Use of spider silk fibres as an innovative material in a biocompatible artificial nerve conduit

Allmeling, Christina; Jokuszies, Andreas; Reimers, Kerstin; Kall, S.; Vogt, Peter M.

doi:10.1111/j.1582-4934.2006.tb00436.x

Cited by 147 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(1 reference statement)

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“…Modern uses of spider silk already involve using silk from spiders such as Nephila clavipes to help in mammalian neuronal regeneration [17]. Nephila silk in this case did not appear to provoke an auto immune response.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Evidence for antimicrobial activity associated with common house spider silk

Wright

Goodacre

2012

BMC Res Notes

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BackgroundSpider silk is one of the most versatile materials in nature with great strength and flexibility. Native and synthetically produced silk has been used in a wide range of applications including the construction of artificial tendons and as substrates for human cell growth. In the literature there are anecdotal reports that suggest that native spider silk may also have antimicrobial properties.FindingsIn this study we compared the growth of a Gram positive and a Gram negative bacterium in the presence and absence of silk produced by the common house spider Tegenaria domestica. We demonstrate that native web silk of Tegenaria domestica can inhibit the growth of the Gram positive bacterium, Bacillus subtilis. No significant inhibition of growth was detected against the Gram negative bacterium, Escherichia coli. The antimicrobial effect against B. subtilis appears to be short lived thus the active agent potentially acts in a bacteriostatic rather than bactericidal manner. Treatment of the silk with Proteinase K appears to reduce the ability to inhibit bacterial growth. This is consistent with the active agent including a protein element that is denatured or cleaved by treatment. Tegenaria silk does not appear to inhibit the growth of mammalian cells in vitro thus there is the potential for therapeutic applications.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Evidence for antimicrobial activity associated with common house spider silk

Wright

Goodacre

2012

BMC Res Notes

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“…[63] Spider silks have already been shown to support the proliferation of Schwann cells, allowing the design of artificial nerve conduits. [72] Taken together, silk-based biomaterials are promising scaffolds for engineering skeletal tissues such as bone, ligaments, and cartilage as well as nerve or connective tissues like skin. [54,57,63,[72][73][74] Further applications of silk are cosmetic products, such as shampoos, soaps, creams, and nail varnish.…”

Section: Design Of New Proteins With Silk Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biotechnological Production of Spider‐Silk Proteins Enables New Applications

Vendrely

Scheibel

2007

Macromolecular Bioscience

215

209

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The outstanding mechanical properties of spider silks have motivated many researchers to establish biotechnological production techniques which are necessary to provide sufficient amounts of silk proteins for industrial applications. Based on recent developments in genetic engineering, two strategies for the recombinant production of spider-silk proteins have been established which are discussed in detail. Further, protein-design strategies are described, enabling the combination of silk properties with additional biological, chemical, or technical features. We highlight the potential of engineered and recombinantly-produced spider-silk proteins to provide the basis for a new generation of biomaterials.

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“…For example, chondrocytes, 70 Schwann cells, 74 and mouse fibroblasts 75 were shown to attach to and grow along native spider silk fibers in vitro.…”

Section: How Should An Optimal Cell Culture Scaffold Be Designed?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Current progress and limitations of spider silk for biomedical applications

et al. 2011

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Spider silk is a fascinating material combining remarkable mechanical properties with low density and biodegradability. Because of these properties and historical descriptions of medical applications, spider silk has been proposed to be the ideal biomaterial. However, overcoming the obstacles to produce spider silk in sufficient quantities and in a manner that meets regulatory demands has proven to be a difficult task. Also, there are relatively few studies of spider silk in biomedical applications available, and the methods and materials used vary a lot. Herein we summarize cell culture- and in vivo implantation studies of natural and synthetic spider silk, and also review the current status and future challenges in the quest for a large scale production of spider silk for medical applications.

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Use of spider silk fibres as an innovative material in a biocompatible artificial nerve conduit

Cited by 147 publications

References 30 publications

Evidence for antimicrobial activity associated with common house spider silk

Evidence for antimicrobial activity associated with common house spider silk

Biotechnological Production of Spider‐Silk Proteins Enables New Applications

Current progress and limitations of spider silk for biomedical applications

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