Preparation of Silk Fibroin Microspheres and Its Application to Protein Adsorption

Abstract

Silk fibroin (SF) microspheres were prepared by a water-in-oil emulsion solvent evaporation method without any surfactants. The water and oil phases were SF aqueous solution and paraffin, respectively. The SF microspheres with spherical shape and smooth surface were separated into the size ranges of <80 µm, 80-150 µm and >150 µm. SF conformation of the microspheres was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy while scanning electron microscopy used for morphological observation. After being treated with methanol, the SF conformation was changed from random coil to β-sheet form. Finally, the influence of particle size on protein adsorption efficiency was studied. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was chosen as a model protein to carry out an immobilization test onto the SF microspheres by non-covalent adsorption. Efficiency of BSA adsorption was significantly increased with decreasing the SF microsphere size.

Controlling silk fibroin microspheres via molecular weight distribution

“…These SF microparticles were irregular without the attendance of the oil (Span80), but became completely spherical in shape when Span80 was employed in the system; the surface of the SF particles was smooth and their sizes were around 20 μm [28]. The group also produced SF microspheres that had a spherical shape and smooth surface when paraffin was introduced; most of these SF microspheres were 80-150 μm in size [27]. When dichloromethane was applied as the oil phase, the size of these SF microspheres ranged from 45 to 92 μm [19].…”

“…In microemulsion, the emulsion droplets of the aqueous SF solution are formed in the oil phase to control the shape and size of SF particles. However, this process is complicated, as it requires emulsion stabilizers and cross-linkers [19,27,28]. The SF spheres synthesized with this approach have a round and unattached appearance with a relatively large size.…”

Stability and rheological behaviors of different oil/water emulsions stabilized by natural silk fibroin

“…These properties have led to exploring its use in biotechnological and biomedical applications, such as controlled drug release and tissue engineering scaffolds [17][18][19]. Silk fibroin is composed of highly repetitive amino acid sequences with alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic blocks along the molecular chains and can be regarded as nature's counterpart of a synthetic, multi-block polyelectrolyte.…”

Silk Fibroin and Spidroin Bioengineering Constructions for Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering (Review)

“…Polyamides are characterized by their hydrophilicity [58], and their water absorption affects their impact resilience and strength [59]. Surgical sutures and prostheses of blood vessels are often made from polyamide fibers [60,61].…”