Yarn Made from Gelatin Turns Collagen into Textiles with Help from Heat, Pressure

摘要

A new technique creates high quality fibers from gelatin-which can then be spun into yarn and turned into textiles. Gelatin consists chiefly of collagen, a main component of skin, bone and tendons. Large quantities of collagen are found in slaughterhouse waste and can be easily made into gelatin. That's why Professor Wendelin Stark and PhD student Philipp Stossel of ETH Zurich's Functional Materials Laboratory (FML) decided to use the biomaterial for their work. In his experiments, Stoessel noticed that when he added isopropyl, an organic solvent, to a heated, aqueous gelatin solution, the protein precipitated at the bottom of the vessel. He removed the formless mass using a pipette and was able to effortlessly press an elastic, endless thread from it. This was the starting point for his unusual research work.