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Facilities

Laboratories

The Department of Biomaterials occupies approximately 150 m2 at the basement of the New Building of Dental School.
The whole room is air conditioned by a central air conditioning unit and is protected by a fire safety system. The big analytical units and their accessories have been located in isolated rooms with individual air conditioning units while their electrical power is supplied through a UPS. The environmental conditions are constantly monitored by digital hydrometers, thermometers and oxygen detectors.      

     
     

There are 14 PC units, 7 printers, 1 scanner and 1 plotter mainly used for support of analytical devices and in second place for secretarial use.
A logbook is kept for each analytical device monitoring the use, the calibration the maintenance and the malfunctions details. There are also archives for research protocols, suppliers and library.

Optical microscopes:

  • Photomicroscope III /Zeiss: Biological, transmission / polarizing with integrated Zeiss microphotography system.
  • Ortholux II Pol-BK/Leitz: Polarizing, transmission / reflection with two sets of objectives, integrated microphotography system Combiphot automatic / Leitz with 35 mm Leica MD11 camera.
  • ME 600 Eclipse/Nikon: Metallographic, transmission / reflection / polarizing / differential interference contrast, with universal objectives, high resolution microphotography system U-III/Nikon and 35 mm Nikon camera, Coolpix 990/Nikon digital camera and image processing data station.
  • Elvar/Leitz: Stereomicroscope, with uniaxial and lateral fiber-optic illumination.
  • Leica CLS 100 X, and Coolpix 990/Nikon digital camera with image processing data station.
  • Micro-Scopeman/Moritex: Portable video-microscope, with uniaxial fiber-optic illumination, contact and non-contact lenses and image processing data station.
  • Scanning Electron Microscope/EDS x-ray microanalysis unit and coating devices:
    Quanta 200/FEI: Multipurpose SEM for high-vacuum, low-vacuum and environmental imaging, with stage for controlled hydration/dehydration studies, secondary and backscattered electron detectors for imaging under all conditions and dedicated software for the production of colored and stereoscopic images by combining secondary and backscattered images.
  • Phoenix-EDAM III CDU/EDAX: embedded energy-dispersive spectroscopy system with super-ultra thin Be window for element detection down to 4Be, special shields for analysis of non-coated specimens and Genesis 3.5 software for fast elemental mapping, quantitative mapping, line scan analysis, thermograms and particle analysis).
  • SCD 004 Sputter-Coater/Bal-Tec: Au and C coating unit for high-vacuum imaging and analysis.
  • CPD 03 Critical Point Drier/ Bal-Tec: For selective, delicate, soft-tissue treatments when high-vacuum imaging is required.

Universal Testing Machine:

  • Tensometer10/Monsanto (upgraded with Aegis 10/EUCAT system): PC-servocontrolled with a variety of attachments for tensile, compression, bending, shear, fatigue, uniaxial and multiaxial testing
  • Extensometer
  • Special grips for:
    • Tensile for wires
    • Tensile for plastics
    • Tensile testing of metallic dumbbell specimens according to ISO specifications
    • Compression
    • 3-point bending for metallic and plastic specimens
    • 900 peel off of adhesive coating
    • 900 push shear testing for bond strength
  • A series of customized grips for testing dental biomaterials with their in service geometries.
  • Pen recorder / Monsanto: (single-channel continuous real-time recorder) and printer.

Hardness testers:

  • Microhardness testing: HMV 2000/Shimadzu: Vickers and Knoop indenters and thermal printer.
  • Hardness tester Diatronic 2RC Wolpert: Equipped with Rockwell, Brinell and Vickers indenters.

Profilometer:

  • DH-5 Diavite/Asmeto with thermal printer and microcontrolled x-y stage).
  • Veeco NT-2000: Optical interferometric profiler
  • Gloss-Checker: Horiba ST5 IR
  • Setting shrinkage measuring device: PC-controlled, according to Watts and Cash, with LVDT (Solartron) and A/D converter (Pico).
  • Elastic recovery measuring system: PC-controlled, with strain gauge (K5) and A/D converter (Pico).

Artificial aging

  • Water-thermal-cycling unit: PC-controlled robotic arm with cold and hot water baths Heto.
  • Photo-thermal aging unit: Suntest 30 CPS Plus/Atlas. Programmable unit for photo, thermal or combined aging of dental materials.

Specimen preparation devices:

  • Metals microtome (Microtome 2/ Metals Research).
  • Hard tissue microtome (Isomet /Buehler).
  • 2 Metallographic polishing units: Ecomet III/Buehler and Dap-V, Struers.
  • Dental unit (EMO).
  • Ultrasound bath (Ultramatic 150).

Chemical labware:

  • P903/Consort digital pHmeter / ionometer with standard, mini and surface pH-electrodes and Ca and F selective ion electrodes.
  • Vortex homogenizers/vibtators (Genie 2).
  • Magnetic stirrers (Nuova/Thermolyne).
  • Electronic balance (BP 310S/Sartorius)
  • Analytical balance (AU200/Shimadzu)
  • Dry heat ovens (3, Memmert)
  • Vacuum oven (Heraeus)
  • Bench-top Centrifuge (Hartmann)

Color measuring devices:

  • Colorimeter (Micro-Color Data Station / Dr. Lange)

Special light sources:

  • Dental light-curing units ( Trilight/3M-ESPE, Optilux 501).
  • UV units (UVL-21/Black-Ray).
  • Observation sources (Olympus).

FTIR Spectrometer:

  • Spectrum GX / Perkin-Elmer with a variety of accessories for surface characterization including micro-MIR and angle-resolved ATR cells.
  • Autoimage / Perkin-Elmer FTIR transmission/reflection Microscope for molecular microanalysis and imaging, 2D and 3D molecular mapping and line scan analysis. The unit is equipped with a micro-ATR objective for optional ATR mapping and with visible polarizers.

UV-Visible Spectrometer:

  • X-ray Microtomography system: 1072 High resolution x-ray micro CT scanner/SkyScan.

Auxilliaries:

  • A variety of custom-made devices for specimen preparation according to ISO specifications.

Satellite devices:

  • These devices are located within the Health Sciences Campus and are in direct access
    to the Biomaterials Laboratory on a time-sharing basis.
  • Atomic Force Microscope (Dimension 3000 /Digital Instruments)
  • X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (DX-95 EDXRF/EDAX)
  • X ray Diffraction (5000/Siemens)
  • Field Emission SEM (FEG-40XL/Phillips)
  • X ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (ISIS/Kratos).
  • Raman Microprobe (2000/ Renishaw)