Patent GB-1019712-A (GB)
Title: Collagen filaments
IPC: A61L17/08
Filed: 1962-03-19
Abstract: A collagenous article comprises an extruded monofilament consisting essentially of collagen fibrils having throughout their entire length typical banding at intervals of approximately 640 Angstrom units and being substantially rod-shaped, substantially all of the fibrils having an alignment parallel to the longitudinal axis of the monofilament which contains them.  A plurality of such monofilaments, which may be free of elastin, may be bonded to each other along their longitudinal surfaces to form a unitary structure which has a longitudinal axis substantially parallel to the axis of the monofilaments.  Contiguous monofilaments may be bonded together throughout the entire extent of their contiguity.  The unitary structure may be in the form of a tape having substantially greater width than thickness, or may be a strand, circular in cross-section. The tape may be convoluted about its longitudinal axis with each convolution bonded to adjacent convolutions, may be of uniform width and thickness, and may be impregnated with a collagen tanning agent substantially uniformly throughout its length whereby the tanning at any given depth throughout the tape is substantially uniform. The tape or strand may be made by extruding an aqueous methanol dispersion of collagen fibrils, obtained from mammalian tendon, into a circulating ammoniacal acetone bath, to form multifilaments in which the individual collagen fibrils are oriented parallel to the principal axis of the multifilament, stretching the multifilament, and squeezing between rollers, twisting and drying.  The methods and apparatus disclosed in Specification 1,019,711, may be used.  The strands are used as sutures, which are absorbable and of greater strength than suture of gut.ALSO:A collagenous article comprises an extruded monofilament consisting essentially of collagen fibrils having throughout their entire length typical banding at intervals of approximately 640 Angstrom units and being substantially rod-shaped, substantially all of the fibrils having an alignment parallel to the longitudinal axis of the monofilament which contains them.  A plurality of such monofilaments, which may be free of elastin, may be bonded to each other along their longitudinal surfaces to form a unitary structure which has a longitudinal axis substantially parallel to the axis of the monofilaments.  Contiguous monofilaments may be bonded together throughout the entire extent of their contiguity.  The unitary structure may be in the form of a tape having substantially greater width than thickness, or may be a strand, circular in cross-section.  The tape may be convoluted about its longitudinal axis with each convolution bonded to adjacent convolutions, may be of uniform width and thickness, and may be impregnated with a collagen tanning agent substantially uniformly throughout its length whereby the tanning at any given depth throughout the tape is substantially uniform. The tape or strand may be made by extruding an aqueous methanol dispersion of collagen fibrils, obtained from mammalian tendon, into a circulating ammoniacal acetone bath, to form multifilaments in which the individual collagen fibrils are oriented parallel to the principal axis of the multifilament, stretching the multifilament, and squeezing between rollers, twisting and drying.  The methods and apparatus disclosed in Specification 1, 019, 711 may be used.  The strand is constructed of a plurality of parallel monofilaments which cohere, but do not completely fuse, to adjacent monofilaments.  The strands Illegible data sutures, which are absorbable and of greater Illegible data strength than sutures of gut.