2O5 was increased 3-fold (245.92 ±0.3 MPa) in comparison to undoped glass-ceramics which was measured to be 89.04 ±0.3 MPa, while for 3 mol% it became 4-fold (387.12 ±0.4 MPa) greater. The addition of Ta2O5 stabilized the system by controlling the biodegradation of the glass-ceramics. It effectively depressed the apatite formation as by addition of 3 mol% Ta2O5 no apatite layer was observed. It may be concluded from this study that mechanical and physical properties can be improved by the addition of Ta2O5, but at a cost of bioactivity. Still the optimized composition having Ta2O5 ⩽ 1 mol% may provide appropriate strength of biomaterials for high load bearing applications.

Age- and gender-based studies of trace metal levels and various enzymes associated with myocardial infarction.

The present investigation deals with the determination of various serum enzymes known to be elevated during myocardial infarction (MI) and estimation of selected metals like Cu, Cr, Co, Fe, Pb, and Mg by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The data obtained thereby were processed for the determination of correlation coefficient matrix among the cardiac enzymes and the serum metals. The study evidenced the accumulation of Pb during MI and reduction in the level of Fe. A significant negative correlation was observed between Cu and creatine kinase-MB. The data were also segregated into various groups to study the influence of age and gender on the levels of selected parameters. In both the genders, the age of the patients was found to be correlated significantly with various cardiac enzymes. In case of male patients, the most significant correlation was observed between age and blood sugar at random. The other significant correlations among the male patients included Cr–CPK, Cr–creatine kinase-MB, Fe–age, and others. In female patients, the pairs of studied parameters that exhibited significant correlations included age–lactic dehydrogenase, creatine phosphokinase isoenzyme–aspartate aminotransferase, lactic dehydrogenase–creatine phosphokinase isoenzymes, Pb-Fe, and Cu-Co in addition to others.