Abstract:
Keratin hydratable absorbents and films are fabricated with simple, repeatable processes. Freeze drying produces a material with instantaneous water absorption to over 20 times its weight in water. Films produced are flexible and uniform with water absorption 7-8 times the original weight.

Description:
STATEMENT REGARDING JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
       [0001]    One or more inventions contained in this application were developed under a joint research agreement as defined in the Cooperative Research and Technology Enhancement Act of 2004 between Keraplast Technologies, Ltd. and The University of Southern Mississippi. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Keratins, as the major structural proteins of all epithelial cells, play important roles for wound healing and tissue recovery. Proper wound healing processes involve the covering of the wound by keratinocytes, cells which manufacture keratins and migrate from the wound edge. Keratins have been found to be necessary for reepitthelization during wound healing. (Coulombe, P. A.,  Prog. In Dermatology,  2003, 37(1), 219-230; Bruen, et al.,  J. Surg. Res.  2004, 120(1), 12-20; McGowan and Coulombe,  J. Cell Biol.  1998, 143 (2), 469-486; Paladini, et al.,  J. Cell Biol.  1996, 132(3), 381-97) In addition, keratin based biomaterials are capable of protecting injured tissue and maintaining a moist environment for promotion of wound-healing. Certain keratin biomaterials are also effective for delivery of growth-factors and pharmaceutical agents to promote wound healing for acute and chronic wounds (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,932,552, 5,948,432, and 6,124,265, each incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.) 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    The present disclosure includes hydratable absorbents and films fabricated with simple, repeatable processes from hair. Freeze drying produces a material with instantaneous water absorption to over 20 times its weight in water. Films produced are flexible and uniform with water absorption 7-8 times the original weight. 
         [0004]    The present disclosure may be described therefore as a composition comprising an absorbent keratin material obtained from a hair filament, wherein the absorbent material is substantially free of water soluble keratin proteins and peptides and wherein the filament is produced by saturating the filament with aqueous solvent to obtain an expanded filament and subsequently removing the water by sublimation to obtain an absorbent material. The described composition has been shown to absorb at least 20 times its weight of water. Sublimation may be accomplished by any means known in the art, and is preferably accomplished by a freeze-drying technique. Compositions as described herein may be made from various keratin sources, and preferably are made or obtained from hair of a human or animal, including wool. 
         [0005]    The disclosed compositions may be described in certain embodiments as compositions made by the process comprising: 
         [0006]    oxidizing hair or wool effective to disrupt a major portion of the cystine disulfide bonds in the hair or wool; 
         [0007]    removing substantially all the proteins and peptides that are water soluble at neutral pH from the composition; 
         [0008]    swelling the composition by saturation with aqueous solution; and freeze-drying the composition. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         [0009]    The following drawings form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the present invention. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the detailed description of specific embodiments presented herein. 
           [0010]      FIG. 1A  is a light micrograph of a human hair after vacuum drying. 
           [0011]      FIG. 1B  is a light micrograph of a human after freeze-drying. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a photograph of a sheet material formed of the soluble portion of hair. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    Oxidation of Human Hair. Sixty grams of human hair was washed with 10% Vera® detergent from Fisher Scientific, and then rinsed with copious amounts of deionized water. The water was removed by drying overnight at ambient conditions. The resultant clean hair was added to 1000 ml 2% peracetic acid, boiled for 2 hours, and filtered. The collected hair was further rinsed in 100 ml ethanol, filtered, and dried under vacuum at room temperature overnight. 
         [0014]    Titration of Oxidized Human Hair. Dry, oxidized hair prepared as described in the previous paragraph was mixed with deionized water, and then titrated with 0.1M sodium hydroxide to pH 7. The neutralized hair slurry was filtered and washed with copious amounts of deionized water until a light-yellowish hydrogel formed in the filtration funnel. Both the extract and the hydrogel were collected to make the corresponding products. 
         [0015]    Making keratin absorbent. The hydrogel was freeze-dried or alternatively, vacuum dried to remove the entrapped water. The hydrogel made from freeze-drying maintained the texture of the swollen hydrogel, and formed a white, sponge-like absorbent. The absorbent made from vacuum drying was hard and brittle. 
         [0016]    Making keratin film. The extract was titrated with HCI to obtain a precipitate. The precipitate was filtered, rinsed with copious amounts of pure ethanol, and vacuum dried. The resultant keratin was a light-gray powder. The keratin powder was further dissolved to make a 10% aqueous solution by addition of ammonia to a pH of no more than 8, and then glycerin was added in amount to achieve 30% glycerin relative to protein. The 10 ml solution was added to a Petri dish (3.5″ diameter), and was dried overnight at room temperature to form a flexible film. 
         [0017]    Water absorption testing. Water absorption for the keratin absorbent and film is tested by drop-wise addition of water until excess water is observed that is, not absorbed by the keratin hydrogel or the swollen film, respectively. 
         [0018]    Hair keratin is in the form of microfibrils and an amorphous “glue” matrix beneath the tubular outer cuticle of human hair, and is rich in sulfur content. Its integrity is mainly due to the presence of disulfide linkages through cystine units. To make a keratin hydrogel, the disulfide linkage is ruptured, preferably by partial oxidation, to form hydrophilic pendant groups primarily on the cysteine amino acid side chains. These groups are primarily sulfonic acid groups, which can complex with water. In preferred embodiments, 2% peracetic acid or the equivalent is used as the oxidation agent to partially convert disulfide linkages into pendant sulfonic acid groups. A sulfonic acid group as used herein may be defined as a sulfur atom bonded to one, two, or three oxygen atoms. The disclosed materials are not limited to oxidized keratin, as the disulfide bonds may also be broken by reductive techniques that do not result in formation of sulfonic acid groups. 
         [0019]    After oxidation, a fraction of oxidized keratin is insoluble in aqueous solution at neutral pH. This fraction of the keratin absorbs water and forms a hydrogel upon contact with water. It is an aspect of the present disclosure that the method of drying the insoluble fraction of the keratin affects the structure and function of the insoluble material. For example, removing the residual water from the structure by sublimation, as in freeze-drying, for example, results in an expanded, highly absorbent material. This structure is shown in  FIG. 1B  and is shown to absorb over 20 times its weight of water to form a hydrogel. Because the filament maintains at least partial structural integrity and is highly absorbent, this material is an excellent biomaterial for use in cell scaffolding applications and for the delivery of active agents in wound healing applications, for example. 
         [0020]    The soluble portion of oxidized hair that is separated from the insoluble absorbent includes alpha keratin from the hair cortex. The oxidized hair is easily dissolved to form keratin solutions with controlled concentrations. Further, by the addition of a biocompatible plasticizer, glycerin for example, the solution can be cast into a thin flexible film. As is shown in Table 1, the resultant film was clear and uniform, and was able to absorb 7-8 times its weight in water without losing its integrity. Considering the incorporation of glycerin into the film, this is excellent absorption capability. The integrity of the films can be further improved with increased crosslinking. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Keratin film thickness, yellow index and swelling ratio 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Sample 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 5 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Thickness 
                 87.3 ± 15.0 
                 83.7 ± 14.6 
                 87.7 ± 15.5 
                 80.5 ± 12.5 
                 86.7 ± 21.3 
               
