Collagen overview
Collagen is an essential building block of the human body, providing structural support and biological signals to connective tissues and organs, and therefore it is a crucial component for tissue regeneration.
To date, collagen has been extracted from animal and human cadaver sources, baring risk of contamination and allergic response and subjected to harsh purification conditions resulting in irreversible modifications impeding its biofunctionality which leads to a lack of mechanical stability.
Raw cow hides ready to be processed into functional collagen products
Spider silk overview
Due to its properties, such as biodegradability, low density, excellent biocompatibility and unique mechanics, spider silk has been used as a natural biomaterial for a myriad of applications. First clinical applications of spider silk as suture material go back to the 18th century.
Besides its impressive tensile property, dragline silk also exhibits intriguing torsional characteristics and a particular water-induced physical response called supercontraction that may find original applications in various fields of materials science. Spider silk seems also to exhibit a low toxicity and immunogenicity, a slow biodegradability, and seems suitable to cell adhesion and growth, thus making silk very attractive for biomedical needs.