Silk fibroin (SF) is an excellent protein-based biomaterial produced by the degumming and purification of silk from the cocoons of Bombyx mori through alkali or enzymatic treatments. SF exhibits excellent biological properties and is thus a good hydrogel candidate matrix for many fields. The widely used SF-based hydrogels not only have the advantages of stable source and low cost, but also have adjustable mechanical properties, strong combination with other materials, biocompatibility, and controllable degradation and absorption.
Preparation
The preparation of SF-based hydrogels mainly include two steps: SF preparation and SF-based hydrogel preparation.
The preparation of SF-based hydrogels requires raw materials of SF, which are typically obtained by a degumming process to remove sericin proteins from silk. At present, the most commonly used method for degumming is boiling under alkaline conditions. After obtaining degummed SF, SF-based hydrogel preparation can proceed.
- SF-based hydrogel preparation
The preparation methods of SF-based hydrogels include physical and chemical crosslinking. Among them, methods used for physical crosslinking include temperature and pH-mediated self-assembly, ultrasonication, etc. And chemical crosslinking is related to the use of crosslinking agents.
Applications
SF-based hydrogels are a class of biocompatible, biodegradable and bioresorbable materials with exciting mechanical properties and multifunctionalities. Due to their mechanical properties comparable to synthetic acrylic polymers, SF-based hydrogels have great application potential in biomedicine as structural tissue biomaterials such as cartilage, tendon, and ligament, which demand megapascal levels of fracture strength and modulus.
Some SF-based hydrogels have excellent conductive properties. These hydrogels can be used in wearable devices that are capable of monitoring a series of physical signals of the human body such as joint movement, facial gestures, pulse, breathing, etc. Especially, wearable devices prepared with SF-based hydrogels are biocompatible with no anaphylactic reaction to human skin. More interestingly, these conductive SF-based hydrogels exhibit positive responses when they work in a triboelectric nanogenerator, consequently lighting up 20 commercial green light emitting diodes. This phenomenon provides support for the application of SF-based hydrogels in wearable devices.
Our Products
Alfa Chemistry is a leading global supplier of hydrogels. Our experienced scientists focus on the production and performance improvement of SF-based hydrogels. Our products include but are not limited to the following. Please contact us to customize the SF-based hydrogels you need, and we will provide you with high quality products according to your detailed requirements.
- Silk fibroin (SF)/carboxymethyl chitosan composite hydrogel
- Subtilis lipopeptide sodium (SS)/ silk fibroin (SF) composite hydrogel
Please kindly note that our products and services are for research use only.
