Water-insoluble regenerated silk materials are normally achieved by increasing β-sheet content (silk II). In the present study, water-insoluble silk films were prepared by controlling very slow drying of B. mori silk solutions, resulting in the formation of stable films with dominating silk I instead of silk II structure. Wide angle x-ray scattering (WAXS) indicated that the silk films stabilized by slow drying were mainly composed of silk I rather than silk II, while water-and methanol-annealed silk films had a higher silk II content. The silk films prepared through slow drying had a globule-like structure in the core with nano-filaments. The core region was composed of silk I and silk II, and these regions are surrounded by hydrophilic nano-filaments containing random, turns, and α-helix secondary structures. The insoluble silk films prepared by slow drying had unique thermal, mechanical and degradative properties. DSC results revealed that silk I crystals had stable thermal properties up to 250°C, without crystallization above the Tg, but degraded in lower temperature than silk II structure. Compared with water-and methanol-annealed films, the films prepared through slow drying achieved better mechanical ductility and more rapid enzymatic degradation, reflective of the differences in secondary structure achieved via differences in post processing of the cast silk films. Importantly, the silk I structure, a key intermediate secondary structure for the formation of mechanically robust natural silk fibers, was successfully generated in the present approach of very slow drying, mimicking the natural process. The results also point to a new mode to generate new types of silk biomaterials, where mechanical properties can be enhanced, and degradation rates increased, yet water insolubility is maintained along with low beta sheet content.

Silk fibroin protein-based micro-and nanospheres provide new options for drug delivery due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability and their tunable drug loading and release properties. In the present study, we report a new aqueous-based preparation method for silk spheres with controllable sphere size and shape. The preparation was based on phase separation between silk fibroin and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) at a weight ratio of 1/1 and 1/4. Water-insoluble silk spheres were easily obtained from the blend in a three step process: (1) air-drying the blend solution into a film, (2) film dissolution in water and (3) removal of residual PVA by subsequent centrifugation. In both cases, the spheres had approximately 30% beta-sheet content and less than 5% residual PVA. Spindleshaped silk particles, as opposed to the spherical particles formed above, were obtained by stretching the blend films before dissolving in water. Compared to the 1/1 ratio sample, the silk spheres prepared from the 1/4 ratio sample showed a more homogeneous size distribution ranging from 300 nm up to 20 μm. Further studies showed that sphere size and polydispersity could be controlled either by changing the concentration of silk and PVA or by applying ultrasonication on the blend solution. Drug loading was achieved by mixing model drugs in the original silk solution. The distribution and loading efficiency of the drug molecules in silk spheres depended on their hydrophobicity and charge, resulting in different drug release profiles. The entire fabrication procedure could be completed within one day. The only chemical used in the preparation except water was PVA, an FDA-approved ingredient in drug formulations. Silk micro-and nanospheres reported have potential as drug delivery carriers in a variety of biomedical applications.

Silkworms and spiders generate fibres that exhibit high strength and extensibility. The underlying mechanisms involved in processing silk proteins into fiber form remain incompletely understood, resulting in the failure to fully recapitulate the remarkable properties of native fibers in vitro from regenerated silk solutions. In the present study, the extensibility and high strength of regenerated silks were achieved by mimicking the natural spinning process. Conformational transitions inside micelles, followed by aggregation of micelles and their stabilization as they relate to the metastable structure of silk are described. Subsequently, the mechanisms to control the formation of nanofibrous structures were elucidated. The results clarify that the self-assembly of silk in aqueous solution is a thermodynamically driven process where kinetics also play a key role. Four key factors, molecular mobility, charge, hydrophilic interactions and concentration underlie the process. Adjusting these factors can balance nanostructure and conformational composition, and be used to achieve silk-based materials with properties comparable to native fibers. These mechanisms suggest new directions to design silk-based multifunctional materials.

We directly prepared insoluble silk films by blending with glycerol and avoiding the use of organic solvents. The ability to blend a plasticizer like glycerol with a hydrophobic protein like silk and achieve stable material systems above a critical threshold of glycerol is an important new finding with importance for green chemistry approaches to new and more flexible silk-based biomaterials. The aqueous solubility, biocompatibility, and well-documented use of glycerol as a plasticizer with other biopolymers prompted its inclusion in silk fibroin solutions to assess impact on silk film behavior. Processing was performed in water rather than organic solvents to enhance the potential biocompatibility of these biomaterials. The films exhibited modified morphologies that could be controlled on the basis of the blend composition and also exhibited altered mechanical properties, such as improved elongation at break, when compared with pure silk fibroin films. Mechanistically, glycerol appears to replace water in silk fibroin chain hydration, resulting in the initial stabilization of helical structures in the films, as opposed to random coil or beta-sheet structures. The use of glycerol in combination with silk fibroin in materials processing expands the functional features attainable with this fibrous protein, and in particular, in the formation of more flexible films with potential utility in a range of biomaterial and device applications.