Silk-Based Polymers for Regeneration

Bihan Chen                                          BME 240: Introduction to Clinical Medicine

Silk-based biomaterial platforms for tissue regeneration are commonly used for a range of abdominal wall defect repair procedures, including reconstruction surgeries, bladder slings and hernia repair. A company called Serica has created a silk-based scaffold for tissue regeneration to help re-grow anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tissue in the knee. The SeriACL™ scaffold is a biocompatible and biodegradable ligament graft which aims to be a substitute for an autograft or allograft implantation [www.serica.com].          
        Data from a randomized controlled study suggest that Serica's silk-based scaffold resulted in a significantly higher rate of tissue ingrowth when compared to currently available synthetic, non-resorbable surgical mesh products. The silk-based scaffold biodegraded at an ideal rate that supported load-bearing responsibility of growing host tissue.

Shown to the left is a photographic image of Serica's SeriACL scaffold in place. Below is an example of the scaffold itself.