Artículos SCI

The late Prof. Jose Manuel Criado (1944.6.13–2018.2.27)

It is with the profoundest regret that we must report the passing of Prof. José Manuel Criado on February 27, 2018 at the age of 73. We express our most sincere condolences to his family, colleagues and friends.

Prof. Criado was born in Sevilla, Spain, on June 13^th, 1944. He studied chemistry at the University of Seville and recieved his PhD from the same university under the supervision of Prof. Francisco González García and Prof. José María Trillo. He held a position as assistant professor at the Department of Inorganic Chemistry of the University of Seville from 1968 until 1972. Then, he joined the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) or National Research Council of Spain. In this institution he was junior researcher, senior researcher and, from 1986, full professor. Moreover, he has been visiting professor in a number of international institutions such as Stanford University (USA), CNRS Thermodynamics and Microcalorimetry Center in Marseille (France), University of Salford (UK), Macaulay Research Institute (UK), Institute of Inorganic Chemistry (Czech Republic), University of Chile (Chile). He had long-lasting collaborations with scientists from all over the world and visited labs in many countries. For many years, he used to spend some weeks abroad in the frame of collaboration projects with a number of international research groups, of special importance where his projects with the Czech Republic or Chile that lasted for over 20 years. He also served as an editorial board member of Thermochimica Acta for a long time and contributed largely to the further development of our academic field.

First research works of Prof. Criado were done within the field of heterogeneous catalysis, but very soon, he got interested in reactivity of solids and thermal analysis. Thus, most of his scientific career has been devoted to the study of kinetics of solid-state processes and mechanochemisty. He published about 240 papers in international journals. In the field of kinetics of solid-state processes, he made significant contributions, such as showing the limitations of using single linear heating rate experiments for extracting kinetic parameters, the proposal of master curves for discerning the kinetic model followed by the process or the combined analysis of experimental data obtained under different heating schedules. Moreover, after learning about the sample controlled thermal analysis (SCTA) method directly from Prof. Rouquerol in Marseille (France) and Profs. Paulik brothers in Budapest (Hungary), he constructed several of these instruments and extended the use of SCTA to the kinetic analysis of heterogeneous reactions, highlighting its advantages over conventional heating. Additionally, he used the kinetic control of solid-state processes by SCTA for the preparation of a number of functional and structural materials with controlled microstructures and properties. In the field of mechanochemistry, he made substantial contributions to the preparation of materials by gas–solid reaction using high energy planetary ball mills specially modified by him to work under controlled gas atmosphere.

Probably, the main contribution of Prof. Criado as a scientist has been as teacher and mentor for many of us. Despite of spending most of his scientific career in a research center rather than in a university, his laboratories were always full of students, postdocs and visitors from all over the world. He devoted a great effort to motivate and stimulate young people to pursue a career in science. His enthusiasm for science was sincere, as he loved science and research. Thus, he worked until the very last days and, even, when he could not go to the institute because he did not feel well, he worked in a small lab at home. He was very generous and always shared his knowledge with others. Thus, he expended long hours teaching about kinetics, making the complex equations easy to understand. Only those with a deep knowledge have this ability! It is not rare that many of his former students, postdocs and coworkers have permanent positions as professors and scientist in a number of international institutions. Another significant feature of Prof. Criado was his hospitality. He and his wife Maria Jesús Dianez, who joined his research group few years ago, has always his home doors open to any coworker or visitor.

We will all miss him not only as a scientist with a deep knowledge but as a friend we loved so much.

(1) Background: The use of physical barriers to prevent the invasion of gingival and connective tissue cells into bone cavities during the healing process is called guided bone regeneration. The objective of this in-vitro study was to compare the growth of human osteoblasts on Poly(Lactic-co-Glycolic) (PLGA) membranes modified with oxygen plasma and Hydroxyapatite (HA), silicon dioxide (SiO2), and titanium dioxide (TiO2) composite nanoparticles, respectively. (2) Methods: All the membranes received a common treatment with oxygen plasma and were subsequently treated with HA nanostructured coatings (n = 10), SiO2 (n = 10) and TiO2 (n = 10), respectively and a PLGA control membrane (n = 10). The assays were performed using the human osteoblast line MG-63 acquired from the Center for Scientific Instrumentation (CIC) from the University of Granada. The cell adhesion and the viability of the osteoblasts were analyzed by means of light-field microphotographs of each condition with the inverted microscope Axio Observer A1 (Carl Zeiss). For the determination of the mitochondrial energy balance, the MitoProbe (TM) JC-1 Assay Kit was employed. For the determination of cell growth and the morphology of adherent osteoblasts, two techniques were employed: staining with phalloidin-TRITC and staining with DAPI. (3) Results: The modified membranes that show osteoblasts with a morphology more similar to the control osteoblasts follow the order: PLGA/PO2/HA > PLGA/PO2/SiO2 > PLGA/PO2/TiO2 > PLGA (p < 0.05). When analysing the cell viability, a higher percentage of viable cells bound to the membranes was observed as follows: PLGA/PO2/SiO2 > PLGA/PO2/HA > PLGA/PO2/TiO2 > PLGA (p < 0.05), with a better energy balance of the cells adhered to the membranes PLGA/PO2/HA and PLGA/PO2/SiO2. (4) Conclusion: The membrane in which osteoblasts show characteristics more similar to the control osteoblasts is the PLGA/PO2/HA, followed by the PLGA/PO2/SiO2.