Printing with Silks – New Approaches and Applications
David L. Kaplan,
Stern Family Endowed Professor of Engineering, Professor & Chair -- Dept of Biomedical Engineering,
Tufts University
We continue to develop, study and apply silk protein-based inks useful
for 3D printing. The features of these inks involve all aqueous and
ambient processing, cyto-compatible features, versatility in control of
mechanical properties, avoidance of chemical or photochemical
crosslinking requirements, and the FDA-approved nature of the protein.
hese features support a range of studies related to biomaterials and
tissue engineering, as well as cell delivery and related themes. Our
most recent advances in building complex 3D structures using silk-based
approaches will be reviewed, including new processing methods,
underwater silk printing inks, and new modes to functionalize
biomaterials with silk ink jet printing for biomaterials.
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