Electrospinning Bombyx mori silk with poly(ethylene oxide)

Electrospinning for the formation of nanoscale diameter fibers has been explored for high-performance filters and biomaterial scaffolds for vascular grafts or wound dressings. Fibers with nanoscale diameters provide benefits due to high surface area. In the present study we explore electrospinning for protein-based biomaterials to fabricate scaffolds and membranes from regenerated silkworm silk, Bombyx mori, solutions. To improve processability of the protein solution, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) with molecular weight of 900,000 was blended with the silk fibroin. A variety of compositions of the silk/PEO aqueous blends were successfully electrospun. The morphology of the fibers was characterized using high-resolution scanning electron microscopy. Fiber diameters were uniform and less than 800 nm. The composition was estimated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to characterize silk/PEO surface content. Aqueous-based electrospining of silk and silk/PEO blends provides potentially useful options for the fabrication of biomaterial scaffolds based on this unique fibrous protein.