Silks have been proposed as potential scaffold materials for tissue engineering, mainly because of
their physical properties. They are stable at physiological temperatures, flexible and resist tensile
and compressive forces. Bombyx mori (silkworm) cocoon silk has been used as a suture material
for over a century, and has proved to be biocompatible once the immunogenic sericin coating is
removed. Spider silks have a similar structure to silkworm silk but do not have a sericin coating.
This paper provides a general overview on the use of silk protein in biomaterials, with a focus on
skeletal tissue engineering.