Processing of recombinant spider silk proteins into tailor-made materials for biomaterials applications

Abstract

Spider silk has extraordinary mechanical properties, is biocompatible and biodegradable, and therefore an ideal material for biomedical applications. However, a drawback for any application is the inhomogeneity of spider silk, as seen for other natural materials, as well as the low availability due to the cannibalism of most spiders. Recently, developed recombinant spider silk proteins ensure constant material properties, as well as scalable production, and further the processing into morphologies other than fibres. Biotechnology enables genetic modification, broadening the range of applications, such as implant coatings, scaffolds for tissue engineering, wound dressing devices as well as drug delivery systems.