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Hossain M, Karmakar K, Sarkar P, Chattaraj T, Rao KDM. Self-Sanitization in a Silk Nanofibrous Network for Biodegradable PM 0.3 Filters with In Situ Joule Heating. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:9137-9146. [PMID: 38434843 PMCID: PMC10905722 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c08020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
In the contemporary way of life, face masks are crucial in managing disease transmission and battling air pollution. However, two key challenges, self-sanitization and biodegradation of face masks, need immediate attention, prompting the development of innovative solutions for the future. In this study, we present a novel approach that combines controlled acid hydrolysis and mechanical chopping to synthesize a silk nanofibrous network (SNN) seamlessly integrated with a wearable stainless steel mesh, resulting in the fabrication of self-sanitizable face masks. The distinct architecture of face masks showcases remarkable filtration efficiencies of 91.4, 95.4, and 98.3% for PM0.3, PM0.5, and PM1.0, respectively, while maintaining a comfortable level of breathability (ΔP = 92 Pa). Additionally, the face mask shows that a remarkable thermal resistance of 472 °C cm2 W-1 generates heat spontaneously at low voltage, deactivating Escherichia coli bacteria on the SNN, enabling self-sanitization. The SNN exhibited complete disintegration within the environment in just 10 days, highlighting the remarkable biodegradability of the face mask. The unique advantage of self-sanitization and biodegradation in a face mask filter is simultaneously achieved for the first time, which will open avenues to accomplish environmentally benign next-generation face masks.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Prakash Sarkar
- School of Applied & Interdisciplinary
Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation
of Science, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Tiyasi Chattaraj
- School of Applied & Interdisciplinary
Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation
of Science, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - K. D. M. Rao
- School of Applied & Interdisciplinary
Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation
of Science, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032, India
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Perera D, Li L, Walsh C, Silliman J, Xiong Y, Wang Q, Schniepp HC. Natural spider silk nanofibrils produced by assembling molecules or disassembling fibers. Acta Biomater 2023; 168:323-332. [PMID: 37414111 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2023.06.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Revised: 06/25/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Spider silk is biocompatible, biodegradable, and rivals some of the best synthetic materials in terms of strength and toughness. Despite extensive research, comprehensive experimental evidence of the formation and morphology of its internal structure is still limited and controversially discussed. Here, we report the complete mechanical decomposition of natural silk fibers from the golden silk orb-weaver Trichonephila clavipes into ≈10 nm-diameter nanofibrils, the material's apparent fundamental building blocks. Furthermore, we produced nanofibrils of virtually identical morphology by triggering an intrinsic self-assembly mechanism of the silk proteins. Independent physico-chemical fibrillation triggers were revealed, enabling fiber assembly from stored precursors "at-will". This knowledge furthers the understanding of this exceptional material's fundamentals, and ultimately, leads toward the realization of silk-based high-performance materials. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Spider silk is one of the strongest and toughest biomaterials, rivaling the best man-made materials. The origins of these traits are still under debate but are mostly attributed to the material's intriguing hierarchical structure. Here we fully disassembled spider silk into 10 nm-diameter nanofibrils for the first time and showed that nanofibrils of the same appearance can be produced via molecular self-assembly of spider silk proteins under certain conditions. This shows that nanofibrils are the key structural elements in silk and leads toward the production of high-performance future materials inspired by spider silk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dinidu Perera
- Applied Science Department, William & Mary, P.O. Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795, USA
| | - Linxuan Li
- Applied Science Department, William & Mary, P.O. Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795, USA
| | - Chloe Walsh
- Applied Science Department, William & Mary, P.O. Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795, USA
| | - Jacob Silliman
- Applied Science Department, William & Mary, P.O. Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795, USA
| | - Yawei Xiong
- Applied Science Department, William & Mary, P.O. Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795, USA
| | - Qijue Wang
- Applied Science Department, William & Mary, P.O. Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795, USA
| | - Hannes C Schniepp
- Applied Science Department, William & Mary, P.O. Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795, USA.
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Yang H, Wang P, Yang Q, Wang D, Wang Y, Kuai L, Wang Z. Superelastic and multifunctional fibroin aerogels from multiscale silk micro-nanofibrils exfoliated via deep eutectic solvent. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 224:1412-1422. [PMID: 36550790 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.10.228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2022] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Superelastic silk fibroin (SF)-based aerogels can be used as multifunctional substrates, exhibiting a promising prospect in air filtration, thermal insulation, and biomedical materials. However, fabrication of the superelastic pure SF aerogels without adding synthetic polymers remains challenging. Here, the SF micro-nano fibrils (SMNFs) that preserved mesostructures are extracted from SF fibers as building blocks of aerogels by a controllable deep eutectic solvent liquid exfoliation technique. SMNFs can assemble into multiscale fibril networks during the freeze-inducing process, resulting in all-natural SMNF aerogels (SMNFAs) with hierarchical cellular architectures after lyophilization. Benefiting from these structural features, the SMNFAs demonstrate desirable properties including ultra-low density (as low as 4.71 mg/cm3) and superelasticity (over 85 % stress retention after 100 compression cycles at 60 % strain). Furthermore, the potential applications of superelastic SMNFAs in air purification and thermal insulation are investigated to exhibit their functionality, mechanical elasticity, and structural stability. This work provides a reliable approach for the fabrication of highly elastic SF aerogels and endows application prospects in air purification and thermal insulation opportunities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiwei Yang
- School of Textile and Garment, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, Anhui 241000, China
| | - Peng Wang
- School of Textile and Garment, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, Anhui 241000, China
| | - Qiliang Yang
- School of Textile and Garment, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, Anhui 241000, China
| | - Dengfeng Wang
- School of Materials Science & Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
| | - Yong Wang
- School of Textile and Garment, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, Anhui 241000, China
| | - Long Kuai
- School of Textile and Garment, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, Anhui 241000, China; School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Anhui Laboratory of Clean Catalytic Engineering, Anhui Laboratory of Functional Coordinated Complexes for Materials Chemistry and Application, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, Anhui 241000, China.
| | - Zongqian Wang
- School of Textile and Garment, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, Anhui 241000, China.
