FABRICS AND METHODS OF MAKING THEM FROM CULTURED CELLS
Methods of using of natural or engineered proteins such as collagen to form tanned and/or crosslinked fibers suitable for a wide range of textile manufacturing processes, including non-woven, woven and knitted fabrics. In particular, described herein are methods of forming collagen fibers formed from cell-cultured materials by forming a solution of collagen, tanning agent and in some variations cross-linker, and shortly thereafter, extruding collagen fibers. Also described herein are collagen fibers formed by these methods.
1 . A method of forming a textile, the method comprising:
forming a solution of a protein;
tanning the protein within the solution;
extruding fibers of the protein from the solution; and
forming the textile from the extruded fibers.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein extruding the fibers comprises extruding fibers having a diameter of between 20-70 μm.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein extruding the fibers comprises extruding fibers having a uniform distribution of tanning through the diameter of the fibers.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein extruding the fibers comprises extruding fibers comprising between 0.01% and 30% of tanning agent that is uniformly distributed through the entire diameter of the fiber.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the solution comprises solubilizing collagen within the solution.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the solution comprises suspending collagen monomers in the solution.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the solution comprises suspending collagen monomers in the solution at an acidic pH.
8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising harvesting collagen from collagen-secreting cells cultured in vitro, further wherein forming the solution comprises including collagen from the harvested collagen in the solution.
9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising crosslinking the protein within the solution.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein tanning the collagen within the solution comprises mixing a tanning agent into the solution.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein tanning the collagen within the solution comprises adding a tanning agent into the solution for less than 20 minutes before extruding the fibers.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein extruding fibers comprises extruding fibers having a non-circular diameter.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein extruding fibers comprises spinning the fibers.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the textile comprises forming a yarn from the fibers.
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the textile comprises knitting or weaving the fibers.
16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the textile comprises forming a non-woven material from the fibers.
17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the textile comprises combining the fibers with additional-synthetic fibers, natural fibers, or natural and synthetic fibers.
18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the solution comprises forming a solution of collagen having concentration of between 3 mg/ml and 30 mg/ml.
19 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the solution comprises forming a solution of collagen having concentration of between 7 mg/ml and 15 mg/ml.
20 . The method of claim 1 , wherein extruding comprises extruding between 70 μl/min and 300 μl/min of the solution.
21 . A method of forming a textile, the method comprising:
forming a solution of collagen;
tanning the collagen within the solution;
extruding fibers of the collagen from the solution of tanned collagen; and
forming the textile from the extruded fibers.
22 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising harvesting collagen from collagen-secreting cells cultured in vitro, further wherein forming the solution comprises including collagen from the harvested collagen in the solution.
23 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising crosslinking the collagen within the solution.
24 . The method of claim 23 , wherein crosslinking comprises crosslinking with glutaraldehyde.
25 . The method of claim 21 , wherein tanning the collagen within the solution comprises mixing a tanning agent into the solution.
26 . The method of claim 21 , wherein tanning the collagen within the solution comprises adding a tanning agent into the solution for less than 20 minutes before extruding the fibers.
27 . A method of forming a textile, the method comprising:
harvesting collagen from collagen-secreting cells cultured in vitro;
forming a solution of collagen protein;
tanning and crosslinking the collagen within the solution;
extruding fibers of the collagen from the solution; and
forming the textile from the extruded fibers.
28 . A textile formed from cultured cells, the textile comprising a plurality of collagen fibers having a diameter of between 20-70 μm, wherein the collagen fibers comprise a concentration of tanning agent that is uniformly distributed through the diameter of the collagen fibers.
29 . The textile of claim 28 , wherein the collagen fibers are uniformly cross-linked through the diameter of each fiber.
30 . The textile of claim 28 , wherein the collagen fibers comprise between 0.01% and 30% of the tanning agent that is uniformly distributed through the diameter of the collagen fibers.
31 . The textile of claim 28 , wherein the tanning agent is chromium.
32 . The textile of claim 28 , wherein the textile is formed into a sheet having a surface area of greater than 100 cm 2 .
33 . The textile of claim 28 , wherein the textile is formed into a sheet having a surface area of greater than 100 cm 2 and a thickness of greater than 0.03 mm.
34 . The textile of claim 28 , wherein the collagen fibers have a tenacity of between 1.5 and 2.5 g/denier.
35 . The textile of claim 28 , wherein the collagen fibers have an elongation at break of between 25% and 40%.
36 . The textile of claim 28 , further comprising a plurality of synthetic or natural fibers mixed with the collagen fibers.
37 . The textile of claim 28 , wherein the collagen fibers have a non-circular diameter.
38 . The textile of claim 28 , wherein the collagen fibers are knitted or woven.
39 . The textile of claim 28 , wherein the textile comprises a non-woven textile.
40 . A textile formed from cultured cells, the textile comprising a plurality of collagen fibers having a diameter of between 20-70 μm, wherein the collagen fibers comprise between 0.01% and 30% tanning agent that is uniformly distributed through the diameter of the collagen fibers, further wherein the collagen fibers are uniformly cross-linked through the diameter of each fiber.