Table 10.
Biomaterial passport: keratin.
| Scientific Name | Keratin |
|---|---|
| Chemical structure, MW |
|
| Fibrous structural protein of a molecular weight ca. 66.6 kDa [311] | |
| Physicochemical properties | Keratin is a stable protein, insoluble in polar and nonpolar solvents [311]. |
| Keratin extraction/Physical form after extraction | Depending on the source, keratin extraction is quite a demanding process and its parameters influence the scope of application of the extracted keratin, available as a powder or liquid [312,313]. |
| Biomaterials properties (biocompatibility, biodegradability, toxicity, immune responses) | Keratin is biodegradable [314], biocompatible and non-toxic [315]. Reported properties of keratin differ depending on its source. Young’s modulus ranges from 10 MPa in stratum corneum to about 2.5 GPa in feathers; tensile strength varies from 2 MPa in stratum corneum to 530 MPa in dry hagfish slime threads [310]. Reported stiffness of keratin is up to 20 GPa [316]; however, it strongly depends on the level of hydration [317]: for hagfish slime threads the initial stiffness reaches 3.6 GPa in dry state and drops to 6 MPa in wet state [310]. |
| Market situation (world market reports) | There are no open access reports on the marine keratin market situation. |
| Patents | Currently, about several hundreds of patents on utilization of keratin in cosmetics, hair care products, adhesives, wound dressing or as components of antibacterial and anti-inflammatory products are available. |
| For search, use: https://patents.google.com/ | |
| Selected examples: | |
| US7148327B2. Production of soluble keratin derivaties | |
| CN1535280A. Production of soluble keratin derivatives | |
| WO2019116357A1. Method for extracting keratin | |
| US8575313B2. Process for extracting keratin | |
| US20140228257A1. Method for Sea Floor Drilling Using Hagfish Slime as Drilling Fluid Additive | |
| US7049405B2. α-helical protein based materials and methods for making same | |
| CN106999546A. Keratin nano material and preparation method thereof | |
| WO2007095151A2. Nerve regeneration employing keratin biomaterials | |
| US20100197021A1. Keratin biomaterials for cell culture and methods of use | |
| US6110487A. Method of making porous keratin scaffolds and products of same | |
| US8920827B2. Keratin bioceramic compositions |