US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

Tufts University

Tufts College

Other

University of Massachusetts

Boston University

University of Illinois

The General Hospital Corporation

The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.

Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary

The Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund

Simatech Incorporation

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

University of Pennsylvania

Northwestern University

David L Kaplan

Joseph A Akkara

Fiorenzo G Omenetto

Kenneth A Marx

Sukant K Tripathy

Hu Tao

Madhu S Ayyagari

Charles Cantor

Jayant Kumar

Ferdinando F Bruno

Lynne Ann Samuelson

Cassandra L Smith

Takeshi Sano

Charlene M Mello

Benedetto Marelli

Przemyslaw Szafranski

John A Rogers

Graham Swift

Jonathan S Dordick

Richard A Gross

Brian D Lawrence

Vijay Thomas John

Mark Cronin-Golomb

Dae-Hyeong Kim

Jeffrey T Borenstein

Gregory H Altman

Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic

Brian Litt

Jian Liu

Fang Deng

Yonggang Huang

Xin Zhang

Irene Georgakoudi

Luca Dal Negro

Xiaoqin Wang

Gary G Leisk

Richard Douglas Averitt

Jonathan Viventi

Jason Amsden

Jaehyung Park

Lorenz Meinel

Ivan Martin

Braja K Mandal

Tuna Yucel

Mark Cronin-Golumb

Mark A Brenckle

Suk-Won Hwang

Eleanor M Pritchard

Hyoung-Joon Jin

Miaomiao Yang

Jean M Mayer

Sunghwan Kim

Xianyan Wang

Andrew Strikwerda

Jon Kluge

Konstantinos Tsioris

Christopher Hartnick

Arkadi L Litvin

Arthur M Kaplan

Cheng Qian

Mario J Cazeca

Bhanu Kalra

Stephen J Lombari

Sandip K Sengupta

Jianbing Wu

Bonnie J Wiley

Rajiv Pande

Zhaozhu Zheng

Sanjay Kamtekar

Kevin P McGrath

Shaozhe Guo

Suresh Valiyaveettil

Fuxin Shi

Kirpal Bisht

Michael Whalen

Chris Bettinger

Jonathan A Kluge

Madhu S R Ayyagari

Gary L McPherson

Gregory Rutledge

Sergei Fridrikh

Jason J Amsden

Jordan Axelrad

Ung-Jin Kim

Bruce Panilaitis

James Amsden

In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods for making resorbable ear tubes including the steps of providing a silk fibroin solution, and forming a silk ear tube from the silk fibroin solution, wherein the silk ear tube is less than 2 mm in length and has an outer diameter of less than 1.5 mm, and wherein the silk ear tube is resorbable. In some embodiments, the present invention also provides methods for treating otitis media including the step of introducing a silk ear tube into the ear canal of a subject, wherein the silk ear tube is less than 2 mm in length and has an outer diameter of less than 1.5 mm, and wherein the silk ear tube is resorbed by the subject.

Biodegradable silk ear tubes

Disclosed herein are biopolymer-based coatings and products incorporating such coatings. Related methods and use are also provided.

Biopolymer-based preservation of perishable products

The invention discloses a freeze-dried powder of high molecular weight silk fibroin, preparation process and use thereof. The freeze-dried powder is obtained from silk by degumming, dissolution, dialysis, centrifugation, high temperature and high pressure treatment and freeze-drying. A method of preparing silk fibroin microspheres with polyethylene glycol comprises mixing a silk fibroin solution of 1-30 wt % with a PEG solution of 10-60 w % and incubating the resulting solution. A controlled-release or sustained-release silk fibroin gel formulation includes a gel-state carrier and a drug dispersed/adsorbed therein, the carrier is a silk fibroin gel formed by blending with LMW-PEG. The freeze-dried powder will not change the native molecular weight and random coil structure of silk fibroin, and can be rapidly dissolved into a solution, and can be stored and transported for a long time, and this reduces waste of silk fibroin materials and promotes R & D and biomedical applications of silk fibroin biomaterials.

Freeze-dried powder of high molecular weight silk fibroin, preparation method therefor and use thereof

The invention provides transient devices, including active and passive devices that electrically and/or physically transform upon application of at least one internal and/or external stimulus. Materials, modeling tools, manufacturing approaches, device designs and system level examples of transient electronics are provided.

Transient devices designed to undergo programmable transformations

The present invention provides silk photonic crystals that can be used to enhance light-induced effects. Also disclosed are biocompatible, functionalized, all-protein inverse opals and related methods.

Signal enhancement by silk photonic crystals

The present application discloses biopolymer-based ink formulations that are useful for inkjet printing and other applications. Related methods are also disclosed.

Biopolymer-based inks and use thereof

A method of manufacturing a nanopatterned biopolymer optical device includes providing a biopolymer, processing the biopolymer to yield a biopolymer matrix solution, providing a substrate with a nanopatterned surface, casting the biopolymer matrix solution on the nanopatterned surface of the substrate, and drying the biopolymer matrix solution to form a solidified biopolymer film on the substrate, where the solidified biopolymer film is formed with a surface having a nanopattern thereon. In another embodiment, the method also includes annealing the solidified biopolymer film. A nanopatterned biopolymer optical device includes a solidified biopolymer film with a surface having a nanopattern is also provided.

Nanopatterned biopolymer optical device and method of manufacturing the same

The invention relates to methods and compositions for preparing silk-based piezoelectric materials and methods for increasing piezoelectricity in silk matrices.

Silk-based piezoelectric materials

The invention relates to silk electronic components and methods for fabricating the same. The silk electronic components can be used as novel devices, such as implantable bioelectric and/or biophotonic devices, biosensors, surveillance devices, invisible cloaks, electromagnetic concentrators or antennas.

Silk electronic components

A microfluidic device includes, in one embodiment, a first silk film coupled to a second silk film with at least one microchannel therebetween.

Microfluidic device comprising silk films coupled to form a microchannel

A method of manufacturing a biopolymer optical device includes providing a polymer, providing a substrate, casting the polymer on the substrate, and enzymatically polymerizing an organic compound to generate a conducting polymer between the provided polymer and the substrate. The polymer may be a biopolymer such as silk and may be modified using organic compounds such as tyrosines to provide a molecular-level interface between the provided bulk biopolymer of the biopolymer optical device and a substrate or other conducting layer via a tyrosine-enzyme polymerization. The enzymatically polymerizing may include catalyzing the organic compound with peroxidase enzyme reactions. The result is a carbon-carbon conjugated backbone that provides polymeric 'wires' for use in polymer and biopolymer optical devices. An all organic biopolymer electroactive material is thereby provided that provides optical functions and features.

Electroactive biopolymer optical and electro-optical devices and method of manufacturing the same

A method for polymerization of substituted ethylene monomers in an enzyme-mediated process is disclosed. The reaction proceeds under mild conditions with a wide variety of monomers, and is capable of producing stereoregular polymers. In certain embodiments, no organic solvent is necessary.

Enzyme-mediated polymerization methods and products

A process for large-scale, low cost, batch or continuous production of polyphenols using enzyme-mediated reactions and methods for recycling non-consumed reactants.

Large-scale production of polyphenols or polyaromatic amines using enzyme-mediated reactions

Growing community of inventors

Stow, MA, United States of America

David L Kaplan