Preparation and biomedical applications of silk fibroin-nanoparticles composites with enhanced properties - A review.

Polymer-nanoparticles composites have attracted considerable attention over the years, due to the superior combination performance from both materials. As a versatile natural polymer, silk fibroin has been combined with various nanoparticles. The introduction of nanoparticles brings many optimized and new functionalities to silk fibroin, such as mechanical, biological, thermal, electrical, florescent and magnetical properties. This review focuses on the preparation methods and enhanced properties of silk fibroin-nanoparticle composites, especially their biomedical applications.