Silk Fibroin Nacre

Chenxi Zhao; Yawen Liu; Zhuochen Lv; Leitao Cao; Jing Ren; Zhengzhong Shao; Shengjie Ling

doi:10.1007/s42765-022-00171-6

Advanced Fiber Materials ›› 2022, Vol. 4 ›› Issue (5) :1191 -1208. DOI: 10.1007/s42765-022-00171-6

Research Article

Silk Fibroin Nacre

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¹School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, 393 Middle Huaxia Road, 201210, Shanghai, China

²State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Fudan University, 200433, Shanghai, China

^g lingshj@shanghaitech.edu.cn

Chenxi Zhao

received her B.S. degree in Chemistry from Nankai University in 2019. She is now a graduate student in the School of Physical Science and Technology (SPST) of ShanghaiTech University. Her researches focus on the characterization of biomacromolecules and the self-assembly behavior of silk protein.

Yawen Liu

received her B.S. in Biological Engineering from Shandong Agricultural University in 2018, and M.S. in Chemical Biology at ShanghaiTech University in 2021. She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Her research focuses on the characterization of biomacromolecules and synthetic biomimetic materials for energy and environmental applications.

Zhuochen Lv

received his B.S. degree in Material Science and Engineering from ShanghaiTech University in 2020. He is now a graduate student in the School of Physical Science and Technology (SPST) of ShanghaiTech University. His researches focus on the structure-property relationship of natural fibers.

Leitao Cao

is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Physical Science and Technology (SPST) at ShanghaiTech University. He received his B. S. degree in Textile Engineering from Jiangnan University in 2013, and Ph.D. in Textile Materials and Textile design from Donghua University in 2020. His researches focus on the fabrication of natural materials-based nanofiber assemblies and their functional applications.

Jing Ren

is currently a Research Assistant Professor in the School of Physical Science and Technology at ShanghaiTech University. She received her B.S. in Chemistry at Lanzhou University in China in 2007, Ph.D. in Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics at Fudan University in China in 2016. She then worked at Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine before joining ShanghaiTech University in 2018. She focuses on the development of functional natural materials for wearable applications.

Zhengzhong Shao

received his Ph.D. in polymer chemistry and physics from Fudan University, China in 1991. Then he worked as a lecturer in the same university and was promoted to associate professor in 1995. From 1996 to 1998, he was a visiting scientist in the Institute of Biology, Aarhus University, Denmark. Since 1999, he has been a professor in the Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University. His current research interests are focused on animal silks and their proteins, as well as other nature-inspired biomaterials.

Shengjie Ling

is an assistant professor in the School of Physical Science and Technology at ShanghaiTech University. His research focuses on developing biopolymer functional materials through the integration of synchrotron-based characterization, computational modeling and bioinspired & biomimetic fabrication. He obtained his B.S. degree from the Zhejiang University of Technology (2009) and Ph.D. from Fudan University (2014). During 2012–2013, He awarded the State Scholarship Fund of China to pursue his study at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, as a joint Ph.D. student. Before joining ShanghaiTech University, he worked as a postdoctoral associate at MIT and Tufts University (2014–2017). Ling can be reached by email at lingshj@shanghaitech.edu.cn.

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Abstract

Abstract

Producing lightweight, mechanically strong, ductile, and biocompatible materials remains a significant challenge in material engineering due to the conflict between structural and mechanical features. Inspired by the “brick-and-mortar” structure of nacre, a construction with a naturally optimized structure-performance-function relationship, this study developed silk fibroin (SF) nacre as a silk protein-based nacre by integrating ice-templating and thermoplastic molding techniques. SF nacres are similar to natural nacre in microstructure, and their strength and toughness are even superior to natural nacres. These mechanical properties permit machining by extreme processing techniques, such as ion beam lithography. Furthermore, SF nacre can be used to modulate the polarization of laser beams and generate bright structural colors. Biocompatibility, mechanical robustness, good processability, and tunable coloration allow SF nacres to be used as a plastic replacement for structural engineering and biomedical use, showing promising advancement of such implantable devices towards clinical translation.

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Chenxi Zhao, Yawen Liu, Zhuochen Lv, Leitao Cao, Jing Ren, Zhengzhong Shao, Shengjie Ling. Silk Fibroin Nacre. Advanced Fiber Materials, 2022, 4(5): 1191-1208 DOI:10.1007/s42765-022-00171-6