STUDIES OF TASAR SILK FIBROIN/ BIOACTIVE CLAY NANOCOMPOSITE FILMS

Abstract

The purpose of our research is creating a new nanocomposite material using tasar silk fibroin and modified montmorillonite (MMT) clay. Generally, the silk fibroin is starred as a promising base material for biomedical applications. The incorporation of montmorillonite (MMT) into silk fibroin would improve physical properties of the silk fibroin and impart antibacterial properties. We investigated tasar silk fibroin with MMT for the different types of physical properties. Specifically, tasar silk fibroin were dissolved in ionic liquid and by mixing certain amounts of modified MMT clay to obtain a bionanocomposite. Their ultrastructure were successfully visualized by transmission electron microscopy. The morphology and particle size of modified MMT clay was examined using scanning electron microscopy and particle size analyzer. This nanocomposite was comprised of intercalated thin layers of MMT, each with a thickness of about 1.66nm which is confirmed by XRD results. We also performed TGA and FTIR analysis in conjunction with morphological data for characterization. Convincingly we obtained a new bionanocomposite of tasar silk firboin and MMT, which has never been reported. This unique nanocomposite possess antibacterial properties which can make it be useful as scaffold for biological tests in tissue engineering.