WO2008020092A1

WO2008020092A1 - Improvements introduced into patent p200500389 for 'personalized synthetic diamond of different colours, obtained from (living or dead) human or animal keratin and production method thereof'

Info

Publication number: WO2008020092A1
Application number: PCT/ES2007/000193
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ramón MARTÍN PARRONDO; Dmitri Bagriantsev
Original assignee: Instituto De Monocristales, S.L.
Priority date: 2006-08-08
Filing date: 2007-04-04
Publication date: 2008-02-21

Abstract

The improvements consist in the use, as raw material for obtaining the cultivated diamond, of tissues from the umbilical cord and/or the placenta of humans or animals, be these living or dead, subjecting said tissues to a carbonization process, which, as in the main patent, may be a carbonization by strong acid, a carbonization by Mufla oven or a carbonization by Bunsen burner, blowtorch or the like, the first case yielding the carbon by means of decantation, filtration or centrifugation and in the other cases by means of a mechanical dry scraping process or, optionally, wet scraping followed by drying.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS INTRODUCED IN THE PATENT OF INVENTION P200500389 BY "SYNTHETIC DIAMOND OF DIFFERENT CUSTOM COLORS FROM HUMAN KERATIN OR FIVIVE OR DEAD ANIMAL). PROCEDURE FOR

YOUR MANUFACTURE "

D E S C R I P C I Ó N

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to improvements introduced in

The invention patent P 200500389, improvements consisting in using as raw material for obtaining said diamond, instead of the human or animal keratin, tissues or parts of the umbilical cord and / or the placenta of any person or animal, alive or dead .

The object of the invention is to obtain large mono-crystals of cultured diamond (diamond obtained in the laboratory by means of crystal cultivation techniques), of the type Ib, Ha and Nb, from the carbon from the aforementioned tissues.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The diamond, which is the crystalline cubic form of carbon, was first obtained in the laboratory in the 1950s, from carbon of mineral origin. Since then there have been many advances in the field of synthesis of diamond monocrystals, these advances have led to the industrial use of diamond due to its unique physical and chemical characteristics.

Thus, the diamond is the hardest substance known to man that, together with its great thermal conductivity and chemical inertia Ie make it suitable for precision machining applications, heatsink heat, surgical instruments, radiation detectors, laser optics, among many other applications.

However, its applications in the world of jewelry and in general luxury have been historically restricted. The main restrictions for its use as a gem have been in the beginning of the first cultured diamonds, which were yellow in color and also later a certain skepticism due to their unnatural character. That is, certain markets are very difficult to penetrate, since it competes directly with many natural and cultured stones, including the natural diamond itself.

On the other hand, it is unquestionable that the diamond currently has a strong attraction in the markets, due to its exclusivity and high price.

All living beings and the human being in particular fix, from the environment in which they live, carbon in their tissues through a complex system of biochemical reactions. This carbon is forming a multitude of organic compounds (carbohydrates, fats, amino acids, etc.).

But in general, there are very few tissues from which said carbon already fixed by the living being can be extracted, in sufficient quantity without damage to it or without incurring an excessively cumbersome or complicated process to extract the carbon.

So far, this had only been achieved from carbon from the ashes of deceased beings, through a process of purification of graphite from these ashes. This practice, however, may have a limited commercial scope, since it is necessary to wait for the death and subsequent incineration of the being of which a memory or a present in the form of a crystal is desired and also has some moral reprobation on the part of certain groups, for example, those groups that censor subsequent commercialization of the products of the incineration.

The applicant himself is the holder of the Spanish invention patent P 200500389, in which a synthetic diamond of different colors is described, customized from human or animal keratin, both in living and dead beings, consisting of a carbonization of the keratin, as for example the one existing in the hair and nails, and subsequently subjecting the carbonized keratin to a process of high pressure and temperature.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Surprisingly, it has been concluded that it is possible to extract carbon from tissues that have been part of an especially important process in the life of living beings, specifically gestation.

Specifically, these tissues are what form the umbilical cord and the placenta of humans and mammals in general.

Since such tissues contain appreciable amounts of proteins, fats and other biological compounds based on carbon, this makes these tissues an easy and affordable source of carbon.

Since it is the custom of many parents to keep the dehydrated remains of the umbilical cord that emerges from the baby within a few days of birth, it is undoubtedly much more attractive to keep these remains transformed into a cultured diamond. Others, however, throw these remains because they are not manageable in the domestic environment and impractical despite having a strong emotional burden for such parents, so they constitute a scarcely attractive memory, which nevertheless undergoes a total turn when It becomes a cultured diamond. Moreover, the extraction of carbon from these tissues is carried out by the same process of patent P 200500389, that is to say by carbonization of the same and subsequent subjugation at high pressure and temperature to obtain the intended cultured diamond which, as previously He said, it will have a high sentimental value for the people from whom these tissues come, their relatives and their environment.

