Project
The causes of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, ranging from peptic ulcer to ulcerative colitis, are varied and affect approximately 4% of the population. The complexity of treatment arises from factors such as the severity and location of the ulcers, which often require invasive procedures such as esophagogastroduodenoscopy or colonoscopy under anesthesia. The Prometheus project aims at developing a deployable microfabricated scaffold, physically programmed to reach a mild bleedingchronic ulcer, wirelessly communicate, and locally promote the tissue regeneration, thanks to bio-enabled materials based on functionalized regenerated silk processed and the 4D printing fabrication approach.
Consortium
University of Pisa
University of Perugia
University of Firenze
News
April 2024: New paper out!
New paper entitled “Mechanical Transfer of Black Phosphorus on a Silk Fibroin Substrate: A Viable Method for Photoresponsive and Printable Biomaterials” is published on ACS Omega
Abstract
Despite the technological importance of semiconductor black phosphorus (BP) in materials science, maintaining the stability of BP crystals in organic media and protecting them from environmental oxidation remains challenging. In this study, we present the synthesis of bulk BP and the exploitation of the viscoelastic properties of a regenerated silk fibroin (SF) film as a biocompatible substrate to transfer BP flakes, thereby preventing oxidation. A model based on the flow of polymers revealed that the applied flow-induced stresses exceed the yield stress of the BP aggregate. Raman spectroscopy was used to investigate the exfoliation efficiency as well as the environmental stability of BP transferred on the SF substrate. Notably, BP flakes transferred to the SF substrate demonstrated improved stability when SF was dissolved in a phosphate-buffered saline medium, and in vitro cancer cell viability experiments demonstrate the tumor ablation efficiency under visible to near-infrared (Vis–nIR) radiation. Moreover, the SF and BP-enriched SF (SF/BP) solution was shown to be processable via extrusion-based three-dimensional (3D) printing. Therefore, this work paves the way for a general method for the transferring of BP on natural biodegradable polymers and processing them via 3D printing toward novel functionalities and complex shapes for biomedical purposes.