Open AccessDried Fruit of theLuffaSponge as a Source of Chitin for Applications as Skin Substitutes
Author(s) -
Ping-Lun Jiang,
Mei-Yin Chien,
MingThau Sheu,
Yi-You Huang,
Meng-Hsun Chen,
ChingHua Su,
Der-Zen Liu
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
biomed research international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 126
eISSN - 2314-6141
pISSN - 2314-6133
DOI - 10.1155/2014/458287
Subject(s) - sponge , chitin , wound healing , membrane , chitosan , glucosamine , pulp (tooth) , scanning electron microscope , residue (chemistry) , chemistry , materials science , food science , botany , surgery , biology , medicine , dentistry , biochemistry , composite material
LUFFACHITIN obtained from the residue of the sponge-like dried fruit of Luffa aegyptiaca was developed as a weavable skin substitute in this study. A chemical analysis revealed that LUFFACHITIN was composed of a copolymer containing N-acetyl-glucosamine (~40%) as a major monomer with a filamentary structure as demonstrated by both optical and scanning electron microscopy. The pulp-like white residue of the sponge-like dried fruit of Luffa aegyptiaca after treatment was then woven into a thin, porous membrane by filtration and lyophilization as a skin substitute for conducting wound-healing study on rats. The results indicated that the LUFFACHITIN membrane showed significant wound-healing enhancement (25 days to complete healing) compared to cotton gauze (>30 days), but not inferior to that of SACCHACHITIN . Furthermore, the LUFFACHITIN membrane had advantages of having a high yield, better physical properties for fabrication, and a more attractive appearance.
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