title: Nanocomposite of silk fibroin nanofiber and montmorillonite: fabrication and morphology.
abstract: The purpose of our research is creating a new nanocomposite material. Generally silk fibroin (SF) is regarded as a promising base material for biomedical uses. The incorporation of montmorillonite (MMT) into SF fibers would improve physical properties of the SF fibers. We investigated a new method of combining electospun SF with MMT. Specifically, electrospun silk nanofibers were treated with methanol and dipped in a MMT suspension. We could obtain a nanosheet composite of silk nanofibers and MMT. Their ultrastructures were successfully visualized by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. This compound was comprised of individual silk nanofibers surrounded by thin layers of MMT, each with a thickness of about 1.2 nm. This structure was confirmed by elemental analysis. We also performed IR, NMR and X-ray diffraction analyses in conjunction with morphological data. Conclusively we obtained a new composite of silk nanofiber and MMT, which has never been reported. Using this unique nanocomposite biological tests of its application for a scaffold for tissue engineering are under way.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 3-15-1 Tokida, Ueda, Nagano 386-8567, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
authors.forename: Fuyu
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Hisanao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Usami
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Togawa
authors.forename: Masuhiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsukada
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Morikawa
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamanaka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001546:Bentonite / Q000737:chemistry*; D012831:Bombyx / Q000737:chemistry*; D005349:Fibroins / Q000737:chemistry*; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D001546:Bentonite; D005349:Fibroins