STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF HOT-ROLLED AND ANNEALED AZ61 MAGNESIUM ALLOY

Magnesium alloy AZ61 was processed by hot rolling up to a large thickness reduction (~89%) in several routes with intermediate annealing. The hot rolling process was conducted at 450°C and at a 1.5 s−1 strain rate. The structure and texture evolution as well as the mechanical properties during processing were investigated. The structure studies showed that, during the hot-rolling process, a large number of twins formed, which had an impact on the mechanical properties of the hot-rolled samples. After annealing for 15 minutes, the twins were no longer observed in the annealed samples, causing a significant decrease in hardness. Moreover, an investigation of the hardness showed that annealing for 15 minutes did not remove all of the hardening effects nor did the hardness of the annealed samples decrease to the value before hot rolling. The texture investigations showed that the texture of the hot-rolled samples was a typical basal-type texture. However, the basal pick was split into two tilted towards the rolling direction (RD). The texture changed during annealing while the new strong texture components evolved. The annealing led to an increased intensity of <1010>{1120} texture component and enhanced ductility. It was concluded that the texture changes observed in the present investigations may lead to the enhanced ductility of magnesium alloys and, therefore, help us design a deformation scheme for magnesium alloys consisting of several thermomechanical routes

EFFECT OF TEXTURE ON DEFORMATION MODE IN MAGNESIUM AND AZ61 ALLOY

The effect of the initial texture on the deformation mode and mechanical properties was studied in magnesium and its AZ61 alloy. Both materials had a very similar initial texture. Two cases were investigated: samples with a texture where the basal slip system was blocked, and samples having a texture where the basal slip system was allowed to activate. The samples were deformed by compression at room temperature at a strain rate of 10-3 s-1. It was found that the initial texture had a very strong impact on the deformation mode in magnesium; however, there was no effect of the initial texture on the deformation mode in the case of AZ61. The investigations were compared to simulations of texture evolution using the Taylor model. From the simulations, the Taylor factor and slip system activity were obtained. It was found that, in the case of magnesium, twinning or slip (both basal and non-basal) are the two main deformation modes, while in the case of AZ61, slip is the only main deformation mechanism despite the initial texture. The impact of the initial texture is discussed in more detail in the present study.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND STRUCTURE EVOLUTION OF THE AZ91 MAGNESIUM ALLOY AFTER HOT ROLLING AND ANNEALING

The AZ91 magnesium alloy was processed up to 87.5% of total thickness reduction in several thermodynamic routes, consisted of hot rolling and intermediate annealing. The hot-rolling process was performed at a high strain rate equal to 1.6 s−1 and at a temperature of 430°C. The intermediate annealing was performed at 430°C for 15 minutes after each route. It was found that, during hot rolling, the hardness of the material increased from 32 HV to 40 HV, and the structure investigations showed a huge amount of twins formed inside the grains (which were not observed after annealing). Tensile tests have shown strong anisotropy in mechanical properties of the “as-rolled” samples dependent on the orientation between tension direction (TD) and rolling direction (RD). The samples with TD perpendicular to RD proved higher ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and (on the other hand) worse plastic properties as compared to the samples with TD parallel to RD. The annealing has an effect on the reduction of mechanical properties anisotropy. X-ray investigations have shown texture changes from the basal type with the additional (0001) <1120> component for “as-rolled” samples to the texture with the main (0001) <1010> component for annealed samples. The texture changes had a great impact on the anisotropy of mechanical properties of the investigated AZ91 magnesium alloy

CHARACTERISTICS OF Al-Fe SINTERS MADE BY THE POWDER METALLURGY ROUTE

The Al/Fe material was prepared by the powder metallurgy route with an additional intermediate stage which was a centrifuge of powder mixture. The application of the centrifuge stage was applied to obtain circular phase distribution of Al-rich phases in a sintered material. Iron powder with a particle size under 100 μm and aluminum powder with a particle size of about 25 μm, were used as starting materials. To determine the effect of centrifuging time on the distribution of Fe-Al particles, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, EDS) and XRD techniques were used. Microstructure observations show the influence of the centrifuging time on the distribution of Fe particles. It was observed that a longer centrifuging time caused changes in the ratio concentration of elements and allowed the growth of the intermetallic phase at the interface between solid Al and Fe particles

Quantum Sensing for Detection of Zinc-Triggered Free Radicals in Endothelial Cells

