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M Gandolfi

Publications and source records attributed to M Gandolfi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Nanocrystals of magnesium and fluoride substituted hydroxyapatite.

Hydroxyapatite nanocrystals synthetized in the presence of different concentrations of magnesium and fluoride ions in solutions--1, 5 and 10 at.% have been submitted to a structural and chemical characterization. The syntheses were carried out in the presence of low molecular weight polyacrylic acid, which has been verified to inhibit hydroxyapatite crystallization. The polyelectrolyte is adsorbed into the crystals during the synthesis and provokes a reduction of the mean crystal sizes. The reduction is greater along the direction orthogonal to the c-axis, suggesting a preferential adsorption of the polyelectrolyte on the crystalline faces parallel to the c-axis. Both magnesium and fluoride can be incorporated into the hydroxyapatite structure. On the basis of the values of the lattice constants and of the magnesium relative content of the solid phase, it can be suggested that probably just a part of magnesium is substituted for calcium, the remainder being adsorbed on the crystal surface. However, magnesium destabilizes the apatitic structure favouring its thermal conversion into beta-tricalcium phosphate, and displays an inhibiting effect on the crystallization of hydroxyapatite. This last effect is enhanced by the simultaneous presence of polyacrylic acid. Fluoride substitution for hydroxyl ions into hydroxyapatite structure induces a slight increase of the crystal sizes along the c-axis direction. The data indicate that the experimental approach can be successfully used to prepare nanoapatite with crystallinity, crystal dimensions, composition, structure and stability very close to those characteristics of biological apatites.

Durapatite↗

In vitro calcified tendon collagen: an atomic force and scanning electron microscopy investigation.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy have been performed on decalcified turkey tendons submitted to in vitro calcification in order to investigate the morphology and the surface relationships between the inorganic phase and the collagen fibres during deposition and compare with those found for physiologically calcified samples. 'Tapping mode' AFM was used to reduce the vertical force applied to the samples, which were examined without any preparation. A further characterization has been carried out by means of X-ray diffraction, infrared absorption and chemical analyses. The observations indicate that the inorganic phase deposited on collagen fibres during in vitro calcification is poorly crystalline B carbonated apatite. The composition, structure and dimensions of apatitic crystallites, as well as their orientation with respect to collagen fibrils, are very similar to those characteristic of physiologically calcified tissues. However, the crystallites seem to be nucleated on the fibril surface, without appreciably affecting the molecular packing of collagen.

Animals↗

X-ray diffraction study of in vitro calcification of tendon collagen.

Decalcified samples of turkey leg tendon were submitted to in vitro calcification in the presence of metastable solutions of calcium phosphate at different concentrations. The structural relationship between apatitic deposits and collagen fibrils was examined by high- and small-angle X-ray diffraction using conventional and synchrotron radiation sources. At high supersaturation the apatitic crystallites were deposited on the collagen fibrils with their crystallographic c-axis preferentially oriented parallel to the fibril axis. At lower supersaturation, a fraction of the apatitic crystallites also grew with the c-axis preferentially oriented parallel to the collagen fibril axis, whereas other exhibited a preferential orientation perpendicular to the fibril axis. The analysis of the small-angle X-ray diffraction data indicates that the deposition of the apatitic phase in the sample stored in solution at lower supersaturation induced modifications of the collagen electron density distribution in the axial direction, which can be attributed to the deposition of the inorganic crystallites inside the gap region of the collagen structure.

Animals↗

Functional evaluation of patients fitted with total knee prostheses.

Degenerative or inflammatory diseases of the knee joint account for a large proportion of diseases affecting the elderly. Treatment aims to eliminate pain, correct the deformity and maintain complete joint mobility. In cases of total joint degeneration, fitting of a joint prosthesis is the technique currently favoured since elimination of pain and correction of the deformity, accompanied by recovery of joint mobility (the fundamental requirements for normal everyday life) can only be obtained if the knee joint is completely replaced. With the discovery of new materials and increasingly sophisticated knowledge about articular mechanics, the knee prosthesis, although more recent than the hip prosthesis, has become ever more widespread to the point that it now represents an irreplaceable aid in the treatment of this common disease. The clinical results obtained are already stable and particularly encouraging and prosthesis design is sophisticated and accurate. There is, however, still the suspicion that current prostheses can be considered "rudimentary" in comparison with the physiological and biomechanical behaviour of the human joint. We therefore wanted to begin an evaluation using a gait analysis system to assess patients fitted with knee prostheses. The first impressions gained in this study are the subject of this article.

Activities of Daily Living↗

[Neoplasms of the parotid space. Therapeutic guides].

The Authors report about 161 neoplasms of the parotid space observed in the ten-year period since 1977 to 1987. With the exception of carcinomas and mucoepidermoid tumors, always to be treated by total parotidectomy, for the remaining pathology of the gland either neoplastic or not neoplastic as well as the extra salivary tissues diseases, the Authors suggest a conservative surgical treatment, in respect of the facial nerves and of the salivary tissue not directly involved.

Adolescent↗

Thin-layer chromatographic determination of indolic tryptophan metabolites in human urine using Sep-Pak C18 extraction.

Tryptophan and some of its indole metabolites were separated by thin-layer chromatography, stained with the Van Urk--Salkowski reagent, and quantitated by scanning densitometry. The application of this technique for the detection of the indoles in urine samples, employing Sep-Pak C18 cartridges for extraction, was demonstrated. The proposed method is simple and accurate. The detection limits were 2 micrograms/ml 5-hydroxytryptophan, 1.75 micrograms/ml 5-hydroxyindolyl-3-acetic acid, 1.5 micrograms/ml tryptophan, 0.8 micrograms/ml indolyl-3-acetic acid, 0.9 micrograms/ml indolyl-3-butyric acid, 1.75 micrograms/ml serotonin, and 1.25 micrograms/ml tryptamine.

Chromatography, Thin Layer↗

Femoro-patellar arthrosis. Pathogenesis and surgical treatment.

The writers examine the anatomical and functional basis of pain in the knee due to imbalance of femoro-patellar pressures which cause arthrotic changes in the patella. The symptoms of this knee condition require very accurate assessment in view of its complex pathogenesis in order to arrive at the correct surgical treatment.

Bone Diseases↗

[Diplopodia].

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Child, Preschool↗