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。达尔豪斯大学的雷尼实验室利用一种非致病性细菌菌株（大肠杆菌）重组生产了两种蜘蛛丝。除了避免了从蜘蛛身上采集蛛丝的固有挑战之外，还有两个额外的好处：(1)大肠杆菌对分子生物学方法非常容易处理，这些方法允许在单个氨基酸水平上直接和直接地修改蛋白质；而且，(2)蛋白质生产可以很容易地扩大规模。这些能力将用于支持与总部位于哈利法克斯的3D biofiber公司合作的技术开发。具体来说，重组蚕丝将使用3D biofibrr专有的接触绘图方法纺成纤维。然后将这些纤维加工成适合缝合应用的形式。所得到的缝合材料将从化学、结构、形态和力学角度进行测试，最有希望用于临床前试验，由Dalhousie外科和微生物学与免疫学部门的Michael Bezuhly博士进行生物相容性测试。该项目的结果是，3D biofibrr将能够证明其纺丝工艺对重组丝绸的适用性，并将获得针对缝合应用量身定制的新型重组丝绸基材料。这将通过新型材料增加公司的竞争力。这项NSERC联盟- mitacs加速资助的另一个成果是，高素质的人才将开发生物材料加工和测试的新技能，同时与3D biofiber的工业科学家直接互动，为直接发展知识翻译技能提供了一个绝佳的机会。

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.