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3D Printing of Silk Protein Structures by Aqueous Solvent-Directed Molecular Assembly
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

3D Printing of Silk Protein Structures by Aqueous Solvent-Directed Molecular Assembly

Xuan Mu, Yu Wang, Chengchen Guo, Yamin Li, Shengjie Ling, Wenwen Huang, Peggy Cebe, Huan-Hsuan Hsu, Fabio De Ferrari, Xiaocheng Jiang, …
Macromolecular bioscience, Vol.20(1), pp.e1900191-8
01/2020
DOI: 10.1002/mabi.201900191
PMCID: PMC6980242
PMID: 31433126
url
https://doi.org/10.1002/mabi.201900191View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Hierarchical molecular assembly is a fundamental strategy for manufacturing protein structures in nature. However, to translate this natural strategy into advanced digital manufacturing like three-dimensional (3D) printing remains a technical challenge. This work presents a 3D printing technique with silk fibroin to address this challenge, by rationally designing an aqueous salt bath capable of directing the hierarchical assembly of the protein molecules. This technique, conducted under aqueous and ambient conditions, results in 3D proteinaceous architectures characterized by intrinsic biocompatibility/biodegradability and robust mechanical features. The versatility of this method is shown in a diversity of 3D shapes and a range of functional components integrated into the 3D prints. The manufacturing capability is exemplified by the single-step construction of perfusable microfluidic chips which eliminates the use of supporting or sacrificial materials. The 3D shaping capability of the protein material can benefit a multitude of biomedical devices, from drug delivery to surgical implants to tissue scaffolds. This work also provides insights into the recapitulation of solvent-directed hierarchical molecular assembly for artificial manufacturing.
Fibroins - chemistry Lab-On-A-Chip Devices Microfluidic Analytical Techniques Printing, Three-Dimensional Solvents - chemistry Tissue Engineering Tissue Scaffolds - chemistry

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