title: Photocrosslinking of Silk Fibroin Using Riboflavin for Ocular Prostheses.
abstract: A novel method to photocrosslink silk fibroin protein is reported, using riboflavin (vitamin B2) as a photoinitiator and the mechanism of crosslinking is determined. Exposure of riboflavin-doped liquid silk solution to light results in the formation of a transparent, elastic hydrogel. Several applications for this new material are investigated including corneal reshaping to restore visual acuity and photolithography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby St., Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Applegate
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby St., Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Partlow
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby St., Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
authors.forename: Jeannine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Coburn
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby St., Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
authors.forename: Benedetto
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marelli
authors.affiliation: Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, MA, 01536, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pirie
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pineda
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby St., Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby St., Medford, MA, 02155, USA.|Department of Physics, Tufts University, 4 Colby Street, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
authors.forename: Fiorenzo G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Omenetto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D003315:Cornea / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005137:Eye, Artificial; D005349:Fibroins / Q000737:chemistry*; D012256:Riboflavin / Q000737:chemistry*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013552:Swine; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D005349:Fibroins; D012256:Riboflavin
keywords: ocular prosthesis; photocrosslinking; silk