Composition, preparation, and use of chitosan shards for biomedical applications
AssigneesLoma Linda University, Loma Linda University Medical Center, North Carolina State University
InventorsWolff M. Kirsch, Samuel M. Hudson, Andrew Crofton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A thin chitosan-based material can be used for biomedical applications. The chitosan has been treated in a nitrogen field by applying energy to ionize nitrogen in and around the chitosan material. A single or multiple such treatments may be employed. For example, the chitosan material may be irradiated under nitrogen using γ-irradiation, treated under a nitrogen plasma, or both. A thin chitosan material can be readily treated by surface modifying treatments such as irradiating under nitrogen using γ-irradiation, treating under a nitrogen plasma, or both.
Claims7
A method of making a material comprising:
- plasticizing chitosan flakes with an aqueous organic acid;
- physically compressing and consolidating the plasticized chitosan flakes under vacuum into a block;
- shredding or slitting the block into excelsior-like chitosan fibrids, wherein the excelsior-like chitosan fibrids have a thickness of from 1 μm to 250 μm, a width of from 0.35 mm to 0.65 mm, and a length two times the width or more;
- and
- subjecting the excelsior-like chitosan fibrids to γ-irradiation under a nitrogen plasma.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.