Evaluation of Metal Affinity of Copper and Zinc in Particle Produced From Thermally Crosslinked Sericin-Alginate Blend

Abstract

Sericin is a protein present in the cocoon of silkworm silk (Bombyx mori), usually discarded in the effluent from the spinning process. The use of blends provides an improvement in the physical characteristics of the materials produced with the protein, and the use of alginate has the advantage because it has affinity for a variety of cations. The objective of this study is to evaluate the process of thermal crosslinking of the particles produced from the blend between sericin and alginate and metal affinity of these particles with zinc and copper metals. For this purpose, we evaluated the crosslinking temperatures of 40, 100, 125 and 150 °C. Subsequently, the particles were analyzed for the water solubility and its ability to adsorb metals in aqueous solution. The results indicated that the particles cross-linked at 100 ºC had smaller percentage of solubilized matter comparing with other temperatures. The results indicated that sericin/alginate particles had greater affinity to Cu 2+ than to Zn 2+ ions.