About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Biosustainable Materials for a Circular Economy
|
| Presentation Title |
Engineering, processing and application of recombinant spider silk proteins |
| Author(s) |
Thomas Scheibel |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Thomas Scheibel |
| Abstract Scope |
Spider silk is a protein fiber with excellent mechanical properties such as strength and toughness. We have developed biotechnological methods using bacteria as production hosts which produce structural proteins mimicking the natural ones.
We employ silk proteins in application forms such as fibers, hydrogels, particles or films with tailored properties, which can be employed especially for biomaterials applications. In biomedical applications the performance of materials largely depends on their surfaces and is further strictly related to the materials biocompatibility. Often the appearance of unwanted side effects hampers the applicability of biomaterials including foreign body responses and inflammation, and interaction of cells with a material’s surface, for example cell adhesion. Spider silk hydrogels can be employed as new bioinks for biofabrication. Cell-loaded spider silk constructs can be easily printed without the need of additional cross-linkers or thickeners for mechanical stabilization. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Biomaterials, Polymers, Process Technology |