The silk gland in Lepidoptera larvae is responsible for the silk production used for shelter or cocoon construction. The secretion of fibroin and sericin by the different silk gland regions are well established. There are few attempts to detect lipid components in the insect silk secretion, although the presence of such element may contribute to the resistance of the shelter to wet environment....

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 funct...

UNLABELLED Silk fibroin (SF) is a fibrous protein which is produced mainly by silkworms and spiders. Its unique mechanical properties, tunable biodegradation rate and the ability to support the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells along the osteogenic lineage, have made SF a favorable scaffold material for bone tissue engineering. SF can be processed into various scaffold forms, combined s...

Purpose. Based on the experiment of the microarteriogenesis that is associated with angiogenesis during tissue repair process in porous silk fibroin films (PSFFs), we investigate the characteristics of micro-arteriogenesis and explore its mechanism. Methods. After the porous silk fibroin materials are implanted into the back hypodermal tissue of SD rats, the arteriole development and the morpho...

Purpose. Manuka honey (MH) is an antibacterial agent specific to the islands of New Zealand containing both hydrogen peroxide and a Unique Manuka Factor (UMF). Although the antibacterial properties of MH have been studied, the effect of varying UMF of MH incorporated into tissue engineered scaffolds have not. Therefore, this study was designed to compare silk fibroin cryogels and electrospun sc...

Biodegradable poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA) fibrous scaffolds were prepared by electrospinning from a PLA melt containing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as a plasticizer to obtain thinner fibers. The effects of PEG on the melt electrospinning of PLA were examined in terms of the melt viscosity and fiber diameter. Among the parameters, the content of PEG had a more significant effect on the average fib...

Transcription of the fibroin gene can be reconstituted with partially purified components from HeLa cells. Transcription factors IIB, IID, and IIE and RNA polymerase II are required for accurate initiation of transcription. Linear and relaxed closed circular DNA show a similar level of template activity. However, transcription of closed circular DNA is stimulated when negative supercoils are in...

The menisci protect the articular cartilage by reducing contact pressure in the knee. To restore their function after injury, a new silk fibroin replacement scaffold was developed. To elucidate its tribological properties, friction of the implant was tested against cartilage and glass, where the latter is typically used in tribological cartilage studies. The silk scaffold exhibited a friction c...

We have shown that the silk fibroin gene from Bombyx mori is faithfully transcribed in an in vitro transcription system of the HeLa cell extract prepared by the method of Manley et al. [Manley, J. L., Fire, A., Cano, A., Sharp, P. A. & Gefter, M. L. (1980) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77, 3855-3859]. Using this system and a series of deletion mutants of fibroin gene, we have assigned the promoter...

In order to improve the water-resistant ability of silk fibroin (SF) and SF/P(LLA-CL) blended nanofibrous scaffolds for tissue engineering applications, 75% (v/v) ethanol vapor was used to post-treat electrospun nanofibers. SEM indicated that the treated SF and SF/P(LLA-CL) nanofibrous scaffolds maintained a nanofibrous structure and possessed good water-resistant ability. Characterization of (...