Silver nanoparticles incorporated electrospun silk fibers.

We present a simple and mass-producible method of incorporating silver nanoparticles on the surface of electrospun silk non-woven membranes for the fabrication of antimicrobial wound dressings. Nanofibrous silk membranes with fiber diameters of 460 +/- 40 nm were electrospun from an aqueous Bombyx mori fibroin solution. The electrospun membranes incorporating silver nanoparticles were prepared by dipping the membranes in aqueous silver nitrate (AgNO3) solution (0.5 or 1.0 wt%) followed by photoreduction. Field emission scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed that silver nanoparticles were generated on the electrospun silk fibroin nanofibers as well as inside them. The interaction between the silver nanoparticles and amide groups in the silk fibroin molecules was characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.