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Current progress and limitations of spider silk for biomedical applications
Author(s) -
Widhe Mona,
Johansson Jan,
Hedhammar My,
Rising Anna
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
biopolymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.21715
Subject(s) - spider silk , silk , spider , nanotechnology , biochemical engineering , polymer science , computer science , engineering , materials science , biology , ecology , operating system
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. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 97: 468–478, 2012.