Silk sericin is a kind of natural material originated from a wide variety of cocoons and behaves excellent biocompatibility and a series of unique biological properties. The specific amino acid compositions and structural properties of silk sericin endow it with good water solubility, cellular adhesion and proliferation activity, in situ fluorescence, antioxidant and the inhibitory effect on tyrosinase. With the actions of cross-linking agent, chemical active group or just ultraviolet light, silk sericin can be designed into various structural biomaterials, including micro(nano)-structural materials, 2D (patterned) films, hydrogels or even 3D porous scaffolds, denoting broad prospect in biomedical applications, such as wound healing, tissue regeneration, drug delivery, medicine, material coating. Based on the significant studies of silk sericin in recent years, this review summarizes the structure and physicochemical properties of silk sericin, with a focus on the design of sericin-based biomaterials and their relevant biomedical applications. The prospective regarding the future potential of silk sericin is delivered.
Contents
1 Introduction
2 Advantages in biological features
2.1 Low(no) immunogenicity
2.2 Cell proliferation activity
2.3 In situ fluorescence property
2.4 Inhibitory effect on tyrosinase
3 Crosslinking methods and materials design
3.1 Micro (nano) materials
3.2 2D (patterned) films
3.3 Hydrogels
4 Biomedical applications
4.1 Wound dressing
4.2 Novel delivery system
4.3 Surface coating
4.4 Natural medicines
4.5 Others
5 Conclusions