Emerging Strategies in Stimuli‐Responsive Silk Architectures

Abstract

The utilization of implantable devices beseeches highly invasive surgeries considering the adversaries in the insertion of large, impliable devices through the body channels, which necessitate the development of implantable devices using biocompatible shape memory polymers. Silk displays prodigious heterogeneity in its genetic structure and physical properties in accordance with the spinning and storage process, where proteins undergo folding and unfolding. The stimuli‐responsive nature of silk can be explained with the help of the structural morphology and composition of the material, where the hydrogen bonds in β‐sheet domains and amorphous region act as switch points and net points, respectively. This review provides a primary attempt to enswathe all the literature available to date on the stimuli‐responsive nature of silk and silk‐based materials as a natural and biodegradable alternative for commercially used synthetic shape memory materials taking their elastomeric nature and reduction in glass transition temperature into account. Further constitutive model using the continuum approach has been utilized to explain the anisotropic elasticity damping effect and plastic deformation based on the α‐helix chains, β‐sheets, and β‐spiral structures. The practicability to develop biomedical devices such as patient‐specific‐injectable scaffolds, drug carriers, and artificial muscles has been encompassed in this article.

Study on viscoelasticity and damping properties of OSA/PAAM hydrogel

“…In the glass transition region, the height and width of the loss peak cannot be adjusted independently, increasing the width of the loss peak will reduce the peak value of the loss peak [13]. Polymer materials are also required to have a long service life, intelligent regulation of the response to the external environment, and high mechanical properties [14][15][16][17]. In addition, when the polymer material is discarded, it is also expected that it can be recycled and reprocessed to achieve the purpose of saving energy and protecting the environment [10,18,19].…”

Progress and Prospects of Silk Fibroin as an Energy Storage Material

“…Silk which is easily accessible in nature and commonly used as an important substrate for clothing, blankets, and bedsheets due to its hydrating, soft, breathable, and skin-friendly nature also exhibits a good tensile strength ranging between 0.5-1.3 GPa, the toughness of 6×10 4 to 16×10 4 J.kg À 1 , along with bio-compatibility and controllable bio-degradability making its uses in other domain economical and ecofriendly. [1][2][3][4] Silk fibroin (SF) is extracted from silk by eradicating the sericin protein through the process of degumming. [4,5] Depending on the spinning circumstances ultrafine SF also known as silk nanofibers with diameters between 100-1000 nm is produced.…”

“…[1][2][3][4] Silk fibroin (SF) is extracted from silk by eradicating the sericin protein through the process of degumming. [4,5] Depending on the spinning circumstances ultrafine SF also known as silk nanofibers with diameters between 100-1000 nm is produced. Due to the properties of silk nanofibers, such as their improved thermal and electrical conductivity, surface energy, high surface area, and increased strength they have a new range of potential applications in the biomedical field, including wound dressing, tissue engineering, and medication delivery technologies.…”