Collagen-infused composite materials and methods of manufacturing the same

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a collagen-infused composite material comprising an optionally functionalized armature including a base substrate and one or more and non-woven substrates. The non-woven substrate(s) can be directly coupled to a topmost surface and/or bottommost surface of the base substrate. The material properties and/or collagen infusion capacities of the base substrate and the non-woven substrate(s) can be tailored to create a collagen-infused composite material with characteristics that mimic those of a natural leather. In some embodiments, the base substrate can be spacer fabric. In some embodiments, the armature can be functionalized to facilitate the crosslinking the collagen to the armature during one or more tanning processes.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A collagen-infused composite material, comprising:
 an armature, the armature comprising:
 a spacer fabric comprising a topmost surface and a bottommost surface opposite the topmost surface, 
 a first non-woven substrate disposed over the topmost surface of the spacer fabric, and 
 a second non-woven substrate disposed over the bottommost surface of the spacer fabric such that the spacer fabric is disposed between the second non-woven substrate and the first non-woven substrate; and 
   collagen infused into the spacer fabric, the first non-woven substrate, and the second non-woven substrate.   
     
     
         2 . The composite material of  claim 1 , wherein the first non-woven substrate is disposed on the topmost surface of the spacer fabric. 
     
     
         3 . The composite material of  claim 1  or  claim 2 , wherein the second non-woven substrate is disposed on the bottommost surface of the spacer fabric. 
     
     
         4 . The composite material of any of  claims 1 - 3 , wherein the collagen couples the first non-woven substrate to the spacer fabric and couples the second non-woven substrate to the spacer fabric. 
     
     
         5 . The composite material of any of  claims 1 - 4 , wherein the first non-woven substrate is directly coupled to the spacer fabric. 
     
     
         6 . The composite material of  claim 5 , wherein the first non-woven substrate is directly coupled to the spacer fabric by a plurality of needle-punched entanglements between the first non-woven substrate and the spacer fabric. 
     
     
         7 . The composite material of any of  claims 1 - 6 , wherein the collagen infused into the first non-woven substrate defines a collagen layer on a top surface of the first non-woven substrate, the collagen layer being continuously distributed over the top surface of the first non-woven substrate. 
     
     
         8 . The composite material of  claim 7 , wherein the collagen layer on the top surface of the first non-woven substrate comprises a rough top surface, and wherein the rough top surface has a surface area per square inch of at least 10% greater than 1 in 2 . 
     
     
         9 . The composite material of  claim 8 , further comprising a coloring agent, wherein the rough top surface comprises a plurality of peaks and a plurality of valleys, and wherein a color of the peaks is different than a color of the valleys. 
     
     
         10 . The composite material of  claim 9 , wherein the color of the peaks is darker than the color of the valleys. 
     
     
         11 . The composite material of claim of  claim 9 , wherein the coloring agent comprises a dye. 
     
     
         12 . The composite material of  claim 11 , wherein the dye is a fiber reactive dye or an acid dye. 
     
     
         13 . The composite material of any of  claims 1 - 12 , wherein at least one of the topmost surface of the spacer fabric or the bottommost surface of the spacer fabric is defined by a woven fabric layer or a knitted fabric layer. 
     
     
         14 . The composite material of any of  claims 1 - 13 , wherein the armature is functionalized. 
     
     
         15 . The composite material of any of  claims 1 - 8 ,  13 , or  14 , further comprising a coloring agent. 
     
     
         16 . The composite material of  claim 15 , wherein the coloring agent comprises a dye. 
     
     
         17 . The composite material of  claim 16 , wherein the dye is a fiber reactive dye or an acid dye. 
     
     
         18 . A collagen-infused composite material, comprising:
 an armature comprising:
 a base substrate having a first collagen infusion capacity and a first tear strength, the base substrate comprising a topmost surface and a bottommost surface opposite the topmost surface, and 
 a non-woven substrate having a second collagen infusion capacity and a second tear strength, the non-woven substrate disposed over the topmost surface of the base substrate; and 
   collagen infused into the base substrate and the non-woven substrate,   wherein the collagen is infused into the non-woven substrate at a first collagen density, and   wherein the collagen is infused into the base substrate at a second collagen density less than the first collagen density.   
     
     
         19 . The composite material of  claim 18 , wherein the first collagen infusion capacity is less than the second collagen infusion capacity. 
     
     
         20 . The composite material of  claim 18  or  claim 19 , wherein the base substrate comprises at least one of: a woven fabric layer or a knitted fabric layer. 
     
     
         21 . The composite material of any of  claims 18 - 20 , wherein the first tear strength is greater than the second tear strength. 
     
