title: Effect of shear viscosity on the preparation of sphere-like silk fibroin microparticles by electrospraying.
abstract: Silk fibroin (SF) is known to be a biocompatible material, and different forms of SF are used for various applications. However, the application of SF in particle form is rarely reported, compared to other forms. In this study, SF microparticles with a diameter of approximately 250 μm were prepared by the electrospray method, using 1 M LiCl/DMSO as a solvent. The dissolution time of SF in the CaCl2/CH3CH2OH/H2O solution and the concentration of the SF dope solution affected the final morphology of the microparticles. A long dissolution time and a low SF concentration led to the formation of irregular microparticles, but a short dissolution time and a high concentration produced sphere-like microparticles. The shear viscosity of the SF dope solution was the main parameter that affected the morphology of the SF microparticles. Regardless of the dissolution time in the CaCl2/CH3CH2OH/H2O solution and the concentration of the SF dope solution, the shear viscosity of the dope solution must be higher than 0.33 Pa s to produce sphere-like microparticles. Finally, cell adhesion experiments demonstrated that these SF microparticles show potential for use as cell carriers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems & Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Moo Kon
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems & Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong Yun
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: National Instrumentation Center for Environmental Management, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hanjin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems & Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dae Woong
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems & Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyo Won
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems & Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Haesung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.affiliation: Department of Bio-fibers and Materials, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 702-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: In Chul
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Um
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems & Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young Hwan
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems & Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea; Center for Food and Bioconvergence, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea; Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: prolee@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Ki Hoon
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D012831:Bombyx / Q000737:chemistry; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D005349:Fibroins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D047011:Silk / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D012996:Solutions / Q000737:chemistry; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D047011:Silk; D012996:Solutions; D005349:Fibroins
keywords: Cell carrier; Electrospraying; Microparticle; Silk fibroin