蚕丝蛋白与硅溶胶复合材料的研究

采用动态力学测试手段(DMA)并结合扫描电镜和拉曼光谱等方法,考察了用桑蚕丝蛋白与二氧化硅水分散体系(硅溶胶)制备的复合材料的结构与性质.结果表明,在此共混体系中,直径约为100 nm的二氧化硅聚集体与丝蛋白连续相的界面相容性良好.动态力学测试发现,复合材料的动态力学性能在15℃到55℃范围相对于纯丝蛋白材料得到了改善,二氧化硅组分的加入对丝蛋白分子链段的运动性有所阻碍,从而导致了40℃模量损耗的消失.     

光谱法研究pH值对再生桑蚕丝素蛋白在水溶液中结构的影响

通过一系列光谱实验手段研究了再生桑蚕(Bombyx mori)丝素蛋白在水溶液中的构象转变情况. 由于丝素蛋白含有较多带电荷的氨基酸残基, 因此环境pH值对丝素蛋白的结构有着一定的影响: 酸性越强, 丝素蛋白越容易发生从无规线团到β-折叠结构转变; 相对而言, 碱性条件则更有利于丝素蛋白以无规线团结构稳定存在. 特别是当pH在4附近时, 丝素蛋白的无规结构最易发生改变; 而pH为6左右时, 丝素蛋白的结构则较为稳定. 这种变化趋势与沿着成熟蚕腺体中丝素蛋白所处的环境及其状态相当吻合, 由此表明pH值的调节是蚕在生物体中控制其丝素蛋白状态的一个相当重要的手段. 这一结果对人工纺制动物丝条件的调控有着极其重要的现实意义. 同时我们还发现, 在相当宽的pH范围内, 丝素蛋白的二级结构存在着中间体形态, 表明丝素蛋白的变性过程不符合简单的二态机制.     

Immobilization of glucose oxidase with the blend of regenerated silk fibroin and poly(vinyl alcohol) and its application to a 1,1′- dimethylferrocene-mediating glucose sensor

The structure and properties of the blend of regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) were investigated. The two polymers in the blend are in the state of phase segregation. Infrared (IR) spectra indicate that the RSF in the blend maintains its intrinsic properties, thus, ethanol treatment can transfer silk I structure of RSF to silk II structure. The water absorption property and mechanical property of the blend are improved in comparison with those of RSF. The blend maintains the major merit of RSF, that is, it can immobilize glucose oxidase on the basis of the conformational transition from silk I structure to silk II structure. The properties of the immobilized enzyme are examined. Moreover, the second generation of glucose sensor based on the immobilized enzyme is fabricated and it has a variety of advantages including easy maintenance of enzyme, simplicity of construction, fast response time and high stability.     

Physical and chemical properties of tussah silk fibroin films

Physical and chemical structure, as well as thermal behavior of solution-cast regenerated films, prepared from tussah (Antheraea pernyi) silk fibroin, were compared with those of solution-cast native films, in order to ascertain whether treatment (degumming, dissolution) used for preparation affected their properties. Regenerated fibroin films exhibited a higher thermal stability than native ones, as shown by differential scanning calorimetry, thermomechanical analysis, and dynamic mechanical behavior. Glass transition temperature and other relevant thermal transitions of the regenerated silk specimen shifted to higher temperatures compared with those of native specimen. Molecular conformation and crystalline structure did not show significant differences between the two kinds of silk films. Amino acid composition and molecular weight, however, distribution changed markedly after dissolving tussah silk fibroin fiber in concentrated LiSCN in polypeptide size was the main features for the regenerated silk fibroin. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

纳米TiO_2改性蚕丝丝素蛋白膜的研究

用溶胶凝胶法制备纳米TiO2改性再生蚕丝丝素蛋白膜.该丝素膜机械强度提高,在水中溶失率下降.UV、AFM、SEM测试的结果表明,丝素中纳米TiO2粒径约为80 nm,纳米粒子在丝素膜中分布均匀;XRD、FTIR测试结果表明,纳米TiO2的加入,可使改性丝素膜的结晶结构从SilkⅠ向SilkⅡ转化,其结晶度也随之提高;TGA测试表明改性丝素膜的热转变温度比纯丝素膜有所改变.     

Fractionation of Regenerated Silk Fibroin and Characterization of the Fractions

The molecular weight (MW) of regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) decreases during degumming and dissolving processes. Although MW and the MW distribution generally affect polymer material processability and properties, few reports have described studies examining the influences of MW and the distribution on silk fibroin (SF) material. To prepare different MW SF fractions, the appropriate conditions for fractionation of RSF by ammonium sulfate (AS) precipitation process were investigated. The MW and the distribution of each fraction were found using gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and SDS-polyacrylamide electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). After films of the fractionated SFs formed, the secondary structure, surface properties, and cell proliferation of films were evaluated. Nanofiber nonwoven mats and 3D porous sponges were fabricated using the fractionated SF aqueous solution. Then, their structures and mechanical properties were analyzed. The results showed AS precipitation using a dialysis membrane at low temperature to be a suitable fractionation method for RSF. Moreover, MW affects the nanofiber and sponge morphology and mechanical properties, although no influence of MW was observed on the secondary structure or crystallinity of the fabricated materials.     

