A method for making an improved contact lens with the steps of providing a mold with a space between the top surface and a bottom surface, and positioning a mat in the space of the mold, providing a bead of liquid polymer of predetermined size at a predetermined location on the surface of the mat, pressing the bead of liquid polymer into the mat between the top surface and the bottom surface of the mold to form an optical zone framed by a mat peripheral zone, exposing the optical zone and the peripheral zone with U-V radiation to harden the optical zone into a composite improved contact lens, removing the cross-linked improved contact lens from the mold, processing the peripheral zone surrounding the optical zone to have a fenestration surface having holes, the holes being through holes with predetermined diameters selected to pass larger proteins, lipids, metabolites.

A method for making an article of footwear includes placing a purified recombinant resilin composition in a mold with a cross-linking solution, incubating the recombinant resilin composition in the cross-linking solution to generate a solid resilin material, fabricating a cushioning element of the article of footwear including at least a portion of the solid resilin material, and assembling the cushioning element insole with at least an upper of the article of footwear.

A powdery-material feeding device is configured to feed a powdery material to a compression-molding machine configured to obtain a molded product by filling a die bore with the powdery material and to compress the powdery material with punches. The powdery-material feeding device includes a detector configured to detect a biologically-originated foreign matter mixedly contained in the powdery material to be fed to the compression-molding machine, and a controller configured to control to remove the powdery material mixedly containing the biologically-originated foreign matter detected by the detector to avoid feeding of the powdery material mixedly containing the biologically-originated foreign matter to the compression-molding machine, or to control to stop the feeding of the powdery material to the compression-molding machine.

A dried vitrigel membrane is produced by a method including the following steps of (1) a step of keeping a hydrogel in the inside of a wall surface mold with a shape the same as the desired shape disposed on a substrate, and discharging a part of free water within the hydrogel from a gap between the substrate and the wall surface mold; (2) a step of removing the wall surface mold from the top of the substrate; (3) a step of drying the hydrogel to remove the residual free water, thereby fabricating a vitrified dried hydrogel; (4) a step of rehydrating the dried hydrogel to fabricate a vitrigel membrane; and (5) a step of redrying the vitrigel membrane to remove free water, thereby fabricating a vitrified dried vitrigel membrane.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides methods including the steps of (i) providing silk fibroin material comprising substantially amorphous structure, and (ii) applying at least one of elevated temperature and elevated pressure to the silk fibroin material to form a silk fibroin article, wherein the applying induces fusion between at least a portion of the silk fibroin and structural change of fibroin in the silk fibroin material. In some embodiments, the present disclosure also provides silk fibroin articles made in accordance with the methods disclosed herein.

The present disclosure provides methods and compositions for directed to synthetic block copolymer proteins, expression constructs for their secretion, recombinant microorganisms for their production, and synthetic fibers (including advantageously, microfibers) comprising these proteins that recapitulate many properties of natural silk. The recombinant microorganisms can be used for the commercial production of silk-like fibers.

The present invention provides tissue equivalent scaffold structures and methods of production thereof. Such methods include providing a casting chamber comprising an elongate mould portion, axially disposing a lumen template within the elongate mould portion, and at least partly filling the casting chamber with a gel casting material comprising a matrix of fibrils or fibres and an interstitial fluid phase, such that a portion of the lumen template extends above the casting material. The fluid phase of the gel is allow to flow axially out of the elongate mould portion, in a restricted manner, thereby resulting in axial densification of the gel casting material to form a tissue equivalent tubular scaffold. Tissue equivalent scaffold structures according to the present invention are able to support cell populations both within the walls and on the surface of the construct. They have enhanced mechanical strength due to increased collagen density, and are customisable in terms of luminal diameter and wall thickness. They may find application in tubular tissue engineering.

This disclosure provides a tissue-engineered transcatheter vein valve and methods of making such a tissue-engineered transcatheter vein valve. Methods of making the valve include casting or molding a polymer into a tubular structure having a first end and a second end, where the first end of the tubular structure is cast or molded around a tubular support structure and where the second end of the tubular structure is cast or molded in the absence of the support structure; everting the polymer at the second end through the support structure; anchoring the second end of the tubular structure to the support structure at a first position and a second position, where the anchored first position and the anchored second position result in commissures, forming leaflets therebetween.

A film of the present invention contains a polypeptide derived from spider silk proteins. The decomposition temperature of the film is 240 to 260° C. The film absorbs ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 200 to 300 nm and has a light transmittance of 85% or more at a wavelength of 400 to 780 nm. The film is transparent and colorless in a visible light region. A method for producing a film of the present invention includes: dissolving a polypeptide derived from spider silk proteins in a dimethyl sulfoxide solvent to prepare a dope; and cast-molding the dope on a surface of a base. Thus, the present invention provides a spider silk protein film that can be formed easily and has favorable stretchability, and a method for producing the same.

A protein/polysaccharide/essential oil nano-edible film. The essential oil nano-edible film includes the following raw materials in parts by weight: 1-8 parts of a quinoa protein-Atrina pectinata polysaccharide nanocomposite, 2-11 parts of an Atrina pectinata polysaccharide-essential oil nanocomposite, 1-12 parts of a quinoa protein, 2-16 parts of Atrina pectinata polysaccharide, and 5-53 parts of water. The present invention helps to solve the problem, in a conventional protein film, of the loss of flavor and even toxic side effects caused by the adding of a plasticizer and a crosslinking agent to improve the mechanical strength, the use of a lipid substance that has the capability to easily form a dense molecular network structure to improve the water and gas barrier properties, and the migration of an additive, the plasticizer, or a polymer degradation by-product thereof generated in reaction, and a solvent remaining in the polymerization reaction from the film to food.