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      Silk as a Biomaterial.

      1 ,
      Progress in polymer science
      Elsevier BV

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          Abstract

          Silks are fibrous proteins with remarkable mechanical properties produced in fiber form by silkworms and spiders. Silk fibers in the form of sutures have been used for centuries. Recently regenerated silk solutions have been used to form a variety of biomaterials, such as gels, sponges and films, for medical applications. Silks can be chemically modified through amino acid side chains to alter surface properties or to immobilize cellular growth factors. Molecular engineering of silk sequences has been used to modify silks with specific features, such as cell recognition or mineralization. The degradability of silk biomaterials can be related to the mode of processing and the corresponding content of beta sheet crystallinity. Several primary cells and cell lines have been successfully grown on different silk biomaterials to demonstrate a range of biological outcomes. Silk biomaterials are biocompatible when studied in vitro and in vivo. Silk scaffolds have been successfully used in wound healing and in tissue engineering of bone, cartilage, tendon and ligament tissues.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Prog Polym Sci
          Progress in polymer science
          Elsevier BV
          0079-6700
          0079-6700
          2007
          : 32
          : 8-9
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Departments of Chemical & Biological Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby St, Room 153, Medford, MA 02155, Tel: 617-627-3251, , Email: david.kaplan@tufts.edu.
          Article
          NIHMS29369
          10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2007.05.013
          2699289
          19543442
          7060db14-89ae-43d6-8edc-835d391e5991
          History

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