蚕丝蛋白与类动物丝蛋白聚合物共混膜的振动光谱研究

蚕丝纤维具有优良的力学性能 ,不同的环境条件对其力学性能有一定的影响 ,但其力学性能主要取决于形成纤维过程中所形成的以分子链 β-折叠结构及其沿纤维轴方向高度取向为特征的丝纤维凝聚态结构 [1,2 ] .因此在丝纤维的形成及丝蛋白膜的人工制备过程中 ,丝蛋白分子链的构象及其构象转变一直是研究的重点[3～ 6 ] .以蚕丝蛋白 (Silk Fibroin,SF)稀溶液在常温下浇铸的 SF膜一般以无规线团 /α-螺旋为主的构象状态存在 ;经热处理、极性溶剂 (如甲醇等 )处理、应力作用或共混入一些能与SF形成分子间氢键的聚合物组分后 ,SF膜的构象将从无…     

Controlling molecular conformation of regenerated wild silk fibroin by aqueous ethanol treatment

Regenerated Antheraea pernyi silk fibroin film was prepared by dissolution of native silk fiber in aqueous lithium thiocyanate. The influence of aqueous ethanol treatment of the dried regenerated film on molecular conformation was studied by X‐ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. While the initial regenerated film consisted of α‐helix and random coil components, aqueous ethanol treatment of the film resulted in significant increase in β‐sheet component and improvement of water resistance of the film. This effect was strongly dependent on ethanol concentration, and 40–60% (w/w) ethanol was most effective due to balance of hydrophilic/hydrophobic action of the solvent. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wet-spinning of Regenerated Silk Fiber fromAqueous Silk Fibroin Solutions: Influence ofCalcium Ion Addition in Spinning Dope on thePerformance of Regenerated Silk Fiber简

Ca（II） ions are added in the spinning dope to adjust the solidification rate of regenerated silk fibroin （RSF） solution during the wet-spinning process since Ca（II） ions are proved to be favorable to maintain the stable silk fibroin network in our previous work. The results show that when Ca（II）/RSF ratios are 1/50 and 1/20, the resulted RSF fibers exhibit good performance with the breaking energy more than 70 kJ/kg. However, higher Ca（II）/RSF ratio （for example, 1/10） hinders the solidification of spinning dope and results in poor RSF fibers. These observations together with earlier papers from this laboratory confirm that to produce tough silk fibers the spinning conditions must allow sufficient time for the adjustment of silk fibroin molecular chains.     

Mechanism of Conformational Transition of Silk Fibroin in Alcohol-water Mixtures

Circular dichroism, intrinsic fluorescence of protein and exogenous fluorescence probe of 8‐anilino‐1‐naphtha‐ lenesulfonic acid hemimagnesium salt (ANS) was used to investigate the mechanism of conformational change of silk fibroin (SF) in aqueous alcohol including methanol and ethanol. The conformational transition of SF from random coil to β‐sheet was found to be of a close relationship with the microstructure of the solvent. The alcohol‐water mixture at low concentration had little effect on the solvation of the peptide unit, as the inherent water structure was conserved. At high alcohol concentration, the transition from the tetrahedral‐like water structure to the chain‐like alcohol structure in the mixtures induced a β‐sheet conformation of SF, as a result of the formation of intramolecular hydrogen bond between the peptide units in order to eliminate the thermodynamic unfavorite from the contact to the solvent molecules. Meanwhile, the aggregating of hydrophobic side chains was decreased by the alcohol via the destruction of hydrogen bond network of water by alcohol and the binding of alcohol to hydrophobic group.     

Silk Fibroin Degradation Related to Rheological and Mechanical Properties

Regenerated silk fibroin has been proposed as a material substrate for biomedical, optical, and electronic applications. Preparation of the silk fibroin solution requires extraction (degumming) to remove contaminants, but results in the degradation of the fibroin protein. Here, a mechanism of fibroin degradation is proposed and the molecular weight and polydispersity is characterized as a function of extraction time. Rheological analysis reveals significant changes in the viscosity of samples while mechanical characterization of cast and drawn films shows increased moduli, extensibility, and strength upon drawing. Fifteen minutes extraction time results in degraded fibroin that generates the strongest films. Structural analysis by wide angle X‐ray scattering (WAXS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) indicates molecular alignment in the drawn films and shows that the drawing process converts amorphous films into the crystalline, β‐sheet, secondary structure. Most interesting, by using selected extraction times, films with near‐native crystallinity, alignment, and molecular weight can be achieved; yet maximal mechanical properties for the films from regenerated silk fibroin solutions are found with solutions subjected to some degree of degradation. These results suggest that the regenerated solutions and the film casting and drawing processes introduce more complexity than native spinning processes.

