Journal of Composites and Compounds
Volume:2 Issue: 3, Jun 2020

Owing to its good mechanical properties, enhanced wear resistance, good biological properties, biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity, and great corrosion behavior, Ti-Nb-Ta-Zr (TZNT) alloy, as new β titanium alloy, has attracted considerable attention for surgical implant applications. The need for the improvement of the implant properties in the physiological environment can be fulfilled by using the β titanium alloy with low elastic modulus. Additionally, this alloy can inhibit the surgical implant fracture, infection, inflammation, and the reaction of soft tissue with particulate debris. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to review the properties and applications of TZNT alloy as a promising choice for surgical implant applications.

Polyvinyl alcohol/carboxymethyl cellulose (PVA/CMC) composites have attracted considerable attention due to the synergic relation between the two polymers and developing novel blends with improved properties. On one hand, PVA is a versatile polymer with higher mechanical properties compared to CMC. On the other hand, CMC has high biodegradability and biocompatibility, while suffering from poor mechanical properties. Therefore, the blending of the two polymers can help to benefit from the individual component properties. This paper has reviewed the properties and potential applications (e.g. drug delivery, food packaging, and agriculture) of the PVA/ CMC composites.

Recently, the increasing need for good quality, high performance, and low-cost materials has directed research towards composite materials rather than monolithic materials. In the case of metal matrix composites (MMCs), composites based on aluminum matrix have been widely developed for the automobile and aerospace industry as well as structural applications due to having a low cost, high wear resistance, and high strength to weight ratio. Moreover, a facile and economical method for the production of the composites is a very important factor for expanding their application. Ceramic reinforcements such as graphite, silicon carbide, alumina, and fly ash particulates can be introduced in metal matrices. Moreover, there has been considerable interest in developing Al-Li alloys and composites because of having high specific strength and high specific modulus. The present article has focused on the development of aluminum-lithium alloy composites as well as their production methods.

The present study includes an overview of the applications of clay-based nanocomposites from the past decade to date in various fields such as pharmaceuticals, water treatment, food packaging, electricity, automotive, and especially the production of chemical fertilizers with water retention and slow release. In the agricultural area, one of the promising materials that help green chemical engineering and green chemistry is slow-release fertilizer (SRF). Clay minerals and clay nanocomposites provide cost-effective and efficient material for this purpose. In this paper, the research and development of polymer nanocomposites based on clay in recent years with the focus on their application as novel fertilizers have been reviewed. Clay minerals are promising reinforcements to manufacture high-performance, lightweight, and low-cost nanocomposites because of their abundance, layered structure, low cost, and rich intercalation chemistry.

A stenotic vessel can be opened using net-shape tubes called “stents” leading to the restoration of the bloodstream. Compared to the commonly used stainless steel stent, self-expandable stents have some advantages. They do not suffer from the risks of damage to the vascular tissue due to the balloon expansion. Moreover, overexpansion for compensating the elastic recoil is not needed, and there is no constant force applied on the artery until the occlusion of the device by the artery stops. However, the stent cannot restore the original dimensions of the vessel in the case of calcified plaques. Self-expandable stents can be utilized for the treatment of atherosclerotic lesions in the carotid, coronary, and peripheral arteries. Shape memory alloys (SMAs), mainly NiTi (nitinol), are employed for self-expandable vascular stent applications. Nitinol is widely applied for medical devices and implants due to its excellent fatigue performance, mechanical properties, and biocompatibility, which make this alloy suitable for long-term installations. Other materials used for self-expandable cardiovascular stents are shape memory polymers (SMPs). Shape memory effect is triggered by the hydration of polymers or temperature change preventing the collapse of small blood vessels. This review has focused on the mechanisms and properties of SMAs and SMPs as promising materials for stent application.

In this study, activated carbon particles were modified by copper oxide to remove the anionic Tartrazine dye from aqueous solutions. Adsorption studies were performed as batch studies and the influences of pH, initial dye concentrations, and contact times were evaluated. Maximum removal percentage was obtained for the initial concentration of 30 mg/L and the equilibrium of the adsorption was achieved within 60 minutes of contact time. The Langmuir and Freundlich kinetic models were used for analyzing the equilibrium data. It was shown that better fitting was observed by the Langmuir model. Pseudo-first-order and Pseudo-second-order kinetic models were also applied to understand the kinetics of the adsorption processes. It was found that the Tartrazine adsorption followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.

In this work, sol–gel derived bioactive glasses (BGs) system of 60% SiO2-(36-x) CaO-4P2O5-x SrO (where x = 2, 4, 6 and 8 mol%) were obtained. The bioactivity and proliferation of G292 cells was investigated for Sr-containing BGs. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were utilized to study the obtained phases, hydroxyapatite (HA) morphology, and its functional groups, respectively. The XRD and FTIR tests showed that the rate of hydroxyapatite formation on sample 2S was higher than that of other samples. Also 3-(4,5 dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay performed after one day revealed that the sample containing 6 mol% of Sr (6S) showed higher viability. However, the sample with 8 mol% Sr (8S) showed a decrease in bioactivity in osteoblast G292 cells proliferation. According to the results, 6S BG specimen with 6 mol% SrO exhibited appropriate bioactivity and cell proliferation. This finding showed that the obtained BGs could be potentially used for drug delivery systems as well as dental and orthopedic applications.