Topography immune-responsive silk films for skin regeneration.

Scar formation and chronic refractory wounds pose a significant threat to public health, with abnormal immune regulation as a key characteristic. However, topography, a crucial factor influencing immune responses, has not been adequately considered in the design of wound dressings. In this study, we constructed a hierarchical structure on silk fibroin (SF) films by combining soft lithography and femtosecond laser ablation, without altering the intrinsic properties of SF.

High-performance silk/polylactic acid composite scaffold material with immunomodulation and osteogenesis function.

The choice of suitable materials and effective structural design are crucial in influencing the therapeutic outcomes of bone tissue engineering scaffolds. This study introduces a controllable biodegradable composite scaffold composed of flat silkworm cocoon (FSC) and polylactic acid (PLA) as an innovative strategy for promoting bone healing in complex injuries. We focused on optimizing the scaffold's structural design, mechanical properties, and underlying mechanisms of osteogenesis.

Cuproptosis-based layer-by-layer silk fibroin nanoplatform-loaded PD-L1 siRNA combining photothermal and chemodynamic therapy against metastatic breast cancer.

Cuproptosis is a newly identified form of copper-dependent cell death that differs from other known pathways. This discovery provides a new way to explore copper-based nanomaterial applications in cancer therapy. This study used a layer-by-layer self-assembling method to load CuS nanoparticle (NP) cores with the siRNA of the immune escape-related gene and wrap a silk fibroin (SF) shell to form a multifunctional copper-based SF nanoplatform, denoted as CuS-PEI-siRNA-SFNs.

Flat-Silk-Cocoon-Based Wearable Flexible Piezoresistive Sensor and Its Performance.

Flexible sensors are becoming the focus of research because they are very vital for intelligent products, real-time data monitoring, and recording. The flat silk cocoon (FSC), as a special form of cocoon, has all the advantages of silk, which is an excellent biomass carbon-based material and a good choice for preparing flexible sensors. In this work, a flexible piezoresistive sensor was successfully prepared by encapsulating carbonized flat silk cocoons (CFSCs) using an elastic matrix polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).

PX478-loaded silk fibroin nanoparticles reverse multidrug resistance by inhibiting the hypoxia-inducible factor.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is the main cause of clinical chemotherapy failure, and new strategies to overcome MDR are needed. We report multi-responsive silk fibroin nanoparticles (SFNs) co-loaded with the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin (DOX) and PX478 (a hypoxia-inducible factor inhibitor), which was functionalized with folic acid (FA). This combination could actively target tumor cells and respond to the release of PX478, inhibit the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) gene and its related downstream drug-resistant target genes.

High-resolution silkworm pan-genome provides genetic insights into artificial selection and ecological adaptation.

The silkworm Bombyx mori is an important economic insect for producing silk, the "queen of fabrics". The currently available genomes limit the understanding of its genetic diversity and the discovery of valuable alleles for breeding. Here, we deeply re-sequence 1,078 silkworms and assemble long-read genomes for 545 representatives.

Insignificant Difference in Biocompatibility of Regenerated Silk Fibroin Prepared with Ternary Reagent Compared with Regenerated Silk Fibroin Prepared with Lithium Bromide.

silk fibroin (SF) is widely used in the field of biomaterials due to its excellent biocompatibility and mechanical properties. However, SF cannot be used directly in many applications and needs to be dissolved first. Lithium bromide (LiBr) is a traditional solvent which is usually used to dissolve SF.

Silk Sericin Enrichment through Electrodeposition and Carbonous Materials for the Removal of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solution.

The recycling and reuse of biomass waste for the preparation of carbon-based adsorbents is a sustainable development strategy that has a positive environmental impact. It is well known that a large amount of silk sericin (SS) is dissolved in the wastewater from the silk industry. Utilizing the SS instead of discharging it into the environment without further treatment would reduce environmental and ecological problems.

Fabrication and Characterization of Silk Fibroin/Curcumin Sustained-Release Film.

In the present work, a sustained-release film composed of silk fibroin (SF), curcumin (Cur), glutaraldehyde (GA), and glycerol (Gly) was prepared successfully for wound dressings. Features relevant to wound dressings of SF/Gly/GA/Cur film were assessed. Physical and chemical properties of the fabricated materials were also characterized.

Chemical modification of silk fibers with vinyl groups for thiol-ene click chemistry.

Natural silk fibroin (SF) fibers were modified with 2-methacryloyloxyethyl isocyanate (MOI) first for the introduction of vinyl groups. Then, 1,1,2,2-perfluorodecanethiol was grafted onto the SF fibers via thiol-ene click chemistry using ultraviolet light. The formations of MOI-modified and PFDT-grafted SF fibers were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively.

Aptamer-Functionalized Bioscaffold Enhances Cartilage Repair by Improving Stem Cell Recruitment in Osteochondral Defects of Rabbit Knees.

Background: Recruitment of endogenous stem cells has been considered an alternative to cell injection/implantation in articular cartilage repair.

Purpose: (1) To develop a cartilage tissue-engineering scaffold with clinically available biomaterials and functionalize the scaffold with an aptamer (Apt19s) that specifically recognizes pluripotent stem cells. (2) To determine whether this scaffold could recruit joint-resident mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) when implanted into an osteochondral defect in a rabbit model and to examine the effects of cartilage regeneration.

Dissolution behavior of silk fibroin in a low concentration CaCl-methanol solvent: From morphology to nanostructure.

Regenerated Silk biomaterials are usually pre-formed from silk fibroin solutions. However, the dissolution of silk fibroin in proper solvents by a simple and low cost way is still a challenge. Here, we employed a CaCl-methanol solvent system with a very low CaCl concentration of 6wt% to dissolve silk fibroin.