Abstract—The present study aims at the preparation of silk fibroin solution for possible applications in tissue engineering. Pure silk fibroin protein was extracted from Bombyx mori silk cocoon by degumming method using aqueous Na2CO3 solution followed by solubilizing in LiBr aqueous solution. The fibroin protein solution was purified and studied for the protein content. The degumming & solubility were significantly dependent on the salt concentration, treatment temperature, and time. A salt concentration of 0.02 M Na2CO3, temperature of 80°C and time more than 40 min were found to be favorable degumming conditions. The proper conditions of dissolution were found as 9.3 M LiBr, 70 °C temperature, and 3 h dissolving time. The morphology of degummed silk were investigated by SEM at different magnification. SEM revealed the absence of glue like sericine over the silk fibroin surface at optimal degumming condition. The fibroin protein content of the solution was measured by Bradford protein assay. The results indicate that the regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) can be used for fabrication of porous silk fibroin scaffolds for various tissue engineering applications.

Index Terms—Tissue engineering, scaffold, fibroin, SEM.

Mahesh Sah and K. Pramanik are with Tissue Engineering Group, Department of Biotechnology & Medical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Rourkela-769008, Orissa, INDIA. (Corresponding Author: Email- kpr@nitrkl.ac.in; Ph- +91-661-2472280(O)/3280(R); Fax- +91-661-2472926)

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Cite: M. K. Sah and K. Pramanik, "Regenerated Silk Fibroin from B. mori Silk Cocoon for Tissue Engineering Applications," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 1, no. 5, pp. 404-408, 2010.