Fabrication and Evaluation of Silk Sericin-Derived Hydrogel for the Release of the Model Drug Berberine.

Chi Yan,Zhi Zhong,Jiale Chen,Jianwei Liang,Xiaoning Zhang,Hongmei Hu,Hao Fang,Qin Liu,Xizhi Meng

doi:10.3390/gels7010023

Chi Yan, Zhi Zhong + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/gels7010023

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Abstract

Silk sericin (SS) produced by Bombyx mori is normally discarded as waste in manufacturing processes, which causes environmental pollution. Therefore, investigating the use of silk sericin has economic and environmental benefits. As a three-dimensional structure, the sericin-derived hydrogel was explored in different applications. However, many developed gelation procedures raise concerns regarding safety, cost, and duration of gelation time. In this work, “thiol-ene” click chemistry was used to quickly and controllably prepare an SS-derived hydrogel to resolve these early concerns. Then, berberine was loaded and used as a model for investigating the drug-release profiles of the prepared hydrogel. The experimental results revealed that this hydrogel is eligible for a long-term release of berberine. Throughout the antibacterial experiments, the released berberine maintained its antibacterial activity. Our work expands the application of SS in biomedical industries in an eco-friendly way. Furthermore, the discussed strategy could provide a reference for the subsequent development of SS-derived materials.

Highlights

Silk fiber produced by Bombyx mori consists of fibroin fiber and silk sericin (SS) [1]
Figure suggests that the gelation tion occurs once the mixtures start receiving illumination from the light-emitting diode (LED) and progress tooccurs once the mixtures start receiving illumination from the and progress ward a stable, well-defined hydrogel after 6 min of LED illumination
Swelling ratio curve for 20% SS/poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) scaffolds in PBS solution

Summary

Introduction

Silk fiber produced by Bombyx mori consists of fibroin fiber and silk sericin (SS) [1]. SS, contributing 15–30% of the total weight of a cocoon, envelops the fibroin fibers together and acts as the protective layer [2]. Most SS is separated from the fibroin fiber and discarded as waste along with water during the silk reeling process. 50,000 tons of SS wastewater are released into the environment in silk processing each year [3]. That SS contaminates environmental water because of its high chemical and biological oxygen demand [4]. In addition to its positive effect on the economy, the use of SS would play an important role in the prevention of pollution

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion