Preparation, Characterization of SF- HPMC Blend Films and SF Microparticles

The aim of this study was to synthesis silk fibroin (SF) micro particles which could be used as carrier of drug by simple blending of silk fibroin solution with low molecular weight Hydroxy Propyl Methyl Cellulose (HPMC) under mild processing conditions. Firstly SF/HPMC blend films were prepared with variable proportions of SF and HPMC using solvent evaporation technique. The phase separation structure of the blend films was examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). In the next step the blend films were dissolved in predetermined volume of ultra-pure water, shaken well for ten minutes followed by centrifugation twice to get the silk micro particles. SF particles were in disc or oval shape with diameters almost less than 10 lm with predominant beta sheet structure. When sonication was performed on some sets of SF/HPMC blend solutions using probe sonicator at amplitude of 20% for 30 s, resulted in silk microparticles with minimum surface roughness than other samples. The formation of silk microparticles of oval or disc shape was confirmed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Global Conference on Recent Advances in Sustainable Materials 2021.