3D Printing of Silk Protein Structures by Aqueous Solvent‐Directed Molecular Assembly
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.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Aug 21, 2019
- Source ID
- 10.1002/mabi.201900191
Entities
People
- Alessandra Balduini
- Chengchen Guo
- David L. Kaplan
- Fabio De Ferrari
- Fiorenzo G Omenetto
- Huan‐hsuan Hsu
- Peggy Cebe
- Qiaobing Xu
- Shengjie Ling
- Wenwen Huang
- Xiaocheng Jiang
- Xuan Mu
- Yamin Li
- Yu Wang
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- National Institutes of Health
- National Science Foundation
- Office of Naval Research
- ShanghaiTech University
- Tufts University
- University of Pavia