     
         22 . A method for manufacturing a composite material, the method comprising:
 preparing a collagen solution;   infusing the collagen solution into an armature to form a collagen-infused armature, the armature comprising a first non-woven substrate, a second non-woven substrate, and a spacer fabric, wherein the first non-woven substrate is directly coupled to a topmost surface of the spacer fabric and wherein the second non-woven substrate is directly coupled to a bottommost surface of the spacer fabric;   fibrillating the infused collagen solution; and   drying the collagen-infused armature.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the first non-woven substrate is directly coupled to the topmost surface of the spacer fabric by a plurality of needle-punched entanglements between the first non-woven substrate and the spacer fabric, and wherein the second non-woven substrate is directly coupled to the bottommost surface of the spacer fabric by a plurality of needle-punched entanglements between the second non-woven substrate and the spacer fabric. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22  or  claim 23 , further comprising adding a coloring agent before drying the collagen-infused armature. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the collagen-infused armature comprises a rough top surface defined by a collagen layer, the rough top surface comprises a plurality of peaks and a plurality of valleys, and a color of the coloring agent on the peaks is different than a color of the coloring agent in the valleys. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the coloring agent comprises a dye. 
     
     
         27 . The method of any of  claims 22 - 26 , wherein infusing the collagen solution into the armature comprises filtering the collagen solution through the armature. 
     
     
         28 . The method of any of  claims 22 - 27 , wherein infusing the collagen solution into the armature comprises soaking the armature in a bath comprising the collagen solution. 
     
     
         29 . The method of any of  claims 22 - 28 , further comprising functionalizing the armature before infusing the collagen solution into the armature. 
     
     
         30 . The method of any of  claims 22 - 29 , further comprising tanning the collagen-infused armature. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein tanning the collagen-infused armature is performed before drying the collagen infused armature. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 30  or  claim 31 , further comprising retanning the tanned collagen-infused armature. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein retanning the tanned collagen-infused armature is performed before drying the collagen infused armature. 
     
     
         34 . The method of any of  claims 30 - 33 , wherein the armature is functionalized such that tanning the collagen infused armature results in the formation of chemical crosslinks between the collagen molecules and the functionalized armature. 
     
     
         35 . A composite material comprising collagen and an armature having a thickness of about 0.5 mm to about 50 mm. 
     
     
         36 . The composite material of  claim 35 , wherein the thickness is about 0.5 mm, about 1 mm, about 2 mm, about 3 mm, about 4 mm, about 5 mm, about 10 mm, about 15 mm, about 20 mm, about 25 mm, about 30 mm, about 35 mm, about 40 mm, about 45 mm, or about 50 mm. 
     
     
         37 . The composite material of  claim 35  or  claim 36 , wherein the collagen is recombinant collagen. 
     
     
         38 . The composite material of any of  claims 35 - 37 , wherein the armature comprises a cellulosic material. 
     
     
         39 . The composite material of any of  claims 35 - 38 , wherein the armature comprises multiple layers. 
     
     
         40 . The composite material of  claim 39 , wherein the armature comprises two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten layers. 
     
     
         41 . The composite material of  claim 40 , wherein the armature comprises two or three layers. 
     
     
         42 . The composite material of  claim 41 , wherein the armature comprises three layers and wherein the collagen is infused into at least two of the three layers and wherein collagen is disposed on at least an outermost surface of at least one of the three layers. 
     
     
         43 . The composite material of any of  claims 35 - 42 , wherein the collagen and the armature are tanned or dyed. 
     
     
         44 . The composite material of any of  claims 35 - 43 , wherein the armature comprises one or more materials selected from the group consisting of cotton, linen, silk, wool, kenaf, flax, cashmere, angora, bamboo, bast, hemp, soya, seacell, milk or milk proteins, spider silk, chitosan, mycelium, cellulose including bacterial cellulose, wood, polyester, nylon, an aromatic polyamide, a polyethylene, a polypropylene, a polypropylene/polyethylene copolymer, rayon, lyocell, viscose, antimicrobial yarn (A.M.Y.), Sorbtek, nylon, Lycra®, spandex, Elastane®, polyester-polyurethane copolymers, aramids, carbon fibers, fullerenes, glass, silicon, minerals, metals, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         45 . The composite of  claim 44 , wherein the metals are metal alloys selected from the group consisting of iron, steel, lead alloys, gold alloys, silver alloys, platinum alloys, copper alloys, zinc alloys, and titanium alloys. 
     
     
         46 . The composite of any of  claims 35 - 45 , wherein the armature is functionalized.