What does it mean to be at the forefront of a characterization technique? Novel implementation and research, finding new ways to visualize composites, and new techniques all play a role. Yet with the myriad of advances in the field, keeping up with new and advanced techniques, often from many different areas, has become a challenge. Biomineralization Sourcebook: Characterization of Biominerals and Biomimetic Materials emphasizes the interplay between multiple techniques at their current frontiers and explores how such studies may be carried out. The book addresses atomic and molecular structure: how it is described, detected, and assessed for importance. It then highlights additional measurements especially well-suited to looking at two- and three-dimensional systems with heterogeneous, if not hierarchical, structure. These systems enable particular aspects of biominerals and biomimetic models to be scrutinized. The text presents state-of-the-art methods to assess properties of the composite, and represents current approaches and aspirations to measuring entire biological working structures while retaining as much fine-grained biophysical information as possible. In all these chapters, authors showcase discoveries from their own programs. Along the way, the book takes you on a tour from microscopy's eighteenth century roots, to the recent literature and diverse research programs of the contributing investigators, to the multi-million dollar National Laboratory facilities that all play their roles to illuminate the ever-fascinating biominerals. A snapshot of the state of the art in a spectrum of experimental techniques applied to a common interdisciplinary goal, where the ability to use the more advanced techniques often requires funding for collaboration and travel, the book will deepen the appreciation for the massive interdisciplinary effort underway, educate researchers across the field, and motivate new collaborations.

Many areas of material science have been transformed by the use of synchrotron radiation X-rays, including the fields of cultural heritage materials and biomineralization. This book presents a selection of contributions that illustrate recent developments and applications of these tools, focused either on the main techniques used in the cultural heritage and biomineralization communities or on specific materials, studying their intrinsic properties or how they change with time. Each chapter can be read alone, and each individually demonstrates the intimate links between materials and methods. The chapters explore the main principles of synchrotron radiation, as well as techniques based on X-ray absorption and diffraction, and give an overview of how these approaches have developed in recent decades in the field of cultural heritage, with specific examples such as ancient ceramics, corrosion of iron-based materials, concrete used in Roman monuments and the biomineralization process in sea urchin spines.

This volume provides a comprehensive academic review of both positive and negative effects of minerals on human health and quality of life. The book adopts the concept of mineral latu sensu (mineral l.s.), which encompasses a broad spectrum of natural, inorganic, solid, and crystalline, of natural and inorganic chemical elements (metals and metalloids), of modified natural minerals, of biominerals, and of syntetic minerals, all products that branch across the disciplines of earth, soil, environmental, materials, nutrition, and health sciences. Using this broad framework, the authors are able to provide a multidisciplinary assessment on many types of minerals which can be essential, beneficial and hazardous to human health, covering applications in medical geology, medical hydrology or balneotherapy, pharmacology, chemistry, nutrition, and biophysics. The book performs historical analyses of the uses of minerals for therapeutic and cosmetic purposes to better understand current trends and developments in mineral research and human health. The book will be of interest to students, public health officials, environmental agencies and researchers from various disciplines, as well as scientific societies and organizations focusing on medical geology, health resort medicine (crenotherapy, hydrotherapy and climatotherapy), and on pharmaceutical, cosmetic and biomedical applications.

This book presents the findings of experimental and theoretical (including first-principles molecular dynamics simulation) studies of nanostructured and nanocomposite metal-based materials, and nanoscale multilayer coatings fabricated by physical or chemical vapor deposition, magnetron sputtering, electrospark alloying, ionic layer absorption, contact melting, and high-current electron beam irradiation. It also discusses novel methods of nanocomposite formation, as well as the structure of the deposited films, coatings and other nanoscale materials, their elemental and phase composition, and their physical–mechanical, tribological, magnetic and electrical properties. Lastly, it explores the influence of a various surface modification methods, such as thermal annealing, pulsed laser modification, and thermomechanical and ultrasonic treatment, as well as different properties of nanostructured films.

This book reports on the latest research and developments in Biomedical Engineering, with a special emphasis on topics of interest and findings achieved in Latin America. This first volume of a 4-volume set covers advances in modeling and simulation of biological and biomedical systems, mechanical characterization, and biological evaluation of biomaterials for medical applications, including tissues regeneration. It also covers some related special topics, such as advanced methodologies for agricultural and food production and public health management. Throughout the book, a special emphasis is given to low-cost technologies and to their development for and applications in clinical settings. Based on the IX Latin American Conference on Biomedical Engineering (CLAIB 2022) and the XXVIII Brazilian Congress on Biomedical Engineering (CBEB 2022), held jointly, and virtually on October 24-28, 2022, from Florianópolis, Brazil, this book provides researchers and professionals in the biomedical engineering field with extensive information on new technologies and current challenges for their clinical applications. .

The work is a source of modern knowledge on biomineralization, biomimetics and bioinspired materials science with respect to marine invertebrates. The author gives the most coherent analysis of the nature, origin and evolution of biocomposites and biopolymers isolated from and observed in the broad diversity of marine invertebrate organisms and within their unusual structural formations. The basic format is that of a major review article, with liberal use of references to original literature. There is a wealth of new and newly synthesized information, including dozens of previously unpublished images of unique marine creatures and structures from nano- to microscale including high-resolution scanning and transmission electron micrographs. The material is organized effectively along both biological (phyla) and functional lines. The classification of biological materials of marine origin is proposed and discussed. Much of the pertinent data is organized into tables, and extensive use is made of electron micrographs and line drawings. Several modern topics e.g. “biomineralization- demineralization-remineralization phenomena”, or “phenomenon of multiphase biomineralization”, are discussed in details. Traditionally, such current concepts as hierarchical organization of biocomposites and skeletal structures, structural bioscaffolds, biosculpturing, biomimetism and bioinspiration as tools for the design of innovative materials are critically analyzed from both biological and materials science point of view using numerous unique examples of marine origin. This monograph reviews the most relevant advances in the marine biomaterials research field, pointing out several approaches being introduced and explored by distinct laboratories.

A comprehensive handbook outlining state-of-the-art analytical techniques used in geomicrobiology, for advanced students, researchers and professional scientists.