Sustainable Silk Fibroin Nanofiber Membranes with Natural Photothermal and Bioactive Properties

Published in ACS Applied Bio Materials (2026) · American Chemical Society · Open access, CC BY
DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.5c02042

Summary

Silk fibroin membranes were electrospun from water - no organic solvents - and made multifunctional by adding two natural ingredients: cuttlefish ink, which brings antioxidant and photothermal behaviour, and vitamin B2, which supports cell proliferation. The membranes released the vitamin in a controlled way while retaining the ink within the matrix, giving scaffolds suited both to soft tissue regeneration and to laser-assisted tissue welding, where the photothermal component converts light into the local heat that fuses tissue.

Authors & Affiliations

  • Martina Corsini
    CNR, Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività, Italy
  • Luca Ottaviano
    CNR, Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività, Italy
  • Laura Mariani
    CNR, Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività, Italy
  • Marianna Barbalinardo
    CNR, Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati, Italy
  • Giada Magni
    CNR, Istituto di Fisica Applicata "Nello Carrara", Italy
  • Francesca Rossi
    CNR, Istituto di Fisica Applicata "Nello Carrara", Italy
  • Fulvio Ratto
    CNR, Istituto di Fisica Applicata "Nello Carrara", Italy

Linari Electrospinning Systems

Linari NanoTech instrument
The membranes were produced on a Linari NanoTech instrument using water-based electrospinning, with a silk fibroin to PEO ratio of 70:30 established in earlier work. The paper does not specify the model; see our range of electrospinning systems.

Topics

Laser Tissue Welding Photothermal Materials Water-Based Electrospinning Soft Tissue Regeneration

Materials

Silk fibroin Cuttlefish ink Vitamin B2
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