Biosilk
Biosilk is a biomaterial made from recombinant spider silk protein for 3D cell culture. The Biosilk solution may advantageously be functionalized with the Biolaminin product of choice, for improved cell functionality.
Biosilk is ideal for integration, proliferation and subsequent lineage-specific differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells in a 3D format.
Biosilk is a biocompatible, biodegradable and non-immunogenic biomaterial, which facilitates the use in clinical applications. The extendable Biosilk macrofibre material can self-assemble into several formats; foams, fiber bundles, and thin films.
Compared to 2D cultures, a 3D culture is a more biologically relevant culture environment with a higher degree of architectural complexity that retains homeostasis for longer.
Contrary to many other 3D scaffolds, the cells can be added to the Biosilk solution before the network stabilizes, resulting in a uniform integration of the cells between the microfibers. Unlike cells cultured in a hydrogel, cells seeded in the Biosilk scaffold attach along the microfibers and are in contact with other cells like in tissue. Moreover, the cells proliferate more efficiently and migrate in the Biosilk scaffold and have full and even access to both the medium, matrix, and neighboring cells, compared to when encapsulated in a hydrogel.
