Native spider silk as a biological optical fiber

In this study, we demonstrate the use of eco-friendly native spider silk as an efficient optical fiber in air, highly bent fibers, and physiological liquid. We also integrated the silk filament in a photonic chip made of polymer microstructures fabricated by UV lithography. The molding process is no...

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Veröffentlicht in:Applied physics letters 2013-03, Vol.102 (12)
Hauptverfasser: Huby, N., Vié, V., Renault, A., Beaufils, S., Lefèvre, T., Paquet-Mercier, F., Pézolet, M., Bêche, B.
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:In this study, we demonstrate the use of eco-friendly native spider silk as an efficient optical fiber in air, highly bent fibers, and physiological liquid. We also integrated the silk filament in a photonic chip made of polymer microstructures fabricated by UV lithography. The molding process is non-destructive for silk and leads to an efficient micro-optical coupling between silk and synthetic optical structures. These optical performances combined with the unique biocompatibility, bioresorbability, flexibility, and tensile strength of silk filaments pave the way for new applications in biological media and for original biophotonic purposes.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.4798552