Silk-Based Functional Biomaterials

Silk is a natural protein-based biomaterial produced by arthropods, including silkworms and spiders, that has been used for textiles historically due to its appealing physical properties such as good mechanical properties. Recent research effort has demonstrated that silk (e.g., silkworm silk) also possesses excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability, which significantly extends the use of silk to a much broader filed, including tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, optics, and electronics.

Compared to most synthetic materials, silk shows remarkable benefits towards some applications, particularly biomedical applications owing to the good combination of mechanical robustness, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. The current research topic/article collection focuses on the latest high-quality research with an emphasis on the development and applications of silk-based functional biomaterials.

We encourage the submission of original research and timely reviews related, but not limited, to:
· Design, fabrication, and applications of novel silk-based functional materials
· Characterization and property control of silk-based functional biomaterials
· Silk-based biomedical devices for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine
· Silk-based drug delivery systems
· Silk-based flexible biosensors
· Silk-based optical devices
· Advanced processing and manufacturing of silk-based biomaterials
· Additive manufacturing of silk-based biomaterials
· Silk-based composite materials
· Chemical modification of silk biomaterials
· Recombinant silk biomaterials