Macroscopic Assembly of Sericin toward Self-Healable Silk

Abstract

Silk contains an adhesive glycoprotein, silk sericin, in which silk fibroins can be enfolded and chemically stabilized. Silk sericin is gaining importance as the material for the creation of functional bioscaffolds. However, the assembly of silk sericin is generally limited to the blend of polymers or proteins due to its inherent poor mechanical strength. Here, we report a simple macroscopic controlled assembly of silk sericin fibers based on their secondary structure via wet-spinning. In addition, plasticization of silk sericin using glycerol immobilized with glutaraldehyde was found to induce dimensional stability, affording stable linear fibers with self-adhesion. Furthermore, cyclo-phenylalanine nanowires were incorporated into the silk sericin dope for a practical demonstration of their potential in artificial silk production with superstructure formation. The physicochemical characteristics of the spun fibers have also been elucidated using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, electron microscopy, tensile test, differential scanning calorimetry, and 2D X-ray diffraction.

Enhanced Silk Fibroin/Sericin Composite Film: Preparation, Mechanical Properties and Mineralization Activity

“…The repetitive region contains many (AGSGAG)n with high copy number [45], which causes macromolecules to aggregate and form a dense crystalline structure. SS contains amorphous and α-helical structures with small crystalline regions [46]. Ethanol treatment can induce the transformation of crystalline structure of silk protein.…”

Injectable Hydrogel Based on Gellan Gum/Silk Sericin for Application as a Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cell Carrier

“…The peaks around 1606 and 1407 cm –1 were ascribed to the asymmetric and symmetric stretching of carboxyl groups, respectively, and 1015 cm –1 presented the stretching vibration of C–O . As the SS content increases, the bands related to amide I shift from 1619 to 1605 cm –1 , suggesting a structure transition from the β-sheet to aggregated strands . However, in the FT-IR spectra of the GG/SS 0.5% scaffold, the bands related to amide I shifted from 1619 to 1644 cm –1 , demonstrating a random coil conformation of SS formed …”

“…46 As the SS content increases, the bands related to amide I shift from 1619 to 1605 cm −1 , suggesting a structure transition from the β-sheet to aggregated strands. 47 However, in the FT-IR spectra of the GG/SS 0.5% scaffold, the bands related to amide I shifted from 1619 to 1644 cm −1 , demonstrating a random coil conformation of SS formed. 48 3.2.…”

The Influence of Cellulose Nanocrystal Characteristics on Regenerative Silk Composite Fiber Properties

“…One particular feature of the FCNC is that additional salt was observed between the CNC rods. Note that additional salt may aid in the separation of CNCs [ 31 ]. When the diameter of the CNCs is more than 30 nm or even larger, the formation of a cluster may occur.…”

“…All of the spinning dopes were extruded into a methanol coagulation bath using a syringe pump (KDS100, KD scientific, Holliston, MA, USA) through a 26-gauge spinneret at 2 mL/h of injection speed without high-voltage supply (i.e., classic coagulation spinning technique). The composite fibers were soaked in a coagulation bath for 6 h, collected, and wound about a circular reel [ 31 ]. The fibers were hot-drawn under tension between two drum winders, with the initial winder speed set to 20 cm/min and the final speed set to 40 cm/min, resulting in a draw ratio of 1:2, whilst travelling through a split furnace (50 cm in length) operated at 120 °C ( Figure S6 ) [ 32 ].…”