Use of honeybee silk for medical and cosmetic purposes

Abstract

The present invention relates to the separation of honeybee silk from bee wax, obtaining raw honeybee silk after cleaning, bleaching and then mixing the same into products by exposing to different processes. The present invention relates to the separation of honeybee silk from bee wax, obtaining raw honeybee silk after cleaning, bleaching and then mixing the same into products by exposing to different processes. In order to separate honeybee silk, which is a thin layer in the cells inside the raw honeybee combs by a series of physical processes, it comprises the following process steps; melting, separation of wax under pressure with a filter, washing the remaining pulp in boiling water again and passing through different solvents after being purified from beeswax and bleaching the same and obtaining pure honeybee silk. Pure honeybee silk after being pulverized is included in wound healing, antimicrobial, cell regenerative, anti-wrinkle, moisturizing, hair growth promoting, hair care cream, moisturizing cream, sunscreen, eye cream, lotion and serums for medical and cosmetic purposes with a usage rate of at least 0.1% during, before or after the emulsification phase. In addition to this, honeybee silk is used in the production of honeybee silk-based healing equipment with physical attachment to materials such as band-aids, bonding to fibers formed by electro spinning, impregnation of the emulsion formed in the washing solvent.

Description

[0001] USE OF HONEYBEE SILK FOR MEDICAL AND COSMETIC PURPOSES

[0002] Technical Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to the separation of honeybee silk from bee wax, obtaining raw honeybee silk after cleaning, bleaching and then mixing the same into products by exposing to different processes.

[0004] State of the Art

[0005] The protein-based natural substance spun around the larvae by the honeybees is known as honeybee silk, and it is in the form of a thin membrane inside the honeycomb cells in beeswax. In this state, it is thrown away with the pulp and cannot be separated in any way during the processing of the beeswax. As the age of a beeswax in the hive progresses, this silk becomes thicker and thicker, here more offspring come out of it and its proportion in the pulp increases in beeswax production. This silk is not used in any way in the state of the art, while the waste is burned as solid fuel; the silk material is also burned.

[0006] Honeybee silk has a different composition from all known silks (silkworm, spider, butterfly, etc.) in terms of its chemical structure. It is a unique product in terms of three- dimensional structures of proteins and amino acid chains.

[0007] There are no patents or publications on honeybee silk that have been made so far to convert this product into a value-added form.

[0008] There are studies on the production of silk by recombinant DNA techniques an a few rare studies (Shi et al., 2008; Weisman et al., 2010). In these studies, there is no study that was conducted regarding the added value of the product.

[0009] Technical problems aimed to be solved with the Present Invention

[0010] The method is for the use of honeybee silk, which is a very valuable biomaterial, for medical purposes and in the cosmetic industry; it is aimed to use biologically natural and biocompatible material for human health purposes. Biological benefits will be transferred to products by using the three-dimensional structure of amino acid chain and silk protein in mixtures and systems to be formed.

[0011] Description of the Invention

[0012] The present invention relates to the separation of honeybee silk from bee wax, obtaining raw honeybee silk after cleaning, bleaching and then mixing the same into products by exposing to different processes.

[0013] In order to separate honeybee silk, which is a thin layer in the cells inside the raw bee combs, by a series of physical processes, the following processes are performed; melting the wax by boiling it in at least 1 layer of water until it melts, separation of beeswax by pressing with a minimum 0.5 kg / cm2pressure with any filter material (fabric, mesh, knitted steel, perforated metal, sack, knitted fabric, etc...) with a pore diameter of at least 0.1 mm, cleaning the remaining pulp from beeswax by keeping it in boiling water for at least 2 more times. The remaining pulp is a very rich mixture in terms of honeybee silk; this process is repeated by changing the water until there is no wax on the surface of the boiling water. The remaining honeybee silk from the cleaned pulp will then be bleached by passing the same through different solvents. Treating the honeybee silk with solvents such as ethanol or methanol or hexane or chloroform or glycols with at least 1 layer of solvent so as to bleach the color of honeybee silk and remove impurities, this process is performed at least 2 times until the color is bleached.

