Preparation and characterization of PEGDE crosslinked silk fibroin film

To obtain water-insoluble silk fibroin (SF) materials, polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (PEG-DE) was selected as a crosslinking agent to prepare SF films (blends). The reaction conditions were optimized for the crosslinking of the SF molecules. The hot water stability of the blends was measured using BCA protein assay and gravimetric analysis. The molecular conformation and crystalline structure of the blends were analyzed by FTIR and XRD, respectively. When the mass ratio of SF:PEG-DE was 1.0:0.8, the hot water loss rate of the SF blends was minimized. PEG-DE could induce SF molecules to form β-sheets during the gel reaction process, resulting in improved crystallinity and hot water dissolved resistance of the blend films. In order to demonstrate the cytotoxicity of the chemical reagents used to crosslink SF, L929 cells were seeded on the blend film (SF:PEG-DE = 1:1) and cultured for 3 days. Cells of L929 readily adhered and spread in the fusiform on the blend film resulting in high cell viability. The extracted liquid from the SF porous film did not inhibit cell proliferation, as estimated by the MTT assay.