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Unique natural‐protein hollow‐nanofiber membranes produced by weaver ants for medical applications
Author(s) -
Reddy Narendra,
Xu Helan,
Yang Yiqi
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.23076
Subject(s) - nanofiber , membrane , materials science , ultimate tensile strength , silk , electrospinning , composite material , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , chemistry , polymer , biochemistry , engineering
We report the properties of unique natural‐protein hollow‐nanofiber membranes produced by weaver ants ( Oecophylla smaragdina ) and the potential of using the nanofiber membranes for medical applications. Although natural proteins such as silk and collagen have been used to produce electrospun nanofibers for medical applications, there are no reports on producing hollow nanofibers from proteins. Hollow nanofibers are expected to have unique properties such as high drug loading. Weaver ant larvae extrude proteins in the form of nanofibers that are hollow and the adult ants build the nests using the hollow nanofibers. It was found that the nanofiber membranes are composed of fibers with average diameters of 450 nm. The membranes have tensile strength of about 4 MPa, high elongation of about 31% and modulus of 31 MPa, better than any protein nanofiber membrane reported so far. The membranes withstand rigorous boiling in weak alkali, show good attachment and proliferation of osteoblasts and can load up to 4.7 times higher drugs compared to common silk. These features make ant nanofiber membranes unique and preferable for medical and biotechnology industries. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011; 108:1726–1733. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.