Anti-oxidation enhancement, inflammation alleviation, and microbial composition optimization of using tussah (Antheraea pernyi) silk fibroin peptides for hyperglycaemia remission.

Physical and chemical structure, as well as thermal behavior of solution‐cast regenerated films, prepared from tussah (Antheraea pernyi) silk fibroin, were compared with those of solution‐cast native films, in order to ascertain whether treatment (degumming, dissolution) used for preparation affected their properties. Regenerated fibroin films exhibited a higher thermal stability than native ones, as shown by differential scanning calorimetry, thermomechanical analysis, and dynamic mechanical behavior. Glass transition temperature and other relevant thermal transitions of the regenerated silk specimen shifted to higher temperatures compared with those of native specimen. Molecular conformation and crystalline structure did not show significant differences between the two kinds of silk films. Amino acid composition and molecular weight, however, distribution changed markedly after dissolving tussah silk fibroin fiber in concentrated LiSCN in polypeptide size was the main features for the regenerated silk fibroin. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Structural changes of tussah (Antheraea pernyi) silk fibroin films induced by heat treatment were studied as a function of the treatment temperature in the range 200–250°C. The DSC curve of tussah films with α-helix molecular conformation displayed characteristic endo and exo peaks at 216 and 226°C, respectively. These peaks first weakened and then completely disappeared after heating at 230°C. Accordingly, the TMA thermal shrinkage at 206°C disappeared when the films were heated at 230°C. The onset of weight loss was monitored at 210°C by means of TG measurements. X-ray diffraction profiles gradually changed from α-helix to β-sheet crystalline structure as the treatment temperature increased from 200 to 250°C. On raising the heating temperature above 200°C, the intensity of IR and Raman bands characteristic of β-sheet conformation increased in the whole ranges of amide and skeletal modes. The sample treated at 200°C showed a spectral pattern intermediate between α-helix and β-sheet molecular conformation. The IR marker band for random coil structure, still detectable at 200°C, disappeared at higher treatment temperatures. Spectral changes attributable to the onset of thermal degradation appeared at 230°C. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35: 841–847, 1997

The thermal response of tussah (Antheraea pernyi) silk fibroin films treated with different water–methanol solutions at 20°C was studied by means of dynamic mechanical (DMA) and thermomechanical (TMA) analyses as a function of methanol concentration and treatment time. The DMA curves of α-helix films (treated with ≥80% v/v methanol for 2 min and 100% methanol for 30 min) showed the sharp fall of storage modulus at about 190°C, and the loss peak in the range 207–213°C. The TMA curves were characterized by a thermal shrinkage at 209–211°C, immediately followed by an abrupt extension leading to film failure. Both storage and loss modulus curves significantly shifted upwards for β-sheet films, obtained by treatment with ≤60% methanol for 30 min. The loss peak exhibited a maximum at 236°C. Accordingly, the TMA shrinkage at above 200°C disappeared. The films broke beyond 330°C, failure being preceded by a broad contraction step. Intermediate DMA and TMA patterns were observed for the other solvent-treated films. The loss peak shifted to higher temperature (219–220°C), and a minor loss modulus component appeared at about 230°C. This coincided with the onset of a plateau region in the storage modulus curve. The TMA extension–contraction events in the range 200–300°C weakened, and the samples displayed a final broad contraction (peak temperature 326–338°C) before breaking. The DMA and TMA response of these films was attributed to partial annealing by solvent treatment, which resulted in the formation of nuclei of β-sheet crystallization within the film matrix. The increased thermal stability was probably due to the small β-sheet crystals formed, which acted as high-strength junctions between adjacent random coil and α-helix domains. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 2717–2724, 1998

Structure modifications induced in silk fibroin by enzymatic treatments. A Raman study

The crystalline transition induced by immersion in a methanol/water mixture of tussah silk fibroin (from Antheraea pernyi) film obtained by casting from a 1% solution was studied by x‐ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and infrared spectroscopy. The molecular conformation of the fibroin, consisting mostly of the α‐helix and random‐coil forms, was transformed into a random‐coil and β‐rich conformation containing only a small amount of α‐helix after immersion for no more than 5 min. The intersheet packing of the β‐crystal of the original tussah silk fibroin film was imperfect in the early stage of immersion. However, crystallization proceeded further when the immersion time exceeded 10 min. As a result the sheets in the β‐form crystal became closely packed because of the decrease in the content of the random‐coil form. The exothermic peak, which appeared at 226°C in the original fibroin and was attributed to the random‐coil → β‐structure transition, disappeared completely after immersion for 5 min.

