Engineered Spider Silk Living e‐Suture
Abstract
ABSTRACT Conventional sutures provide passive mechanical closure but lack active therapeutic functions, often resulting in delayed healing and excessive scarring. Here, we report a bioresorbable living electronic suture that integrates mechanically robust spider silk protein (spidroin) with liquid metal, enabling near‐infrared–triggered contractile actuation, triboelectric energy harvesting, and microfluidic‐guided drug delivery within a single filament. Mechanical training during post‐spinning processing enhances tensile strength (>115 MPa) and structural stability, while surface microcolumn imprinting improves interfacial conductivity and programs directional capillary transport. The resulting fiber converts tissue motion into localized electric fields for real‐time wound sensing, and surface microstructures enable programmable microfluidic transport and drug delivery. Owing to the intrinsic biodegradability and biocompatibility of spidroin, the suture gradually resorbs during tissue regeneration. In vivo murine studies demonstrate accelerated and higher quality wound repair, with scar area reduced by 58.3% compared with commercial sutures. Collectively, this work establishes a scalable strategy for converting structural protein fibers into multifunctional bioelectronic sutures, advancing next‐generation smart wound care.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Silk-based biomaterials and applications
3D Printing in Biomedical Research
Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Advanced Functional Materials
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 51
- Publication date
- 1 June 2026
- Language
- EN