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Injectable PEG-induced silk nanofiber hydrogel for vancomycin delivery. J Drug Deliv Sci Technol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jddst.2022.103596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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5
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Uddin MG, Allardyce BJ, Rashida N, Rajkhowa R. Mechanical, structural and biodegradation characteristics of fibrillated silk fibres and papers. Int J Biol Macromol 2021; 179:20-32. [PMID: 33667557 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.02.211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 02/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
We characterised fibres and papers of microfibrillated silk from Bombyx mori produced by mechanical and enzymatic process. Milling increased the specific surface area of fibres from 1.5 to 8.5 m2/g and that enzymatic pre-treatment increased it further to 16.5 m2/g. These fibrils produced a uniform, significantly strong (tenacity 55 Nm/g) and stiff (Young's modulus > 2 GPa) papers. Enzymatic pre-treatment did not reduce molecular weight and tensile strength of papers but significantly improved fibrillation. Silk remained highly crystalline throughout the fibrillation process. Protease biodegradation was more rapid after fibrillation. Biodegradation was impacted by structural change due to enzymatic pre-treatment during the fibrillation. Biodegraded silk had much higher thermal degradation temperature. The unique combination of high strength, slow yet predicable degradation and controllable wicking properties make the materials ideally suited to biomedical and healthcare applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Gias Uddin
- Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia
| | | | - Nigar Rashida
- Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia
| | - Rangam Rajkhowa
- Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia.
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Liang Y, Tang B, Sharma A, Perera D, Allardyce BJ, Ghosh S, Schniepp HC, Rajkhowa R. Silk Protein Paper with In Situ Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles. Macromol Biosci 2020; 21:e2000357. [PMID: 33369111 DOI: 10.1002/mabi.202000357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Revised: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are in situ synthesized for the first time on microfibrillated silk (MFS) exfoliated from domesticated Philosamia cynthia ricini (eri) and Bombyx mori (mulberry) silkworm silk fibers. The process is rapid (hours time), does not rely on harmful chemicals, and produces robust and flexible AgNPs coated MFS (MFS-AgNPs) protein papers with excellent handling properties. None of these can be achieved by approaches used in the past to fabricate AgNPs silk systems. MFS bonds the AgNPs strongly, providing good support and stabilization for the NPs, leading to strong wash fastness. The mechanical properties of the MFS-AgNPs papers largely do not change compared to the MFS papers without nanoparticles, except for some higher concentration of AgNPs in the case of mulberry silk. The improved tensile properties of eri silk papers with or without AgNPs compared to mulberry silk papers can be attributed to the higher degree of fibrillation achieved in eri silk and its inherent higher ductility. MFS-AgNPs from eri silk also exhibit strong antibacterial activity. This study provides the basis for the development of smart protein papers based on silk fiber and functional nanomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujia Liang
- Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, 3216, Australia
| | - Bin Tang
- Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, 3216, Australia
| | - Aarushi Sharma
- Department of Textile and Fibre Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, 110016, India
| | - Dinidu Perera
- Department of Applied Science, William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, 23187-8795, USA
| | | | - Sourabh Ghosh
- Department of Textile and Fibre Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, 110016, India
| | - Hannes C Schniepp
- Department of Applied Science, William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, 23187-8795, USA
| | - Rangam Rajkhowa
- Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, 3216, Australia
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Uddin MG, Allardyce BJ, Leal DRDC, Byrne N, Wang X, Batchelor W, Rajkhowa R. Exfoliating B. mori silk into high aspect ratio nanofibrils facilitated by response surface methodology. Int J Biol Macromol 2020; 164:2389-2398. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.08.106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Revised: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
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Narita C, Okahisa Y, Wataoka I, Yamada K. Characterization of Ground Silk Fibroin through Comparison of Nanofibroin and Higher Order Structures. ACS OMEGA 2020; 5:22786-22792. [PMID: 32954126 PMCID: PMC7495459 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c01750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Silk fibroin, a biodegradable component of silk, is increasingly used for various applications and studied intensively. Recently, a technique for preparing nanofibers without using chemicals has been gaining attention from the environmental impact and safety perspectives. This study focuses on the structure observation of ground silk fibroin (GF) prepared using a grinding method, which is a physical nanofibrillation method. The fabricated nanofiber samples were examined in detail using the X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), micro Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. The nanofibrillated structures were observed in both GF and regenerated silk fibroin (RF) samples prepared using the conventional method. As results, AFM images showed that the nanofibril diameter of GF was about 1.64 nm and that of RF was about 0.32 nm. Methanol treatment induced a structural transition from a random coil to a β-sheet for the RF film, but it had no effect on the GF film. Thus, it is suggested that the grinding method provides not only ultrafine silk fibroin nanofibers without using toxic reagents but also resistance to reagents such as methanol.
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