This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Biodegradable films made from engineered honeybee silk could form the basis of a new generation of "smart" wound dressings, according to researchers at CSIRO and Adelaide University. Recombinant honeybee silk can be bioengineered in a lab, allowing researchers to modify the protein sequence and potentially introduce new features into the material, such as infection-sensing signals or targeted drug release.
The research, published in the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials, found that the film was safe and well tolerated during wound healing. The researchers found that much of the silk film gradually broke down in the wound rather than remaining as a permanent material. This could reduce the need to remove a dressing and disturb delicate new tissue as a wound heals.
The research builds on more than a decade of CSIRO work developing honeybee silk as a biomaterial platform. Previous studies have shown that the material is strong, flexible, biodegradable and safe to use in biological applications. Honeybee silk differs from spider and silkworm silk.
It is a naturally occurring protein material used by larvae to build protective structures in the hive. It is made from proteins that are strong, flexible and lightweight. The protein sequence can be modified without breaking the material's structure, making it a candidate for programming features into the material.
Following these results, the team plans to develop and test several "smart" dressings that might help prevent infections in chronic wounds. Chronic wounds affect an estimated 450,000 people in Australia each year and cost the health system more than $6 billion annually. Infections can delay healing, increase the risk of hospitalization and amputation, and often require repeated clinical intervention.
For this research, CSIRO developed and produced the recombinant honeybee silk film, and Adelaide University provided wound-healing expertise and conducted the laboratory tests. "Think of the film as a building material that we can redesign at the molecular level," said Dr. Caitlin Johnston, lead researcher, CSIRO.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
