PARTNERS: INASMET  

Material relevant to the Institute

INASMET main activities in Nanobiotechnologies are focused on several areas:

• Surface treatments and functionalizations: plasma, CVD, chemical
• Tissue Engineering
• Nanocoatings: PVD, CVD, ion implantation, electrodeposition, Sol-Gel
• Nanocomposites based on polymer, ceramic or metallic matrixes .

Covering essentially the following applications:

• Nano(bio) technology for medical applications
• Nanotechnologies for sensors

 

List of infrastructure/ facilities of host Institution

Mainly all the facilities and equipment of INASMET are shown in its web site (www.inasmet.es). Anyway, the main facilities (partial description) are detailed next:

 

i) Biological Area main facilities:

Microbiological Laboratory and Cell Culture Room : Each one with its particular requirements concerning installations, equipments, and environment condition control. Both zones dispose mainly of laminar flow chambers, thermostatic baths, refrigerators, freezer, incubators, CO2 incubator, centrifuges, stirrer, autoclaves, contact angle surface meter, toxicity analyzer (Microtox- Mutatox- Chronictox), UV Absortion Spectrometer, balances, pH-meters, inverted microscope and data processing facilities.

Animal House : The facilities in which surgical and experimental procedures are performed and animals housed meet all necessary requirements. The procedures as to the maintenance of environment conditions, food and cleaning of animals are based on annexe II of Directive 86/609/CEE. The animal house is strategically sited, avoiding the passage of non authorized personnel. It has roughly 50 m 2 area and is only assigned to species maintenance such as rats, mice, guinea pigs and rabbits. There are also two rooms to carry out assays such as systemic toxicity, irritation and sensitization tests and implantation tests, among others.

The assays that require a more specific surgical infrastructure are carried out in The Experimental Unit of Hospital Ntra. Sra. de Aranzazu in San Sebastian.

Biological assays : Mainly based on the International Standards ISO 10993
a) “in vitro “ citotoxicity;
b) mutagenicity assays: bacterial mutagenicity, mammalian cell mutagenicity;
c) hemocompatibility: clotting time tests, platelet response measurement, hemolysis test;
d) irritation test,
e) sensitization test;
f) implantation test;
g) biodegradation test,
h) ethylene oxide residues, i) microbiological test.

 

ii) Materials and Processing Technologies main facilities:

Together a clean room class 1000-10000 divide into different areas that will be set up this year, INASMET has the following main facilities and processing technologies (partial description):

Surface Engineering Area : Ion Implantation; PVD magnetron Sputtering; Ion Beam Assisted Deposition (IBAD); RF Plasma CVD; Plasma treatment and coating system; Thermal Spraying: Plasma Spraying (APS), High Velocity Oxigen Fuel (HVOF); Sol-gel, Electrodeposition, Thermocatalytical Decomposition.

Ceramic and Powder Metallurgy Area :
a) Synthesis : Hydro-thermic process, Chemical process, Self-propagating High-temperature Synthesis (SHS), Sol-gel, Mechanical process;
b) Consolidation and shaping forming: Injection Moulding (ceramics, metals, polymers and composites and/or alloys); Microinjection Moulding of microcomponents, Vacuum Hot Press;
c) Densification: Microwave sintering; Sintering by heat treatment to final density and shape, burnout of the organic additives.

Joining Area : Brazing, Soldering, Electron beam welding, adhesive bonding, Vaccuum and air controlled furnaces, microplasma.

Polymers and Organic Matrix Composites Area : Liquid moulding techniques: PUR casting into silicone moulds, Thermosetting resins injection (RTM), Casting of epoxy resins for manufacturing of prototype injection moulds; Autoclave; Cold (compression of thermosetting resins, SMC) or hot (GMT) stamping processes; Extrusion and Injection of thermoplastics.

Metal and Metal Matrix Composites Area : Squeeze casting, Rheocasting, Compocasting, Stir casting, Investment casting, Master casting, Lower pressure die casting, gravity die casting, sand casting, severe plastic deformation processes.

 

iii) Characterization main facilities:

The main objectives of this department are the mechanical, microstructural and chemical (including functional) characterization of materials and microsistems as well as the study of the materials behavior and reliability (corrosion, failure analysis and structural integrity, specific properties, etc). The main facilities for analysis are: Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), X-Ray photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Auger Microscopy (SAM), Optical Microscopy (Metallography Laboratory), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) + EDS, Low Vacuum Scanning Electron Microscopy (LVSEM) + EDS, Scanning Probe Microscopy (STM and AFM), Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman Spectroscopy, UV spectroscopy, Fluorescence Spectroscopy, etc. An extensive descriptions in the web site (www.inasmet.es).