Resodyn of Butte is building a better bandage

Resodyn’s chemical architects work on healing bandage for country’s soldiers

A small plastic bottle on chemist Manfred Biermann’s desk at Resodyn Corp. held a powder resembling fine, pale pink sawdust.

“This is a known wound-healing agent in bandages,” said Biermann, Resodyn’s director of research and development, as he poured the powder, called chitosan, into his palm.

Chitosan is derived from shrimp shells, hence the pink tinge, and has blood-clotting and antimicrobial properties. The U.S. Army uses chitosan in new bandages for soldiers wounded on battlefields. Recently, the Army set out to find scientists who can make those bandages even better.

It found the right stuff in Resodyn Corp., a research and development company in Uptown Butte.

By Erin Nicholes

Full Story: http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2006/05/28/featuresbusiness/hjjdjehchhjbec.txt