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Papers by Farzin Abbaspour

Research paper thumbnail of Application of Chitosan-Based Nanocarriers in Tumor-Targeted Drug Delivery

Molecular Biotechnology, 2014

Cancer is one of the major malignant diseases in the world. Current anti tumor agents are restric... more Cancer is one of the major malignant diseases in the world. Current anti tumor agents are restricted during the chemotherapy due to their poor solubility in aqueous media, multidrug resistance problems, cytotoxicity, and serious side effects to healthy tissues. Development of targeted drug nanocarriers would enhance the undesirable effects of anticancer drugs and also selectively deliver them to cancerous tissues. Variety of nanocarriers such as micelles, polymeric nanoparticles, liposomes nanogels, dendrimers, and carbon nanotubes have been used for targeted delivery of anticancer agents. These nanocarriers transfer loaded drugs to desired sites through passive or active efficacy mechanisms. Chitosan and its derivatives, due to their unique properties such as hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, and biodegradability, have attracted attention to be used in nanocarriers. Grafting cancer-specific ligands onto the Chitosan nanoparticles, which leads to ligand-receptor interactions, has been successfully developed as active targeting. Chitosan-conjugated components also respond to external or internal physical and chemical stimulus in targeted tumors that is called environment triggers. In this study, mechanisms of targeted tumor deliveries via nanocarriers were explained; specifically, chitosan-based nanocarriers in tumor-targeting drug delivery were also discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Light harvesting and photocurrent generation by nanostructured photoelectrodes sensitized with a photosynthetic pigment: A new application for microalgae

Bioresource Technology, 2014

Three different kinds of mixed self-assembled monolayers have been prepared to mimic photosynthet... more Three different kinds of mixed self-assembled monolayers have been prepared to mimic photosynthetic energy and electron transfer on a gold surface. Pyrene and boron-dipyrrin were chosen as a light-harvesting model. The mixed self-assembled monolayers of pyrene (or boron-dipyrrin) and porphyrin (energy acceptor model) reveal photoinduced singlet-singlet energy transfer from the pyrene (or boron-dipyrrin) to the porphyrin on the gold surface. The boron-dipyrrin has also been combined with a reaction center model, ferroceneporphyrin-fullerene triad, to construct integrated artificial photosynthetic assemblies on a gold electrode using mixed monolayers of the respective self-assembled unit. The mixed self-assembled monolayers on the gold electrode have established a cascade of photoinduced energy transfer and multistep electron transfer, leading to the production of photocurrent output with the highest quantum yield (50 (8%, based on the adsorbed photons) ever reported for photocurrent generation at monolayer-modified metal electrodes and across artificial membranes using donor-acceptor linked molecules. The incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) of the photoelectrochemical cell at 510 and 430 nm was determined as 0.6% and 1.6%, respectively. Thus, the present system provides the first example of an artificial photosynthetic system, which not only mimics light-harvesting and charge separation processes in photosynthesis but also acts as an efficient light-to-current converter in molecular devices.

Research paper thumbnail of The effects of ultrasound pretreatment processes on oil extraction from tomato wastes

International Journal of Biosciences, 2015

The oily seeds are one of the main components of tomato processing wastes which contain the excel... more The oily seeds are one of the main components of tomato processing wastes which contain the excellent quality of fatty oils, therefore recycling of these by-products is of interest from either environmental viewpoint due to reduction of potential contaminant charge, or nutritional perspective since the health benefits derived from their bio-active compounds. Pretreatment of oily seeds is one of the main processes of their oil extraction, leading to considerable increase in oil extraction efficiency. The results of this study showed that using combination of ultrasound pretreatment with other physical methods could weaken the particle surface bonds and enhance the extraction yield effectively. The highest improvement in oil extraction from tomato waste seeds was about 28.11% by using ground waste seeds with hot water immersion (25-40C 0 ) and ultrasound (at 550w, 37kHz 90 min). Although the ultrasound pretreatment didn’t affect the fatty acids structure and physicochemical

Research paper thumbnail of Biodiesel production from vegetable oil: Process design, evaluation and optimization

