Silk Fibroin As an Immobilization Matrix for Sensing Applications

Abstract

The development of flexible, biocompatible, and environmentfriendly sensors has attracted a significant amount of scientific interest for the past few decades. Among all the natural materials, silk fibroin (SF), due to its tunable biodegradability, biocompatibility, ease of processing, presence of functional groups, and controllable dimensions, has opened up opportunities for immobilizing multitudinous biomolecules and conformability to the skin, among other attractive opportunities. The silk fibroins also offer good physical properties, such as superior toughness and tensile strength. The sensors made of SF as an immobilization matrix have demonstrated excellent analytical performance, sensing even at low concentrations. The significant advantage of silk fibroins is the presence of functional groups along with a controllable conformation transition that enables immobilization of receptor molecules using silk fibroins as an immobilization matrix enables us to entrap the receptor molecules without using any chemical reagents. This review encompasses a detailed discussion on sensors, the advantages of using silk fibroins as an immobilization matrix for various receptors, their applications, and the future research scope in this state-of-the-art technology based upon the explorable applications for silk fibroin-based sensors.

Advances in microneedle patches for long-acting contraception

“…Silk fibroin, a natural polymer extracted from silk, accounts for 70%-80% of the silk content, and contains 18 kinds of amino acids, among which glycine, alanine, and serine occupied > 80% of the total composition, thus possessing good biocompatibility [57]. Silk fibroin has satisfactory mechanical and physicochemical properties, such as good flexibility, strong tensile strength, great permeability, and slow degradation, and can be obtained in a variety of forms after different treatments, such as fiber, solution, film or gel, which have been widely used in biomedical applications [58,59]. MNs made of silk fibroin have good skin insertion and slow degradation in the skin, thereby achieving sustained release of drugs in the skin (Figure 2).…”

Additive Manufacturing of Shape Memory Polymer Composites for Futuristic Technology

“…Research on smart/intelligent shape memory polymers revolutionized the entire engineering and design of materials for various applications. Being a recoverable shape material, this material class possesses additional advantageous properties such as low density, lightweightedness, varying glass transition temperature, good manufacturability, inexpensiveness, high shape recovery and deformation ability, biodegradability, and high reliability. ,,,− Comparing these properties with other classes of shape memory or changing materials like SMA and SMC, it was found that SMPC have the upper hand and can work as efficiently as SMA and SMC . It leads to an increase in research on shape memory polymers (SMP).…”

Emerging Strategies in Stimuli‐Responsive Silk Architectures

“…[1] For eons, silk and its chemically modified forms have been confined to the role of a highly luxurious textile material; however, over past decades, the development in analytical techniques and modeling tools has enabled silk to break the constraints and develop into an excellent biomaterial that can be utilized in mechanical and biomedical applications. [2,3] DOI: 10.1002/mabi. 202200573 Silk displays prodigious heterogeneity in its genetic structure and physical properties in accordance with its spinning and storage process, where the proteins undergo folding and unfolding.…”

“…[ 1 ] For eons, silk and its chemically modified forms have been confined to the role of a highly luxurious textile material; however, over past decades, the development in analytical techniques and modeling tools has enabled silk to break the constraints and develop into an excellent biomaterial that can be utilized in mechanical and biomedical applications. [ 2,3 ]…”