In order to obtain a water soluble and reactive chitosan derivative, quaternary ammonium salt groups and acrylamidomethyl groups were introduced to chitosan by two steps. The chitosan derivative, reactive quaternary ammonium salt of chitosan, was then applied to Antheraea pernyi (A. pernyi) silk by padding and curing method. FT-IR, XRD and SEM were used to characterize the structure of A. pernyi silk before and after treatment. The peak in FT-IR spectra at 1480 cm-1 and 1650 cm-1 revealed the crosslinking reactions of A. pernyi silk fibroin and reactive quaternized chitosan. The XRD results indicated the crystallinity of the treated silk fiber increase a little in comparison with the untreated ones. SEM images clearly showed the reactive quaternary ammonium salt of chitosan attached on the surface of the treated A. pernyi silk fiber, while the surface of the untreated sample was relatively smooth. The thermal stability of the treated silk fiber was enhanced compared to the untreated one by DSC analysis. It was also found that the antibacterial activity of the treated A. pernyi silk fabric against E. coli was more than 99%.

Structural changes of tussah (Antheraea pernyi) silk fibroin films treated with different water‐methanol solutions at 20°C were studied as a function of methanol concentration and immersion time. X‐ray diffraction measurements showed that the α‐helix structure, typical of untreated tussah films, did not change for short immersion times (2 min), regardless of methanol concentration. However, crystallization to β‐sheet structure was observed following immersion of tussah films for 30 min in methanol solutions ranging from 20 to 60% (v/v). IR spectra of tussah films untreated and methanol treated for 2 min exhibited strong absorption bands at 1265, 892, and 622 cm−1, typical of the α‐helix conformation. The intensity of the bands assigned to the β‐sheet conformation (1245, 965, and 698 cm−1) increased for the sample treated with 40% methanol for 30 min. Raman spectra of tussah films with α‐helix molecular conformation exhibited strong bands at 1657 (amide I), 1263 (amide III), 1106, 908, 530, and 376 cm−1. Following α → β conformational transition, amide I and III bands shifted to 1668, and to 1241, 1230 cm−1, respectively. The band at 1106 cm−1 disappeared and new bands appeared at 1095 and 1073 cm−1, whereas the intensity of the bands at 530 and 376 cm−1 decreased significantly. ©1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The effect of diet supplementation of Antheraea pernyi (A. pernyi) silk fibroin on the lipid metabolism and antioxidant defense status in high fat-fed mice was investigated. The animals were given normal control diet (NC group), high fat diet (HF group), or high fat diet supplemented with A. pernyi silk fibroin powder (HFS group) for 7 weeks. After the experimental period, the HF group showed significant increase in body weight, plasma and hepatic total cholesterol levels, and hepatic triglyceride concentration, and decreased activities of hepatic antioxidant enzymes relative to NC group. However, the HFS group exhibited marked reduction in body weight, plasma cholesterol and hepatic triglyceride levels, hepatic lipogenic enzyme activities, and lipid peroxidation rate, and higher high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol level, fecal triglyceride content, and antioxidant enzymes activities compared with that of HF group. These findings demonstrate that dietary feeding of A. pernyi silk fibroin could improve the lipid metabolism and antioxidant defense system via regulation of hepatic antioxidant and lipogenic enzymes activities. Hence, this silk fibroin may be beneficial as a functional biomaterial for the development of therapeutic agent against high fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia and its related diseases.

Wool, Bombyx mori and Antheraea pernyi (Tussah) silk fibres were treated with chlorosulfonic acid in pyridine and investigated by FT‐IR and FT‐Raman spectroscopies as well as mechanical measurements. The reactivity towards sulfation was found to decrease along the series: wool > Bombyx mori silk fibroin > Tussah silk fibroin, in agreement with weight gain which decreased along the same series. Accordingly, Tussah silk maintained its intrinsic tensile properties essentially unchanged upon the treatment, while for Bombyx mori silk fibroin, the tensile performance decreased sharply especially at longer reaction times. Sulfated wool was characterized by an increased fibre extensibility.New IR and Raman bands attributable to various vibrations of sulfated groups were detected in sulfated wool and to a lower extent in Bombyx mori silk fibroin fibres; all the fibres underwent conformational rearrangements upon sulfation, independent of the sulfation yield. Wool fibres treated with chlorosulfonic acid in pyridine bound considerable amounts of sulfate mainly through the hydroxyl groups of serine, threonine and tyrosine. Also, tryptophan and basic amino acids were found to participate to the reaction. B. mori silk fibroin fibres appeared to bind a minor amount of sulfate groups mainly trough the hydroxyl groups of Ser.Weight gain, spectroscopic and mechanical data are discussed in relation to the difference in fibre morphology, structure and crystallinity, as well as to the amount and accessibility of potentially reactive amino acids. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Self-assembled mesoporous particles of Antheraea pernyi silk fibroin for encapsulation and sustained release of 5-fluorouracil

