Silk fibroin hydrogels with tunable properties could be obtained from aqueous fibroin solutions (4.2 w/v %) in a short period of time. This was achieved by the addition of ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDE) into the reaction solution. Introduction of EGDE cross-links between the fibroin molecules decreases the mobility of the chains, which triggers the conformational transition from random...

Sufficient vascularization of the implant construct is required for tissue regeneration to ensure the supply of oxygen and nutrients. In our previous work, we established sonication-induced silk fibroin hydrogel to load neural stem cells for brain tissue engineering applications. In this study, we explored the application of silk fibroin as an injectable hydrogel for vascularization of soft tis...

Silk fibroin has been widely explored for many biomedical applications, due to its biocompatibility and biodegradability. The aim of this work was to study the role of dialysis and freezing on structural conformation, thermal properties and morphology of silk fibroin hydrogels. Hydrogels were prepared after 3 and 7 days of dialysis and the effect of freezing was analyzed. For that purpose, a pa...

Fibroin is normally composed of one H chain (350 kd) and one L chain (25 kd) which are connected by disulfide bond(s). However, the small amount of fibroin secreted into the lumen of the posterior silk gland of the Nd(2) (naked pupa) mutant does not contain L chain, although L chain mRNA is present and L chain is synthesized in the posterior silk gland cells of the mutant. In a hybrid silkworm,...

RNA identified by its base composition and T1 RNase oligonucleotide pattern as the message for silk fibroin was purified from mature posterior silk glands of Bombyx mori larvae and used to direct polypeptide synthesis in an Ehrlich ascites cell-free extract. Fibroin mRNA stimulated [3-H]alanine incorporation about 3- to 4-fold in the presence of 80 mM K+ and 4 mM Mg-2+. The stimulation was redu...

Wound healing is a biological process directed to the restoration of tissue that has suffered an injury. An important phase of wound healing is the generation of a basal epithelium able to wholly replace the epidermis of the wound. A broad range of products derived from fibroin and sericin from Bombyx mori silk are used to stimulate wound healing. However, so far the molecular mechanism underly...

The domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori Linn., a lepidopteran molecular model and an important economic insect that are emerging as an ideal molecular genetic resource for solving a broad range of biological problems. The silkworm, B. mori produces massive amount of silk proteins during the final stage of larval development. These proteins are stored in the middle silk gland and they are dischar...

The 3'-terminal nucleotide sequence of fibroin mRNA has been determined. A cDNA transcript primed by oligo(dT) hybridized to the poly(A) segment of fibroin mRNA was used to determine the sequence immediately adjacent to poly(A). A specific primer complementary to this sequence then allowed synthesis of 5'-terminally homogeneous transcripts amenable to analysis by rapid sequencing methods. The 3...

The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in the molecular structure and physiological activities of silk fibroin induced by three different sterilization methods (steam, gamma radiation and ethylene oxide) with different dose or time period of sterilization by means of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, mechanical properties and assessment of molecul...

Objective. The aim of the present study is to prepare a 3D porous silk fibroin scaffold with a hierachical structure that can meet the demands for bone tissue engineering. Materials and Methods. 3D fibroin scaffold was prepared by the methods of partial dissolution in acid solution and freeze drying fibroin solution. Results. The nets were composed of a mesh of randomly oriented fibers that ran...