Scientists from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Nanjing University of Technology in China have created their own version of synthetic spider webs from proteins that can be used to treat wounds.
Produced using genetically modified microbes, the new threads were spun into fibers and woven into bandages that helped treat joint injuries and skin ulcers in mice, results published in the journal ACS Nano on September 2 showed.
The manufactured fibers decompose over time in living bodies and do not cause harm to the body. The innovation holds out hope of developing promising potential for future medical applications, especially in treating osteoarthritis and chronic wounds caused by diabetes.
Most types of spiders represent a wealth of materials that can be used in the pharmaceutical and therapeutic industries, as their venom consists of a mixture of important chemicals, and their threads also provide hope for developing the manufacture of fabrics and bandages.
Spiderwebs are some of the strongest materials on Earth, and are technically stronger than steel. The challenge that prevents access to these threads is that spiders create their own colonies, devote themselves to defending them, and eat each other, which makes raising them like silkworms impossible. Therefore, scientists turned to industrial options, according to what the Eurek Alert website explained.
One option was to teach microbes to produce spiderweb proteins through genetic engineering, but this proved difficult because the proteins tend to stick together, reducing thread production. This prompted researcher Pingpeng Gao and his colleagues, at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Nanjing University of Technology in China, to modify the natural protein sequence to design artificial spider threads using microbes that can be easily spun, but remain stable.
Giant spider weaving a web
First, the team used these microbes to produce filament proteins, adding new peptides. These new peptides helped them form a regular structure when folding the synthetic filament proteins and prevented them from sticking together in solution, which increased their production. Then, using a set of small, hollow needles attached to the nozzle of a 3D printer, the researchers pulled the protein solution into thin threads in the air and spun them together to form thicker fibres. This system worked like a giant artificial spider weaving its web.
Will synthetic threads work?
The researchers then wove the synthetic threads into prototype wound dressings that were used to treat mice with osteoarthritis and chronic wounds caused by diabetes. It was easy to add drugs to the bandages, and the team found that these modified bandages promoted wound healing better than traditional bandages. Mice with arthritis also showed a decrease in swelling and an improvement in tissue structure after two weeks of treatment compared to the control group that used traditional bandages, while mice with skin lesions due to diabetes showed a significant improvement in wound healing after 16 days of treatment.
Bandages made from synthetic spider threads decompose and do not cause harm to the body, and researchers indicate that these threads and the bandages made from them have a promising future in medical applications.