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Electrohydrodynamic drying (EHD) processes have been applied in many experiments. However, EHD rarely applied to drying medications, specifically medical powders. The EHD process reduces the water level of materials through a coronal wind by placing them between two electrodes that conduct a strong electric field. In this study, EHD is applied using needles with copper plates as the two electrodes. Within the same surface area, different numbers of needles (2×2, 3×3, and 4×4) are arranged to conduct the positive charge using the copper plate as the grounding system. By using various numbers of needles and modifying the gap between them and the material, the effect of the EHD process on the material, namely amoxicillin powder, is determined. Based on the experimental results, a 2×2 needle arrangement and 2-cm gap between the needles and the sample have the fastest drying speed as compared to other needle numbers and gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microfluidics is an emerging field that has given rise to a large number of scientific and technological developments over the last few years. The materials that have been employed for the construction of microfluidic devices have been diverse, ranging from traditional materials, such as silicon and glass, to newer polymeric materials. For instance, by using plasma technology, a microfluidic PDMS can be made to have a hydrophilic characteristic on its layer. PDMS is commonly used as microfluidic devices owing to its prominent properties such as transparency, biocompatibility, and cost effectiveness. Various shapes of electrodes in this work were prepared by directly firing the plasma through a specified layer region for duration of 1 to 3 mins. The contact angle was measured using a digital microscope on the specified layer region. The lowest contact angle was achieved in the case of wire-like electrodes in which it was measured to be 28.07°, substantially lower than those obtained in the cases of normal (56.42°) and hollow (33.25°) shapes for the same duration of plasma treatment (3 mins). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to control the wetting properties of stainless steels (SS) is extremely beneficial as a common metal in many areas of daily life as well as for scientific and industrial applications due the their corrosion resistance. Different kind of methods (physical and chemical treatments, plasma, laser treatments, mechanical surface modifications, various hydrophilic and hydrophobic coatings) have been employed to control the wetting properties of SS surface. Depending on the treatment used, the modification can be altered the surface properties of the SS. In this study the wetting properties of stainless steel (SS) plates treated with atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) using three different parameters (gap distance, nozzle scan velocity, pass number) were measured using the Laplace-Young contact-angle (CA) technique. According to the control parameter and surface contact angle measurement results we have succeeded to hydrophilic surfaces. All these plasma treatment parameters can contribute to an improvement of wettability and/or of adhesion properties of the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The morphological and clinical studies of poly(ethylene terephthalate) track-etched membrane modified by plasma of non-polymerizing gases as drainage materials for antiglaucomatous operations were performed. It was demonstrated their compatibility with eye tissues. Moreover, it was shown that a new drainage has a good lasting hypotensive effect and can be used as operation for refractory glaucoma surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wetting behavior of biomaterials is of great importance for the issues such as biofouling control and biocompatibility improvement. Therefore, tailoring of their wettability is particularly useful and has been attracting a lot of interests. This paper focuses on the modification of surface wettability on the parylene-C film, which is exclusively used as a coating material for insulating implantable biomedical devices. The oxygen (O2) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) plasma were applied to treat parylene-C samples successively. Super hydrophilic (∼0°) and super hydrophobic (∼160°) surfaces were achieved under very low plasma power. The Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results strongly suggest that the surface roughness and the incorporation of oxygen or fluorine bonds on the surface are the two main factors accounting for the significant change of wettability. Moreover, the parylene-C surface has been proved to be switchable between super hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity by applying only an additional short O2 or SF6 plasma treatment, which greatly benefits the use of parylene-C in a wide range of biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Biomaterials are nonviable material used in medical devices, intended to interact with biological systems, which are becoming necessary for the development of artificial material for biological systems such as artificial skin diaphragm, valves for heart and kidney, lenses for eye etc. Polymers having novel properties like antibacterial, antimicrobial, high adhesion, blood compatibility and wettability are most suitable for synthesis of biomaterial, but all of these properties does not exist in any natural or artificial polymeric material. Nano particles and plasma treatment can offer these properties to the polymers. Hence a new nano-biomaterial has been developed by modifying the surface and chemical properties of Ag nanocomposite polymer membranes (NCPM) by Argon ion plasma treatment. These membranes were characterized using different techniques for surface and chemical modifications occurred. Bacterial adhesion and wettability were also tested for these membranes, to show direct use of this new class of nano-biomaterial for biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adhesion property of PTFE films and nonwoven materials plays an important role in various applications such as in hygiene and medical field. In order to laminate PTFE films with Polypropylene spunbond nonwovens (PPSN), a treatment on the surface of PTFE film which can improve its wetability is a must. In this paper, normal temperature and low-pressure plasma treatment is used to improve the wetability of PTFE film. In comparison, epoxy resin coated PTFE film is studied as well. At last, the peel strength of nonwoven fabrics laminated with PTFE films by plasma and epoxy resin treatment and their porosity were tested in order to study their adhesive ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The peculiarities of plasma treatment of agglomerated (spray dry) YSZ powder and subsequent plasma spraying of produced HOSP powder (consisting of the hollow spherical particles) are analyzed. Formation of splats of hollow YSZ droplets deserves a special attention within thermal spraying. In this case, immediately prior to particle—substrate collision, we have a droplet that consists of a liquid shell enclosing a gas cavity heated to a temperature close to the melt temperature. The paper presented includes the results of computer simulation and model experiments carried out under full control of the key physical parameters: temperature, velocity, external diameter of droplet, thickness of its shell, and temperature of polished substrate. It was shown that formation of splats of hollow droplets proceeds in a manner more stable compared to the case of “dense” molten particles obtained from fused and crushed compacts, and this provides superior coating-substrate interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio compatibility is an important issue for synthesis of biomedical devices, which can be tested by bioadoptability and creations of active site to enhance the bacterial/cell growth in biomedical devices. Hence a systematic study was carried out to characterize the effects of Nitrogen ion plasma for creations of active site in nano composite polymer membrane. Nano particles of ZnO are synthesized by chemical root, using solution casting nano composite polymeric membranes were prepared and treated with Nitrogen ion plasma. These membranes were characterized by different technique such as optical microscopy, SEM- Scanning electron microscope, optical transmittance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Then biocompatibility for membranes was tested by testing of bio-adoptability of membrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New multi walled carbon nanotubes based polymer nanocompositions have been prepared for working electrodes fabrication. Electrodes were screen-printed on a previously prepared alumina electrode substrate. These electrodes were tested on the cadmium and lead ions detection in aqueous solution. Fabricated electrodes were modified with acidic treatment and analyzed again. Obtained detection properties of non-modified and modified electrodes were finally compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A structured hydrophobic surface facilitates the trapping of air. This improves the hydrophobicity of the surface which can become as water-repellent as a lotus leaf [1]. Flocked pile fabric can be considered as a structured surface. In this study, a flocked fabric, initially hydrophilic, was treated by plasma to provide it a hydrophobic character. Then, we investigated its natural and forced wetting properties. A liquid droplet was deposited on the fabric. It was observed before, during and after compression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultra-thin silicon oxy-nitride films were created. The films were obtained by using direct N plasma treatment in plasma-chemical reactor with a wide aperture source. Properties of the films were examined by various methods and their good electron quality was confirmed. Features of film growth mechanism are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]