Interview | Dialogue with Professor Guo: Taking "silk" as a bond, opening up a new starting point for scientific research

It is an honor to invite Professor Guo, the founder of Sichuang Biotechnology and a specially appointed researcher/doctoral supervisor (independent PI) at the School of Engineering, Xihu University, to participate in the Furuijie character interview series. Let's learn about Professor Guo's research direction - silk protein, and how he shifted from studying the structure of silk protein to researching its application and transformation.

Q1 Furuijie: Hello Professor Guo, please say hello first and briefly introduce your experience, so that everyone can have a deeper understanding of you.

@郭教授 ：

Hello everyone, I studied Chemistry at Nanjing University for my undergraduate degree, and after graduating in 2011, I went to Arizona State University in the United States to pursue a PhD in Chemistry. After completing my doctoral degree, I joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University in Boston, where I conducted research in biomedical engineering and medical materials.

So from the perspective of the entire learning process, I transitioned from chemistry to biomedical engineering, and also from a fundamental discipline to an interdisciplinary field. I gradually shifted from the study of the structure of silk protein to the application and transformation research of silk protein.

At present, my research interests mainly focus on the design, preparation, and biomedical applications of functional biopolymer materials, as well as biomimetic materials, chemical modification of biopolymers, polymer nanocomposites, liquid/solid nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and so on. So far, a series of protein based biomaterials have been developed for applications such as bone repair and tissue engineering, and the thermoplastic processing of natural silk protein has been achieved.

Q2 Furuijie: Alright, then please talk to us about the research direction of Silk Creation Biology.

@郭教授 ：

We mainly focus on medical and manufacturing products ourselves. Taking medical treatment as an example, we mainly purify a kind of silk protein called fibrin to a very high purity, and then we reprocess fibrin into different kinds of medical devices, including hydrogels, granular bone nails, and so on. Of course, it can also be processed into powder and added to our skincare products, which can provide consumers with a great skincare experience.

We are actually very focused on developing natural proteins, but currently our main focus is on vegetarian proteins, as well as other proteins such as collagen. So this focused research and development allows us to take root in relatively small but promising fields, where there are also many innovative technologies and products constantly being launched.

Q3 Furuijie: What are the current sales channels for the skincare brand "Three Raw Silk".

@郭教授 ：

Our main consumer facing product in the field of Silk Creation Biology is our skincare brand, named 'Three Raw Silk'. In fact, its series currently includes many models, including face cream, facial mask, facial cleanser, essence, etc. At the same time, we have also launched more popular products such as hand cream, and we hope to add the silk protein in our core ingredient silk protein to this series of skincare products. We can provide everyone with a silky skincare experience in their daily lives, which is our layout in skincare products.

In addition to the skincare products sector, we also have a layout in the medical equipment sector. However, in the medical device sector, we mainly focus on the raw materials of medical devices, that is, medical grade protein. We have cooperated with many enterprises, including listed enterprises and start-ups, to develop a series of medical products based on protein, such as dressings and injectable hydrogels. We also hope that all our friends can join us and work together for a win-win situation.

In the early stages of brand launch, we mainly relied on online sales. In the initial stage, we could obtain some consumer feedback on the product, but now that we have received feedback, it is generally very good, so we are more confident in combining online and offline in the future. And we also hope that like-minded friends can join us as our agents and distributors to promote together. Thank you!

Q4 Furuijie: Alright, you have been founding Sichuang Biotechnology for over 3 years now. So, we can talk about your entrepreneurial experience and feelings with everyone.

@郭教授 ：

Firstly, starting a business is a very difficult task. At the beginning, we were very enthusiastic, and even now we have maintained a very high level of passion. Believe in your own choices and also believe in the future of this industry.

From the perspective of the entrepreneurial process, the early stage involves team building and technology, how to move from the laboratory to the enterprise, and finally to the market in the form of a product. This is the path we have explored in the first one to two years.

At present, many of our products have already entered the market, so these paths have relatively become more accessible. Next, we have more confidence in making these products better and more superior, and we hope to gain recognition from the general public.

Q5 Furuijie: Professor Guo, I have checked that most of the equipment, reagents, and consumables in our laboratory are domestic brands. As a loyal user of a domestic brand, what are your expectations or suggestions for domestic brands?

@郭教授 ：

Firstly, I believe that domestic brands have developed rapidly in the field of scientific research instruments in recent years and are also at the forefront of innovation. Especially compared to some foreign brands, some large factories perform well in terms of performance and appearance.

I don't have many suggestions for domestic brands, but we hope this thing can be a long-term companion. We hope to see more and more domestic brands make their own brand power in the next few years or even more than a decade of use, whether in domestic universities or foreign research institutes, and shine internationally.

Q6 Furuijie: Thank you to Professor Guo for recognizing domestic instrument brands. We believe that in the near future, we will have a place in overseas laboratories. The last question, may I ask, there are dozens of brands of freeze-drying equipment, so why did you choose Furuijie?

@郭教授 ：

The main reason why we chose Furuijie is that it is closely related to the concept of our entire product, because Furuijie is a brand that we have watched as it has grown from independent research and development to early prototype to final end product, from the first generation to the second generation to the third generation. So our own products are also made step by step from 0 to 1, very close. After using it, we found that Furuijie's products are still very stable, and their products have different customized solutions for different raw material preparations, both in terms of quantity and form. This is also an aspect that we highly value.

Furuijie is now not only a freeze-drying product, but also a microsphere preparation system that we are using. The overall experience is also very good, which is of great help to the experiment.

Thank you Professor Guo for accepting our interview. Your sharing has deeply impressed us with the firm belief of scientific researchers in the development of domestic instruments and equipment. With the support of your team and researchers, we believe that domestic instruments and equipment will continue to improve. At the same time, we also wish that Silk Creation Biotechnology can develop more skincare products and invest them in the market, bringing more choices to everyone and allowing them to experience the new concept of silk skincare. We look forward to Silk Creation Biology becoming the new "light of domestic products" in the silk skincare industry.