Recent Trends in Chemical and Material Sciences Vol. 9

The goal of this chapter is to explain how iron oxide nanoparticles are employed in 3D MRI to control drug distribution. It explains how to use MRI scans to detect and differentiate the cluster intensity produced by Iron oxide nanoparticles (IO-NPs) in order to assess medication delivery efficacy. The infected mouse's calf's eye was injected with IO-NPs linked to macrophages. The situation was difficult due to the limited resolution of MRI and the small size of the IO-NPs. Because of their high intensity in MRI, IO-NPs serve as a marker, allowing us to track the macrophages' progress. The location and amount of IO-NPs propagating into the inflamed mouse leg were calculated using an image processing approach. To choose the region of interest, a fuzzy Clustering technique was used (ROI). The detection and extraction of IO-NPs in MRI images were done using a 3D model of the femoral area. The obtained results show that the proposed strategy is effective in improving the control process of targeted drug delivery. It aids in therapy optimization and opens up a viable new research avenue for nanomedicine applications.

Edible oil bleaching is known to change the composition of oils by removing contaminants and some food components. The type of bleaching media, the temperature at which the bleaching is done, and other parameters all influence the characteristics of bleached oil. To determine the characteristics of edible oils bleached using smectite and kaolinite-rich clays, we compare peroxide, free fatty acid, acid and iodine values, copper and iron content of bleached and crude oils. Oil companies spend a lot of money on bleaching earths, although every country has natural clays that can be used to bleach oils. Every month, more than US$ 700,000 is spent in Uganda alone, although many clay deposits remain untapped. The trace metal composition, peroxide values, acid values, iodine values, and free fatty acid content of bleached and unbleached cotton-seed and sunflower seed oils were all described in this study. The bleached oils were shown to be safe for human consumption. Clays are collectively called alumino-silicates as they contain aluminium oxide and silicon dioxide as universal minerals.   Clays are either kaolinites or smectites, but montmorillonites or bentonites are employed to bleach edible oils. The bleached oils had the greatest reduction in iron content of all the bleached oils. Copper was the element with the smallest change. The content of copper in cotton oils decreased from 0.5 ppm to 0.15 ppm using Kajansi clay leached in 20% acid yet when Chelel clay leached under similar conditions was used decrease was from 0.5 to 0.1 ppm. Iron concentration in sunflower oils bleached with Kajansi clay leached in 20% acid fell from 1.6 to 0.2 ppm, but it decreased to 0.1 ppm when bleached with Chelel clay under comparable conditions. The acidity of sunflower oils is primarily attributable to oleic acid, since the average value for acids is in the range of oleic acid, while cotton-seed oil corresponded to linoleic acid. The levels of free fatty acid were found to lie in range from 3.8 - 3.2 for all clays used showing no significant rise. The peroxide values of bleached oils lay between 1.2 and 0.8.

The corrosion of the structure of concrete caused by the aggressive external environment is one of the main problems that can reduce the durability of buildings. The paper analyzes the influence of the type of component on selected properties of lightweight concrete (LWC) exposed to aggressive liquids. When lightweight concrete containing porous aggregates is used, the influence of an aggressive environment may be of particular importance. The monograph presents the results of tests of four light concretes with different water-cement ratios and different compositions, which were exposed to aggressive liquids. The concrete mixes were prepared with a granulated expanded glass aggregate (GEGA) and granulated sintered ash aggregate (GAA) with a mineral additive silica fly ash. LWC specimens were curing in laboratory for one year and then subjected to aggressive liquids for 60 days. The types of environments were: strong acid—HCl, 1% and 2% concentration, weak acid—CH₃COOH, 1% and 2% concentration, and an aqueous salt solution of Na₂SO₄, 1% and 2% concentration. Then, the structure was analyzed and the influence of aggressive liquids on the compressive strength of the LWC was examined. Moreover, the change in weight of lightweight concrete samples after corrosion was determined. The obtained test results indicate that the test method can be used for the accelerated estimation of the influence of aggressive liquids on the LWC. LWC with GEGA and GAA aggregates show high resistance to aggressive liquids. Moreover, the research results indicate that the most aggressive solution was HCl solution, while Na₂SO₄ turned out to be the least aggressive. The higher the concentration of the destructive factor, the faster the corrosion progressed. Concretes containing aggregates made of foamed glass and sintered fly ash are suitable for use both in traditional construction and in facilities exposed to an aggressive environment.

