Native spider silk as a biological optical fiber

作者：Nolwenn Huby, Véronique Vié, Anne Renault, Sylvie Beaufils, Thierry Lefèvre, François Paquet‐Mercier, Michel Pézolet, Bruno Bêche · 发表于：Applied Physics Letters · 年份：2013 · DOI：10.1063/1.4798552 · 被引用次数：121 · 研究领域：Silk-based biomaterials and applications、Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities、Phytochemical compounds biological activities

In this study, we demonstrate the use of eco-friendly native spider silk as an efficient optical fiber in air, highly bent fibers, and physiological liquid. We also integrated the silk filament in a photonic chip made of polymer microstructures fabricated by UV lithography. The molding process is non-destructive for silk and leads to an efficient micro-optical coupling between silk and synthetic optical structures. These optical performances combined with the unique biocompatibility, bioresorbability, flexibility, and tensile strength of silk filaments pave the way for new applications in biological media and for original biophotonic purposes.