Search results for "silica"
showing 10 items of 1092 documents
Application of a MTT Assay for Screening Nutritional Factors in Growth Media of Primary Sponge Cell Culture
2004
Marine sponges (Porifera) are producers of the largest variety of bioactive compounds among benthic marine organisms. In vitro culture of marine sponge cells has been proposed for the sustainable production of these pharmacologically interesting compounds from marine sponges but with limited success. The development of a suitable growth medium is an essential prerequisite for sponge cells grown in vitro. The MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay was adapted to screen for potential nutritional factors in formulating a growth medium for primary cell culture of Suberites domuncula. In 96-well plates, the effects of nutritional factors including glutamine, pyr…
Enzyme-Controlled Nanodevice for Acetylcholine-Triggered Cargo Delivery Based on Janus Au–Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles
2017
[EN] This work reports a new gated nanodevice for acetylcholine-triggered cargo delivery. We prepared and characterized Janus Au-mesoporous silica nanoparticles functionalized with acetylcholinesterase on the Au face and with supramolecular b-cyclodextrin: benzimidazole inclusion complexes as caps on the mesoporous silica face. The nanodevice is able to selectively deliver the cargo in the presence of acetylcholine via enzyme-mediated acetylcholine hydrolysis, locally lowering the pH and opening the supramolecular gate. Given the key role played by ACh and its relation with Parkinson's disease and other nervous system diseases, we believe that these findings could help design new therapeuti…
Design of enzyme-mediated controlled release systems based on silica mesoporous supports capped with ester-glycol groups
2012
[EN] An ethylene glycol-capped hybrid material for the controlled release of molecules in the presence of esterase enzyme has been prepared. The final organic-inorganic hybrid solid S1 was synthesized by a two-step procedure. In the first step, the pores of an inorganic MCM-41 support (in the form of nanoparticles) were loaded with [Ru(bipy) 3]Cl 2 complex, and then, in the second step, the pore outlets were functionalized with ester glycol moieties that acted as molecular caps. In the absence of an enzyme, release of the complex from aqueous suspensions of S1 at pH 8.0 is inhibited due to the steric hindrance imposed by the bulky ester glycol moieties. Upon addition of esterase enzyme, del…
Electrokinetic Properties which Control the Coagulation of Silicate Cement Suspensions during Early Age Hydration
1998
The coagulation of cement particles during early age hydration has been previously identified as the first step of the setting and hardening of cement pastes. By hydrating Ca3SiO5and a silicate-rich clinker under controlled conditions, a correlation between the coagulation of the suspensions and the electrokinetic properties of particles is established. The zeta potential, and hence the surface charge, of particles in suspension depends on the calcium content of the medium. At low concentrations of Ca2+, the zeta potential of Ca3SiO5particles, calcium silicate hydrate (C–S–H), and clinker is negative (<−30 mV) and the suspensions are well dispersed. A strong coagulation occurs at intermedia…
Prediction of Long-Term Chemical Evolution of a Low-pH Cement Designed for Underground Radioactive Waste Repositories
2012
Low-pH cements, also referred as low-alkalinity cements, are binders with a pore solution pH ≤ 11. They can be designed by replacing significant amounts of Portland cement (OPC) (≥40 %) by silica fume, which can be associated in some cases to low-CaO fly ash and/or ground granulated blast furnace slag to decrease the heat output during hydration by dilution of OPC and improve the mechanical strength of the final material. With the prospect of using these materials in a geological repository, it is of main importance to estimate their long-term properties and the influence of external and internal factors (chemical composition of the binder, storage temperature) on their characteristics. For…
Hydration of alite containing aluminium
2011
Abstract The most important phase in Portland cement is tricalcium silicate, which leads during its hydration to the nucleation and growth of calcium silicate hydrate [referred to as C–S–H, (CaO)x–SiO2–(H2O)y]. The development of this hydrate around the cement grains is responsible for the setting and hardening of cement pastes. The general term for designating the tricalcium silicate in cements is alite. This name relates to all polymorphs containing various foreign ions inserted in their structure. These ions may influence the intrinsic reactivity, and once released during the dissolution, they may interact also with C–S–H. One of the most likely species to be inserted in the alite struct…
Two-Step Nucleation Process of Calcium Silicate Hydrate, the Nanobrick of Cement
2018
Despite a millennial history and the ubiquitous presence of cement in everyday life, the molecular processes underlying its hydration behavior, like the formation of calcium–silicate–hydrate (C–S–H), the binding phase of concrete, are mostly unexplored. Using time-resolved potentiometry and turbidimetry combined with dynamic light scattering, small-angle X-ray scattering, and cryo-TEM, we demonstrate C–S–H formation to proceed via a complex two-step pathway. In the first step, amorphous and dispersed spheroids are formed, whose composition is depleted in calcium compared to C–S–H and charge compensated with sodium. In the second step, these amorphous spheroids crystallize to tobermorite-typ…
Physico-chemical parameters determining hydration and particle interactions during the setting of silicate cements
1997
Abstract Hydration of tricalcium silicate (Ca 3 SiO 5 ), the pure phase used as a model of the portland cements, is the chemical process leading to the formation of hydrates, while setting is a definite time event corresponding to the change of the paste from the soft to the hard state. Setting results from interactions between anhydrous or very partially hydrated particles. The analysis of these interactions leads to the identification of two fundamental steps: the coagulation of cement grains during the first minutes following the mixing and the rigidification of the coagulated structure which arises simultaneously with the acceleration of the calcium silicate hydrates (CSH) formation. …
Formation of the C−S−H Layer during Early Hydration of Tricalcium Silicate Grains with Different Sizes
2005
Portland cement is a mixture of solid phases which all react with water. Tricalcium silicate (Ca3SiO5) is its main component and is often used in model systems to study cement hydration. It is generally recognized that setting and hardening of cement are due to the formation, by a dissolution-precipitation process, of a calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) on anhydrous grains during Ca3SiO5 hydration. The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of Ca3SiO5 particle size on the nucleation-growth process of C-S-H. An experimental study of the rate of hydration by using different grain sizes under controlled conditions has been performed. The experimental data have been compared with results o…
Influence of thickness and translucency of lithium disilicate ceramic on degree of conversion of resinous materials
2020
Background In this study was assessed the degree of conversion (DC) of amine-free resin cements light cured through lithium disilicate-reinforced ceramics at different thicknesses and translucency. Material and Methods Specimens were divided into 21 groups (n = 5) according to luting agent used: Variolink Esthetic LC (Light shade), RelyX Ultimate (A1 shade), and Filtek Z350 XT Flow (A1 shade); the ceramic translucency: low (LT) and high (HT); and the ceramic thickness: no ceramic (control), 0.5 mm, 1 mm, and 2 mm. A Teflon mold with (5 x 5 x 0.5 mm) was used to standardize the cement and over it the ceramic block from each group was placed. Set was cured using a polywave LED light (1200 mW/…