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Analyzing the interactions and miscibility of silk fibroin/mucin blends |
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| Authors: | Laise Maia Lopes Gabriel Yoshiaki Ottaiano Luciana de Souza Guedes Mariana Agostini de Moraes Marisa Masumi Beppu |
| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Materials and Bioprocess Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil
Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), Data curation (supporting), Formal analysis (lead), Investigation (lead), Methodology (lead);2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Institute of Environmental, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of São Paulo, Diadema, SP, Brazil Contribution: Data curation (equal), Writing - original draft (lead);3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil Contribution: Data curation (equal), Validation (equal), Writing - review & editing (lead);4. Department of Materials and Bioprocess Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil;5. Department of Materials and Bioprocess Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil Contribution: Funding acquisition (lead), Project administration (equal), Supervision (equal) |
| Abstract: | Mucin, a glycoprotein with viscoelastic properties, and silk fibroin, a protein excreted from silkworms with properties of thermal and mechanical resistance, have been probed as building blocks in the design of biomaterials. Aiming to evaluate the interaction and miscibility between mucin and fibroin, we synthesized silk fibroin and mucin (SF/MU) blends for biomedical applications. The morphological analysis of the SF/MU blends showed the presence of two phases, suggesting a partial miscibility between the polymers. The degradation temperature of the SF/MU blends increased with an increase in the silk fibroin content, indicating that silk fibroin contributed to the thermal stability of the blends. The glass transition temperature of the SF/MU blends lay between the values of the pure polymers. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy results pointed out that the interaction between fibroin and mucin occurred between the amine group of silk fibroin and mucin carboxyl and hydroxyl groups. The outcomes of this work provided essential information on the miscibility of the SF/MU blends. These findings will be critical for further studies with fibroin and mucin-based biomaterials, especially in mucoadhesive systems and wound healing applications. |
| Keywords: | biomaterials biomedical applications biopolymers and renewable polymers |