Preparation of gel film from Bombyx mori silk sericin and its characterization as a wound dressing.

Sericin is a highly hydrophilic protein family acting as the glue in Bombyx mori silk. In order to apply sericin as a wound dressing, a novel sericin film named gel film was prepared by a simple process without using any chemical modifications: sericin solution was gelled with ethanol into a sheet shape and then dried. Infrared analysis revealed that the sericin gel film contained water-stable beta-sheet networks formed in the gelation step. This structural feature rendered the gel film morphologically stable against swelling and gave it good handling properties in the wet state. The sericin gel film rapidly absorbed water, equilibrating at a water content of about 80%, and exhibited elastic deformation up to a strain of about 25% in the wet state. A culture of mouse fibroblasts on the gel film indicated that it had low cell adhesion properties and no cytotoxicity. These characteristics of sericin gel film suggest its potential as a wound dressing.