Silk fibroin （SF） hydrogels of the wild silkworm species Antheraea pernyi and Antheraea yamamai were obtained from aqueous SF solutions at room temperature. Both A. pernyi and A. yamamai solutions were slow to gelate. Hydrogels of the two species of wild silkworm were obtained rapidly following ultrasonicaton at 400–500 W. The secondary structure of the freeze-dried SF hydrogels was measured by X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Ultrasonication did not change the main secondary structure of the hydrogels, but it accelerated the structural transformation of silk fibroin molecules from random coil or α helix to β sheet and reduced the gelation time.

As the tissue engineering scaffolds, the pore structure and condensed structure of silk fibroin scaffolds should be adjusted and controlled. In this study, Antheraea pernyi/Bombyx mori (A. p/B. m) silk fibroin blend scaffolds were prepared by freeze-drying. The influence of blend ratios on the pore structure and condensed structure of the scaffolds was investigated. The results showed that the average pore diameter of the blend scaffolds changed from 56 to 326 μm. Due to the difference of properties and the macromolecules aggregation status of two silk fibroin solutions, the pore diameter, content of α-helix and crystallinity of the scaffolds decreased with the increasing of the proportion of B. m silk fibroin. By adjusting the blend ratios, the pore structure and condensed structure of A. p/B. m silk fibroin blend scaffolds could be controlled.