Silk materials for medical, electronic and optical applications

Silk derived from the silkworm Bombyx mori is among the most important fibrous protein biomaterials due to large-scale production from natural sources, excellent biocompatibility, unique mechanical properties and controllable degradation. Silk fibroin can be processed into a variety of formats to match different applications, such as tissue engineering, drug delivery or as the passive substrate of a bio-device. Advances in fabrication technologies provide new possibilities for the combination of silk fibroin with other nanomaterials to functionalize silk fibroin for specialized purposes, including sensing, cell visualization, resistance to ultraviolet light and provision of antibacterial properties. As the requirement for wearable and intelligent devices has become increasingly important over recent years, silk fibroin has been utilized as the active element in electronic and optical instruments. This review summarizes these recent advances in the innovative applications of silk fibroin.