Surface treatment of pure and PEG-4000 blended fibroin films and their characterizations as matrices for in vitro fibroblast culture.

This study reports the effects of treatment with various concentrations of organic solvents for varying time points on matrices of fibroin, a silk protein isolated from the mulberry silkworm, Bombyx mori, which in native form has been extensively used in tissue engineering. Treatment of pure fibroin as well as polyethylene glycol- blended films with 90% organic solvent for 60 min induces optimal surface hydrophobicity and maximum conversion of the secondary structure from random coil to beta sheet. Long-term cell viability studies reveal that methanol and isopropanol-treated pure and blended films support cell adhesion, proliferation, and viability.