National Metal and Materials Technology Center, Thailand Science Park, 114 Paholyothin Road, Klong 1, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand.
J Biomater Sci Polym Ed. 2011;22(15):2001-22. doi: 10.1163/092050610X530964. Epub 2010 Oct 27.
Silk fibroin from a domesticated mulberry silkworm, Bombyx mori, is the most widely used in biomaterial design. We report for the first time the preparation of a relatively smooth (granule free) film of the nonmulberry Samia cynthia ricini fibroin for comparative evaluation of its cell-supporting properties against those of the B. mori fibroin film. The granule formation on the S. c. ricini fibroin film was successfully prevented by facilitating proper rearrangement of the protein molecules, as monitored by FT-IR, by dialysis through a stepwise decrease in the urea concentration in the dialysis media. The lower contact angle of the S. c. ricini fibroin film, compared to the B. mori fibroin film, corresponds well to its lower hydrophobic/hydrophilic amino-acid ratio and grand average of hydropathicity (GRAVY). L929 murine fibroblast cells on the granule-free S. c. ricini fibroin films exhibited greater proliferation and spreading rates than those on the B. mori fibroin films, possibly attributable to its higher content of hydrophilic and positively charged amino acids. It further suggests that fabrication, modification and/or engineering of S. c. ricini fibroin may provide a better biomaterial scaffold design than the more commonly used B. mori fibroin.
家蚕（Bombyx mori）丝素蛋白是生物材料设计中应用最广泛的丝素蛋白。我们首次报道了相对光滑（无颗粒）的蓖麻蚕（Samia cynthia ricini）丝素蛋白薄膜的制备，并将其细胞支持性能与家蚕丝素蛋白薄膜进行了比较评估。通过逐步降低透析介质中尿素浓度的透析，促进蛋白质分子的适当重排，成功地防止了 S. c. ricini 丝素蛋白薄膜上颗粒的形成，这可以通过傅里叶变换红外光谱（FT-IR）进行监测。与家蚕丝素蛋白薄膜相比，S. c. ricini 丝素蛋白薄膜的较低接触角与其较低的疏水性/亲水性氨基酸比例和平均亲水性（GRAAVY）非常吻合。无颗粒的 S. c. ricini 丝素蛋白薄膜上的 L929 鼠成纤维细胞的增殖和扩散速度比在家蚕丝素蛋白薄膜上的更快，这可能归因于其较高含量的亲水和带正电荷的氨基酸。这进一步表明，蓖麻蚕丝素蛋白的制造、修饰和/或工程化可能提供比更常用的家蚕丝素蛋白更好的生物材料支架设计。
