Dried Fruit of the Luffa Sponge as a Source of Chitin for Applications as Skin Substitutes. (9th April 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jiang, Ping-Lun; Chien, Mei-Yin; Sheu, Ming-Thau; Huang, Yi-You; Chen, Meng-Hsun; Su, Ching-Hua; Liu, Der-Zen
• Other Names: Hayashi Yoshihiko Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: BioMed research international. Volume 2014(2014)
• Publication Date: 2014-04-09
• Subjects: Medicine -- Periodicals; Biology -- Periodicals; Biotechnology -- Periodicals; Life sciences -- Periodicals; 610.5
• DOI: 10.1155/2014/458287
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2314-6133

Abstract

Abstract : 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.