Medical Hydrology and Balneology: Environmental Aspects

Ultramicrofabric SEM of extemporaneous
peloids
Fernández-González M (1) , Delgado R (1) , Carretero MI (2) , Márquez R (3)
(1) Departamento de Edafología y Química Agrícola, Facultad de Farmacia,
Universidad de Granada, Spain
(2) Departamento. Cristalografía, Mineralogía y Química Agrícola.
Facultad de Química. Universidad de Sevilla. Spain
(3) Centro de Instrumentación Científica. Facultad de Farmacia.
Universidad de Granada, Spain
mvirginiafernandez@ugr.es
Introduction and Objectives
We present the study of extemporaneous peloids conducted through the ultramicrofabric.
The extemporaneous peloids are those muds which have not been subjected
to any process of maturation, and after preparation and agitation (to acquire
plastic consistency and homogeneity desired), are applied with therapeutic purposes
(Armijo et al., 2010; Texeira, 2011). The use of extemporaneous peloids is increasingly
common in spas and hot springs.
The ultramicroscopic fabric or ultramicrofabric (studied by scanning electron
microscopy, SEM) is a property very interesting of peloids, although precedents
found in the bibliography have been limited, due to the difficulty of preparation
processes. It is necessary to froze rapidly and liofilized samples previously. Vali
and Bachmann (1988) relate the ultrastructure of the colloidal dispersions of clay
with rheological properties affecting the application of peloids. Fabrics like a honeycomb
of bees or reticulate increase the mud viscosity or elasticity; both properties
favourable to the handling and therapeutic application of these materials on the
skin.
Materials and Methods
In this study, the peloids were prepared using as solid phase two bentonites,
aluminic and magnesium respectively, and as liquid phase, distilled water. The
fabric has been studied less than seven days.
Results
Aggregate particles in the powder of the solid phase unmixed with water, are
pseudospheroids, with a few sizes of 30-40 µm. When preparing the peloid, suffer a
process of scattering determined in both peloids, where are sheets of about 5-10
µm, with an acquired structure.
Balnea 397
ISBN: 978-84-669-1887-0
978-84-669-3482-4
2012, núm. 6, 397-398