Tousif Hussain

Development of a novel pH sensitive silane crosslinked injectable hydrogel for controlled release of neomycin sulfate

Silane crosslinked biopolymer based novel pH-responsive hydrogels were fabricated by blending the cationic (chitosan) and anionic (alginate) polymers with poly(vinyl alcohol). Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) was used, as a crosslinker in different amounts due to its nonhazardous nature, to study its impact on physical and chemical properties of the prepared injectable hydrogels along with the controlled release of drug. The swelling response of the prepared hydrogels was examined in different solvent media which exhibited decreased swelling ratio with increase in the amount of TEOS. All the fabricated hydrogels represented highest swelling at acidic pH while low swelling at basic and neutral pH. This specific pH sensitive behavior at pH 7 made them an appropriate candidate for the injectable controlled drug delivery in which Neomycin Sulfate (NMS) was successfully loaded on suitable hydrogel (comprising 50μL TEOS) to study its release mechanism. The results revealed that in simulated gastric fluid (SGF), hydrogel released the entire drug (NMS) in initial 30min while in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF), NMS was released in a controlled way up to 83% in 80min. These results endorsed that the hydrogels could be practiced as a smart intelligent material for injectable controlled drug delivery as well as for other biomedical applications at physiological pH.

Effect of deposition parameters on structural and mechanical properties of niobium nitride synthesized by plasma focus device

Effects of deposition angle and axial distance on the structural and mechanical properties of niobium nitride synthesized by a dense plasma focus (DPF) system are studied. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) confirms that the deposition parameters affect the growth of multi-phase niobium nitride. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows the granular surface morphology with strong thermally assisted coagulation effects observed at the 5-cm axial distance. The non-porous granular morphology observed at the 9-cm distance along the anode axis is different from those observed at deposition angles of 10° and 20°. Energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy reveals the maximum nitrogen content at the shortest (5 cm) axial position. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) exhibits that the roughness of coated films varies for coatings synthesized at different axial and angular positions, and the Vickers micro-hardness test shows that a maximum hardness value is (08.44 ± 0.01) GPa for niobium nitride synthesized at 5-cm axial distance, which is about 500% more than that of a virgin sample.

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.

A study of structural and mechanical properties of nano-crystalline tungsten nitride film synthesis by plasma focus

Nano-crystalline tungsten nitride thin films are synthesized on AISI-304 steel at room temperature using Mather-type plasma focus system. The surface properties of the exposed substrate against different deposition shots are examined for crystal structure, surface morphology and mechanical properties using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscope, field emission scanning electron microscope and nano-indenter. The XRD results show the growth of WN and WN2 phases and the development of strain/stress in the deposited films by varying the number of deposition shots. Morphology of deposited films shows the significant change in the surface structure with different ion energy doses (number of deposition shots). Due to the effect of different ion energy doses, the strain/stress developed in the deposited film leads to an improvement of hardness of deposited films.

Plasma confinement to enhance the momentum coupling coefficient in ablative laser micro-propulsion: a novel approach

We introduce for the first time the novel idea of manipulating the momentum coupling coefficient using plasma confinement and shock wave reflection from the cavity walls. The plasma was confined using cylindrical geometries of various cavity aspect ratios to manipulate the momentum coupling coefficient (C m ). The Nd: YAG laser (532 nm, 5 ns pulse duration) was focused on the ferrite sample surface to produce plasma in a region surrounded by cylindrical cavity walls. The multiple reflections of the shockwaves from the cavity walls confined the laser-induced plasma to the central region of the cavity that subsequently resulted in a significant enhancement of the momentum coupling coefficient values. The plasma shielding effect has also been observed for particular values of laser fluencies and cavity aspect ratios. Compared with the direct ablation, the confined ablation provides an effective way to obtain high C m values.

