Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs)-Reinforced Magnesium-Based Matrix Composites: A Comprehensive Review.

In recent years considerable attention has been attracted to magnesium because of its light weight, high specific strength, and ease of recycling. Because of the growing demand for lightweight materials in aerospace, medical and automotive industries, magnesium-based metal matrix nanocomposites (MMNCs) reinforced with ceramic nanometer-sized particles, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) or carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were developed. CNTs have excellent material characteristics like low density, high tensile strength, high ratio of surface-to-volume, and high thermal conductivity that makes them attractive to use as reinforcements to fabricate high-performance, and high-strength metal-matrix composites (MMCs). Reinforcing magnesium (Mg) using small amounts of CNTs can improve the mechanical and physical properties in the fabricated lightweight and high-performance nanocomposite. Nevertheless, the incorporation of CNTs into a Mg-based matrix faces some challenges, and a uniform distribution is dependent on the parameters of the fabricating process. The characteristics of a CNTs reinforced composite are related to the uniform distribution, weight percent, and length of the CNTs, as well as the interfacial bonding and alignment between CNTs reinforcement and the Mg-based matrix. In this review article, the recent findings in the fabricating methods, characterization of the composite's properties, and application of Mg-based composites reinforced with CNTs are studied. These include the strategies of fabricating CNT-reinforced Mg-based composites, mechanical responses, and corrosion behaviors. The present review aims to investigate and conclude the most relevant studies conducted in the field of Mg/CNTs composites. Strategies to conquer complicated challenges are suggested and potential fields of Mg/CNTs composites as upcoming structural material regarding functional requirements in aerospace, medical and automotive industries are particularly presented.

Analytical characteristics and application of novel chitosan coated magnetic nanoparticles as an efficient drug delivery system for ciprofloxacin. Enhanced drug release kinetics by low-frequency ultrasounds.

A pH-responsive drug carrier based on chitosan coated iron oxide nanoparticles (CS-Fe3O4) for prolonged antibiotic release in a controlled manner is reported. As an antibiotic drug model, ciprofloxacin was loaded onto the nanocarrier via H-bonding interactions. The nanoparticles were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, photon correlation spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The particle size of CS-Fe3O4 nanoparticles were found to lie in the range of 30-80nm. The analytical characteristics of the designed system were thoroughly investigated. The in vitro drug loading at pH 4.8 and release kinetics at pH 7.4 studies revealed that the drug delivery system can take 99% of ciprofloxacin load and quantitatively release the drug over a sustained period of 5 days. The release kinetics study indicated that the system follows a zero order kinetics via a diffusion-controlled mechanism. These results indicated that CS-Fe3O4 nanoparticles have the potential for use as controlled antibiotic delivery systems through oral administration by avoiding the drug release in the highly acidic gastric fluid region of the stomach. Furthermore, the ability of low-frequency ultrasound in fast release of the encapsulated drug in less than 60min from the CS-Fe3O4 nanoparticles in a controlled manner was confirmed.