• Macromolecular Research
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.626-630
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• 2008

Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) was used successfully to control the size and distribution of silver nanoparticles generated on inorganic silica nanofibers. The inorganic nanofibers were electro spun using sol-gel chemistry of silicates, and the diameter of the prepared nanofibers was unaffected by adding up to 7% of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone). The silver ions, in the form of silver nitrate, were introduced into the silica nanofibers and reduced to metallic silver by ultraviolet irradiation with a subsequent thermal treatment. The size of the generated silver particles was decreased dramatically by adding poly(vinyl pyrrolidone). The size of the silver nanoparticles was 73 nm when no poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) was added but 23 nm with the addition of only 1% of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone). The extent of reduction could be checked by determining the concentration of silver ions leached into water from the silica nanofibers. After thermal treatment of the silica nanofibers, more than 99% of the silver remained in the nanofibers, indicating almost complete reduction of the silver ions to silver metal.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.376-380
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• 2000

Carbon nanofibers with an average diameter of 100nm were reacted with SiO vapor generated from a mixture of Si and SiO2 to produce silicon carbide nanofibers at temperature ranging 1200∼1500$^{\circ}C$ under vacuum. The nanofiber reacted at 1200$^{\circ}C$ for two hours consisted of silicon carbide with an average crystallite size of 10-20nm, amorphous silica and a significant amount of unreacted carbon. The surface area of silicon carbide nanofiber, obtained after removal of amorphous silica and unreacted carbon from converted carbon nanofibers at 1200$^{\circ}C$, was as high as 150㎡/g. With increasing reaction temperature to 1500$^{\circ}C$, the surface area was decreased to 14㎡/g. Growth of SiC crystallite size with increasing conversion temperature of carbon nanofiber was confirmed from Scherrer formula using the (111) diffraction line and TEM images of converted carbon nanofibers.

• Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.735-750
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: The major challenge of tissue engineering is to develop constructions with suitable properties which would mimic the natural extracellular matrix to induce the proliferation and differentiation of cells. Poly(${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone) (PCL-PEG-PCL, PCEC), chitosan (CS), nano-silica ($n-SiO_2$) and nano-hydroxyapatite (n-HA) are biomaterials successfully applied for the preparation of 3D structures appropriate for tissue engineering. METHODS: We evaluated the effect of n-HA and $n-SiO_2$ incorporated PCEC-CS nanofibers on physical properties and osteogenic differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, thermogravimetric analysis, contact angle and mechanical test were applied to evaluate the physicochemical properties of nanofibers. Cell adhesion and proliferation of hDPSCs and their osteoblastic differentiation on nanofibers were assessed using MTT assay, DAPI staining, alizarin red S staining, and QRT-PCR assay. RESULTS: All the samples demonstrated bead-less morphologies with an average diameter in the range of 190-260 nm. The mechanical test studies showed that scaffolds incorporated with n-HA had a higher tensile strength than ones incorporated with $n-SiO_2$. While the hydrophilicity of $n-SiO_2$ incorporated PCEC-CS nanofibers was higher than that of samples enriched with n-HA. Cell adhesion and proliferation studies showed that n-HA incorporated nanofibers were slightly superior to $n-SiO_2$ incorporated ones. Alizarin red S staining and QRT-PCR analysis confirmed the osteogenic differentiation of hDPSCs on PCEC-CS nanofibers incorporated with n-HA and $n-SiO_2$. CONCLUSION: Compared to other groups, PCEC-CS nanofibers incorporated with 15 wt% n-HA were able to support more cell adhesion and differentiation, thus are better candidates for bone tissue engineering applications.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.605-609
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• 2011

Composite nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning and thermal treatment from poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-$SiO_2$ blend solution. The nanofibers were stacked on layers to produce fully interconnected pores. TEM micrographs and EDX spectra confirmed the presence of $SiO_2$ in the composite nanofibers. The porosity of nanofibers was effectively enhanced by the introduction of electrospinning technique. ATR-FTIR and XRD results revealed that PVDF in the composite nanofibers exhibited the mixture crystal structure of ${\alpha}$-phase and ${\beta}$-phase. The crystal structure of ${\alpha}$-phase and crystallinity increased by the thermal treatment. In addition, the mechanical properties, thermal stability and hydrophobicity were markedly amplified by the thermal treatment.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.323-328
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• 2015

