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Bayreuth researchers develop new biomaterials from spider silk
New biomaterials developed at the University of Bayreuth eliminate risk of infection and facilitate healing processes. A research team led by Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheibel has succeeded in combining these material properties which are highly relevant to biomedicine. These nanostructured materials are based on spider silk proteins. They prevent colonization by bacteria and fungi, but at the same time proactively assist in the regeneration of human tissue. They are therefore ideal for implants, wound dressings, prostheses, contact lenses, and other everyday aids. The scientists have presented their innovation in the journal "Materials Today".
Journal Reference:
Sushma Kumari, Gregor Lang, Elise DeSimone, et al. Engineered spider silk-based 2D and 3D materials prevent microbialinfestation [open], Materials Today (DOI: 10.1016/j.mattod.202 0.06.009)
(Score: 2, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Sunday August 30 2020, @09:10AM (3 children)
A google search, between the years of 2005 and 2015 for "spider silk material prevent infection" gives me pages, and pages of hits. 2014, 2011 - let me grab that one:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3335770/ [nih.gov]
Well, at least the names on the studies aren't the same.
From 2006,
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/cr010194g [acs.org]
Well, I'm not copying the whole page here, if you're interested, click the link.
2007 article, peripherally related - another 2006 peripheral again - another 2007 article looked promising, but all the key words are actually irrelevant.
Based on the dates of related articles, the idea was really booming from 2011 through 2014. It's been fairly well established that spider silk could be invaluable in healing wounds. Apparently, no one has figured out how to capitalize on it yet.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 30 2020, @10:18AM (1 child)
Interesting. At the moment I cannot access at all https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3335770/ [nih.gov]
and the full text of the Kumari et al.
Anyway, whoever the authors of that earlier paper are, I hope Kumari et al include a citation to that prior work. The process of ensuring the literature is sufficiently and appropriately reviewed and cited, of course, depends on the authors and the reviewers doing what they are meant to do, which does not always happen unfortunately.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 31 2020, @01:40PM
Ha ha ha haaaah! Welcome to the new science. Nothing exists before 2016 and everything was discovered by Chinese grad students in the brief window 2016-2020.
(Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Sunday August 30 2020, @03:38PM
I had the same vague recollection.
Looking at the article you linked in particular - it fuses spider-dragline and antimicrobial hepcidin. It focused heavily on bio-compatibility and slow biodegradation of the material in vivo, and down in the details discsusses combination with various proteins to get different bio-behavior in implant applications.
Looking at the current article it address the use of a spider-silk derived materials for their inherent anti-microbial and anti-fungal characteristics, as well as promotion of healing by allowing the "adhesion and proliferation of human cells on the material surface" which makes it "ideal for implants, wound dressings, prostheses, contact lenses, and other everyday aids"
(not that I want cell adhesion on my contact lenses...)
At the surface level they are pretty similar and derivative although specifics and application differ.
Maybe we'll see another article in 2025 and "Charlotte's 'Some Bandaid'" branded bandages 2030 :-p
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