Intermolecular interactions between B. mori silk fibroin and poly(L-lactic acid) in electrospun composite nanofibrous scaffolds

Vibrational and thermal analyses showed that upon blending in the SF/PLLA nanofibres, the crystallisation of PLLA was hindered by the presence of SF, which crystallized preferentially and underwent conformational changes that did not significantly change its prevailing beta-sheet structure. The two components were thermodynamically compatible and the intermolecular interactions between them were revealed for the first time.

In this study, composite nanofibrous scaffolds were obtained by electrospinning a trifluoroacetic acid solution containing B. mori silk fibroin (SF) and poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) in a 1:1 weight ratio. SF, PLLA and SF/PLLA nanofibres were prepared with average diameter sizes of 360 +/- 90 nm, 470 +/- 240 nm and 580 +/- 220 nm, respectively, as assessed by SEM analysis.