A team of investigators from Tufts University School of Engineering, USA, have developed biomedical devices using pure silk protein from silkworm cocoons, for use in place of plates and screws, Tufts University Tissue Engineering and Research Center Director David Kaplan has said.
Prof. Kaplan delivered a special lecture in an international conference on: “Sericulture: Molecules and Materials”, jointly organised by GITAM Deemed to be University Seribiotechnology Lab and AP State Sericulture Research and Development Institute (APSSRDI), Hindupur, through the virtual mode.
Revealing the findings of his team, Prof. Kaplan said that surgical plates and screws made from pure silk protein offer not only improved bone remodelling but can also be absorbed by the body overtime. Another big advantage of silk is that it can stabilise and deliver bioactive components, so that plates and screws made of silk could actually deliver antibiotics to prevent infection and pharmaceuticals to enhance bone regrowth and other therapeutics to support healing, he said.
Biman B.Mandal, an expert from the Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory, of IIT Guwahati, informed that using Indian endemic silk they have developed smart wound dressings for diabetic foot ulcers, skin grafts for burns, vascular grafts for bypass surgery, vascularised bone grafts as orthopaedic implants, beating cardiac patch for myocardial infarction and bioartificial pancreas releasing insulin for type-1 diabetes.
AP State Sericulture Research and Development Institute Director P.J. Raju underlined the need for developing new breeds, which could yield consistent cocoon crops to withstand the vagaries of tropical climate. He hoped that the new research activities will revolutionise the sericulture industry in the country and contribute to the farmers’ economy as well.
Andhra Pradesh State Sericulture Farmers Association president Venkatarami Reddy said that a major constraint in the sericulture industry was the non-availability of labour.
Ritwika Sur Chaudhuri, an expert from the Central Sericultural Germplasm Resources Centre(CSGRC), Central Silk Board, Hosur (Karnataka), said that mulberry silkworm germplasm was vital for making the Indian sericulture industry sustainable. She said that CSGRC was systematically consesrving the seri-genetic resources collected from different parts of the country, which helps researchers to develop improved varieties. Presently, 489 silkworms genetic resources are conserved in the gene bank through standard operating procedures (SOP) established for silkworm breeds, she added.
Conference convener M. Anitha and organising secretary P. Kiranmayi participated in the discussions.
