AbstractIn the present study , a novel method for the production of silk nano fibers are presented . In this way , a mechanical and easy technique is used instead of toxic and costly chemical methods . Also , the separation of silk nano fibers from the cocoon was carried out by mechanical homogenizer and probe ultrasonic homogenizer . After the preparation of silk nanofibers , the product was c...

Honeybee silk is composed of four fibrous proteins that, unlike other silks, are readily synthesized at full-length and high yield. The four silk genes have been conserved for over 150 million years in all investigated bee, ant and hornet species, implying a distinct functional role for each protein. However, the amino acid composition and molecular architecture of the proteins are similar, sug...

Orb-weaving spiders produce webs using two types of silk that have radically different mechanical properties. The dragline silk used to construct the supporting frame and radii of the web is stiff and as strong as steel, while the capture spiral is much weaker but more than ten times as extensible. This remarkable divergence in mechanical properties has been attributed to the aqueous glue that ...

Establishing an appropriate degradation rate is critical for tissue engineering scaffolds. In this study, the degradation rate of silk fibroin threedimensional scaffolds was regulated by changing the molecular weight (MW) of the silk fibroin. The solubility of silk fibroin depends primarily on the ionic ability of the slovent to dissolve silk fibroin, therefore, we regulated the MW of the silk ...

The role of predators in food webs extends beyond their ability to kill and consume prey. Such trait-mediated effects occur when signals of the predator influence the behaviour of other animals. Because all spiders are silk-producing carnivores, we hypothesized that silk alone would signal other arthropods and enhance non-lethal effects of spiders. We quantified the herbivory inflicted by two b...

Orb-weaving spiders depend upon their two-dimensional silk traps to stop insects in mid flight. While the silks used to construct orb webs must be extremely tough to absorb the tremendous kinetic energy of insect prey, webs must also minimize the return of that energy to prey to prevent insects from bouncing out of oscillating webs. We therefore predict that the damping capacity of major ampull...

Over the last years, a number of therapeutic strategies have emerged to promote axonal regeneration. An attractive strategy is the implantation of biodegradable and nonimmunogenic artificial scaffolds into injured peripheral nerves. In previous studies, transplantation of decellularized veins filled with spider silk for bridging critical size nerve defects resulted in axonal regeneration and re...

Silks are naturally occurring polymers that have been used clinically as sutures for centuries. When naturally extruded from insects or worms, silk is composed of a filament core protein, termed fibroin, and a glue-like coating consisting of sericin proteins. In recent years, silk fibroin has been increasingly studied for new biomedical applications due to the biocompatibility, slow degradabili...

Bioengineered spider silk is a biomaterial that combines superb mechanical properties, biocompatibility and biodegradability with a good accessibility and simple purification procedure. Thus, spider silk has extensively been explored as material for numerous biomedical applications. Silk protein can self-assemble in the high phosphate ion concentration and under mixing conditions into spheres o...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to characterize the efficacy of nano-hydroxyapatite-coated silk fibroin constructs as a scaffold for bone tissue engineering and to determine the osteogenic effect of human dental pulp and periodontal ligament derived cells at an early stage of healing in rabbits. 3D silk fibroin constructs were developed and coated using nano-hydroxyapatite crystals. Dental...