Polish Journal of Chemical Technology, Sep 1, 2017

To investigate the effect of reactor performance/confi guration of biodiesel production on proces... more To investigate the effect of reactor performance/confi guration of biodiesel production on process parameters (mass & energy consumption, required facilities etc.), two diverse production processes (from vegetable oil) were implemented/designed using Aspen HYSYS V7.2. Two series reactors were taken into account where overall conversion was set to be 97.7% and 70% in fi rst and second processes respectively. Comparative analysis showed that an increase in conversion yield caused to consumption reduction of oil, methanol, cold energy and hot energy up to 9.1%, 22%, 67.16% and 60.28% respectively; further, a number of facilities (e.g. boiler, heat exchanger, distillation tower) were reduced. To reduce mass & energy consumption, mass/heat integration method was employed. Applying integration method showed that in the fi rst design, methanol, cold and hot energy were decreased by 49.81%, 17.46% and 36.17% respectively; while in the second design, oil, methanol, cold and hot energy were decreased by 9%, 60.57% 19.62% and 36.58% respectively.

Research paper thumbnail of Oil extraction from algae: A comparative approach

Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry, 2014

In this article, various methods including soxhlet, Bligh &am... more In this article, various methods including soxhlet, Bligh & Dyer (B&D), and ultrasonic-assisted B&D were investigated for the extraction of lipid from algal species Chlorella vulgaris. Relative polarity/water content and impolar per polar ratios of solvents were considered to optimize the relative proportions of each triplicate agent by applying the response surface method (RSM). It was found that for soxhlet, hexane-methanol (54-46%, respectively) with total lipid extraction of 14.65% and chloroform-methanol (54-46%, respectively) with the extraction of 19.87% lipid were the best set of triplicate where further addition of acetone to the first group and ethanol to the second group did not contributed to further extraction. In B&D, however, chloroform-methanol-water (50%-35%-15%, respectively) reached the all-time maximum of 24%. Osmotic shock as well as ultrasonication contributed to 3.52% of further extraction, which is considered to promote the total yield up to almost 15%. From the growth data and fatty acid analysis, the applied method was assessed to be appropriate for biodiesel production with regard to selectivity and extraction yield.

Research paper thumbnail of Application of Chitosan-Based Nanocarriers in Tumor-Targeted Drug Delivery

Molecular Biotechnology, 2014

Cancer is one of the major malignant diseases in the world. Current anti tumor agents are restric... more Cancer is one of the major malignant diseases in the world. Current anti tumor agents are restricted during the chemotherapy due to their poor solubility in aqueous media, multidrug resistance problems, cytotoxicity, and serious side effects to healthy tissues. Development of targeted drug nanocarriers would enhance the undesirable effects of anticancer drugs and also selectively deliver them to cancerous tissues. Variety of nanocarriers such as micelles, polymeric nanoparticles, liposomes nanogels, dendrimers, and carbon nanotubes have been used for targeted delivery of anticancer agents. These nanocarriers transfer loaded drugs to desired sites through passive or active efficacy mechanisms. Chitosan and its derivatives, due to their unique properties such as hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, and biodegradability, have attracted attention to be used in nanocarriers. Grafting cancer-specific ligands onto the Chitosan nanoparticles, which leads to ligand-receptor interactions, has been successfully developed as active targeting. Chitosan-conjugated components also respond to external or internal physical and chemical stimulus in targeted tumors that is called environment triggers. In this study, mechanisms of targeted tumor deliveries via nanocarriers were explained; specifically, chitosan-based nanocarriers in tumor-targeting drug delivery were also discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Light harvesting and photocurrent generation by nanostructured photoelectrodes sensitized with a photosynthetic pigment: A new application for microalgae

