Mineralised composite material comprising chitin and calcium carbonate
AssigneeVictoria Link Limited
InventorsNatasha Helen Evans, Kathryn Mavis McGrath
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Abstract
The invention relates to a mineralized composite material and methods of forming such a material. The process comprises mineralization of a chitin template with calcium carbonate. The mineralized composite material of the invention has similar properties to the natural material nacre.
Claims21
-23. (canceled)
A method of forming a mineralised composite material comprising chitin and calcium carbonate, the method comprising:
- (a) forming a permeable chitosan template from a chitosan solution;
- (b) acetylating the permeable chitosan template to form a permeable chitin template;
- and
- (c) contacting the chitin template with calcium ions and carbonate ions under precipitation conditions, such that calcium carbonate mineralises on peripheral and internal surfaces of the permeable chitin template;
- wherein mineralisation is carried out in the presence of (i) a soluble polymer containing one or more carboxylic acid groups and (ii) chitosan oligomers.
A method of forming a mineralised composite material comprising chitin and calcium carbonate, the method comprising contacting a permeable chitin template with calcium ions and carbonate ions under precipitation conditions, such that calcium carbonate mineralises on peripheral and internal surfaces of the chitin template;
- wherein mineralisation is carried out in the presence of (i) a soluble polymer containing one or more carboxylic acid groups and (ii) chitosan oligomers.
A mineralised composite material comprising calcium carbonate crystals incorporated on peripheral and internal surfaces of a chitin template, wherein the composite material includes (i) a soluble polymer containing one or more carboxylic acid groups and (ii) chitosan oligomers, wherein the mineralised composite material is substantially homogenous in all directions when viewed at or above 100 μm resolution.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.