Functionalization of Silk Fibroin Materials at Mesoscale

Abstract

Silk fibers spun by silkworms or spiders at ambient temperature display unique mechanical strength, excellent biocompatibility and optical transparency, which offer unconventional interfaces to soft and curved biological systems. In comparison with conventional materials, the performance of soft matter, i.e., animal silks, is mainly determined by the structure at the mesoscale. To further extend the applications, functionalization of silk materials becomes is required, and mesoscopic material assembly (MMA) was developed for this task. This feature article provides an overview on the principles and strategies concerning MMA, and some typical examples of functionalizing silk fibroin materials. The main strategies of MMA include in vivo and in vitro assemblies, and can be implemented by the three different paths: (1) molecular recognition, (2) surface functionalization of nanomaterials, or (3) foreign molecule mediation. The cases include the functionalization of silk fibroin materials by one/two-photon fluorescent molecules, quantum dots (QDs) and gold clusters, etc. The applications of these functionalized materials in bio waveguide, white-light-emitting devices, bioimaging, were also highlighted. MMA provides a practical tool for the production of the functionalized biocompatible materials, which can be further applied to fabricate high-performance bio integrated devices used in consumer electronics, and biomedical diagnosis, as well as human-machine interfaces.

Calcium‐Modified Silk as a Biocompatible and Strong Adhesive for Epidermal Electronics

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Merging Biology and Solid‐State Lighting: Recent Advances in Light‐Emitting Diodes Based on Biological Materials

“…A downside of this approach was the limited stability of around 24 h. In this respect, the authors proposed to use a vapor barrier based on paraffin wax that further protects the hydrogel lenses achieving a stability of at least 150 h. In addition to the excellent features of SF as packaging system, its compatibility with fluorescent and phosphorescent compounds is also remarkable. The interested reader will find more information in the excellent reviews …”

Silk Composite Electronic Textile Sensor for High Space Precision 2D Combo Temperature–Pressure Sensing

“…To achieve enhanced or specific performance from the textile sensors, particular functional materials are required. In this regard, we apply the strategy of mesofunctionalization to enhance the temperature‐ and pressure‐sensing materials as well as the temperature and pressure distributions with a position precision of 1 mm 2 . A facile way of coating functional materials on biocompatible silk fiber‐sheathed yarn for fabrication into intelligent textiles is used in this work.…”