Water‐Responsive Self‐Contractive Silk‐Based Skin Anti‐Aging Tensioners with Customizable Biofunctions

• Published in: Advanced healthcare materials 2024-10, Vol.13 (26), p.e2400671-n/a
• Main Authors: Xie, Yating, Geng, Lele, Ni, Siyuan, Ni, Wei, He, Ruizhe, Liu, Tiantian, Zhang, Gai, Tao, Tiger H., Liu, Keyin, Peng, Yinbo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aging; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibacterial activity; anti‐aging; Bacteriostats; Biocompatibility; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; Biocompatible Materials - pharmacology; Controllability; Fibroins - chemistry; Fibroins - pharmacology; Humans; Infrared heating; Infrared lasers; Laser beam heating; Mice; Molecular structure; Radio frequency; Silk; Silk - chemistry; Silk fibroin; Skin - metabolism; Skin Aging - drug effects; Skin tests; skin‐lifting; Tensioners; Water - chemistry; water‐responsive self‐contraction
• ISSN: 2192-2640; 2192-2659; 2192-2659
• DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202400671

Skin anti‐aging treatments have become increasingly popular. Currently, the prevalent treatment method involves implanting skin tension regulation threads (skin lifting threads) under the skin, and radiofrequency treatments. In this study, inspired by the natural supercontraction of spider silk, the molecular structure of silk fibroin fibers is modulated into an oriented configuration. This modification endows silk proteins with water‐responsive self‐contraction capabilities, leading to the development of innovative self‐contracting silk‐based skin tensioners (SSSTs). To align with clinical requirements, skin tension regulation materials are functionalized by testing for their self‐contraction, near‐infrared laser heating function, and bacteriostatic properties. The SSSTs exhibited remarkable self‐contraction properties, drug‐loading and sustained‐release capabilities, notable antibacterial effects, controllable degradation, and good biocompatibility. Moreover, the near‐infrared light heating function effectively increased subcutaneous temperature, demonstrating its potential for enhancing and prolonging skin lifting effects. Therefore, SSSTs can be applied for skin tension regulation to improve and delay skin aging. The results may pave the way for novel strategies in skin rejuvenation, with broad implications for the field of skin anti‐aging. The self‐contraction silk‐based skin tensioners (SSSTs) achieves the self‐contraction property of spider silk protein by mimicking the molecular conformation of spider silk, and bestows it with near‐infrared light heating and antibacterial properties through in vitro characterization, thereby potentially enhancing skin lifting and anti‐aging effects.