Method for making a biofabricated material containing collagen fibrils
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Solution Overview
Problem
The leather industry faces challenges in producing materials with superior strength, uniformity, and aesthetic properties while minimizing environmental and social impacts, such as animal cruelty and health risks associated with natural leather processing, and existing synthetic alternatives fail to replicate the unique properties of natural leather.
Innovation Solution
A biofabricated leather material composed of crosslinked and lubricated collagen fibrils, produced through fibrillation, crosslinking, and dehydration, which exhibits non-anisotropic strength and uniform texture, can be made from isolated or recombinant collagen, offering a sustainable and ethical alternative to traditional leather.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If natural leather is produced from animal skins, then the material exhibits durability and flexibility, but it causes environmental pollution, animal cruelty, and health risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a biofabricated leather material that copies the essential properties of natural leather (collagen-based structure, durability, flexibility) without using actual animal skins. The material replicates the functional characteristics of natural leather while eliminating the harmful associations with animal cruelty and environmental pollution from livestock farming
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the production parameters from animal-based to plant-based or cell-based systems. By changing the source material parameter from animal skin to alternative biological sources, the material maintains leather-like properties while eliminating the harmful factors associated with traditional leather production
2Shape
If conventional leather processing methods are used, then the material achieves desired aesthetic properties, but it exposes workers to pathogens and allergens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent produces leather materials that copy the aesthetic properties of conventional leather through controlled biofabrication processes, eliminating the need for workers to handle animal skins and the associated health risks from pathogens and allergens
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces controlled laboratory conditions as an intermediary between the desired aesthetic properties and the production process. This controlled environment eliminates direct worker exposure to harmful substances while still achieving the target aesthetic outcomes through precise process control
3Object-affected harmful factors
If synthetic leather alternatives are used, then animal cruelty is avoided, but the material fails to replicate the unique properties of natural leather
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite biofabricated material that combines the benefits of synthetic production methods with the superior properties of natural collagen-based materials. The resulting material avoids animal cruelty while achieving durability and appearance properties that synthetic alternatives alone cannot replicate
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental material parameter from synthetic polymers to biologically-produced collagen-like structures. This parameter change enables the material to exhibit natural leather properties while maintaining ethical production standards
4Strength
If biofabricated leather is produced with uniform collagen fibrils, then non-anisotropic strength is achieved, but the manufacturing process becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs self-assembly mechanisms where collagen molecules automatically organize into uniformly distributed fibrils with appropriate orientation. This self-organizing behavior achieves non-anisotropic strength properties without requiring complex external control systems or sophisticated manufacturing equipment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent copies the natural self-assembly processes that occur in biological systems to create uniformly oriented collagen fibrils. By replicating these natural organizational principles in the manufacturing process, the patent achieves complex structural properties without proportionally increasing manufacturing complexity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The biofabricated leather material achieves uniform strength and aesthetic properties on both sides, reducing environmental and social concerns associated with natural leather production and outperforming synthetic alternatives in terms of durability and appearance.
Implementation Method 1
fibrillation of collagen molecules into fibrils
Implementation Method 2
crosslinking the fibrils
Implementation Method 3
dehydration
Implementation Method 4
lubricating the crosslinked fibrils
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B~2C
AI summary
Described herein is a method for producing a biofabricated material from collagen or collagen-like proteins. The collagen or collagen-like proteins are isolated from animal sources or produced by recombinant DNA techniques or by chemical synthesis. The collagen or collagen-like proteins are fibrillated, crosslinked, dehydrated and lubricated thus forming the biofabricated material having a substantially uniform network of collagen fibrils.