title: Intermolecular interactions between natural polysaccharides and silk fibroin protein.
abstract: Fabricating novel functional and structural materials from natural renewable and degradable materials has attracted much attention. Natural polysaccharides and proteins are the right natural candidates due to their unique structures and properties. The polysaccharide-protein composites or blends were widely investigated, however, there are few systematical studies on the interactions between natural polysaccharides and silk fibroin protein at the molecular level. Among various interactions, hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions and covalent bonding play important roles in the structure and properties of the corresponding materials. Therefore, the focus is placed on the three interactions types in this review. A future challenge is to create polysaccharide and protein composites or blends with tailored structure and properties for the wide applications.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Textiles and Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. shang.songmin@polyu.edu.hk
authors.forename: Songmin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Jintu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D012831:Bombyx / Q000737:chemistry; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry; D005349:Fibroins / Q000737:chemistry*; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry*; D047011:Silk / Q000737:chemistry*; D055672:Static Electricity; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D011134:Polysaccharides; D047011:Silk; D014867:Water; D005349:Fibroins; D048271:Chitosan