Arthropods face several key challenges in processing concentrated feedstocks of proteins (silk dope) into solid, semi-crystalline silk fibres. Strikingly, independently evolved lineages of silk-producing organisms have converged on the use of liquid crystal intermediates (mesophases) to reduce the viscosity of silk dope and assist the formation of supramolecular structure. However, the exact na...

Silk-based medical products have a long history of use as a material for surgical sutures because of their desirable mechanical properties. However, silk fibroin fabric has been reported to be haemolytic when in direct contact with blood. The layer-by-layer self-assembly technique provides a method for surface modification to improve the biocompatibility of silk fibroin fabrics. Regenerated sil...

PURPOSE To evaluate the safety and efficacy of silk suture as an agent for preoperative embolization of cerebral arteriovenous malformations. METHODS Clinical and histopathologic results were analyzed in six patients who underwent embolization of cerebral arteriovenous malformations using silk suture in combination with other agents. RESULTS Three of the patients treated with silk hemorrhag...

The primary objective of this research is to elucidate the interactions, mechanisms and biochemistry of the spider silk producing process at the molecular level. Our primary focus is to characterize the protein-rich fluid in the various spider silk producing glands. We have been using a battery of magnetic resonance methods including solution and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and...

Objective(s): The objective of the current study was to prevent surgical site infection (SSI) by creating a new antibacterial silk suture. Methods: Cefixime trihydrate (CFX) was prepared as nanoparticles via mixing with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel by covalent cross-linkage. The mixture was stirred vigorously to obtain a homogenous gel. Under this conditio...

Silk Fibers has emerged as a versatile biomaterial for regenerative medicine. In article 2203237, Christine Radtke and co-workers use silk-based nerve conduit filled with spider silk fibers to treat rat sciatic defect. The silk-in-silk achieves similar performance the current gold standard, autograft, represents promising approach reconstruction.

Introduction: Recent studies have introduced the groundwork for a new treatment option for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures: bioenhanced ACL repair(1). Briefly, this procedure is a primary suture repair of the ACL augmented by the implantation of a collagenous biomaterial soaked with platelet-rich plasma into the ACL defect along with a “suture stent” to initially protect the healing l...

The aim of this study was to synthesis of glass ionomer-silk fiber composite and to evaluate the effect of adding natural degummed silk fiber on the mechanical properties of glass ionomer cement (GIC). For this purpose, natural degummed silk fibers with 1 mm in length and 13-16 µm in diameter were added to the ceramic component of a commercial glass ionomer cement in 1, 3 and 5 wt. %. Compressi...

We investigated the natural variation in silk composition and mechanical performance of the orb-weaving spider Argiope trifasciata at multiple spatial and temporal scales in order to assess how protein composition contributes to the remarkable material properties of spider dragline silk. Major ampullate silk in orb-weaving spiders consists predominantly of two proteins (MaSp1 and MaSp2) with di...