The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 06, 2011
Filed:
Jan. 15, 2010
David L. Kaplan, Concord, MA (US);
Hyoung-joon Jin, Seoul, KR;
Gregory Rutledge, Newton, MA (US);
Sergey Fridrikh, Acton, MA (US);
David L. Kaplan, Concord, MA (US);
Hyoung-Joon Jin, Seoul, KR;
Gregory Rutledge, Newton, MA (US);
Sergey Fridrikh, Acton, MA (US);
Trustees of Tufts College, Medford, MA (US);
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (US);
Abstract
The present invention provides an all-aqueous process and composition for production of silk biomaterials, e.g., fibers, films, foams and mats. In the process, at least one biocompatible polymer, such as poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) (a well-documented biocompatible material), was blended with the silk protein prior to processing e.g., electrospinning. We discovered that this step avoids problems associated with conformational transitions of fibroin during solubilization and reprocessing from aqueous solution which lead to embrittled materials. Moreover, the process avoids the use of organic solvents that can pose problems when the processed biomaterials are exposed to cells in vitro or in vivo.