30 research outputs found
Feasibility Study on Laser Cutting of Phenolic Resin Boards
AbstractLaser cutting is the most widely implemented application of lasers in industry. The many advantages of this process stimulate users in industry to cut many different materials, such as wood and wood composites –particleboard, plywood, etc.–, which are being cut with excellent results and productivity. Phenolic resins boards are a new substitute of wood in highly aggressive environments. In the present work we study the feasibility of CO2 lasers to cut phenolic resin boards and assess the potential health hazards of the vapours and residues produced, since its thermal degradation may produce toxic organic vapors
Development of marine-based nanocomposite scaffolds for biomedical applications
Despite
the
increasing
attention
that
marine
organisms
are
receiving,
many
of
those
are
not
efficiently
exploited
and
subproducts
with
valuable
compounds
are
being
discarded.
Two
examples
of
those
subproducts
are
the
endoskeleton
of
squid,
from
which
β-‐chitin
and
consecutively
chitosan
can
be
obtained;
and
fish-‐bones,
as
a
source
for
the
production
of
nano-‐
hydroxyapatite.
In
this
work,
inspired
in
the
nanocomposite
structure
of
human
bone,
marine-‐
based
nanocomposite
scaffolds
composed
by
chitosan
and
nano-‐hydroxyapatite
(nHA)
were
developed
using
particle
aggregation
methodology.
Chitosan
was
obtained
from
endoskeleton
of
giant
squid
Dosidicus
Gigas
while
fish
hydroxyapatite
nanoparticles
were
synthesized
from
fish-‐bones
by
pulsed
laser
in
deionized
water.
An
innovative
methodology
was
used
based
on
the
agglomeration
of
prefabricated
microspheres
of
chitosan/nHA,
generally
based
on
the
random
packing
of
microspheres
with
further
aggregation
by
physical
or
thermal
means
to
create
a
marine
nanocomposite
(CHA)
.The
morphological
analysis
of
the
developed
nanocomposites
revealed
a
low
porosity
structure,
but
with
high
interconnectivity,
for
all
produced
scaffolds.
Furthermore,
the
nanocomposite
scaffolds
were
characterized
in
terms
of
their
mechanical
properties,
bioactivity,
crystallinity
and
biological
behavior.
The
obtained
results
highlight
that
the
chitosan/nHA-‐based
marine
nanocomposite
can
be
a
good
candidate
for
biomedical
applications,
namely
on
bone
regeneration
Semiconductor gellan gum based composite hydrogels for tissue engineering applications
Publicado em "Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine", vol. 7, supp. 1 (2013)Semiconductor hydrogels can be developed by combining the intrinsic
electrical properties of semiconductors with the specific characteristics
of hydrogels. These hydrogels have recently attracted much attention
for applications in tissue engineering, especially formulations incorporating
pyrrole and excellent biocompatibility. Several studies have
reported that electrical stimulation influences the migration, proliferation
and differentiation of stem cells and other cell lines [1]. The goal
of this work is to use in situ chemical polymerization of polypyrrole
(PPy) with gellan gum (GG) in order to obtain a new generation of
semiconductor composite hydrogels. For the synthesis of GG/PPy composites,
GG at 1.25% (w/v) final concentration was prepared in distilled
water at room temperature. The solution was then heated under
stirring at 90°C for 20 min. Temperature was decreased to 65°C and Py
was added under vigorous agitation. The crosslinker solution (CaCl2,
0.18%) was added at 50°C. After 2 h, GG/Py composite hydrogels
were obtained. In a further step, GG/Py samples were immersed in a
solution of oxidizing agent in PBS and the reaction was carried out for
18 h under agitation at room temperature. Finally, the samples were
frozen at -80°C for 48 h and lyophilized. The characterization of GG,
GG/PPy and PPy samples was performed by scanning electron microscopy
(SEM). The incorporation of PPy in the gellan gum was confirmed
by SEM analysis. The coating with PPy increases the thickness of each
sheet in 3 fold when compared with GG samples. Conductivity tests
were also performed. For cytotoxicity assay, the samples were rehydrated
with complete culture medium. MTS and DNA quantification assays
were performed to evaluate the metabolic activity and proliferation of
L929 fibroblast cells after 1, 3 and 7 days in culture with GG, GG/PPy
and PPy samples. MTS assays clearly indicate a proportional relation
between the cell viability and the PPy concentration: higher concentrations
of PPy resulted in lower cell viability. These results show that
lower concentration of PPy incorporated in the GG hydrogels can provide
an adequate electrical stimulus to improve cell behavior. In conclusion,
semiconductor hydrogels can be an excellent platform for tissue
engineering and electrochemical therapy application
Laser texturing to control the wettability of materials
Many applications of different materials are related to the properties of their surface. Wettability is a key property affecting applications in all fields: adhesives, lubricants, detergents, all types of coatings, implant integration, heat transmission, corrosion, etc. Laser texturing has been demonstrated to be an excellent technique to modify surface wettability of many different materials: polymers, metals, ceramics, or even natural stones. The relative simplicity and robustness of the results, together with the widespread availability of affordable industrial laser sources made laser texturing a very promising tool for modifying the surface of parts in manufacturing plants. In this paper we introduce the basics of the technique and show some examples of applications. On one hand, treating the surface of different polymers for biomedical applications. And on the other hand, the production of surfaces with extreme wettability properties is shown: superhydrophilic, superhydrophobic and omniphobic surfaces were obtained by laser texturing
Toward Smart Implant Synthesis: Bonding Bioceramics of Different Resorbability to Match Bone Growth Rates
This work was partially funded by the European Union (Project MARMED - 2011-1/164), the Spanish Government and FEDER (CICYT MAT2006-10481) by Xunta de Galicia (CN2012/292)