Bioresource Technology, 2014

Three different kinds of mixed self-assembled monolayers have been prepared to mimic photosynthet... more Three different kinds of mixed self-assembled monolayers have been prepared to mimic photosynthetic energy and electron transfer on a gold surface. Pyrene and boron-dipyrrin were chosen as a light-harvesting model. The mixed self-assembled monolayers of pyrene (or boron-dipyrrin) and porphyrin (energy acceptor model) reveal photoinduced singlet-singlet energy transfer from the pyrene (or boron-dipyrrin) to the porphyrin on the gold surface. The boron-dipyrrin has also been combined with a reaction center model, ferroceneporphyrin-fullerene triad, to construct integrated artificial photosynthetic assemblies on a gold electrode using mixed monolayers of the respective self-assembled unit. The mixed self-assembled monolayers on the gold electrode have established a cascade of photoinduced energy transfer and multistep electron transfer, leading to the production of photocurrent output with the highest quantum yield (50 (8%, based on the adsorbed photons) ever reported for photocurrent generation at monolayer-modified metal electrodes and across artificial membranes using donor-acceptor linked molecules. The incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) of the photoelectrochemical cell at 510 and 430 nm was determined as 0.6% and 1.6%, respectively. Thus, the present system provides the first example of an artificial photosynthetic system, which not only mimics light-harvesting and charge separation processes in photosynthesis but also acts as an efficient light-to-current converter in molecular devices.

Research paper thumbnail of The effects of ultrasound pretreatment processes on oil extraction from tomato wastes

International Journal of Biosciences, 2015

The oily seeds are one of the main components of tomato processing wastes which contain the excel... more The oily seeds are one of the main components of tomato processing wastes which contain the excellent quality of fatty oils, therefore recycling of these by-products is of interest from either environmental viewpoint due to reduction of potential contaminant charge, or nutritional perspective since the health benefits derived from their bio-active compounds. Pretreatment of oily seeds is one of the main processes of their oil extraction, leading to considerable increase in oil extraction efficiency. The results of this study showed that using combination of ultrasound pretreatment with other physical methods could weaken the particle surface bonds and enhance the extraction yield effectively. The highest improvement in oil extraction from tomato waste seeds was about 28.11% by using ground waste seeds with hot water immersion (25-40C 0 ) and ultrasound (at 550w, 37kHz 90 min). Although the ultrasound pretreatment didn’t affect the fatty acids structure and physicochemical

Research paper thumbnail of Biodiesel production from vegetable oil: Process design, evaluation and optimization

Polish Journal of Chemical Technology, Sep 1, 2017

To investigate the effect of reactor performance/confi guration of biodiesel production on proces... more To investigate the effect of reactor performance/confi guration of biodiesel production on process parameters (mass & energy consumption, required facilities etc.), two diverse production processes (from vegetable oil) were implemented/designed using Aspen HYSYS V7.2. Two series reactors were taken into account where overall conversion was set to be 97.7% and 70% in fi rst and second processes respectively. Comparative analysis showed that an increase in conversion yield caused to consumption reduction of oil, methanol, cold energy and hot energy up to 9.1%, 22%, 67.16% and 60.28% respectively; further, a number of facilities (e.g. boiler, heat exchanger, distillation tower) were reduced. To reduce mass & energy consumption, mass/heat integration method was employed. Applying integration method showed that in the fi rst design, methanol, cold and hot energy were decreased by 49.81%, 17.46% and 36.17% respectively; while in the second design, oil, methanol, cold and hot energy were decreased by 9%, 60.57% 19.62% and 36.58% respectively.

Research paper thumbnail of Oil extraction from algae: A comparative approach

Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry, 2014

In this article, various methods including soxhlet, Bligh &am... more In this article, various methods including soxhlet, Bligh & Dyer (B&D), and ultrasonic-assisted B&D were investigated for the extraction of lipid from algal species Chlorella vulgaris. Relative polarity/water content and impolar per polar ratios of solvents were considered to optimize the relative proportions of each triplicate agent by applying the response surface method (RSM). It was found that for soxhlet, hexane-methanol (54-46%, respectively) with total lipid extraction of 14.65% and chloroform-methanol (54-46%, respectively) with the extraction of 19.87% lipid were the best set of triplicate where further addition of acetone to the first group and ethanol to the second group did not contributed to further extraction. In B&D, however, chloroform-methanol-water (50%-35%-15%, respectively) reached the all-time maximum of 24%. Osmotic shock as well as ultrasonication contributed to 3.52% of further extraction, which is considered to promote the total yield up to almost 15%. From the growth data and fatty acid analysis, the applied method was assessed to be appropriate for biodiesel production with regard to selectivity and extraction yield.