Ricinus communis L. is of great economic importance due to the oil extracted from its seeds. Castor oil has been used for pharmaceutical and industrial applications, as a lubricant or coating agent, as a component of plastic products, as a fungicide or in the synthesis of biodiesel fuels. After oil extraction, a castor cake with a large amount of protein is obtained. However, this by-product cannot be used as animal feed due to the presence of toxic (ricin) and allergenic (2S albumin) proteins. Here, we propose two processes for detoxification and allergen inactivation of the castor cake. In addition, we establish a biological test to detect ricin and validate these detoxification processes. In this test, Vero cells were treated with ricin, and cell death was assessed by cell counting and measurement of lactate dehydrogenase activity. The limit of detection of the Vero cell assay was 10 ng/mL using a concentration of 1.6 × 105 cells/well. Solid-state fermentation (SSF) and treatment with calcium compounds were used as cake detoxification processes. For SSF, Aspergillus niger was grown using a castor cake as a substrate, and this cake was analyzed after 24, 48, 72, and 96 h of SSF. Ricin was eliminated after 24 h of SSF treatment. The cake was treated with 4 or 8% Ca(OH)2 or CaO, and both the toxicity and the allergenic properties were entirely abolished. A by-product free of toxicity and allergens was obtained.

Silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4) is widely used in the manufacture of cutting tools due to the combination of properties such as high hardness, fracture toughness and wear resistance. This ceramic is usually sintered by liquid phase, causing the reduction of thermo-mechanical properties. This work investigated the sintering of pure (binderless) Si 3 N 4 tools by a high pressure and high-temperature (HPHT) technology. Sub-micrometric a-Si 3 N 4 powder was hot-pressed at 1700°C for 3 min, using extreme pressures of 5, 6 or 7 GPa. The sintered samples were characterized by XRD and atomic force microscopy (AFM); hardness and fracture toughness were measured by the indentation fracture method (IF). Preliminary machining tests with binderless-Si 3 N 4 tools were performed using AISI 4140 hardened steel. Commercial TiN-coated hard metal insert was used as a comparative tool material. Turning tests were carried out using coolant/lubricant, cutting time of 12 min, cutting speed of 150 m/min, cutting depth of 0.3 mm and feed of 0.11 mm/rev. The results showed the presence of a-Si 3 N 4 and b-Si 3 N 4 crystalline phases after sintering, indicating partial a ? b phase transformation, with elongated b-Si 3 N 4 grain. The relative density after sintering was near 90-97%. The best results for the mechanical properties were hardness of 21 GPa and fracture toughness of 8.9 MPa m 1/2. The machining results indicated an improvement on surface quality when using Si 3 N 4 ceramic tool. The flank wear of the hard metal insert was 0.7 mm, while the wear of binderless Si 3 N 4 insert was substantially lower, 0.1 mm. The roughness (R a) measured in AISI 4140 steel was 17.6 lm (HPHT Si 3 N 4 insert) and 19.7 lm (TiN-coated hard metal insert), after machining tests. Keywords Si 3 N 4 ceramics Á High-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT) Á Mechanical properties Á Machining

With the aim of introducing permanent prostheses with main properties equivalent to cortical human bone, Ti-diamond composites were processed through powder metallurgy. Grade 1 titanium and mixtures of Ti powder with 2%, 5% and 10 wt% diamond were compacted at 100MPa, and then sintered at 1250°C/2hr/10 -6 mbar. Sintered samples were studied in the point of view of their microstructures, structures, yield strength and elastic modulus. The results showed that the best addition of diamonds was 2 wt%, which led to a uniform porosity, yield strength of 370MPa and elastic modulus of 13.9 GPa. Samples of Ti and Ti-2% diamond were subjected to in vitro cytotoxicity test, using cultures of VERO cells, and it resulted in a biocompatible and nontoxic composite material.

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