Development and optimization of suture materials from recombinant spider silks

蜘蛛丝具有出色的机械性能，并以其生物相容性而闻名。达尔豪西大学的雷尼实验室利用一种非致病性的细菌（大肠杆菌）重组产生了两种类型的蜘蛛丝。除了规避从蜘蛛身上采集丝所固有的挑战外，还有两个额外的好处：（1）E。大肠杆菌对允许在单个氨基酸水平上直接和简单地修饰蛋白质的分子生物学方法非常容易处理;和（2）蛋白质生产可以容易地按比例放大。这些能力将用于支持与Halifax的3D BioFibR Inc.合作的技术开发。具体来说，重组丝将使用3D BioFibR专有的接触拉伸方法纺成纤维。然后将这些纤维加工成适合于纤维应用的形式。将从化学、结构、形态和机械角度对所得缝线材料进行测试，其中最有希望的用于临床前生物相容性试验，由来自达尔豪西外科和微生物学系的Michael Bezuhly博士进行。免疫学。由于该项目，3D BioFibR将能够证明其纺丝工艺对重组丝的适用性，并将获得新型重组丝-为缝线应用量身定制的材料。这将通过新的材料类别提高公司的竞争力。该NSERC联盟-Mitacs加速赠款的另一个结果是，高素质的人员将开发生物材料加工和测试方面的新技能，同时与3D BioFibR的工业科学家直接互动，为直接开发知识转化技能提供了绝佳的机会。

Spider silks have outstanding mechanical properties and are renowned for their biocompatibility. The Rainey lab at Dalhousie University produces two types of spider silk recombinantly using a non-pathogenic strain of bacteria (Escherichia coli). Beyond circumventing the challenges inherent in harvesting silk from spiders, two additional benefits arise: (1) E. coli is extremely tractable to methods of molecular biology that allow direct and straightforward modification of proteins at the level of individual amino acids; and, (2) protein production may readily be scaled up. These capabilities will be leveraged to support technology development in collaboration with Halifax-based 3D BioFibR Inc. Specifically, recombinant silks will be spun into fibres using 3D BioFibR's proprietary contact-drawing methodology. These fibres will then be processed into forms suitable for suturing applications. The resulting suture materials will tested from chemical, structural, morphological, and mechanical perspectives, with the most promising used in preclinical trials for biocompatibility with Dr. Michael Bezuhly from Dalhousie's Departments of Surgery and Microbiology & Immunology.As a result of this project, 3D BioFibR will be able to demonstrate the suitability of its spinning process for recombinant silks and will have access to novel classes of recombinant silk-based materials tailored to suture applications. This will increase the company's competitiveness through new classes of materials. Another outcome of this NSERC Alliance-Mitacs Accelerate Grant is that highly qualified personnel will develop new skills in biomaterials processing and testing, while interacting directly with industrial scientists at 3D BioFibR providing an outstanding opportunity for direct development of knowledge translation skills.