Abstract
Substantial progress in biomaterial research over the years has culminated in revolutionary technological advancements in the healthcare domain. This has triggered the quest for affordable healthcare solutions with focus on sustainable biomaterials with versatile applications endowed with green fabrication strategies. Silk as a biopolymer has garnered special attention which can largely be attributed to the excellent material properties of silk in addition to its affordability and resource ability. Silk fibroin from various silkworm and spider species and sericin from various silkworm species have been researched for their potential applications in the healthcare industry such as tissue-engineered grafts, cancer therapeutics, high-throughput tissue-on-chip models, food preservatives, biomedical imaging, biosensing, biomedical textiles, implants, cosmetics and bioremediation products. The present review mainly focusses on the various sources of silk fibroin and its relevant properties that have been conferred to it by nature. Moreover, recent developments, progress and prevalent modalities of healthcare industry that involve the application of silk fibroin and sericin have been outlined in the present review.
Highlights
Biomaterial by definition is any material that is intended for use in the fabrication of medical device or implant/graft to replace function of defective body tissue in a safe, economic and reliable manner[1]
The lamellar silk fibroin scaffold part seeded with porcine annulus fibrosus (AF) cells resembled the native AF, whereas the fibrin/hyaluronic acid scaffold part seeded with porcine chondrocytes resembled the native nucleus pulposus (NP)
7 Conclusion Silk is one of the most promising biopolymers bestowed with excellent biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, tuneable mechanical strength and regulated degradability with non-toxic byproducts
Summary
Biomaterial by definition is any material that is intended for use in the fabrication of medical device or implant/graft to replace function of defective body tissue in a safe, economic and reliable manner[1]. A structural protein represents a distinct class of biocompatible and green polymers It has been focussed upon in biomedical research pertaining to its biodegradability, low immunogenic response and easier processability[5]. Following the exploration of silk as a biomedical material, the present review emphasizes on the real-world, potential, futuristic as well as the prototype technologies that comprise silk as a major component These healthcare applications of silk have been broadly spanned into tissue engineering, cancer therapeutics, tissue-on-chip models, food technology, biomedical sensors, imaging and electronics, cosmetics, biomedical textiles and bioremediation. The shear force and ionic gradient/pH differences experienced at the spinneret (Fig. 1A iv–v) causes the SF to attain antiparallel ß-sheet crystal conformation, referred to as silk-II form, rendering it as insoluble filament This semi-crystalline nature of silk-II has been attributed to the toughness of silk, which is due to the unique crystal spinning process exhibited by the silkworms[17]. Silk (Antheraea assama—Indian muga, Antheraea mylitta—Indian tropical tasar, Antheraea pernyi—Chinese temperate oak tasar, Antheraea yamamai—Japanese oak silk and Philosamia ricini—Indian eri silk)
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