Ultrafine Silk-Derived Nanofibrous Membranes Exhibiting Effective Lysozyme Adsorption

Abstract

Protein separation materials that are both selective and effective could have wide applications in fields of bioengineering and pharmaceutical industry. However, preparation of such materials has proven to be extremely challenging. Herein, we present a scalable methodology to prepare carboxyl group functionalized nanofibrous membranes (SFNM) by combining sustainable silk and electrospinning. The naturally abundant silk is thus reconstructed into nanofibrous membranes with tunable surface functions. The resultant SFNMs exhibit integrated properties of ultrathin fiber diameter (125 nm), larger surface area (14 m2 g–1), high porosity, superhydrophilicity, and negatively charged fiber surface, which can reversibly adsorb lysozyme with a robust capacity of 710 mg g–1 and high durability, matching well with the requirements for purifying protein solutions. The fabrication of such fascinating materials may provide new insights into the design and development of multifunctional separation membranes for various ap...