title: Silkworm Gut Fiber of Bombyx mori as an Implantable and Biocompatible Light-Diffusing Fiber.
abstract: This work describes a new approach to the delivery of light in deeper tissues, through a silk filament that is implantable, biocompatible, and biodegradable. In the present work, silkworm gut fibers (SGFs) of Bombyx mori L., are made by stretching the silk glands. Morphological, structural, and optical properties of the fibers have been characterized and the stimulatory effect of red laser light diffused from the fiber was assayed in fibroblast cultures. SGFs are formed by silk fibroin (SF) mainly in a β-sheet conformation, a stable and non-soluble state in water or biological fluids. The fibers showed a high degree of transparency to visible and infrared radiation. Using a red laser (λ = 650 nm) as source, the light was efficiently diffused along the fiber wall, promoting a significant increment in the cell metabolism 5 h after the irradiation. SGFs have shown their excellent properties as light-diffusing optical fibers with a stimulatory effect on cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Instituto Murciano de Investigaci&#243;n y Desarrollo Agrario y Alimentario (IMIDA), Murcia 30150, Spain. josel.cenis@carm.es.
authors.forename: Jose Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Cenis
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Instituto Murciano de Investigaci&#243;n y Desarrollo Agrario y Alimentario (IMIDA), Murcia 30150, Spain. sdac1@um.es.
authors.forename: Salvador D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Aznar-Cervantes
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Instituto Murciano de Investigaci&#243;n y Desarrollo Agrario y Alimentario (IMIDA), Murcia 30150, Spain. abel@um.es.
authors.forename: Antonio Abel
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Lozano-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Electromagnetismo y Electr&#243;nica, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia 30003, Spain. mrojo@um.es.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rojo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Electromagnetismo y Electr&#243;nica, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia 30003, Spain. juanmu@um.es.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.affiliation: Biomaterials &amp; Tissue Engineering Unit &amp; Orthopedic Surgery Service, V. Arrixaca University Hospital, Murcia 30120, Spain. lmeseguer.doc@gmail.com.|Department of Health Sciences, UCAM-Catholic University of Murcia, Murcia 30107, Spain. lmeseguer.doc@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Meseguer-Olmo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Electromagnetismo y Electr&#243;nica, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia 30003, Spain. arenas@um.es.
authors.forename: Aurelio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arenas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D012831:Bombyx / Q000378:metabolism*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000528:radiation effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000378:metabolism*; D008027:Light; D051379:Mice; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D047011:Silk / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D013718:Tensile Strength / Q000528:radiation effects*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D047011:Silk
keywords: biocompatibility; light-diffusing optical fiber; silk fibroin; silkworm gut fiber