Issue 9, 2019

Preparation of natural amphoteric silk nanofibers by acid hydrolysis

Abstract

Direct extraction of silk nanofibers (SNs) from natural silk fibers was developed via a low-intensity ultrasonic-assisted sulfuric acid hydrolysis process. The effects of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) amount, hydrolysis time and temperature were investigated. SNs with a length and width of 306 ± 107 nm and 4–18 nm, respectively, were obtained with a yield of 64.54%. Furthermore, unlike for the silk nanofibers formed from a regeneration process, the original crystal structure of the silk was maintained. The aqueous dispersion of SNs was steady for at least 30 days at pH 3 and 7–10 with no aggregation. Furthermore, the as-prepared SNs were amphoteric due to the intrinsic characteristics of the protein that endow them with the ability to mix well with either positively or negatively charged polymers, possibly contributing to the field of high-tech silk materials in the future.

Graphical abstract: Preparation of natural amphoteric silk nanofibers by acid hydrolysis

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 Nov 2018
Accepted
22 Jan 2019
First published
24 Jan 2019

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2019,7, 1450-1459

Preparation of natural amphoteric silk nanofibers by acid hydrolysis

Y. Hu, J. Yu, L. Liu and Y. Fan, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2019, 7, 1450 DOI: 10.1039/C8TB03005G

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