Nonmulberry silk fibroin-based biomaterials: Impact on cell behavior regulation and tissue regeneration

Silk fibroin (SF) is a promising biomaterial due to its good biocompatibility, easy availability, and high me-chanical properties. Compared with mulberry silk fibroin (MSF), nonmulberry silk fibroin (NSF) isolated from typical nonmulberry silkworm silk exhibits unique arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) sequences with favorable cell adhesion enhancing effect. This inherent property probably makes the NSF more suit-able for cell culture and tissue regeneration-related applications. Accordingly, various types of NSF-based biomaterials, such as particles, films, fiber mats, and 3D scaffolds, are constructed and their application potential in different biomedical fields is extensively investigated. Based on these promising NSF biomate-rials, this review firstly makes a systematical comparison between the molecular structure and properties of MSF and typical NSF and highlights the unique properties of NSF. In addition, we summarize the effec-tive fabrication strategies from degummed nonmulberry silk fibers to regenerated NSF-based biomaterials with controllable formats and their recent application progresses in cell behavior regulation and tissue regeneration. Finally, current challenges and future perspectives for the fabrication and application of NSF-based biomaterials are discussed. Related research and perspectives may provide valuable references for designing and modifying effective NSF-based and other natural biomaterials.Statement of SignificanceThere exist many reviews about mulberry silk fibroin (MSF) biomaterials and their biomedical applica-tions, while that about nonmulberry silk fibroin (NSF) biomaterials is scarce. Compared with MSF, NSF exhibits unique arginine-glycine-aspartic acid sequences with promising cell adhesion enhancing effect, which makes NSF more suitable for cell culture and tissue regeneration related applications. Focusing on these advanced NSF biomaterials, this review has systematically compared the structure and properties of MSF and NSF, and emphasized the unique properties of NSF. Following that, the effective construction strategies for NSF-based biomaterials are summarized, and their recent applications in cell behavior regu- lations and tissue regenerations are highlighted. Furthermore, current challenges and future perspectives for the fabrication and application of NSF-based biomaterials were discussed. (c) 2022 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Silk fibroin is a promising biomaterial due to its good biocompatibility, availability, and mechanical properties. Nonmulberry silk fibroin, extracted from nonmulberry silkworm silk, has unique arginine-glycine-aspartic acid sequences that enhance cell adhesion. This makes it more suitable for cell culture and tissue regeneration applications.