About 3D BioFibR
Dry-Spinning Fiber Production
3D BioFibR’s patented dry-spinning process uses extensional flows to create well-aligned protein fibers at scale, by mimicking how these fibers are made in nature. Our current focus is on using our collagen fibers to develop research and clinical applications, including in-vitro tissue culture, 3D bioprinting, and tissue engineering.
The Unsolved Problem
Many products in tissue engineering use unassembled collagen proteins to coat synthetic materials and take advantage of the biocompatibility that collagen provides. Although cells will attach to free collagen proteins, these non-fibrous forms lack the mechanical properties and physical cues that collagen fibers in the body offer. For this reason, decades of research have focused on creating methods of making collagen-based fibers such as wet-spinning and electrospinning. However, these methods cannot achieve the combination of high mechanical properties, commercial scale production, and physiologically relevant fiber diameters.
Our Process
The key to our fiber process is the combination of high percentage protein solutions with a catalytic amount of scaffolding polymer which permits rapid, large scale production of fibers. This extensional flow applied during our dry-spinning process produces protein fibers with impressive mechanical properties. For example, our typical collagen fiber composed of 1,650 filament (300 nm diameter each) shows tensile strength of 250 MPa. This strength is 3X higher than native human tendons, which we hope to replace with our medical devices.
3D BioFibR’s patented manufacturing process allows for a fully automated ability to make high quality collagen fibers, which recapitulate the biomechanical and biochemical properties of natural collagen fibers, at commercial scale production. The company is working on multiple automated manufacturing capabilities, with the first manufacturing platform focused on creating non-woven collagen scaffolds for tissue engineering. This manufacturing capability allows 3D BioFibR Inc. to make and share products with potential industry partners. If you are an industry partner with interest in exploring how we can work together please reach out (info@3DBioFibR.com).
“600X and 60,000X more efficient than electrospinning and wet spinning respectively…”
Founded by Dr. John Frampton, Canada Research Chair in Biomaterials at Dalhousie University and Chief Scientific Officer at 3D BioFibR, the Company is building on a high level of interest from potential industry partners in preparation for a seed round in 2022.
We will use funding from our first financing round to focus on the company’s proprietary resolution to the challenge of making high-quality biofibers at scale, which, until now, has limited the industrial applications of biocomposite materials. This approach is already 600X and 60,000X more efficient than electrospinning and wet-spinning respectively, with continued focus on optimizing this process and adapting it to a pilot spin line capable of producing a few kilometers of target fibers in order to access key market opportunities.