A Tunable Biomaterial Platform for Biomaterial Fabrication and Regenerative Applications
Silk fibroin is a well-established biomaterial known for its strength, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Biopolymers are investigated for biomaterial fabrication as an alternative to synthetic polymers, reducing the production of environmental pollutants and use of non-renewable resources. Within the class of biopolymers, polymers can be directly produced by a living organism or synthetically produced to mimic the natural polymer. Traditionally sourced from Bombyx mori, its use in biomedical applications is limited by processing constraints and uniformity in material properties. This has prompted explorations into composite materials, chemical modification, and molecular engineering of silk proteins to tailor properties for desired functions.
Silk from species sch as spiders, hornets, and other silkworms differ in protein properties. However, challenges with using these proteins, such as scale of production, safe rearing protocol, and knowledge gaps in protein production, properties, and translation to material formats limit their development in the biomaterial field. Emerging research has identified Plodia interpunctella (Pi)—a common pantry moth—as a novel source of silk fibroin with distinct structural and mechanical characteristics. This organism is a small common agricultural pest. However, scalable methods for processing and solubilizing this silk into functional biomaterial scaffolds are lacking.
Researchers at the University of Florida have described Plodia interpunctella (Pi)as an alternative silk source. It is suitable for the downstream production of raw materials for biomaterial fabrication that are customizable to desired applications through a balance of fiber properties, silk processing, and controlled growth of the organism.
Application
Silk fibroin from Plodia interpunctella for tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and biomedical device integrations
Advantages
- Alternative silk source: Uses Plodia interpunctella silk, offering unique mechanical and biochemical properties compared to traditional Bombyx mori silk
- Customizable porosity: Scaffold architecture can be tuned to mimic natural tissue gradients, enhancing cell infiltration and tissue integration
- Biocompatible and biodegradable: Supports cell adhesion and proliferation while naturally degrading over time—ideal for regenerative applications
- Scalable fabrication process: Enables consistent production of silk scaffolds using reproducible, patent-protected methods
- Versatile applications: Suitable for engineering bone, cartilage, and other load-bearing or structurally complex tissues, increasing its versatile applications
Technology
The patented process involves extracting silk fibroin from Plodia interpunctella, a new source of silk fibronin, and forming it into porous scaffolds through a controlled fabrication method. To make this material useful the technology solubilizes the silk into an aqueous solution and purification. The resulting material exhibits tunable mechanical strength and porosity, allowing for tailoring scaffold properties to specific tissue engineering needs. This technology opens new avenues for silk-based biomaterials beyond traditional sources, expanding the toolkit for regenerative medicine and biomedical engineering.
