NAGANO, Japan, June 28, 2022-

Silk has been cultivated for centuries by domesticated silkworms, but it has been difficult to commercially produce spider silk in bulk due to their cannibalistic tendencies. However, spider silk fibers are attracting attention for their fineness, mechanical properties, and lustrous appearance. Spider silk produced through recombinant protein expression systems and chemical synthesis has shown to have superior properties for medical use to prevent the formation of blood clots and have excellent knot strength to endure repetitive loading and unloading. In a study of Shinshu University, the cell adhesion behavior of native spider silk was investigated.

The development of cell culture substrates is indispensable for the progress of regenerative medicine. In conventional research, many cell culture substrates made of petroleum-derived polymers have been developed, but the development of protein-derived cell culture substrates has not made much progress. Among the protein-based materials, silkworm silk has been used since ancient times. In recent years, attention has been focused on spider-derived silk, which has better mechanical properties than silkworm silk. However, little is known about the cell behavior on spider silk. Therefore, for this study, researchers lead by Dr. Kenjiro Yazawa of Shinshu University aimed to investigate the cell adhesion behavior on spider silk.

Nonwovens Markets subscribers - click here to read the full article.

Not a subscriber?

Try Nonwovens Markets free!