Oxidative stress originating from the overproduction of free radicals poses a major threat to cell fate, therefore it is of great importance to address the formation of free radicals in cells subjected to various pathological stimuli. Here we investigate the free radical response of endothelial cells to biodegradable zinc. In addition to the standard free radical assays, relaxometry was used for determining the production of free radicals in cells exposed to non-physiological concentrations of zinc ions. The cellular morphology, intracellular zinc accumulation, as well as the levels of reactive oxygen/nitrogen species, are determined using standard fluorescent methods. For endothelial cells subjected to 50% zinc extracts, deviations from the normal cell shape and cell agglomeration tendency are observed. The culture medium containing the highest amount of zinc ions caused nuclei fragmentation, blebbing, and cell shrinkage, indicating cell death. A potential explanation for the observed phenomena is an overproduction of free radicals. In the case of 1% and 10% zinc extracts, the formation of free radicals is clearly confirmed by relaxometry, while the results obtained by using fluorescent techniques are unambiguous. It is revealed that high concentrations of zinc ions released from biodegradable samples induce a deleterious effect on endothelial cells.</p

Characteristics of the Protoporphyrin IX Binding Sites on Human Serum Albumin Using Molecular Docking

Human serum albumin (HSA) is the main plasma protein responsible for a distribution of drugs in the human circulatory system. The binding to HSA is one of the factors that determines both the pharmacological actions and the side effects of drugs. The derivative of heme, protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), is a hydrophobic photosensitizer widely used in photodynamic diagnosis and therapy of various malignant disorders. Using absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, it has been demonstrated that PpIX forms complexes with HSA. Its binding sites in the tertiary structure of HSA were found in the subdomains IB and IIA. PpIX binds to HSA in one class of binding sites with the association constant of 1.68 × 105 M−1 and 2.30 × 105 M−1 for an excitation at wavelength λex = 280 nm and 295 nm, respectively. The binding interactions between HSA and PpIX have been studied by means of molecular docking simulation using the CLC Drug Discovery Workbench (CLC DDWB) computer program. PpIX creates a strong ‘sandwich-type’ complex between its highly conjugated porphine system and aromatic side chains of tryptophan and tyrosine. In summary, fluorescent studies on binding interactions between HSA and PpIX have been confirmed by the results of computer simulation

Quantum Sensing for Detection of Zinc-Triggered Free Radicals in Endothelial Cells

Oxidative stress originating from the overproduction of free radicals poses a major threat to cell fate, therefore it is of great importance to address the formation of free radicals in cells subjected to various pathological stimuli. Here we investigate the free radical response of endothelial cells to biodegradable zinc. In addition to the standard free radical assays, relaxometry was used for determining the production of free radicals in cells exposed to non-physiological concentrations of zinc ions. The cellular morphology, intracellular zinc accumulation, as well as the levels of reactive oxygen/nitrogen species, are determined using standard fluorescent methods. For endothelial cells subjected to 50% zinc extracts, deviations from the normal cell shape and cell agglomeration tendency are observed. The culture medium containing the highest amount of zinc ions caused nuclei fragmentation, blebbing, and cell shrinkage, indicating cell death. A potential explanation for the observed phenomena is an overproduction of free radicals. In the case of 1% and 10% zinc extracts, the formation of free radicals is clearly confirmed by relaxometry, while the results obtained by using fluorescent techniques are unambiguous. It is revealed that high concentrations of zinc ions released from biodegradable samples induce a deleterious effect on endothelial cells.</p

Quinolinesulfonamides: Interaction between bovine serum albumin, molecular docking analysis, and antiproliferative activity against human breast carcinoma cells

<p>The complex formation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with library of all seven regioisomeric quinolinesulfonamides (QSAs) under physiological condition is studied in this paper. The fluorescence quenching mechanism of BSA by QSAs was discussed and the association constants, as well as the number of binding sites, were calculated. In addition, a molecular docking study of the tested sulfamoylquinolines on the active site of serum albumin is performed. The experimental data and molecular docking studies reveal that sulfamoylquinolines bind in the large hydrophobic cavity of subdomain IB, and in the hydrophobic pockets of BSA subdomains IIA and IIIA by hydrophobic interactions with tryptophanyl (Trp-213) and tyrosyl residues. Moreover, the antiproliferative activity of QSAs against two human breast cancer cell lines (human adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and human ductal carcinoma (MDA-MB-231)) and a human normal fibroblast is also studied in this paper. The antiproliferative activity of the tested QSAs was comparable to those of cisplatin. The returned data indicate that some of the tested quinolinesulfamoyl derivatives display significant cytotoxic activity.</p