Congratulate Haonan He and Xianchi Zhou on publishing an article entitled “Chain entanglement enhanced strong and tough wool keratin/albumin fibers for bioabsorbable and immunocompatible surgical sutures” in Nature Communications (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58171-0, IF: 15.7).

Non-silk proteins (e.g., keratin, albumin) have struggled to achieve high-performance fibers due to rigid conformation and poor assembly controllability. This work proposes a protein chain entanglement enhancement strategy: Unfolded protein chains via urea/DTT system form entanglement networks through cysteine oxidation crosslinking, enabling chemical-free fiber fabrication. The composite fiber exhibits 250 MPa strength and 70 MJ/m³ toughness, outperforming most regenerated keratin fibers and rivaling natural silk. It also demonstrates redox-responsive mechanical recovery and hydration-driven shape memory. As surgical sutures, it shows superior biodegradability and immunocompatibility to commercial PLA/silk sutures, accelerating wound healing. This study establishes a new paradigm for biomaterial development, advancing applications in artificial tendons and degradable implants.