Scientists use modified silk proteins to create new nonstick surfaces

 


The story goes that scientists at Tufts University have come up with a way to make silk-based materials that won't stick to water or almost anything else that has water in it. In fact, the modified silk, which can be coated onto surfaces as a film or molded into forms like plastic, has non-stick properties that surpass those of nonstick cookware surfaces and could be used in a wide range of consumer goods and medicine. 


Silk is a natural fiber that is spun by moths. It has been used to make fine, long-lasting fabrics and surgical sutures to close wounds for thousands of years.  

In more recent times, researchers have discovered how to reconstitute silk fibrin, the fibers' basic protein component, into gels, films, sponges, and other forms for implantable orthopedic screws and textile inks that change color in response to body chemistry. 

"What makes silk such an extraordinary material is that, besides the fact that it can take many structures and shapes, one can undoubtedly change its properties by synthetically adjusting the silk fibrin," said Krishna Kumar, Robinson Teacher of Science at Tufts. 


He stated, "We modify the chemistry if we want to make orthopedic screws using silk fibrin that are absorbed by the body at different rates". The chemistry must be altered in order to create a blood sensor that can detect oxygen, glucose, or other blood components. We modified silk fibrin in this study to repel water, and we can "tune" the material to be more or less water-repellent. 


ChemBioChem published an article about the development. 

Perfluorocarbons—short chemical chains containing carbon and fluorine—were used to cover the surface of the silk fiber in order to make it water-resistant. These chains are extremely stable and do not interact with proteins or other biological chemicals in the body. They also do not react with any other chemicals 


The negatively and positively charged branches on the silk protein's natural surface attract water in the same way that a magnet does. However, there is not much for the water to grasp onto because the silk protein is coated in perfluorocarbons. Perfluorocarbons typically eschew the attraction that is typically brought about by other forces that bind molecules together. How "unsticks" silk is can be affected by the amount of fluorine required for nonstick behavior


A renewable biological material and safer manufacturing tick two sustainability boxes. In contrast to the production of other non-stick materials, the manufacturing process may be safer because the chemical synthesis is carried out under mild conditions. The nonstick property was measured by Tufts researchers by observing how water beads up on the material's surface 


According to Julia Fountain, a graduate student in Kumar's lab and co-author of the paper, "modifying medical devices to prevent adverse interactions with water and other biologics has the potential to preserve strength and integrity for as long as they are needed". Silk's ability to repel cells or other substances could make it even more useful because it is already relatively inert to the immune system. 


The benefits of surfaces that are extremely nonstick extend far beyond the realm of medical applications. Silk-based nonstick surfaces may offer an alternative option that can be investigated for its relative safety, despite concerns regarding chemicals absorbed by the body from commercially available nonstick coatings 

According to them, this could result in coatings on fabrics or metals that help prevent rust 

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