Preparation And Structure Of Regenerated Antheraea Pernyi Silk Fibroin Porous Materials

The suitable method to dissolve Antheraea pernyi silk fibroin fibers and the character of regenerated silk fibroin solution were investigated in this paper. It concluded that calcium nitrate and lithium thiocyanate dense solution were good solvent for Antheraea pernyi silk fibroin fibers. The molecular weight of regenerated Antheraea pernyi silk fibroin was 20kDa to 102.4kDa. The digestion of calcium nitrate was greater than that of lithium thiocyanate to silk fibroin molecular. The molecular conformation of regenerated Antheraea pernyi silk fibroin in aqueous solution was co-existence of random coil, α-helix and β-sheet structure. With the increase of solution pH value, it would take more time for Antheraea pernyi silk fibroin to form gelatin. The increase of temperature and solution concentration favored the gelation. A large number of β-sheet structure formed in silk fibroin after gelation. Antheraea pernyi silk fibroin porous materials could be prepared by freeze-drying. By changing the technical conditions, we could prepare the porous materials with the average pore radius of 75 to 260μm and the porosity of 70% to 90%. When the silk fibroin solution concentration was lower or the freezing temperature was higher, the porosity and average pore radius of porous silk fibroin material were bigger and the pore density was smaller. The structure of porous silk fibroin material was co-existence of random coil and α -helix struture. The amount of α -helix structure in Antheraea pernyi silk fibroin porous materials was more and the solution losing percentage in hot water was smaller if prepared in higher freezing temperature. The apparent density and the tensile strength at break of Antheraea pernyi silk fibroin porous materials were smaller if the porous materials were prepared in lower solution concentration.