               
                 (μm) 
               
               
                 Yellow index 
                 51.7 ± 4.4  
                 52.0 ± 2.3  
                 53.0 ± 3.9  
                 53.0 ± 2.5  
                 53.2 ± 3.8  
               
               
                 Swelling 
                 7.9 
                 8.81 
                 7.62 
                 — 
                 7.86 
               
               
                 ratio 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0021]    Preferred uses of the described absorbent and films are as components in a wound dressing or, especially in the case of the absorbent as a tissue engineering cell scaffold for implant applications or for the delivery of pharmaceutically active agents topically, or to a wound or from the surface of an implant, for example. Other uses would include as a controlled or sustained release drug delivery material. Examples of materials that may be included in the absorbent include, but are not limited to anti-bacterial or antibiotic agents, ointments, or biologics such as growth factors or cytokines, collagens, or glucosaminoglycans. Yet another preferred use is in skin care products. The absorbent material is preferably obtained from hair filament and but any source of insoluble or beta-keratin may be used, such as hair, wool, or fur of any mammal as well as claws, hooves, or nails, or even avian products such as feathers or hard keratin materials. In most preferred embodiments, the keratin is obtained from hair or wool including human hair or wool, hair or fur from domestic or agricultural animals. In certain embodiments, it may be advantageous to obtain such products from the hair of a subject who will be subsequently treated with the keratin-derived product. 
         [0022]    The materials described herein may be produced in various carrier formulations and in various shapes and dimensions including powders, sheets, gels, ointments, lotions, sprays, tablet, lozenge, or the material may be molded into three dimensional objects such as sponges, screws, or in any shape suitable for an implant, including cosmetic implants, or as a tissue expanding material. The disclosed materials may be formed into useful objects such as sheets, bandages, implants, bone screws, spinal cages, etc. either as pure keratin materials or combined with polymeric binders, thickeners, crosslinkers, structural molecules, minerals, ceramics, metals, metal alloys, silicone, and other biocompatible materials. 
         [0023]    The porous materials described herein are also useful as cell growth or tissue engineering scaffolds and support the growth of many cell or tissue types. For example, the materials may support the growth of keratinocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, osteoblasts, chondrocytes or hepatocytes, either in vitro or in vivo in an implant, or bonded to the surface of an implant. Any type of implant mat be coated with the keratin obtained products described herein in order to reduce the inflammatory response to the implant, or to deliver a pharmaceutical or biological agent from the implant. Such implants would include, but are not limited to pacemakers, stents, orthopedic implants, urological implants, dental implants, breast implants, and maxillofacial implants. 
         [0024]    The described materials are also useful in applications in which absorption of liquid is needed, such as in diapers, feminine hygiene products, bandages, for example, or in applications including environmental cleanup, soil amendment, desert reclamation or other areas where there is a need to absorb or maintain large amounts of water or liquid. 
         [0025]    All of the compositions and methods disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the compositions and methods of this invention have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the compositions and/or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the methods described herein without departing from the concept, spirit and scope of the invention. More specifically, it will be apparent that certain agents which are both chemically and physiologically related may be substituted for the agents described herein while the same or similar results would be achieved. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims.