In vivo evaluation of porous titanium implants with biomimetic coating

The osseointegration of porous titanium implants was evaluated in the present work. Implants were fabricated from ASTM grade 2 titanium by a powder metallurgy method. Part of these implants were submitted to chemical and thermal treatment in order to deposit a biomimetic coating, aiming to evaluate its influence on the osseointegration of the implants. The implants were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Electron Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and Raman Spectroscopy. Three coated and three control (uncoated) implants were surgically inserted into thirty albino rabbits' left and right tibiae, respectively. Tibiae samples were submitted to histological and histomorphometric analyses, utilizing SEM, optical microscopy and mechanical tests. EDS results indicated calcium (Ca) and phosphorous (P) at the surface and Raman spectra exhibited an intense peak, characteristic of hydroxyapatite (HA). Bone neoformation was detected at the bone-implant interface and inside the pores, including the central ones. The mean bone neoformation percentage in the coated implants was statistically higher at 15 days, compared to 30 and 45 days. The mechanical tests showed that coated implants presented higher resistance to displacement, especially after 30 and 45 days.

Porous hydroxyapatite scaffolds by polymer sponge method

This study aimed to develop porous hydroxyapatite scaffold for bone regeneration using the replica of the polymeric sponge technique. Polyurethane sponges were used with varying densities to obtain the scaffolds. The results indicate the porous HA scaffolds developed in this study as potential materials for application as bone substitutes to have high porosity (> 70%), chemical composition, interconnectivity and pore sizes appropriate to the bone regeneration.

Evaluation of bone ingrowth into porous titanium implant: Histomorphometric analysis in rabbits

A porous material for bone ingrowth with adequate pore structure and appropriate mechanical properties has long been sought as the ideal bone-implant interface. This study aimed to assess in vivo the influence of three types of porous titanium implant on the new bone ingrowth. The implants were produced by means of a powder metallurgy technique with different porosities and pore sizes: Group 1 = 30% and 180 μm; Group 2 = 30% and 300 μm; and Group 3 = 40% and 180 μm. Six rabbits received one implant of each type in the right and left tibiae and were sacrificed 8 weeks after surgery for histological and histomor-phometric analyses. Histological analysis confirmed new bone in contact with the implant, formed in direction of pores. Histomorphometric evaluation demonstrated that the new bone formation was statistically significantly lower in the group G1 than in group G3, (P = 0.023). Based on these results, increased porosity and pore size were concluded to have a positive effect on the amount of bone ingrowth.

Influência da posição e tempo de irradiação sobre a capacidade de desinfecção em forno de micro-ondas

Objective: To evaluate the variations of temperature in 2 models of domestic micro-wave ovens, single emission (F 1) and dual emission of waves (F 2), to investigate areas of higher and lower intensity of the electromagnetic field. Materials and methods: A beaker containing water (60mL, 26°C) was irradiated into each of 5 positions (front - P 1; right - P 2; posterior - P 3; left - P 4; central - P 5) within each oven (900W/ 2min). To evaluate the effectiveness of disinfection in F 2, Bacillus subtilis suspension was irradiated in each of the 5 positions for 2, 4 and 6minutes. Data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis and nonparametric multiple comparisons at 5% significance level. Results: 84.80°C (F 1) and 92.01°C (F 2) were mean levels of temperature. For F 1, the positions P 1, P 2, P 3 and P 5 showed similar values among them and upper than P 4, while for F 2, the positions P 1, P 2 and P 4 were similar among them and upper than P 3 and P 5. Kruskal-Wallis test found significant differences between positions and models of ovens (p<0.05). It was observed that P 2 promoted bacterial death from 4min of irradiation, while the other positions promoted disinfection at 6min of irradiation. Conclusion: The protocols of position and time specified for the various procedures in microwave ovens can be different according to the characteristics of each device due to the electromagnetic field heterogeneity. © 2011 Sociedade Portuguesa de Estomatologia e Medicina Dentária.

A nonzero gap two-dimensional carbon allotrope from porous graphene

Graphene has been one of the hottest topics in materials science in the last years. Because of its special electronic properties graphene is considered one of the most promising materials for future electronics. However, in its pristine form graphene is a gapless semiconductor, which poses some limitations to its use in some transistor electronics. Many approaches have been tried to create, in a controlled way, a gap in graphene. These approaches have obtained limited successes. Recently, hydrogenated graphene-like structures, the so-called porous graphene, have been synthesized. In this work we show, based on ab initio quantum molecular dynamics calculations, that porous graphene dehydrogenation can lead to a spontaneous formation of a nonzero gap two-dimensional carbon allotrope, called biphenylene carbon (BC). Besides exhibiting an intrinsic nonzero gap value, BC also presents well delocalized frontier orbitals, suggestive of a structure with high electronic mobility. Possible synthetic routes to obtain BC from porous graphene are addressed. © 2012 Materials Research Society.

A comparative study of glycerol dehydration catalyzed by micro/mesoporous MFI zeolites

The catalytic properties of monomodal microporous and bimodal micro-mesoporous zeolites were investigated in the gas-phase dehydration of glycerol. The desilication methodology used to produce the mesoporous zeolites minimized diffusion limitations and increased glycerol conversion in the catalytic reaction due to the hierarchical system of secondary pores created in the zeolite crystals. The chemical and structural properties of the catalyst were studied by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, NH3-TPD and pyridine chemisorption followed by IR-spectroscopy. Although the aim was to desilicate to create mesoporosity in the zeolite crystals, the desilication promoted the formation of extra-framework aluminum species that affected the conversion of glycerol and the products distribution. The results clearly show that the mesoporous zeolites with designed mesopore structure allowed a rapid diffusion and consequently improved the reaction kinetics. However, especial attention must be given to the desilication procedure because the severity of the treatment negatively interfered on the Brønsted and Lewis acid sites relative concentration and, consequently, in the efficiency of the catalysis performed by these materials. On the other hand, during the catalytic reaction, the intracrystalline mesopores allowed carbonaceous compounds to be deposited herein, resulting in less blocked micropores and catalysts with higher long-term stability.