Poly(${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers and PCL/silica membranes were synthesized by sol-gel derived electrospinning and casting, respectively. Smooth PCL nanofibers were obtained from the precursor containing N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). PCL/silica membranes were prepared by varying the tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) contents from 0 to 40 vol% to investigate the effect of silica addition on mechanical properties and cytotoxicity of the membranes. Although the strength of the membranes decreased from 12 to 8 MPa with increasing the silica content, the strength remained almost constant 7 weeks after dipping in phosphate buffered saline solution (PBS). The strength reduction was attributed to the presence of a patterned surface pores and micro-pores present in the walls between pores. The crystal structure of the membranes was orthorhombic and the crystallite size decreased from 57 to 18 nm with increasing the silica content. From the agar overlay test, the PCL/silica membranes exhibited neither deformation and discoloration nor lysis of L-929 fibroblast cells.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.22-33
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• 2009

Recently, elastomer-nanocomposites reinforced with low volume fraction of nanofillers have attracted great interest due to their fascinating properties. The incorporation of nanofillers, such as, layered silicate clays, carbon nanotubes, nanofibers, calcium carbonate, metal oxides or silica nanoparticles into elastomers improves significantly their mechanical, thermal, dynamic mechanical, barrier properties, flame retardancy, etc. The properties of nanocomposites depend greatly on the chemistry of polymer matrices, nature of nanofillers, and the method in which they are prepared. The uniform dispersion of nanofillers in elastomer matrices is a general prerequisite for achieving desired mechanical and physical characteristics. In this paper, current developments in the field of elastomer nanocomposites reinforced with layered silicates, silica, carbon nanotubes, nanofibers and various other nanoparticles have been addressed.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.465-475
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• 2023

In this study, we demonstrated a silica nanofibrous membrane based on the electrospinning process and evaluated its DNA isolation and purification performance in PCR pretreatment. Generally, silica membranes made of non-woven fabric are used for PCR pretreatment, but this study aimed to improve the efficiency of the pretreatment process by developing a nanofiber-type silica membrane with high specific surface area and porosity. In order to manufacture a nanofiber-shaped silica film while maintaining the original physical properties of silica, nanofiber membranes produced by adding various concentrations of PEO (5 wt%, 8 wt%, and 10 wt%) to silica prepared by the sol-gel method were compared. In terms of nanofiber membrane production, the higher the PEO concentration, the more effective it was in producing nanofiber membranes. The produced silica nanofiber membrane was inserted to a pretreatment device used in commercial PCR equipment, and the pretreatment performance was compared and verified using Salmonella bacteria. When Salmonella was used, samples containing 5 wt% PEO showed superior PCR efficiency compared to samples containing 8 wt% and 10 wt% PEO. These results show that adding 5 wt% of PEO can effectively improve DNA purification and separation by producing a nanofiber-shaped silica film while maintaining the physical properties of silica. We expect that this study will contribute to the development of effective PCR pretreatment technology essential for various molecular biology applications.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.667-671
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• 2014

In this study, we suggest a facile method to control conditions of single component independently when preparing consisting two-component metal oxides nanofiber by simply dispersing nanoparticles in precursor solution. The well dispersed $SiO_2$ nanoparticles in $TiO_2$ nanofibers were successfully synthesized through a simple electrospinning process. The as-synthesized nanodfibers were investigated via FE-SEM, XRD and EDS for structural studies, furthermore, the analysis of UV-VIS and photocatalytic activity were carried out for demonstrate the effect of $SiO_2$ nanoparticles dispersed in $TiO_2$ nanofibers. As a result, $TiO_2$ nanofibres dispersed with $SiO_2$ nanoparticles have enhanced photocatalytic activity than that of $TiO_2$ nanofibres only. In this strategy, the introduction of $SiO_2$ nanoparticles in $TiO_2$ nanofibers were attribute to enlarge absorption in the visible region (380~440 nm). Additionally, $Br{\o}nsted$ acid sites generated in each metal oxide of Ti and Si increase OH radicals efficiently as well as it limit recombination loss by holding photogenerated electrons for high efficient photocatalytic activity.

• Rubber Technology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2011

Nanotechnology is the fast becoming key technology of the $21^{st}$ century. Due to its fascinating size-dependent properties, it has gained significant important in various sectors. Myths are being formed on the proverbal nanotechnology market, but the reality is the nanotechnology is not a market but a value chain. The chain comprises of - nanomaterials (nanoparticles) and nanointermediates (coatings, compounds, smart fabrics). Elastomer based nanocomposites reinforced with low volume fraction of nanofillers is the first generation nanotechnology products and it has attracted great interest due to their fascinating properties. The incorporation of nanofillers such as nanolayered silicates, carbon nanotubes, nanofibers, metal oxides or silica nanoparticles into elastomers improves significantly their mechanical, thermal, barrier properties, flame retardency etc., Extremely small particle size, high aspect ratio and large interface area yield an excellent improvement of the properties in a wide variety of the materials. Uniform dispersion of the nanofillers is a general prerequisite for achieving desired properties. In this paper, current developments in the area of elastomer based nanocomposites reinforced with layered silicate and carbon nanotube fillers are highlighted.