Enih Rosamah¹, Abdul Khalil H.P.S.^2*, S.W. Yap², Chaturbhuj K. Saurabh², Paridah M. Tahir³, Rudi Dungani⁴, Abdulwahab F. Owolabi²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.1, pp. 75-86, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634152

Abstract In this study, bamboo nanoparticles in concentration ranges from 0–5% were incorporated along with woven/nonwoven kenaf fiber mat into unsaturated polyester and the developed composites were further characterized. Bamboo chips were subjected to ball milling process for the synthesis of nanoparticles with a particle size of 52.92 nm. The effect that the incorporation of nanoparticles had on various properties of reinforced composites was further observed. Due to the high surface area of nanoparticles, incorporation of 3% of nanofillers contributed towards strong bonding and better wettability with matrix, thus resulting in excellent mechanical properties and thermal characteristics in reinforced unsaturated polyester… More >

Hilary Ureña-Saborío^1*, Sergio Madrigal-Carballo¹, Jorge Sandoval², José R. Vega-Baudrit³, Alejandro Rodríguez-Morales²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.3-4, pp. 290-299, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634119

Abstract Currently there is a trend towards reducing the use of agrochemicals in developing countries. However, they are still being applied intensively in tropical countries. Thus, there is a trend towards developing new products based on natural chemicals for pest control, leading to second-generation pesticides incorporating nano- and biotechnologies. Costa Rica is one of the largest producers of bananas in the world. One of the most important pests of banana and plantain crops is the burrowing nematode, Radopholus similis (Cobb) Thorne. Highly toxic chemical compounds have traditionally been used to control this specific pest in banana plants, which can have dangerous… More >

Karolina Villalobos¹, Hider Rojas¹, Rodolfo González-Paz², Daniel Brenes Granados², Jeimmy González-Masís², José Vega Baudrit^1,3, Yendry Regina Corrales-Ureña^1*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.3-4, pp. 189-198, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634109

Abstract Because starch is a biodegradable polymer with low cost and wide availability it is an attractive material for producing edible films for fruits. Films produced with pure starch have the disadvantage of being fragile. To overcome this issue, propolis nanoparticles were used as a novel plasticizer. Mechanical, thermal and morphological properties of the films containing 0.5, 1 and 3 wt.% propolis nanoparticles were evaluated. The best performance was obtained using 0.5 wt.% propolis, increasing the Young’s modulus and decreasing the glass transition temperature (Tg), showing their plasticizing effect. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM)… More >

F. Luzi¹, E. Fortunati^1*, A. Jiménez², D. Puglia¹, A. Chiralt², L. Torre¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.2, pp. 103-115, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2016.634135

Abstract Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) based nanocomposites reinforced with 1 wt% of surfactant-modified cellulose nanocrystals (s-CNC) extracted from Posidonia oceanica plant waste and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) at different concentrations (0.1 and 0.5 wt%) were prepared by solvent casting process. Their thermal, morphological, optical, mechanical and water vapor permeability properties were investigated. Tensile testing showed increased values for strength and deformation at break in PLA based formulations reinforced with s-CNC and ZnO NPs as a consequence of better nanofiller dispersion compared to binary films reinforced only with ZnO NPs. Moreover, the effect of s-CNC and ZnO NPs provoked an improvement of… More >

Ajith Rajapaksha^1,2, Michael Fink¹, Brian A. Todd¹

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 215-230, 2015, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2015.012.215

Abstract Delivery of therapeutic agents to the eye requires efficient transport through cellular and extracellular barriers. We evaluated the rate of diffusive transport in excised porcine corneal stroma using fluorescently labeled dextran molecules with hydrodynamic radii ranging from 1.3 to 34 nm. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) was used to measure diffusion coefficients of dextran molecules in the excised porcine corneal stroma. The preferential sensitivity of FCS to diffusion along two dimensions was used to differentially probe diffusion along the directions parallel to and perpendicular to the collagen lamellae of the corneal stroma. In order to develop an understanding of how size… More >

J. Zidek^1,2, J. Kucera¹, J. Jancar^1,2

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.28, No.3, pp. 213-230, 2012, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2012.028.213

Abstract The paper presents a combination of worm-like chain numerical models and one with a finite set of nano-particles. The primary objective of the models was to analyze the distribution of space in a system filled by particles. Information on the distribution of space was compared to properties of chains inside the set of particles. The set of nanoparticles was constructed with a tool generating a finite set of particles that is randomly distributed in a given space. The particles have a prescribed volume fraction and uniform size. First, the proportions of chains and particles were compared. The length of chain… More >

Xinyue Liu¹, Yunqiao Liu¹, Xiaobo Gong^1,*, Huaxiong Huang²

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.116, No.2, pp. 281-300, 2018, DOI: 10.31614/cmes.2018.04989

Abstract In this work, a three-dimensional axisymmetric model with nanoparticle, receptor-ligand bonds and cell membrane as a system was used to study the quasi-static receptor-mediated endocytosis process of spherical nanoparticles in drug delivery. The minimization of the system energy function was carried out numerically, and the deformations of nanoparticle, receptor-ligand bonds and cell membrane were predicted. Results show that passive endocytosis may fail due to the rupture of receptor-ligand bonds during the wrapping process, and the size and rigidity of nanoparticles affect the total deformation energy and the terminal wrapping stage. Our results suggest that, in addition to the energy requirement,… More >

Muhammad Shoaib Arif ^{1, *}, Yasir Nawaz¹, Mairaj Bibi², Zafar Ali¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.116, No.1, pp. 31-49, 2018, DOI: 10.31614/cmes.2018.00434

Abstract This communiqué is opted to study the flow of nanofluid because of heated disk rotation subjected to the convective boundaries with chemical reaction of first order. Wherein Buongiorno’s model for nanofluids is used due to its wide range of applications and the rotating disk under investigation is permeable. Small magneto Reynolds parameter and boundary layer assumptions are carried out to formulate the problem. The system of nonlinear partial differential equations governing the flow problem is converted into the set of ordinary differential equations by using particular relations known as Von Karman transformations. The complicated set of coupled ordinary differential equations… More >

Chan T.L.^1,2, Xie M.L.^1,3, Cheung C.S.¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.51, No.3, pp. 191-212, 2009, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2009.051.191

Abstract An efficient Petrov-Galerkin Chebyshev spectral method coupled with the Taylor-series expansion method of moments (TEMOM) was developed to simulate the effect of coherent structures on particle coagulation in the exhaust pipe. The Petrov-Galerkin Chebyshev spectral method was presented in detail focusing on the analyticity of solenoidal vector field used for the approximation of the flow. It satisfies the pole condition exactly at the origin, and can be used to expand the vector functions efficiently by using the solenoidal condition. This developed TEMOM method has no prior requirement for the particle size distribution (PSD). It is much simpler than the method… More >

J.A. Ferreira^2,3, P. de Oliveira², P. Silva⁴, J.N. Murta⁵

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.71, No.1, pp. 1-14, 2011, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2011.071.001

Abstract Mathematical models to describe drug concentration profiles of topically administered drug in the anterior chamber aqueous humor have been proposed by several authors. The aim of this paper is to present a mathematical model to predict the drug concentration in the anterior chamber when a therapeutical contact lens with the drug entrapped in nanoparticles is used. More >