Browsing by Author "Horzum Polat, Nesrin"

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Applications of electrospun nanofibers in filtration processe
(Izmir Institute of Technology, 2013) Horzum Polat, Nesrin; Elçi, Latif
Electrospinning is a simple and versatile method to fabricate ultrathin fibrous mats from a wide variety of organic and/or inorganic materials. Since it allows fabricating fiber diameter and surface/internal structures by solution and instrumental parameters, electrospun fibers provide much enhanced functionalities, which can not be obtained by bulk materials. This thesis examines the filtration, sensing and catalytical applications associated with the remarkable features of electrospun nanofibers. The systems studied are reported herein; (i) The first part of this dissertation deals with the filtration applications of electrospun nanofibrous membranes.  Nano-sized chitosan fibers were utilized for sorption of Fe(III), Cu(II), Ag(I), and Cd(II) ions from aqueous solutions.  The surface of chitosan fibers were further functionalized by monodisperse nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) particles for the removal of inorganic arsenic species.  Sorption of radioactive U(VI) ions from aqueous systems via column sorption under continuous flow was performed using amidoximated polyacrylonitrile fibers. (ii) The second part of this dissertation presents sensing applications of ceramic fibers.  Humidity sensing properties of electrospun ZnO fiber mats were investigated by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) method and electrical measurements.  Electrospinning technique was used as coating process for deposition of CeO2/ZnO and ZnO based nanofibers on the electrode of QCM. The fiber-coated QCM sensors were used for the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). (iii) The last part of this dissertation describes an approach to fabricate hierarchically structured composite nanofibers. The nanostructured materials prepared by the simultaneous electrospinning of CeO2 and LiCoO2 precursors and SiO2 nanoparticles were used for the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B.
Circulating nucleic acid (CNA) separation from serum by electrospun membranes
(Izmir Institute of Technology, 2015-07) Işık, Tuğba; Demir, Mustafa; Demir, Mustafa Muammer; Horzum Polat, Nesrin
Early detection of diseases is a key factor that can be made provision and successfully treated. There is a wide array of methods to diagnose cancer like biopsy, endoscopy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and blood tests. In blood, while some nucleic acids are found in intracellular fluids, circulating nucleic acids (CNAs) circulate freely in extracellular fluids. They are located at genomic regions and increased levels of CNAs imply a connection with cancer and tumor initiation. For further analysis, separation and concentration of CNAs have high potential in early cancer detection. A model system was constructed with bovine serum albumin (BSA) and single stranded Deoxyribonucleic acid (ss-DNA) for the investigation of membrane separation efficiency. The membranes made of poly styrene (PS) and poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) were fabricated by electrospinning and they were placed in syringe columns. By using the absorption spectroscopy, the sorption efficiency of membranes was determined. The electrospun membranes are promising for BSA uptake over a wide pH range. Under the same circumstances, thanks to PS fibers, ss-DNA uptake is very with respect to BSA uptake. Our results revealed that PS membranes show a better affinity to BSA molecules by hydrophobic interactions. In the mixture of BSA and ss-DNA, ss- DNA cannot be held on the surface of the membrane and pass through with low sorption efficiency. By altering the membrane amount in syringe column and modifiying the surface of the membranes, the separation could be enhanced. The proposed technology promises fast and effective separation of CNAs from whole blood and body fluids.
Synthesis and characterization of MgB2 superconducting wires
(Izmir Institute of Technology, 2008) Horzum Polat, Nesrin; Özgen, Tamerkan
In this study, the superconducting properties of laboratory synthesized MgB2 was investigated. In the first part, MgB2 synthesis using commercial magnesium and boron (95-97% purity), and its microstructural and electrical characterization was investigated.Effects of sheath material and annealing temperatures were also examined. The microstructural studies showed that when Cu tubes were used as sheath material, MgCu2 forms instead of MgB2 even at 700oC, while on Fe clad cores, the major phase was MgB2 with minor MgO constituent. The transition temperatures of Fe clad wires were measured between 39K and 40K, whereas no transition temperature was observed for Cu clad wires. The Ic value of the Fe clad MgB2 wire was about 25 A at 4K, while the copper clad wire could not carry current and formed resistance. In Fe clad wires, better results were obtained at annealing temperature of 800°C for 30 minutes. In the second part, MgB2 synthesis using commercial magnesium and boron (90% purity) was tried. 0-5-10-15 wt% of Mg doping and, additionally annealing temperatures were examined. Powder-In-Tube method was used for wire production. 10 wt% Mg addition was seen to be beneficial as compared to the stoichiometric MgB2. 750°C was found to be the most suitable temperature for the formation of MgB2 phase. The Ic value of the wire was measured as 13 A at 4K and it showed a broader transition with non-zero resistivity, transition temperature of 24K.In the third part, 200 m long four filament MgB2/Cu wire was successfully produced in laboratory conditions.