IR study on the binding mode of metal cations to chemically modified Bombyx mori and Tussah silk fibres

Differences in secondary structure among Bombyx mori (B. mori) silk and two wild silks of Antheraea yamamai (A. yamamai) and Antheraea pernyi (A. pernyi) were investigated by CP/MAS 13C NMR Spectroscopy. The β-sheet structure was primary in three silk, and B. mori silk had the highest β-sheet structure. Although amino acid compositions are very similar for two wild silk, their secondary structures had significant difference. A. yamamai silk contained more α-helix structure, whereas more β-turn and random coil structures formed in A. pernyi silk. B. mori silk was mainly composed of anti-parallel β-sheet structure, however, the parallel β-sheet structure was advantage in the two wild silks, and A. yamamai silk contained more anti-parallel β-sheet conformation than A. pernyi silk.

Degradation behavior is very important in the field of silk-based biomaterials. Mulberry and nonmulberry silk fibroins are structurally and functionally distinguishable; however, no studies have examined the differences in the degradation behaviors of silk materials from various silkworm species. In this study, Ca(NO3)2 was used as a uniform solvent to obtain regenerated mulberry and nonmulberry (Antheraea pernyi and Antheraea yamamai) silk fibroin (SF) solutions, and the degradation behaviors of various SF scaffolds were examined. In vitro and in vivo results demonstrated that regenerated mulberry SF scaffolds exhibited significantly higher mass loss and free amino acid content release than did nonmulberry SF scaffolds. The differences in the primary structures and condensed structures between mulberry and nonmulberry SF contributed to the significant difference in degradation rates, in which the characteristic (–Ala–)n repeats, compact crystal structure and high α-helix and β-sheet contents make nonmulberry SF more resistant than mulberry SF to enzymatic degradation. Moreover, the Antheraea pernyi and Antheraea yamamai SFs possess similar primary structures and condensed structures, although a slight difference in degradation was observed; this difference might depend on the differences in molecular weight following the regeneration process. The results indicate that the original sources of SF significantly influence the degradation rates of SF-based materials; therefore, the original sources of SF should be fully considered for preparing tissue engineering scaffolds with matched degradation rates.

In this study, porous three‐dimensional (3‐D) materials were prepared with the regenerated Antheraea pernyi (A. pernyi) silk fibroin by freeze‐drying from a lithium thiocyanate solution of its fibers. The relationship between preparation conditions and morphological structures of 3‐D materials was also studied. We concluded that with the decrease in A. pernyi silk fibroin solution concentration and the increase in the freezing temperature, the porosity and the average pore diameter of the 3‐D materials were increased while the pore density was decreased. By adjusting the freezing temperature and the silk fibroin solution concentration, the 3‐D materials having the average pore diameter of 75–260 µm and the porosity of 70–90% can efficiently be produced. As a kind of new material with excellent biocompatibility and bioactivity, the material is expected to be applied to tissue regeneration scaffolds. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Domestic (Bombyx mori) and wild (Antheraea pernyi) silk fibers were characterised over a wide spectral range from THz 8 cm ( 1.25 mm, 0.24 THz) to deep-UV cm ( 200 nm, 1500 THz) wavelengths or over a 12.6 octave frequency range. Spectral features at -sheet, -coil and amorphous fibroin were analysed at different spectral ranges. Single fiber cross sections at mid-IR were used to determine spatial distribution of different silk constituents and revealed an -coil rich core and more broadly spread -sheets in natural silk fibers obtained from wild Antheraea pernyi moths. Low energy T-ray bands at 243 and 229 cm were observed in crystalline fibers of domestic and wild silk fibers, respectively, and showed no spectral shift down to 78 K temperature. A distinct cm band was observed in the crystalline Antheraea pernyi silk fibers. Systematic analysis and assignment of the observed spectral bands is presented. Water solubility and biodegradability of silk, required for bio-medical and sensor applications, are directly inferred from specific spectral bands.