Product Code: ICA13_301

Marine Resources and Sub-Products Valorisation for Medical Applications by Laser Assisted Techniques
Authors:
Mohamed Boutinguiza, University of Vigo; Vigo Spain
Rafael Comesana, University of Vigo; Vigo Spain
Jesus Del Val, University of Vigo; Vigo Spain
Felipe Arias-Gonzalez, University of Vigo; Vigo Spain
Joaquin Penide, University of Vigo; Vigo Spain
Felix Quintero, University of Vigo; Vigo Spain
Antonio Riveiro, University of Vigo; Vigo Spain
Fernando Lusquinos, University of Vigo; Vigo Spain
Juan Pou, University of Vigo; Vigo Spain
Presented at ICALEO 2013

In order to preserve the marine natural environment the European extractive regulations for fishing and canning industries were remarkably tightened during last years. The reduction of discard production was enforced, in addition to the compulsory sub product unloading at seaport, raised the fishing sub-products availability on dry land. Moreover, the extra costs of preserving regulations increased the interest of fishing and canning companies on the development of new processes to add value to these sub products. Therefore, the research activity of several groups along the European Atlantic coast was directed towards the study of the potential of both marine precursor materials and valorization procedures.
In this work, we compare the results of several strategies to transform marine resources and fishing sub-products into materials for biomedical applications. These methods involve the direct and indirect treatment of fish bones and seafood shells by laser assisted techniques, such as laser ablation, laser spinning, or rapid prototyping based on laser cladding. Thus, bioceramic nanoparticles, bioactive fibers, implant coatings and low load-bearing implants for bone restoration and other biomedical purposes can be produced from marine precursor materials. Moreover, this work explores in detail the feasibility to produce marine origin bioactive glass coatings onto Ti6Al4V alloy substrates by means of the laser cladding technique. Suitable surface tension and viscosity temperature behavior during processing, together with the required ion release profiles are pursued by testing suitable silicate bioactive glass compositions. The produced coatings and interfaces and the chemical species released in simulated physiological fluids were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).