Potential use of natural silk for bio-dental applications

ObjectivesSilks are protein polymers that are spun into fibres by silkworms and spiders under ambient conditions. Silk has been used as a biomaterial in a variety of biological applications for many years, whereas there are few applications in dentistry. The aim of this study was to explore the potential properties of natural silk for dental applications by determining the structure and features that make natural silk a biocompatible candidate.MethodsWe conducted a literature search through the recognized databases of medline, ISI web of science, SCOPUS, and EBASE to elucidate the natural properties of silk, its processing for biomedical applications and its use in dental applications.ResultsSilk has excellent natural properties, such as strength, resistance to light, temperature and humidity and biocompatibility. Once silk has been dissolved, it can be used to produce a variety of materials, such as films, gels, fibres, nanofibres, granules, foams, spheres and electrospun mats, on a micro or nano scale. Applications in dentistry include biomineralization, tissue engineering for scaffold applications and drug delivery.ConclusionsThere has been renewed research on silk-based materials for various biomedical applications, including dentistry.