Protein Structure and Silk Screws - An Alternative Surgical Tool

As an alternative to using metal for craniofacial fracture repair, screws have been developed from the silk of the Bombyx mori caterpillar.

(By Ash Bowie (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

They offer advantages to metal screws by remaining fixed in bone for 4-8 weeks, allowing for biocompatibility, bone remodeling, and reduced inflammation. Silk fibroin is a polymeric arrangement of 3 amino acids that can form beta-pleated sheets, a secondary structure of proteins.

BC Learning Network - Levels of Protein Structure

 

Left photo: Finished silk screws. Right photo: Silk screw in a bone after 4 weeks.

Article: The use of silk-based devices for fracture fixation by G.S. Perrone, G.G. Leisk, T.J. Lo, J.E. Moreau, D.S. Haas, B.J. Papenburg, E.B. Golden, B.P. Partlow, S.E. Fox, A.M.S. Ibrahim, S.J. Lin & D.L. Kaplan; Nature Communications 5, Article number: 3385 doi:10.1038/ncomms4385