A method, designated as the GSM method, for the assessment of the J integral of cracked components subjected to uniform normal stress is compared with the J_s procedure of the French RCC-MR construction code, designated here as the FC method, for centre cracked plates, single edge cracked plates, double edge cracked plates produced from X52 and X70 steels, and for longitudinally cracked pipe produced from X70 steel. The "reference" values of the J integral for cracked plates were calculated using the EPRI method. The main objective of the study was to show that the GSM method provides reliable predictions of the J integral for cracked plates and pipes. A comparison of results obtained using the GSM and FC methods shows that both methods provide similar results, although in most cases, the GSM method results are slightly more conservative than those predicted by the FC method. Both techniques yield conservative results for most fracture configurations when compared to the "reference" values of the J integral, while estimates for cracks with a relative length less than 1/8 were not found to be as conservative. External longitudinal semielliptical part-through cracks in X70 steel pipe were likewise predicted using the two approaches. When compared to FEM calculations and experimentally determined burst pressures, the magnitudes of the projected burst pressures were extremely similar to each other and were conservative.

The object of the present research work is to study the influence of chromium concentration in powder composites on the erosion wear of Ni-Cr-B-Si coatings, deposited by supersonic flame jet upon the substrate without thermal treatment and on substrate with thermal treatment. Without any prior heat treatment of the sub-strate and with some preliminary thermal treatment of the substrate up to 650 C, coatings were produced from each powder composite. The coatings were tested under identical circumstances of abrasive particle erosion in an air stream. The work also represents comparative results for erosion wear and erosion wear resistance of coatings, deposited by supersonic flame jet (HVOF), which contain composites Ni-Cr-B-Si having various chromium concentrations 9.9%;13.2%;14%;16% and 20%, at identical size of the particles 45\(\mu\)m and the same content of the remaining elements boron and silicon. The coatings have been tested in identical regime of erosion using air stream, carrying abrasive particles under the same conditions - nature, sizes and velocity of the particles, duration of erosion, air pressure, distance between the nozzle and the surface, angle of the jet axis with respect to the surface. It has been shown that the angle of the jet stream influences the wear resistance of all the coatings: at jet angle 60⁰ the wear resistance grows up within the in-terval from 1.5 up to 2.6 times for the coatings without thermal treatment of the substrate and within the interval from 1.6 up to 3.5 times for the coatings under-going thermal treatment of the substrate in comparison with the wear resistance at angle 90⁰. This effect is strongest -3.5 times for the coating No 8 of 16%Cr. At jet angle 90⁰ the wear resistance increases up to 10% and this increase is one and the same for all the coatings. The found relationship between erosive wear resistance and Cr concentration exhibits a considerable non-linear character. Wear resistance increases as the Cr concentration increases, reaching a maximum for 16 percent Cr coatings with thermal treatment of the substrate at jet angle of 60°. It has been found out that the wear resistance of the coatings, having the highest Cr content -20%, but not containing the elements boron and silicon, is lower or almost equal to the wear resistance of the coatings having the lowest Cr concentration -9.9%.

The partial structure factors of compound forming NaPb alloy with the formation of two compounds simultaneously have been studied using Hoshino’s m-component hard sphere mixture, which is based on Percus-Yevic equation of Hiroike. Formulae have been applied to NaPb with the formation of two compounds NaPb, & Na4Pb simultaneously. Hard sphere diameters have been obtained using Troullier and Martin’s ab-initio pseudopotentials. Total partial structure factors have been found to be in good agreement with experimental total partial structure factors.