Physical and chemical features of silk fibroin as a biomaterialSFs from the cocoons of the silkworm B. mori are the most-used and most-studied SFs in TE; South Korea is home to over 300 varieties of this species [16]. Silkworm cocoons primarily consist of 2 bio-macromolecules: fibroin (fibrous protein) and sericin (globular protein). The silk of B. mori is synthesized in a group of specialized salivary glands, and fibroin (comprising 60-80% of the silk) is synthesized exclusively in the posterior region of the gland. The fibroin fibres are covered with sericin (15-35%), which is synthesized in the walls of the medial regions of the gland. Between 1 and 5% of the silk consists of non-sericin components, such as pigments, wax, sugars, and other impurities (Figure 1), [1,17,18].Most lepidopterans produce fibroin that consists of 3 protein components arranged as a single element of silk: heavy-chain (~391kDa) and light-chain fibroins (~25kDa), which are linked by a disulphide bridge, and P25 (~25kDa), also known as fibrohexamerin (Fhx), These components are present at a 6:6:1 ratio, respectively [19][20][21].