title: Production of silk sericin/silk fibroin blend nanofibers.
abstract: Silk sericin (SS)/silk fibroin (SF) blend nanofibers have been produced by electrospinning in a binary SS/SF trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) solution system, which was prepared by mixing 20 wt.% SS TFA solution and 10 wt.% SF TFA solution to give different compositions. The diameters of the SS/SF nanofibers ranged from 33 to 837 nm, and they showed a round cross section. The surface of the SS/SF nanofibers was smooth, and the fibers possessed a bead-free structure. The average diameters of the SS/SF (75/25, 50/50, and 25/75) blend nanofibers were much thicker than that of SS and SF nanofibers. The SS/SF (100/0, 75/25, and 50/50) blend nanofibers were easily dissolved in water, while the SS/SF (25/75 and 0/100) blend nanofibers could not be completely dissolved in water. The SS/SF blend nanofibers could not be completely dissolved in methanol. The SS/SF blend nanofibers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and differential thermal analysis. FTIR showed that the SS/SF blend nanofibers possessed a random coil conformation and ß-sheet structure.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 3-15-1 Tokida, Ueda City, Nagano 386-8567, Japan. tsukada@shinshu-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Xianhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Masuhiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsukada
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Morikawa
authors.forename: Kazuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aojima
authors.forename: Guangyu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Mikihiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miura