A novel method for dissolution and stabilization of non-mulberry silk gland protein fibroin using anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate.

The importance of silk protein has increased because of its potential use as a natural biopolymer for tissue engineering and biomedical applications. In this report we show a novel and ecofriendly method for dissolution of gland silk protein fibroin. Non-mulberry silk fibroin from mature fifth instar larvae of Antheraea mylitta was found to be optimally soluble in 1% (w/v) anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Regenerated fibroin showed distinct bands of approximately 395 and 197 kDa on electrophoresis in non-reducing and reducing conditions, respectively. Enhanced fibroin dissolution via internalization of hydrophobic amino groups inside a hydrophilic amino acid core in the form of micelles was observed. Prolonged storage stability without gelation of SDS-extracted fibroin was seen. Atomic force microscopy showed micellar aggregation with mean micellar aggregation size of 8 nm. Circular dichroism spectroscopy revealed predominantly helical conformation due to surfactant addition with internal protein conformational changes as revealed by fluorescence spectroscopic studies. Copyright 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.