Low energy plasma has been introduced to treat the surface of Thai silk fibroin which should be enhanced for cell adhesion due to its native hydrophobic surface. Plasma surface treatment could introduce desirable hydrophilic functionalities on the surface without using any chemicals. In this work, nitrogen glow discharge plasma was generated by a low energy AC50Hz power supply system. The plasm...

In this study, silk fibroin was extracted from cocoons of silkworms and fabricated into nonwoven mats by electrospinning method. A new model based on the group method of data handling (GMDH) and artificial neural network (ANN) was developed for estimation of the average diameter of electrospun silk fibroin nanofibers. In this regard, concentration, flow rate, voltage, distance, and speed of col...

A synergistic approach by the combination of magnetic nanoparticles with an alternating magnetic field for transdermal drug delivery was investigated. Methotrexate-loaded silk fibroin magnetic nanoparticles were prepared using suspension-enhanced dispersion by supercritical CO2. The physiochemical properties of the magnetic nanoparticles were characterized. In vitro studies on drug permeation a...

Chromatin structures of an approximately 46-kilobase pair region encompassing fibroin heavy chain gene of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, were compared in active (in the posterior silk gland nuclei of the fifth instar larvae), temporarily inactive (in the posterior silk gland nuclei of the fourth molting stage larvae), and permanently inactive (in the middle silk gland nuclei of the fifth instar lar...

The distal upstream region of the fibroin gene, -238 to -73, is known to contain the cis-acting element(s) responsible for tissue-specific transcription enhancement in vitro. To identify factor(s) trans-acting on this region, we have developed a modified nitrocellulose blot protein-DNA binding procedure that detects DNA-protein complexes via protein-protein interaction. A protein that does not ...

The encapsulation of living mammalian cells within a semi-permeable hydrogel matrix is an attractive procedure for many biomedical and biotechnological applications, such as xenotransplantation, maintenance of stem cell phenotype and bioprinting of three-dimensional scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. In this review, we focus on naturally derived polymers that can form h...

The present study was carried out to investigate the impact of various types of silk fibroin (SF) scaffolds on human osteoblast-like cell (MG63) attachment and proliferation. SF was isolated from Bombyx mori silk worm cocoons after degumming. Protein concentration in the degummed SF solution was estimated using Bradford method. Aqueous SF solution was used to fabricate three different types of ...

This study reports the formation of biocompatible hydrogels using protein polymers from natural silk cocoon fibroins and sheep wool keratins. Silk fibroin protein contains β-sheet secondary structures, allowing for the formation of physical cross-linkers in the hydrogels. Comparative studies were performed on two groups of samples. In the first group, ultrasonication was used to induce a quick ...

Silk fibroin films are a promising class of biomaterials that have a number of advantages for use in ophthalmic applications due to their transparent nature, mechanical properties and minimal inflammatory response upon implantation. Freestanding silk films with parallel line and concentric ring topographies were generated for in vitro characterization of human corneal limbal epithelial (HCLE) c...

The effect of the solvents for silk fibroin (SF) extraction on its antimicrobial activity was studied. Extraction protocols were performed using LiBr (SFL) and Ajisawa's reagent (CaCl2:ethanol:H2O) (SFC). The morphological and structural characteristics of the extracted SF and their composites were assessed. Corresponding bactericidal activities against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Esche...