Reference #: 01257
The University of South Carolina is offering licensing opportunities for Supercritical CO2 Extraction of Residual Glutaraldehyde from Crosslinked Collagen.
Background:
Because of the scarcity of heterologous donor organs required for transplantation, interest in engineered tissues has spiked. Since the emergence of tissue engineering (TE) as a scientific field, collagen has been used as a biomaterial for tissue engineering scaffolds because of its excellent bio-inductive and degradable properties. Collagen is a protein found throughout the body of both humans and animals. It is the main structural protein of most tissues, both soft and hard. Collagen has also been proven to stimulate tissue growth and constructive remodeling, but its viability as a tissue engineering scaffold biomaterial is limited by poor mechanical strength. Crosslinking with agents such as glutaraldehyde improves mechanical strength, but residual glutaraldehyde is highly toxic to cells and restricts the use of collagen as a scaffold biomaterial.
Invention Description:
The subject invention is a procedure for making a cleaning solution that can be used to produce a safe material for use in artificial tissues and organs. It works by treating collagen with a solution of carbon dioxide and ethanol to remove glutaraldehyde (a toxic contaminant). Because carbon dioxide is compatible with collagen, the poison can be removed safely without damaging the collagen.
Potential Applications:
This invention will be used to prepare collagen tissue engineering scaffolds with a view to removing residual glutaraldehyde, allowing for effective cell seeding and viability in tissue engineering applications.
Advantages and Benefits:
1. This process is much faster than the standard method of glutaraldehyde removal (1 versus 12 hours).
2. Compared to the state of art, the process can be performed at a lower temperature (37 vs. 120 degrees Celsius).
These advantages allows for a faster, safer method of glutaraldehyde extraction that maintains the collagen's mechanical and biochemical integrity. Additionally, exposure to supercritical CO2 at the conditions used is known to cause high-level disinfection, removing microbial contaminants from the matrix.