Process of forming collagen articles

Claim 1

THE PROCESS FOR FORMING A FILM OF RECONSTITUTED COLLAGEN COMPRISING THE STEPS OF CUTTING THE COLLAGEN SOURCE MATERIAL INTO PIECES ONE OF WHOSE DIMENSIONS DOES NOT EXCEED ABOUT 15 TO 30 MILS, TREATING SAID PIECES WITH A SOLUBILIZING AGENT FOR NON-COLLAGENOUS PROTEIN, INCLUDING ELASTIN AND MUCIN, SEPARATING THE REMAINING COLLAGENOUS MASS FROM THE SOLUBILIZED NON-COLLAGENOUS PROTEIN, TREATING THE REMAINING COLLAGEN WITH A SOLUBLIZING AGENT FOR CALCIUM AND OTHER BOUND IONS AND RELEASING LIPIDS, NONCOLLAGENOUS PROTEINS AND NON-COLLAGENOUS IMPURITIES FROM THE COLLAGEN, SEPARATING THE COLLAGEN MASS FROM THE RELEASED NON-COLLAGENOUS IMPURITIES, SUBJECTING THE REMAINING COLLATEN MASS TO A SWELLING TREATMENT IN THE PRESSENCE OF A SWELLING AGENT, CONTROLLING THE TEMPERATURE BELOW ABOUT 25*C. AND THE CONCENTRATION AND DURATION OF THE SWELLING OPERATION SO THAT THE COLLAGEN RETAINS ITS NATIVE AXIAL PERIODIXITY, IS FREE OF AMORPHOUS CHARACTERISTICS AND ITS DIAMETER DOES NOT INCREASE MORE THAN ABOUT 15% OVER THAT OF THE NATIVE COLLAGEN FROM WHICH IT WAS PRODUCED AND ITS THERMALL SHRINKAGE TEMPERATURE WHEN FORMED, DEHYDRATED AND STRETCHED REMAINS WITHIN ABOUT FOUR DEGREES OF THE SOURCE MATERIAL, EXTRUDING THE MASS INTO A DEHYDRATING AND COAGULATING BATY, CARRYING THE COAGULATED MASS INTO A TANNING BATH AND DRYING FOLLOWING TANNING BY GRADUALLY INCREASING THE TEMPERATURE AS THE WATER CONTENT OF THE COLLAGEN DROPS.