Micro-raman spectroscopic characterization of a CR-39 detector

Characterization by micro-Raman spectroscopy of polymeric materials used as nuclear track detectors reveals physico-chemical and morphological information on the material's molecular structure. In this work, the nuclear track detector poly(allyl diglycol carbonate), or Columbia Resin 39 (CR-39), was characterized according to the fluence of alpha particles produced by a 226Ra source and chemical etching time. Therefore, damage of the CR-39 chemical structure due to the alpha-particle interaction with the detector was analyzed at the molecular level. It was observed that the ionization and molecular excitation of the CR-39 after the irradiation process entail cleavage of chemical bonds and formation of latent track. In addition, after the chemical etching, there is also loss of polymer structure, leading to the decrease of the group density C-O-C (∼888 cm-1), CH=CH (∼960 cm -1), C-O (∼1110 cm-1), C-O-C (∼1240 cm -1), C-O (∼1290 cm-1), C-O (∼1741 cm -1), -CH2- (∼2910 cm-1), and the main band -CH2- (∼2950 cm-1). The analyses performed after irradiation and chemical etching led to a better understanding of the CR-39 molecular structure and better comprehension of the process of the formation of the track, which is related to chemical etching kinetics. Copyright © 2013 Society for Applied Spectroscopy.

Sintering of porous alumina obtained by biotemplate fibers for low thermal conductivity applications

In this research report, a sintering process of porous ceramic materials based on Al2O3 was employed using a method where a cation precursor solution is embedded in an organic fibrous cotton matrix. For porous green bodies, the precursor solution and cotton were annealed at temperatures in the range of 100-1600°C using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis to obtain a porous body formation and disposal process containing organic fibers and precursor solution. In a structure consisting of open pores and interconnected nanometric grains, despite the low porosity of around 40% (calculated geometrically), nitrogen physisorption determined a specific surface area of 14m2/g, which shows much sintering of porous bodies. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analytical methods revealed a predominant amount of α-Al2O3 in the sintered samples. Thermal properties of the sintered Al2O3 fibers were obtained by using the Laser Flash which resulted in the lower thermal conductivity obtained by α-Al2O3 and therefore improved its potential use as an insulating material. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Biocompatibility of a porous alumina ceramic scaffold coated with hydroxyapatite and bioglass

This study aimed to evaluate the osteointegration and genotoxic potential of a bioactive scaffold, composed of alumina and coated with hydroxyapatite and bioglass, after their implantation in tibias of rats. For this purpose, Wistar rats underwent surgery to induce a tibial bone defect, which was filled with the bioactive scaffolds. Histology analysis (descriptive and morphometry) of the bone tissue and the single-cell gel assay (comet) in multiple organs (blood, liver, and kidney) were used to reach this aim after a period of 30, 60, 90, and 180 days of material implantation. The main findings showed that the incorporation of hydroxyapatite and bioglass in the alumina scaffolds produced a suitable environment for bone ingrowth in the tibial defects and did not demonstrate any genotoxicity in the organs evaluated in all experimental periods. These results clearly indicate that the bioactive scaffolds used in this study present osteogenic potential and still exhibit local and systemic biocompatibility. These findings are promising once they convey important information about the behavior of this novel biomaterial in biological system and highlight its possible clinical application. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Use of slag/sugar cane bagasse ash (SCBA) blends in the production of alkali-activated materials

Blast furnace slag (BFS)/sugar cane bagasse ash (SCBA) blends were assessed for the production of alkali-activated pastes and mortars. SCBA was collected from a lagoon in which wastes from a sugar cane industry were poured. After previous dry and grinding processes, SCBA was chemically characterized: it had a large percentage of organic matter (ca. 25%). Solutions of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate were used as activating reagents. Different BFS/SCBA mixtures were studied, replacing part of the BFS by SCBA from 0 to 40% by weight. The mechanical strength of mortar was measured, obtaining values about 60 MPa of compressive strength for BFS/SCBA systems after 270 days of curing at 20 °C. Also, microstructural properties were assessed by means of SEM, TGA, XRD, pH, electrical conductivity, FTIR spectroscopy and MIP. Results showed a good stability of matrices developed by means of alkali-activation. It was demonstrated that sugar cane bagasse ash is an interesting source for preparing alkali-activated binders. © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Seleção de micro-organismos fermentadores de xilose em etanol a partir de diferentes variedades da casca de uvas (Vitis spp)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Avaliação in vitro da resistência de união do cerômero ao sistema de cimentação adesiva, através do teste de micro-tração. Efeito de diferentes tratamentos de superfície

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Produção e caracterização de micro e nanofibras de Poli(fluoreto de vinilideno) - PVDF obtidos pela técnica de fiação por sopro em solução

Pós-graduação em Ciência dos Materiais - FEIS

Síntese de supercondutores cerâmicos à base de bismuto produzidos pelo método Pechini associado ao processo de hidrotermalização assistido por micro-ondas

Pós-graduação em Ciência dos Materiais - FEIS

Otimização das propriedades fotoluminescentes de nanoestruturas preparadas via síntese hidrotérmica assistida por micro-ondas

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)