Jianjun Guo^1,2, Lingling Jia³, Sandra Senyo Fometu⁴, Qiang Ma⁵, Jinjin Wang¹, Hang Li¹, Lei Jiang⁵, Guohua Wu^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.12, pp. 3373-3389, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.021087

Abstract Traditionally, silkworm silk has been used to make high-quality textiles. Nevertheless, various wastes from silkworm silk textiles that are no longer used are increasing, which is also causing considerable waste and contamination. This issue is causing widespread concern in countries that use more silk. Regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) fibers have been shown to be fragile and tender, which prohibits RSF from being widely used as a structural component. Therefore, enriching the function of silk and enhancing the RSF mechanical properties are important directions to expand the comprehensive utilization of silk products. In the present research, wet spinning was used to… More >

Yang Li^#, Xiaoying Zha^#, Xingliang Xiong, Yan Zhang, Ying Feng, Haojiang Xie, Linqing Zhang, Qifeng Jiang^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.9, No.2, pp. 295-310, 2021, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2021.012271

Abstract A silk fibroin (SF) spongy wound dressing incorporated with silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) was developed for biomedical applications. Ag-NPs were efficiently synthesized in situ via ultra violet (UV) with AgNO₃ as precursor and silk fibroin as reducing and protecting agent, respectively. After lyophilization, the formed silk fibroin spongy wound dressing (SFWD) exhibited polyporous morphology and inner lamellae structures, with uniform dispersion of Ag-NPs. The porous structure provided SFWD with the ability to absorb tissue exudatealmost 6 times of its own weight, which could guarantee the sustained release of Ag-NPs. By methanol treatment, SFWD showed much improved mechanical properties and more stable… More >