Versatile silk protein-based material formats were studied to demonstrate bioresorbable, implantable optical oxygen sensors that can integrate with the surrounding tissues. The ability to continuously monitor tissue oxygenation in vivo is desired for a range of medical applications. Silk was chosen as the matrix material due to its excellent biocompatibility, its unique chemistry that facilitates interactions with chromophores, and the potential to tune degradation time without altering chemical composition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA variety of artificial silk spinning approaches have been attempted to mimic the natural spinning process found in silkworms and spiders, yet instantaneous silk fiber formation with hierarchical structure under physiological and ambient conditions without post-treatment procedures remains unaddressed. Here, we report a new strategy to fabricate silk protein-based aerosols and silk fibers instantaneously (< 1 s) using a simple, portable, spray device, avoiding complicated and costly advanced manufacturing techniques. The key to success is the instantaneous conformational transition of silk fibroin from random coil to β-sheet right before spraying by mixing silk and polyethylene glycol (PEG) solutions in the spray device, allowing aerosols and silk fibers to be sprayed , with further control achieved via the molecular weight of silk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochemical and mechanical interactions between cells and the surrounding extracellular matrix influence cell behavior and fate. Mimicking these features in vitro has prompted the design and development of biomaterials, with continuing efforts to improve tailorable systems that also incorporate dynamic chemical functionalities. The majority of these chemistries have been incorporated into synthetic biomaterials, here we focus on modifications of silk protein with dynamic features achieved via enzymatic, "click", and photo-chemistries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNatural polymers are extensively utilized as scaffold materials in tissue engineering and 3D disease modeling due to their general features of cytocompatibility, biodegradability, and ability to mimic the architecture and mechanical properties of the native tissue. A major limitation of many polymeric scaffolds is their autofluorescence under common imaging methods. This autofluorescence, a particular challenge with silk fibroin materials, can interfere with the visualization of fluorescently labeled cells and proteins grown on or in these scaffolds, limiting the assessment of outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSilk fibroin has applications in different medical fields such as tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, drug delivery and medical devices. Advances in silk chemistry and biomaterial designs have yielded exciting tools for generating new silk-based materials and technologies. Selective chemistries can enhance or tune the features of silk, such as mechanics, biodegradability, processability and biological interactions, to address challenges in medically relevant materials (hydrogels, films, sponges and fibres).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Bio Mater
January 2023
Protein-based hydrogel biomaterials provide a platform for different biological applications, including the encapsulation and stabilization of different biomolecules. These hydrogel properties can be modulated by controlling the design parameters to match specific needs; thus, multicomponent hydrogels have distinct advantages over single-component hydrogels due to their enhanced versatility. Here, silk fibroin and γ-prefoldin chaperone protein based composite hydrogels were prepared and studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe field of tissue engineering has evolved from its early days of engineering tissue substitutes to current efforts at building human tissues for regenerative medicine and mechanistic studies of tissue disease, injury, and regeneration. Advances in bioengineering, material science, and stem cell biology have enabled major developments in the field. In this perspective, we reflect on the September 2021 virtual Next Generation Tissue Engineering symposium and trainee workshop, as well as our projections for the field over the next 15 years.
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