Abstract
Silk fibroin (SF) is a typical fibrous protein that is secreted by silkworms and spiders. It has been used in a variety of areas, and especially for tissue-engineering scaffolds, due to its sound processability, mechanical properties, biodegradability, and biocompatibility. With respect to gelation, the SF gelation time is long in aqueous solutions, so a novel approach is needed to shorten this time. The solubility of regenerated SF is sound in formic acid (FA), which is a carboxylic acid of the simplest structure. In this study, SF was dissolved in formic acid, and the addition of salts then induced a rapid gelation that accompanied a solution-color change. Based on the gelation behaviors of the SF solution according to different SF and salt concentrations, the gelation mechanism was investigated.
Highlights
Silk, which is secreted by silkworms, spiders, mites, and pseudo-scorpions, is a generally fibrous protein that has attracted considerable attention due to its inherent optical and outstanding mechanical properties [1,2,3,4]
Gelation Behavior of Silk Fibroin (SF)/Formic Acid Solution According to the Addition of a Variety 2of.1S.aGlteslation Behavior of Silk Fibroin (SF)/Formic Acid Solution According to the Addition of a Variety of Salts
The fast gelation of a Bombyx mori SF/formic acid solution was induced by the addition of nitrate salts
Summary
Silk, which is secreted by silkworms, spiders, mites, and pseudo-scorpions, is a generally fibrous protein that has attracted considerable attention due to its inherent optical and outstanding mechanical properties [1,2,3,4] It has been widely used in high quality textile industries, but has recently played a significant role in the medical materials for surgical sutures and as a wound dressing with respect to membranes [5,6]. A variety of methods have been introduced to gelate fibroin, for example a radical reaction using irradiation and a bridging reaction using chemical covalent bonds or cross-linking agents [17]. UScsi.in20g16c,h1e7m, 16ic9a7l covalent bonds or cross-linking agents [17] For all of their effective performances, such as the time necessary to gelate silk fibroin (SF). ITnhtehaeimrepoofrttheids SstFugdeylaistiotondsrtuamdya,t1ictaolly50rehdguecleattihoengtiemlaetisown etirme septehnrot utoghfotrhme tahdedSitFiognelo[f18s]a.ltTsh. eThaiemporof pthoissesdtumdyetihsotdo dinrdamucaetdicaallryarpeiddugceeltahtieogneloaftiSoFn stiomluetitohnroaungdh tthhee agdedlaittiioonn opfroscaeltsss. wThaes cpornofpiormseeddmuesitnhgoddiivnedruseceadnaalyraspisidmgeethlaotdiosn[1o9f–S2F1]s.olution and the gelation process was confirmed using diverse analysis methods [19,20,21]
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