Biominerals & Biomaterials
BB1 - Biopolymer Clay Nanocomposites for Medicinal Uses
In the last decades, clays and polymer–clay nanocomposites (PCNC) have been proposed as very useful materials for medicinal uses as tissue engineering or modified drug delivery. Natural phyllosilicates, including smectites, kaolinite, halloysite and fibrous clays are the clay minerals most used because of their high surface areas and colloidal dimensions of their particles. They are used as special excipients directly or as fillers in PCNC with different purposes. This session aims at reporting on very recent developments in the use of clay minerals and PCNC as materials with medical interest, including drug delivery and others medicinal targets.
Conveners: César Viseras Iborra, Dimitris Papoulis, Stefano Leporatti
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BB2 - Renal Stones: Epidemiology, Mechanisms of Formation and Analysis
Renal lithiasis (renal calculi) affects a wide sector of population, between 4 and 15% depending on the geographic region , and it has been classified as one of the illnesses that more pain can cause to human beings.
The renal lithiasis can be defined as an alteration of the balanced conditions of crystallization of the urine. The factors that participate in the formation of crystals can be diverse and for this reason renal lithiasis is clearly a multifactorial pathology. The session aims to discuss:
- relation between epidemiology of renal stones, geographical characteristics (as climate and soil composition), diet and life style habits;
- mechanisms of renal stone formation on the light of general aspects of stone/rock development;
- methodologies of stone analysis and characterization that could be usefulness for improve the diagnostic and treatment of patients.
Conveners: Félix Grases, Antonia Costa-Bauza, Rafel M. Prieto, Maria Luigia Giannossi
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BB3 - Biomineralisation and Analysis of Pathological Mineral Deposits
There is an increase incidence of crystal deposition diseases such as gallstones and atherosclerosis in people of all ages. Crystal nucleation frequently occurs in bile and coronary artery resulting in these diseases. One of the main focuses is to determine whether nucleation is essentially homogeneous and takes place spontaneously from highly supersaturated body fluids or whether it is heterogeneous and is initiated by some other agents such as trace elements.
The session aims to highlight studies on biomineralisation (in vivo and in vitro), trace element analysis of pathological minerals and epidemiology, particularly with respect to geographical location, climatic conditions etc.
Conveners: S.Narayana Kalkura
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