Mechanical properties of Al/a-C nanocomposite thin films synthesized using a plasma focus device

The Al/a-C nanocomposite thin films are synthesized on Si substrates using a dense plasma focus device with aluminum fitted anode and operating with CH4/Ar admixture. X-ray diffractometer results confirm the formation of metallic crystalline Al phases using different numbers of focus shots. Raman analyses show the formation of D and G peaks for all thin film samples, confirming the presence of a-C in the nanocomposite thin films. The formation of Al/a-C nanocomposite thin films is further confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The scanning electron microscope results show that the deposited thin films consist of nanoparticles and their agglomerates. The sizes of th agglomerates increase with increasing numbers of focus deposition shots. The nanoindentation results show the variations in hardness and elastic modulus values of nanocomposite thin film with increasing the number of focus shots. Maximum values of hardness and elastic modulus of the composite thin film prepared using 20 focus shots are found to be about 10.7 GPa and 189.2 GPa, respectively.

A new perspective of ablative pulsed laser propulsion: study on different morphologies of nano-structured ZnO

We report for the first time a new application of four different morphologies including nano-noodles of zinc oxide as a laser ablation micro-thruster. Nano-noodles represent a unique class of materials in which the electrons are confined near the surface owing to the majority of the near surface atoms. The synthesized samples of ZnO were of single phase, having a wurtzite hexagonal structure. Three different morphologies, viz. initial (nanoparticles), intermediate (nano-noodles) and final (complete nano-noodles) of zinc oxide were ablated using a Nd : YAG laser operating at 1064 nm for the measurement of propulsion parameters. The momentum coupling coefficient (Cm) and the specific impulse (Isp) were evaluated using the non-contact optical triangulation method. It has been observed that the morphology of the material affects the laser ablation propulsion (LAP) parameters. For each sample, the laser fluence for the optimum coupling coefficient owing to the plasma shielding effect has also been found. The synthesized nanostructured zinc oxide samples have been found useful as efficient laser propellants that can be used in a variety of applications due to diversity in their momentum coupling coefficient and specific impulse values.

Synthesis of ZrSiN composite films using a plasma focus device

ZrSiN thin films are synthesized by using plasma focus through various numbers of focus shots (10, 20, and 30), with samples placed at 9 cm away from the tip of the anode. Crystal structures, surface morphologies, and elemental compositions of ZrSiN films are characterized by an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) attached with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). XRD patterns confirm the formations of polycrystalline ZrSiN films. Crystallinity of nitride increases with the increase of focus shot number. The average crystallite size of zirconium nitride increases from 27 ± 3 nm to 73 ± 8 nm and microstrain decreases from 2.28 to 1.0 with the increase of the focus shot number. SEM results exhibit the formations of granular and oval-shaped microstructures, depending on the number of focus shots. EDS results confirm the presences of silicon, zirconium, nitrogen, and oxygen in the composite films. The content values of Zr and N in the composite films increase with the increase of the focus shot number.

Synthesis of TiN/a-Si3N4 thin film by using a Mather type dense plasma focus system

A 2.3 kJ Mather type pulsed plasma focus device was used for the synthesis of a TiN/a-Si3N4 thin film at room temperature. The film was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The XRD pattern confirms the growth of polycrystalline TiN thin film. The XPS results indicate that the synthesized film is non-stoichiometric and contains titanium nitride, silicon nitride, and a phase of silicon oxy-nitride. The SEM and AFM results reveal that the surface of the synthesized film is quite smooth with 0.59 nm roughness (root-mean-square).

Synthesis of composite TiN/Ni3N/a-Si3N4 thin films using the plasma focus device

Composite films of TiN/Ni3N/a-Si3N4 were synthesized using the Mather-type plasma focus device with varying numbers of focus deposition shots (5, 15, and 25) at 0° and 10° angular positions. The composition and structural analysis of these films were analyzed by using Rutherford backscattering (RBS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope were used to study the surface morphology of films. XRD patterns confirm the formation of composite TiN/Ni3N/a-Si3N4 films. The crystallite size of TiN (200) plane is 11 and 22 nm, respectively, at 0° and 10° angular positions for same 25 focus deposition shots. Impurity levels and thickness were measured using RBS. Scanning electron microscopy results show the formation of net-like structures for multiple focus shots (5, 15, and 25) at angular positions of 0° and 10°. The average surface roughness of the deposited films increases with increasing focus shots. The roughness of the film decreases at higher angle 10° and the films obtained are smoother as compared with the films deposited at 0° angular positions.