Processing of Bombyx mori silk for biomedical applications

This chapter highlights various processing methodologies that may be utilized to create a variety of structural forms from the protein fi broin, which is derived from the Bombyx mori silkworm cocoon. Modulation of fi broin material properties will be considered with respect to induced protein secondary structure formation. Additional considerations will be explored for sericin removal and fi broin extraction. A review of recent scaffold processing techniques will be reported, which include materials such as native fi bers, electrospun fi bers, sponge scaffolds, hydrogels, and microspheres. Finally, a perspective on the future trends relating to fi broin protein based technologies will be discussed.