     

Fabrication of silk fibroin film with properties of thermal insulation and temperature monitoring

Silk fibroin exhibits excellent mechanical properties, good biocompatibility, and biodegradability combined with benign processing conditions, attracting considerable research interest for the application as biomedical materials. Among the diverse forms of sponges, hydrogels, films, and mats manufactured from silk fibroin, films are especially appealing due to the high water and oxygen permeability, good cell attachment, and low immunogenicity. Fabrication of silk fibroin films with novel properties has been successfully developed simply by incorporating various functional components into it. In the present study, the properties of thermal insulation and temperature monitoring for the silk fibroin film are demonstrated for the first time through the incorporation of thermochromic microcapsules within it. Moreover, the silk fibroin film is also endowed with improved mechanical properties in terms of tension strength and elongation at break because of the reinforcing effect of thermochromic microcapsules. The silk fibroin film fabricated with novel features in this study can be a good candidate for the application of wound dressings, tissue engineering scaffolds, and bio‐related devices in the future. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 1846–1852     

THE PREPARATION AND STUDY ON THE NANO-TiO2/SILK FIBROIN COMPOSITE FILMS BY THE SOL-GEL METHOD

Based on the sol-gel technique using butyl titanate as oxide precursor, the regenerated SF (silk fibroin)/nano-TiO2 composite films were synthesized. Different amounts of butyl titanate to SF were used to verify this effect on the characteristics of the formed materials. Samples were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffractometry, UV, AFM and FT-IR spectroscopy.The experimental results reveal that, compared to the pure silk fibroin films, the mechanical strength of these regenerated SF/nano-TiO2 composite films were increased and the dissolubility in water of SF/nano-TiO2 composite films in aqueous solution were decreased. The diameter of nano-TiO2 particle films was about 80nm through UV and AFM. The nano-TiO2 particles were well dispersed in the regenerated silk fibroin. It was found that the crystal structures of the composite films were transited from typical Silk Ⅰ to typical Silk Ⅱ by the XRD and FTIR. Furthermore, the crystallinity of the composite films was obviously improved. Through the TGA, it was demonstrated that the heat transition temperature of composite films was also enhanced.     

THE PREPARATION AND STUDY ON THE NANO-TiO_2/SILK FIBROIN COMPOSITE FILMS BY THE SOL-GEL METHOD

1. INTRODUCTIONSilk is a well described natural fiber produced by the silkworm, B. mori, which has been used traditionally in the form of thread in textiles for thousands of years. This silk contains a fibrous protein that forms the thread core and glueli…     

Structure and properties of composites compression‐molded from silk fibroin powder and waterborne polyurethane

The degummed silk filament was pulverized with a home‐made machine to obtain the silk fibroin (SF) powder with the diameter of around 3 µm. The resulting SF powder was blended with waterborne polyurethane (WPU) aqueous dispersion, and then was dried and compression‐molded to prepare novel blended materials with improved miscibility and mechanical properties. WPU acted as a plasticizer and one of the components for the blends during the compression‐molded process. The structure, morphology, and properties of the blended films were investigated. The results indicated that β‐sheet of SF existed in the blended films. The SEM images showed that the cross‐section of the blended films exhibited an overall homogeneous morphology. Furthermore, the transmission electron microscope observation exhibited that some sphere‐like SF particles were well dispersed in the WPU matrix. The hydrogen bond interaction between SF and WPU in the blended films led to an increase of the glass transition temperature for the soft segment of WPU in the blended films. The blended films showed an improved Young's modulus and tensile strength from 1.2 to 288.9 MPa and 0.3 to 16.5 MPa, respectively, with the increasing of SF up to a content of 70 wt%. The hydrogen‐bonding interactions existing in SF and WPU and compression molding method played the important role in improving the miscibility and mechanical properties of the blended films. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Green Process to Prepare Silk Fibroin/Gelatin Biomaterial Scaffolds

