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Silk protein as a fascinating biomedical polymer: Structural fundamentals and applications

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Abstract

Silk is a textile material, as well as one of the oldest biomaterials. However, the recent progress of biomedical science and technology has led to the replacement of silk by various biomaterials based on synthetic polymers. Despite the wide variety of biomaterials available, these materials suffer certain limitations that prevent them from meeting the various demands of the medical field. Therefore, silk continues to attract considerable interest as a promising biomaterial. This paper explains the fundamentals of silk protein, and reviews the many applications of silk biomedical polymers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biosystems and Biomaterials Sciences and Engineering, Seoul National University, 151-921, Seoul, Korea

    Chang Seok Ki & Young Hwan Park

  2. Research Institute for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, 151-921, Seoul, Korea

    Chang Seok Ki & Young Hwan Park

  3. Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Inha University, 402-751, Incheon, Korea

    Hyoung-Joon Jin

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  1. Chang Seok Ki
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Ki, C.S., Park, Y.H. & Jin, HJ. Silk protein as a fascinating biomedical polymer: Structural fundamentals and applications. Macromol. Res. 17, 935–942 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03218639

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