METHOD FOR PRODUCTION OF POLYMER CONTAINING FIBRES

• US 20130172478A1
• Filed: 03/16/2011
• Published: 07/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: AMSilk GmbH
• Original Assignee: AMSilk GmbH
• Inventors: Bausch, Andreas, Rammensee, Sebastian
• Application Number:
  US13/634,484
• Publication Number:
  US 20130172478A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 524/555
• CPC Class Codes: C07K 14/43563 from insects
• CPC Class Codes: C07K 7/06 having 5 to 11 amino acids
• CPC Class Codes: D01D 5/00 Formation of filaments, threads, or the like
• CPC Class Codes: D01F 1/02 Addition of substances to the spinning solution or to the melt addition of substances to viscose D01F2/08
• CPC Class Codes: D01F 4/00 Monocomponent artificial filaments or the like of proteins; Manufacture thereof
• CPC Class Codes: D01F 6/68 from polyaminoacids or polypeptides
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/30 Woven fabric [i.e., woven strand or strip material]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/60 Nonwoven fabric [i.e., nonwoven strand or fiber material]

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of spinning a polypeptide polymer containing fibre. It further relates to a polymer fibre obtainable by said method and to uses thereof. The invention also relates to products comprising said polymer fibre.

Claims

1-31. -31. (canceled)

32. A method of spinning a fibre from a spinning solution comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a spinning solution comprising (i) a polymer that can be brought in to an aqueous solution in a concentration of at least 0.15 mg/ml, (ii) a compound that increases elongational viscosity of the spinning solution and (iii) a solvent; and

(b) drawing a fibre from the spinning solution or a combination of extruding and drawing a fibre from the spinning solution, whereby a fibre is formed.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the polymer is a polypeptide, preferably a silk polypeptide comprising at least two identical repetitive units, bovine serum albumin (BSA), zein, or casein.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the silk polypeptide comprises at least two identical repetitive units each comprising at least one consensus sequence selected from the group consisting of:

i) GPGXX (SEQ ID NO;

     3), wherein X is any amino acid, preferably in each case independently selected from A, S, G, Y, P, N, and Q;

ii) GGX, wherein X is any amino acid, preferably in each case independently selected from Y, P, R, S, A, T, N and Q; and

iii) A_x, wherein x is an integer from 5 to 10.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the repetitive units are independently selected from module A (SEQ ID NO:

20), module C (SEQ ID NO;

     21), module Q (SEQ ID NO;

     22), module K (SEQ ID NO;

     23), module sp (SEQ ID NO;

     24), module S (SEQ ID NO;

     25), module R (SEQ ID NO;

     26), module X (SEQ ID NO;

     27) or module Y (SEQ ID NO;

     28), or variants thereof.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein the silk polypeptide further comprises at least one non-repetitive (NR) unit.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the NR unit is NR3 (SEQ ID NO:

41) or variants thereof, or NR4 (SEQ ID NO;

     42) or variants thereof.

38. The method of claim 32, wherein the concentration of the polymer is in the range of 0.15 mg/ml to 350 mg/ml, preferably in the range of 0.5 mg/ml to 50 mg/ml, and more preferably in the range of 1 mg/ml to 20 mg/ml.

39. The method of claim 32, wherein the compound that increases elongational viscosity of the solution is a linear or branched polymer with a molecular weight of at least 500 kDa.

40. The method of claim 32, wherein the compound that increases elongational viscosity of the solution is covalently coupled to the polymer.

41. The method of claim 38, wherein the compound that increases elongational viscosity of the solution is selected from the group consisting of polyacrylamide (PAA), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene glycol (PEG), polysaccharides, dextrans, preferably dextrane-sulfate, polyvinyl-alcohols, nucleic acids, and mixtures thereof.

42. The method of claim 32, wherein the concentration of the compound that increases elongational viscosity of the solution is in the range of 0.1 wt %/vol to 5 wt %/vol.

43. The method of claim 32, wherein the solvent is selected from the group consisting of a polar solvent, preferably water, an aqueous buffer or an alcohol;

preferably isopropanol, Hexafluoroisopropanol, glycerol ethanol (EtOH), propanol, butanol, octanol, a non-polar solvent, preferably hexane, dodecane, oil, acetone or organic solvents, preferably ethylacetate; and

mixtures thereof.

44. The method of claim 32, wherein the drawing of the fibre is initiated by contacting an air/liquid interface of the solution with a drawing tool and withdrawing the drawing tool from said interface.

45. The method of claim 32, wherein the drawing is carried out at speeds of at least 0.1 cm/s, preferably 10 cm/s and more preferably 10 m/s.

46. The method of claim 32, wherein the spinning solution further comprises a compound that increases Newtonian viscosity, preferably monosaccharides, polysaccharides, or polyols.

47. The method of claim 32, wherein the spinning solution further comprises a particulate matter dispersed therein.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the particulate matter is selected from the group consisting of cells, beads, electricity conducting metals, crystallites, proteins/protein-complexes, enzymes, and growth factors.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the cells are selected from the group consisting of enzyme secreting cells, hormone secreting cells, stem cells, and neuronal cells.

50. The method of claim 47, wherein the particulate matter is present in the spinning solution in an amount in the range of 0.01 wt %/vol to 10 wt %/vol, preferably 0.5 wt %/vol to 1 wt %/vol.

51. The method of claim 32, wherein the method comprises subsequent to step (b) a step (c) of curing the fibre in a curing solution or cross-linking the fibre.

52. The method of claim 32, wherein the fibre is coiled while being continuously drawn.

53. A spinning solution for carrying out the method of claim 32, comprising

(i) a polymer that can be brought in to an aqueous solution in a concentration of at least 0.15 mg/ml,

(ii) a compound that increases elongational viscosity of the spinning solution, and (iii) a solvent.

54. A fibre obtainable by a process of claim 32.

55. A thread comprising a fibre of claim 54.

56. A woven or non-woven fabric comprising a fibre of claim 54.

57. Use of a fibre of claim 54 or a thread of claim 55 comprising one or more cells to assay one or more cellular functions and/or to maintain said cells.

58. The use of claim 57, wherein the cellular function is assayed prior, during and/or after exposing the one or more cells to a test compound or to a stimulus, preferably to a mechanical, thermal and/or electric stimulus.