A new all‐aqueous and green process is described to form three‐dimensional porous silk fibroin matrices with control of structural and morphological features. Silk‐based scaffolds are prepared using lyophilization. Gelatin is added to the aqueous silk fibroin solution to change the silk fibroin conformation and silk fibroin–water interactions through adjusting the hydrophilic interactions in silk fibroin–gelatin–water systems to restrain the formation of separate sheet like structures in the material, resulting in a more homogenous structure. Water annealing is used to generate insolubility in the silk fibroin–gelatin scaffold system, thereby avoiding the use of organic solvents such as methanol to lock in the β‐sheet structure. The adjusting of the concentration of gelatin, as well as the concentration of silk fibroin, leads to control of morphological and functional properties of the scaffolds. The scaffolds were homogeneous in terms of interconnected pores, with pore sizes ranging from 100 to 600 µm, depending on the concentration of silk fibroin used in the process. At the same time, the morphology of the scaffolds changed from lamellar sheets to porous structures based on the increase in gelatin content. Compared with salt‐leaching aqueous‐derived scaffolds and hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP)‐derived scaffolds, these freeze‐dried scaffolds had a lower content of β‐sheet, resulting in more hydrophilic features. Most of gelatin was entrapped in the silk fibroin–gelatin scaffolds, without the burst release in PBS solution. During in vitro cell culture, these silk fibroin–gelatin scaffolds had improved cell‐compatibility than salt‐leaching silk fibroin scaffolds. This new process provides useful silk fibroin‐based scaffold systems for use in tissue engineering. Furthermore, the whole process is green, including all‐aqueous, room temperature and pressure, and without the use of toxic chemicals or solvents, offering new ways to load bioactive drugs or growth factors into the process.

     

Physical characteristics and properties of waterborne polyurethane materials reinforced with silk fibroin powder

Degummed silk filament was pulverized with a home‐made machine to obtain silk fibroin (SF) powder, and the structure, morphology, and particle size of the SF powder were investigated. The individual spherical particles and aggregates with different morphology of silk fibroin coexisted in water. A waterborne polyurethane (WPU) aqueous dispersion was blended with the SF powder to prepare novel blended materials with improved physical properties. The average particle size and zeta potential of the WPU/SF aqueous dispersions were characterized. The result showed that the WPU/SF dispersion with higher SF content exhibited a less negative zeta potential and a larger average particle size. Furthermore, the effect of SF content on the morphology, miscibility, and mechanical properties of the resulting blended films was studied by scanning electron microscopy, wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, and tensile testing. The films showed an improved Young's modulus and tensile strength from 0.3 to 33.8 MPa, and 0.6 to 5.2 MPa, respectively, with the increasing of SF up to a content of 26 wt %. The negative charges in the periphery and the small particle size made a good effort on dispersing SF powder into the WPU matrix as small aggregates, and the SF powder led to the efficient strengthening of WPU materials. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 940–950, 2010     

Physical properties and structure of silk. II. Dynamic mechanical and dielectric properties of silk fibroin

Dynamic mechanical and dielectric properties of amorphous regenerated films of silk fibroin were studied as a function of temperature. A mechanical loss tangent peak at about 175°C may be due to the segmental motion of the main chains in the amorphous silk fibroin film. The dynamic modulus of the amorphous silk fibroin increased at 185°C due to the crystallization of the silk fibroin. Dielectric loss tangent peaks were observed at about ?40°C and 175°C at 1 kHz. The former is ascribed to the local motion of the amorphous silk fibroin with absorbed water, while the latter seems to originate from the segmental motion of the main chains and the crystallization of silk fibroin.     

Conformation transition of silk fibroin induced by blending chitosan

The conformation of silk fibroin in silk fibroin/chitosan (SF/CS) blend membrane was analyzed by infrared spectrum, X-ray diffractometry, and Raman spectrum. The results demonstrated that the SF could show β-sheet conformation when the SF content in blend membranes was 10% (w/w) and 60–80% (w/w), while the pure SF membrane showed random coil conformation. A mechanism of the conformation transition was suggested in that the SF chain could use the rigid CS chain as a mold plate to stretch itself to form a β-sheet structure according to the strong hydrogen bond between CS and SF. Therefore, a new concept, named “Polymer-Induced Conformation Transition,” was proposed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35 : 2293–2296, 1997     

具有定向形貌的丝蛋白支架的制备

利用冰晶为模板并结合冷冻干燥技术, 成功地获得了具有一定力学强度的定向多孔丝蛋白支架. 采用扫描电镜、流变、拉曼光谱和压缩测试等方法, 考察了丝蛋白原液在不同pH值和初始浓度的情况下对定向支架的成因、内部形貌及力学性能的影响. 结果表明, 当溶液的pH值为4.4, 浓度由低到高时, 所制备的丝蛋白支架内部将分别出现纤维状结构、轴向片层状和梭状多孔结构. 特别是由初始浓度为15% (及以上)的丝蛋白溶液定向冷冻得到的支架, 在压缩试验中表现出较好的力学性能, 其轴向压缩模量和屈服应力分别达122.6和6.9 MPa, 满足了进一步应用的基本需求.