Expanded knowledge on silk assembly for development of bioactive silk coatings

Abstract: Silk is a fascinating natural material made from proteins that self-assemble through structural rearrangements into one of the toughest materials known. As silk is protein-based, durable and elastic, it has many features that makes it suitable as a scaffold material for tissue engineering. Natural silk proteins are complex and thus difficult to produce synthetically. Therefore, partial silk proteins have been designed for production in heterologous host cells such as expression strains of Escherichia coli. This thesis presents investigations of the properties of one such partial spider silk protein, 4RepCT, and its assembly process, and describes the development of bioactive silk coatings and their properties. The focus has been to develop coatings for implant surfaces to prevent infections and improve interactions with cells.In Paper I, the intrinsic properties and contribution to the self-assembly process of the two protein parts 4Rep and CT were investigated separately, in a mixture (4Rep+CT) and as a fusion protein (4RepCT). The results showed that assembly occurs both at the liquid-air and liquid-solid interfaces. CT reached the interface fast but did not refold to form β-sheets, characteristic for silk, on its own. 4Rep adsorbed rapidly, and extensive intermolecular interactions were formed, although unorganized. Covalent linkage between 4Rep and CT, as in 4RepCT, and thus close proximity between the two silk parts, was found to be crucial in order to obtain both conversion into β-sheet rich structures and a nanofibrillar topography of the adsorbed proteins.The finding that 4RepCT self-assembles into nanofibrillar coatings on solid surfaces could be useful for various applications, for example to improve implant surfaces. The coating process was thus further evaluated in Paper II, showing that the silk coatings were chemically resistant and could also be made from silk protein variants where additional peptide motifs had been fused to 4RepCT at the genetic level. Silk with a cell-binding motif (FN-silk) and an antimicrobial peptide (Mag-silk) could assemble onto titanium, stainless steel and hydroxyapatite, respectively, materials that are commonly used for implants. Fibroblasts and endothelial cells were successfully cultured on FN-silk coatings and proliferated well. Finally, coatings of Mag-silk were evaluated for their ability to prevent adhesion of Staphylococcus aureus.In Paper III, silk from silkworms were used to construct materials in three different formats suitable for wound healing applications. Microporous scaffolds, electrospun mats and thin coatings of silkworm silk could all be coated with 4RepCT. They thereby gained the functions added via 4RepCT fusion proteins with a cell-binding motif (FN-silk), an antibody binding domain (Z-silk) or an enzyme (Xyl-silk). This shows upon a versatile method for functionalization of materials in different formats with bioactive motifs and domains.In Paper IV, the aim was to develop dual-functional silk coatings to promote osseointegration and prevent bacterial adhesion to orthopedic and dental implants. Coatings of regular silk (4RepCT) and FN-silk were given additional functions by using the transpeptidase Sortase A to mediate conjugation with the biofilm dispersal enzyme Dispersin B, or the endolysins PlySs2 and SAL-1. The obtained coatings showed a reduced adhesion of S. aureus compared to regular silk and FN-silk. Moreover, osteosarcoma cells adhered and proliferated well on coatings of FN-silk also when conjugated with enzymes.Altogether, the work presented in this thesis suggests that 4RepCT silk coatings are valuable as a base for construction of bioactive surfaces. The coatings can be applied on many different surfaces, and the bioactive coatings developed herein show potential for wound healing applications and prevention of biomaterial-associated infections.