Tissue Regeneration: A Silk Road

Abstract

Silk proteins are natural biopolymers that have extensive structural possibilities for chemical and mechanical modifications to facilitate novel properties, functions, and applications in the biomedical field. The versatile processability of silk fibroins (SF) into different forms such as gels, films, foams, membranes, scaffolds, and nanofibers makes it appealing in a variety of applications that require mechanically superior, biocompatible, biodegradable, and functionalizable biomaterials. There is no doubt that nature is the world’s best biological engineer, with simple, exquisite but powerful designs that have inspired novel technologies. By understanding the surface interaction of silk materials with living cells, unique characteristics can be implemented through structural modifications, such as controllable wettability, high-strength adhesiveness, and reflectivity properties, suggesting its potential suitability for surgical, optical, and other biomedical applications. All of the interesting features of SF, such as tunable biodegradation, anti-bacterial properties, and mechanical properties combined with potential self-healing modifications, make it ideal for future tissue engineering applications. In this review, we first demonstrate the current understanding of the structures and mechanical properties of SF and the various functionalizations of SF matrices through chemical and physical manipulations. Then the diverse applications of SF architectures and scaffolds for different regenerative medicine will be discussed in detail, including their current applications in bone, eye, nerve, skin, tendon, ligament, and cartilage regeneration.

Potential use of silkworm gut fiber braids as scaffolds for tendon and ligament tissue engineering

“…At the end of the study, it was observed how the cells totally colonized the spaces between the braiding fibers. This good affinity of the cells for the SGFBs is in concordance with other silk based materials used in tissue repair and more specifically in tendon and ligament healing studies …”

Combined Application of Graphene‐Family Materials and Silk Fibroin in Biomedicine

“…The primary requirement for nerve repair is that the nerve tissue requires electrical activity, which can be met by graphene‐family materials . And SF materials, in certain forms, have mechanical properties similar to those of natural nerve tissue . So, adding graphene‐family materials to SF could offer potential for therapy for neural injury.…”

Tissue‐engineering approaches in pancreatic islet transplantation

“…Blood plasma, which results in a cheaper and safer alternative to purified fibrin, has also been used in islet transplantation alone (Berman et al, ; Schaschkow et al, ) or in combination with accessory cells (Perez‐Basterrechea et al, ; Pérez‐Basterrechea, Obaya, Meana, Otero & Esteban, ; Pérez‐Basterrchea, et al, ; Coppens et al, ; Coppens et al, ), resulting in successful islet engraftment and allowing glycemia control in diabetic recipients. On the other hand, silk, obtained from both spiders and silkworm (Bombyxmori ), is another biocompatible, biodegradable, and versatile biomaterial used in tissue engineering (Jao, Mou, & Hu, ). Silk has also been used in islet transplantation approaches, in vitro and in vivo, in combination with ECM proteins and/or with accessory cells, improving graft revascularization and thus islet function (Davis et al, ; Hamilton et al, ; U. Johansson et al, ; Perteghella et al, ).…”