Lindsaydavidson [creativecommons license] via Wikimedia CommonsTo repair fractured bone, screws made of metal alloys are the gold standard. But these devices can impair bone remodeling and healing and may also corrode, causing pain and inflammation and necessitating their removal. Biodegradable alternatives eliminate some of these concerns but present their own disadvantages: they can trigger inflammation, they are not strong enough for broad application and their implantation entails creating ‘threads’ inside a pre-drilled hole, a laborious process. Samuel Lin (Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA) and David Kaplan (Tufts University, Medford, MA) wondered if fixation devices made of silk might work better.
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