However, there is the possibility of extracting carbon from other parts of the human or animal body, which contain it.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical realization thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description. In an illustrative and non-limiting manner, the following has been represented:

Figure 1.- Shows a functional diagram of the complete process for obtaining the cultured diamond according to the improvements object of the present invention, using the strong acid method.

Figure 2 - Finally shows a representation similar to the previous figure but in which the carbonization process is carried out with the help of a muffle furnace.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

The carbonization processes used are, as in Ia main patent, the strong acid method, the muffle furnace method or the bunsen burner, torch or similar method.

In the strong acid method, the one shown in Figure 1, the sample (1), of the umbilical cord and / or placenta, either directly or through a previous phase of pressing (2), optional, is subjected to a maceration (3) in excess of strong and hot acid (boiling normally between 5 and 40 minutes and in general no more than 120 minutes), the H ₂ SCM, HCl or another acid mixture of strong acids being able to be used as strong acid Do not oxidize carbon during use.

The macerated sample, either in a concentrated form (4) or by means of a phase (5) of neutralization of the acid or dilution thereof until a slightly acid solution is obtained, is subjected to a decantation phase (6), to a filtering phase (7) or a spin phase

(8), as the _. diagram of Figure 1, to then proceed to a washing phase (9) after which the centrifugation (8) can optionally be repeated and in any case the process culminates with a drying phase (10) of the product.

The results obtained are:

100% solution of H ₂ SO ₄ (96%):

50 mL of H ₂ SO ₄ (96%) are taken.

1 sample of human umbilical cord (about 10.0 g in total) is prepared and added to the solution in a 10O mL beaker

It is heated for 30 minutes in the electric plate of 500 to 1000 W, at the end it is checked, by introducing a glass rod into the vessel, that there are no remains of undissolved sample.

The dry residue thus obtained is between 2.5% and 3.0% by weight of which on average 45.15% by weight is free carbon after treated with chromic mixture.

In the case of using the muffle furnace method and as shown in Figure 2, the sample of umbilical cord and / or placenta (T) tissue is also used, either directly or through a previous pressing phase ( 2 ¹ ), optional, it is introduced in a muffle furnace (3), in a crucible of mullita or any other refractory material with an outlet of gases and vapors. Said exit must prevent or at least hinder

The entry of additional oxygen to the existing one when the sample to be carbonized is introduced, so that the oxidation of the carbon is avoided.

This muffle furnace (3) working at a temperature between 500 and 1500 ⁰ C, but optionally the sample can be subjected to a graphitization furnace (4) with much higher temperatures, between 1800 and 3000 ° ⁿ V- / .

Either at the exit of the muffle furnace (3) or the graffiti furnace (4), a scraping phase is carried out, either dry (5) or wet (6), in the second case accompanied by a final phase (7) of drying.

EXAMPLE:

A series of data of the experiment performed to achieve the carbonization of the target sample by heating is indicated below.

First experience, Sample MI: in a beaker of

100 ml we introduce the human umbilical cord sample and uncovered the carbonization up to 500 ⁰ C. The data of this first experience are:

- Initial sample weight, Ml: 15,652 g - Final sample weight, Ml: 0.508 g

- Loss: 15,144 g.

-% Loss: 96.75%

-% Dry Waste: 3.25%.

After performing the chromic mixture treatment, the following percentage of free C has been obtained: 40.99.

Second Experience Sample M2: in this case a diameter watch glass is placed covering the beaker, the following results are obtained, the temperature is also 500 ⁰ C:

- Initial sample weight, M2: 10,968 g

- Final sample weight, M2: 0.373 g - Loss: 10.595 g

-% Loss: 96.59%

% Dry Waste: 3.4%

After performing the chromic mixture treatment, the following percentage of free C was obtained: 40.68

Third experience Sample M3: 1 sample of animal placenta (dog species) is prepared. The sample is introduced into 10 x 65 mm mullite capsules. The carbonization temperature is 650 ⁰ C.

The result is:

- Initial sample weight, M3: 1 1, 033 g

- Final sample weight, M3: 0.331 g

- Lost: ! 0.702 g -% Loss: 97.00%

-% Dry Waste: 3.00%

After performing the treatment with chromic mixture, the following percentage of free C was obtained: 44.86 Summary table

Finally, in the bunsen burner, torch or similar method, the following operational phases are established:

The tissue or sample of umbilical cord and / or placenta (pressed or not) is introduced into a distillation flask (or distillation tool). The output of gases and vapors can be with or without a vapor trap. This arrangement must prevent or at least hinder the entry of additional oxygen to the existing one when the sample to be carbonized is introduced. In this way the oxidation of carbon is avoided.