[0014] Pure honeybee silk will be obtained by drying the filtered and de-solvented honeybee silks in an oven or open environment or in a vacuum environment or in a microwave dryer or freeze dryer at a temperature not exceeding 100<C. Pure honeybee silks will be crushed to be pulverized after keeping them at 0 C and below for at least 5 minutes. When the particle size is 0.25 mm or less, it is included in wound healing, antimicrobial, cell regenerative, anti-wrinkle, moisturizing, hair growth promoting, hair care cream, moisturizing cream, sunscreen, eye cream, lotion and serums for medical and cosmetic purposes with a usage rate of at least 0.1 % during, before or after the emulsification phase. In addition to this, honeybee silk is used in the production of honeybee silkbased healing equipment with physical attachment to materials such as band-aids, bonding to fibers formed by electro spinning, impregnation of the emulsion formed in the washing solvent.

[0015] New products will be produced for human benefit with the medical and cosmetic use of honeybee silk designed in the method of the present invention. The product is completely natural and will provide an advantage because it is a biocompatible material.

[0016] Industrial Applicability of the Invention

[0017] The honeybee silk used for medical and cosmetic purposes can be easily produced in mass production in industrial and laboratory environment; it can be presented to the consumer with products where a biomaterial product can be used easily by transforming a residual value product into a product with high added value. The production is suitable for mass production in a factory / laboratory environment and has the potential to find a place in the market.

[0018] The protection scope of this application is determined in the claims section, cannot be limited with the abovementioned examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can be able to present similar embodiments and / or can apply this embodiment to the other fields with similar aims used in the relevant technical field. Therefore, it is clear that such structures will lack the criteria of novelty.

[0019] • Shi, J., Lua, S., Du, N., Liu, X., and Song, J. 2008. "Identification, recombinant production and structural characterization of four silk proteins from the Asiatic honeybee Apis cerana", Biomaterials, 29(18), 2820-2828.

[0020] Weisman, S., Haritos, V.S., Church, J.S., Huson, M.G., Mudie, S.T., Rodgers, A. J., ... and Sutherland, T.D. 2010. "Honeybee silk: Recombinant protein production, assembly and fiber spinning", Biomaterials, 31 (9), 2695-2700.

Claims

CLAIMS1) Production method of honeybee silk used in the medical and cosmetic fields, characterized in, consisting of the following process steps;- Melting the beeswax by boiling the beeswax in at least 1 layer of water until dissolves,- Separating beeswax by pressing with a pressure of 0.1 Pa to 5 Pa with a filter with a pore diameter of 0.001 mm to 1 mm,- Removing beeswax by keeping the honeybee silk pulp in re-boiling water for at least 2 times and for a minimum of 1 minute to a maximum of 60 minutes- Dissolving honeybee silk mixed with beeswax in a 1 :1 ratio with solvent, repeating this process at least 2 times until the honey bee silk is free of beeswax-Obtaining pure honeybee silk by purifying the beeswax-free honeybee silk from the solvent and drying the same at a temperature not exceeding 100<C.-Bringing the particle size to 0.25 mm and below after keeping the pure honeybee silk at 0 C and below for at least 5 minu tes.2) Production method of honeybee silk according to claim 1 , characterized by; obtaining filters used to obtain honeybee silk by using at least one of the fabric or mesh or knitted steel or perforated metal or sack or knitted fabric material.3) Production method of honeybee silk according to claim 1 , characterized by; use of at least one solvent of ethanol or methanol or hexane or chloroform or glycol to dewax the honey bee silk.4) Production method of honeybee silk according to claim 1 , characterized by; use of at least one of the drying processes in an oven or open environment or in a vacuum environment or in a microwave dryer or freeze drying of beeswax-free honeybee silk.5) Production method of honeybee silk according to claim 1 , characterized by; reducing the honeybee silk size to a maximum of 0.25 mm by means of a mechanical blender by freezing it for at least 5 minutes and at most 60 minutes under 0 C.6) Honeybee silk according to claim 5, characterized in; containing in cosmetic creams, lotions and serums in a ratio of at least 0.1% and at most 10%.7) Honeybee silk according to claim 6, characterized in that; shredded honeybee silk is added into creams, lotions and serum mixtures used for cosmetic or medical purposes, before, during or after the emulsification phase.8) Honeybee silk according to claim 5, characterized by; physical attachment to materials such as dressings, band-aids.9) Honeybee silk according to claim 8, characterized in that; honeybee silk is used in production of honey bee silk-based healing equipment by binding to the fibers formed by electro spinning, impregnating the emulsion formed in the washing solvent.