Fabrication and characterization of hydrogel films using A. mylitta regenerated silk fibroin with Poly vinyl alcohol for biomedical uses

Hydrogels are water-absorbing three-dimensional structures or materials that contain more water content. In recent years, hydrogels have been used in many fields like tissue engineering where they can imitate several body tissues that are present in the body. Hydrogel films are fabricated by blending PVA and RSF at different ratios without affecting their natural properties. The hydrogel films containing PVA and RSF in various ratios are fabricated which can be further used for tissue engineering and wound healing purposes with novel properties. In this study, the gelation time was observed for 1-2 days by the vial inversion test. The SEM images showed different pore sizes and surface morphology for all the different ratios of hydrogel films. According to FTIR-ATR spectroscopy, both the RSF and PVA molecules interacted well with each other and RSF showed amorphous as well as crystalline silk I structures i.e. ss-sheet in the spectrum whereas DSC and TGA are used to determine the thermal stability of the blended hydrogel films. The mechanical properties of these hydrogel films were controlled by RSF. All the blended hydrogel films showed minimal or no toxicity against NIH3T3 fibroblast cells through the cell viability test, making them promising materials for biomedical uses.