It is heated by means of a bunsen burner or similar with a preferably reducing flame until the total carbonization of the sample is achieved. Oxyacetylene or hydrogen torches can also be used provided that the flask is replaced by refractory tools that allow a higher temperature to be reached.

- Carbon is recovered, by:

Mechanical dry scraping process

Wet scraping process followed by drying. Example: Lα carbonization of target sample with bunsen after the experiments carried out, have given the following results.

Two experiences are carried out, the experience A is performed with human umbilical cord using the round flat bottom flask with an adapter to introduce a water trap while the experience B is performed human umbilical cord with a distillation flask to which a Teflon plug The dried residue is treated with chromic mixture, in order to eliminate the non-reactive organic matter residues. The weight percentage of carbon is obtained after treatment with chromic mixture and subsequent washing.

- Summary table:

Various high pressure and high temperature reaction capsules are then prepared whose carbon source is the carbon obtained by these processes and said capsules are subjected to the high pressure and high temperature process, claimed in patents No. PCT / ES2005 / 000463 and PCT / ES2005 / 000462 and the results obtained are the following where "Biocarbon" refers to carbon from tissue or parts of human or animal origin. In this case of human umbilical cord. We designate as "Biodiamante" the cultured diamond obtained from Biocarbon "

For the growth of yellow crystals of amber biodiamante type I b the following parameters are used:

The temperature gradient is adjusted between 10 and 50 ° and all crystals are characterized by being amber yellow and the shape of the octahedral crystal or octahedral cube, the nitrogen concentration is between 50 and 150 parts per million and the metal inclusions are concentrated in the area of the initial seed, the results are shown in Ia Table I.

TABLE

* 4 seeds per capsule (simultaneous growth of 4 crystals) ** International Gemological Institute (IGI)

With the same parameters used for amber yellow biodiamonds, canary yellow and green crystals have been grown. The results are shown in Table II. 007/000193

eleven

Table II

* International Gemological Institute (IGI)

For the growth of slightly colored or white crystals type Il a and blue type Hb the following parameters are used:

The temperature gradient is adjusted between 10 and 40 °. The color of the diamond crystals is regulated by the thickness H of the membrane and

The amount of sensor present in the mixture. For blue, 50 ppm of elemental B is included. Crystals up to 4.5 carats by weight and different colorations have been obtained. In all crystals metal inclusions are found in the area of the seed.

Such inclusions do not prevent their commercial application, the results are shown in Table III Table III

* lntemational Gemological lnstitute (IGI)

Claims

R E I V I N D I C A C I O N E S

I ^to .- Improvements to patent of invention P200500389 Ia by "synthetic diamond custom colors different from human or animal keratin (dead or alive). Process for manufacturing", wherein consist in using, as raw material for Ia Obtaining the carbon to be transformed into diamond, umbilical cord and / or human or animal placenta.

2 .- Improvements according ^to claim I, wherein the carbonization cord and / or placenta Ia is carried out by methods carbonization strong acid, muffle furnace or by bunsen burner blowtorch or similar.

3 .- Improvements according ^to claim 2, characterized in that the strong acid method the following operational steps are established:

- The tissue or sample of the umbilical cord and / or placenta (pressed or not) is macerated, in excess of strong and hot acid (boiling for 5 to 40 minutes.

The acid is neutralized or diluted until a slightly acidic solution is obtained, or without neutralizing the carbon is separated from the solution by decantation, filtration or centrifugation.

- Washed

Drying

4 .- Improvements according ^to claim 2, characterized by the following operational steps are established in the muffle furnace method:

The tissue or sample with umbilical cord and / or placenta is introduced

(pressed or not) in a mullite crucible or any other refractory material, with gas outlet. Such exit must prevent or at less hinder the entry of additional oxygen to the existing one when the sample to be carbonized is introduced. In this way the oxidation of carbon is avoided.

- The temperature is increased until the carbonization of the sample is achieved (between 500 ⁰ C and 1500 ⁰ C). In furnaces with reducing atmosphere and graphite crucible (or other) heating can be continued, obtaining the conversion of carbon to the graphite form (between 1800 ⁰ C and 3000 ⁰ C).

Carbon is recovered by mechanical dry scraping or wet scraping process, followed by a drying phase.

5 .- Improvements according ^to claim 2, wherein the following operational bases are set in the method of Bunsen burner or similar:

The tissue or sample with umbilical cord and / or placenta (pressed or not) is introduced into a distillation flask (or distillation tool). The output of gases or vapors can be with or without a vapor trap. This arrangement must prevent or at least hinder the entry of additional oxygen to the existing one when the sample to be carbonized is introduced. In this way the oxidation of carbon is avoided.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26)