BONNIGHEIM, Germany, July 27, 2016-

In a joint project called "AlBioTex", researchers at the Hohenstein Institute, B.R.A.I.N AG ("BRAIN AG"; ISIN DE0005203947 / WKN 520394) and Kelheim Fibres GmbH have successfully developed wound dressings made from bacterial alginate. The aim of the project (sponsorship ID 031A126, in the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) BioIndustrie 2021 programme) was to develop a biotechnological process to produce alginate and then process it into fibre-based products for use in wound dressings. The soil bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii was used as a natural alginate resource. This means that the conventional, time-consuming process of obtaining the biopolymer from brown algae can be avoided and replaced by a sustainable biotechnological process.

The organisations involved in the research partnership were the Hohenstein Institut für Textilinnovation GmbH in Boennigheim (William-Küster-Institut for Hygiene, Environment and Medicine), the bioeconomy company BRAIN AG in Zwingenberg, the world's leading manufacturer of special viscose fibres Kelheim Fibres GmbH, and the producer of highly specialised materials for medical engineering, rökona Textil-werk GmbH in Tübingen. Thanks to the interdisciplinary collaboration between the research partners, they have succeeded in mapping out for the first time a complete production and treatment process, from using biotechnology to produce bacterial alginate, right through to producing fibres and manufacturing textile materials.

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