The present invention relates to biocompatible compositions comprising one or more crystallin proteins, and the use of such compositions in therapeutic and research methods, for example in surgical methods, in sustained release drug delivery, and in cell-based methods.

A method for preparing keratin-based composites includes mixing polysaccharide nanoparticles and a keratin solution to form a nanoparticle-keratin solution; and solvent casting the nanoparticle-keratin solution to form the keratin-based composites.

Embodiments herein described provide devices for identifying and collecting rare cells or cells which occur at low frequency in the body of a subject, such as, antigen-specific cells or disease-specific cells. More specifically, the devices are useful for trapping immune cells and the devices contain a physiologically-compatible porous polymer scaffold, a plurality of antigens, and an immune cell-recruiting agent, wherein the plurality of antigens and the immune cell recruiting agent attract and trap the immune cell in the device. Also provided are pharmaceutical compositions, kits, and packages containing such devices. Additional embodiments relate to methods for making the devices, compositions, and kits/packages. Further embodiments relate to methods for using the devices, compositions, and/or kits in the diagnosis or therapy of diseases such as autoimmune diseases or cancers.

Disclosed is a process for solubilising cellulose and coagulating the resulting solution to form a cellulose-containing material. The process comprises contacting a cellulose source with a solvent comprising zinc ions and formic acid to provide a solution, coagulating the solution to provide a solid material, treating the solid material, and isolating the solid material after treatment, to provide the cellulose-containing material. The process can further comprise solubilising protein and coagulating the resulting solution to form a cellulose/protein-containing material. The cellulose-containing materials and cellulose/protein-containing materials can be produced, for example, as reconstituted fibres and films.

Disclosed is a method for producing a nanofibrous non-woven material and a nanofibrous non-woven material with cross-linked gelatin nanofibers. The method includes producing gelatin nanofibers; producing a nanofibrous material using the produced gelatin nanofibers; and treating the nanofibrous material by a crosslinking agent for forming adhesion bonds in the nanofibrous material and to obtain the nanofibrous non-woven material.

The invention relates to a method for producing a multi-purpose isotropic hydroxylapatite/gelatine composite material, involving at least the following steps: a) providing a suspension of powdered hydroxylapatite in a liquid medium selected from the group comprising a C1-C10 alcohol, particularly ethanol, another dispersing agent that can be mixed with water, water, and mixtures thereof; b) adding an aqueous solution of gelatine, preferably at a concentration of 5 to 25 wt. % gelatine, to the suspension; c) agitating the mixture at a predefined temperature for a predefined period of time, preferably in the region of 1 to 10 hours, until the liquid medium has been fully or partially evaporated; and d) optionally drying the product obtained in step c). In a specific embodiment, the method is characterised in that the product obtained in step c) or d) is additionally infiltrated with at least one aliphatic polyether in an additional step e1). In another specific embodiment, the method is characterised in that the product obtained in step c), d) or e1) is additionally brought into contact with at least one agent for crosslinking the gelatine chains, in step e2). A further aspect of the invention relates to the composite material produced using the method described above, and the use of same, particularly as artificial ivory.

Disclosed herein are matrices, compositions and methods of making matrices. The matrix comprises a biomolecule and the matrix is a dried, cross-linked foam. The matrix is not lyophilized. The method comprises foaming the composition, crosslinking the composition and drying the composition. Matrices disclosed herein are useful as wound dressings and treating wounds.

The present disclosure provides an edible gelatin base film and preparation method thereof, relating to material fields. The preparation method can improve the mechanical property of the film. The films prepared by the method have antibacterial properties, low-temperature stability and high-temperature dissolution, environmental-friendly components. The method includes the following steps: a) preparing gel nanoparticles; b) preparing bacterial cellulose nanoparticles; c) preparing the gelatin base film: mixing pullulan, glycerin, nisin, antibacterial peptide, the gel nanoparticles obtained from step a) and the bacterial cellulose nanoparticles obtained from step b), ultrasonically degassing, then being subjected to coating and drying to obtain the gelatin base film. The preparation method is used to prepare an edible gelatin base film.

This document describes a process of producing gel microparticles, which are consistent in size and morphology. Through the process of coacervation, large volumes of gel microparticle slurry can be produced by scaling up reactor vessel size. Particles can be repeatedly dehydrated and rehydrated in accordance to their environment, allowing for the storage of particles in a non-solvent such as ethanol. Gel slurries exhibit a Bingham plastic behavior in which the slurry behaves as a solid at shear stresses that are below a critical value. Upon reaching the critical shear stress, the slurry undergoes a rapid decrease in viscosity and behaves as a liquid. The rheological behavior of these slurries can be adjusted by changing the compaction processes such as centrifugation force to alter the yield-stress. The narrower distribution and reduced size of these particles allows for an increase in FRESH printing fidelity.

The present invention relates to a method for mineralising a biopolymer membrane, comprising the following steps: a) Introduction of an assembly (3) constituted of a biopolymer membrane (4) comprised between two cellulose sheets (A) and (B), in a vessel comprising: a first compartment (1) and a second compartment (2), each comprising an electrode, a first electrode being an anode placed in the first compartment (1) and a second electrode being a cathode placed in the second compartment (2), the walls of the first compartment (1) and the second compartment (2) brought into contact with one another each having an opening placing in communication the first and the second compartments,
the assembly (3) being arranged in said opening between the first and the second compartments in such a way as to close it, the cellulose sheet (A) being on the side of the first compartment (1) and the cellulose sheet (B) on the side of the second compartment (2), b) filling the first compartment (1) with an aqueous solution containing at least one cation chosen from: calcium ions, silver ions, zinc ions, copper ions, sodium ions, magnesium ions and aluminium ions, and the second compartment (2) with an aqueous solution containing at least one anion chosen from fluoride ions, sulphate ions, carbonate ions, silicate ions and phosphate ions; c) application of an electrical voltage between the electrodes; d) turning over the assembly (3) in such a way that the cellulose sheet (A) is on the side of the second compartment and the cellulose sheet (B) on the side of the first compartment, or exchange of the solutions and electrodes of the first and the second compartments; c) application of an electrical voltage between the electrodes, said voltage being equal to that applied at step (c) and being applied for a duration identical to that of step (c); e) removal and rinsing of the assembly (3); f) recovery and drying of the mineralised biopolymer membrane.