Revolutionary crab shell bandages invented by University of Bolton worth £250 million a year

The high-tech alchite dressing is expected to make £250 million a year, meaning the university could net hundreds of thousands of pounds in royalties.

The bandage, believed to be a world first, has been designed by the fibres science and technology team, who have patented the product.

It is made from the mineral chitosan which is found in crustacean shells and known for its healing properties. It has been 10 years in the making and can heal injuries more quickly than normal bandages – although the university has not said how much quicker.

Stories of ancient China tell the tales of crabs being smashed open and thrust into wounds in battles — because chitosan is antimicrobial, meaning it heals and kills bacteria.

The team behind the research is led by Professor of Fibre Science and Technology, Mohsen Miraftab, working alongside the Knowledge Centre for Materials Chemistry.

Plans are now in the pipeline for its production to start in China and initially to be marketed in the UK.

Prof Miraftab said: "Alchite is a composite fibre, combining alginate, which is drawn from algae, and chitosan, found in crustacean shells. Alginate and chitosan both have a history of being used in medicine. Chitosan is naturally antimicrobial and accelerates wound healing activity, so it does heal and kill bacteria."

Prof Miraftab’s team is the first to successfully create a combined fibre strong enough to form a wound dressing, through a universally patented technique.

Other dressings set to revolutionise the industry include the 'Helix-inspired prosthetic grafts'.

Nano prosthetic grafts have been developed which could alleviate the blood vessel-blocking problem associated with fine prosthetic vascular grafts.

These grafts would be surgically positioned inside the body to treat a variety of conditions, such as coronary heart disease.

Current narrow grafts are prone to calcification and cholesterol build up which eventually closes the fine arteries and could lead to death, but Prof Miraftab’s grafts have a unique structure which is based on the helix, a structure at the centre of life —DNA.

They are less than 6mm wide and use a technique developed by Prof Miraftab’s team.

Prof Miraftab said: "As blood flows through the veins it does not move in a straight line of motion; it spirals. By creating a helical structure within the graft we keep the blood moving in its natural path, sweeping the interior of the blood vessel as it moves, hence preventing calcification."

The prosthetic grafts technology will now go for further development and testing with project partner universities and a lead graft manufacturer.

Currently Prof Miraftab's team is working on a tendon healing technique which can improve the current surgery options for damaged tendons, replacing with a tendon made from collagen textile-like fibres.

Tendon injuries are common in athletes and are notoriously difficult to heal.

The Bolton team has discovered a unique technique to spin collagen fibres, which can be interwoven into the damaged tendon, offering a natural scaffolding support on which cells can grow successfully.

Collagen fibre technology has traditionally lacked the ability to create fibres that can be produced continually and controlled —until now with the university pioneering a highly specialised technique, which produces a continuous, single fine thread, developing a strong structure with controllable flexibility, and on which cells can flourish.

Prof Miraftab said: "This technology was initially developed through a European funded project and it is currently undergoing production processing optimisations and laboratory trials. We will now be working with targeted companies to explore how we can best exploit its potential."