Chitin hybrid materials: science fiction or reality?
Mother nature provides the best ideas for the development of innovative, bio-inspired materials for medical engineering. In the following study, researchers utilized the outstanding properties of Chitin in combination with silk fibroin for preparation of an optically transparent hybrid material, inspired by the constituent of arthropods cuticles. The study moreover addresses the highly interesting and future-oriented applications, like the direct measurement of glucose content in the eye with smart contact lenses or scratch resistant display covers, using this biomimetric composite.