Curcumin, extracted from the rhizome of Curcuma longa, has been widely used in medicine for centuries due to its anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant and anti-microbial effects. However, its bioavailability during treatments is poor because of its low solubility in water, slow dissolution rate and rapid intestinal metabolism. For these reasons, improving the therapeutic efficiency of cu...

To enhance the hemocompatibility of silk fibroin fabric as biomedical material, polyelectrolytes architectures have been assembled through the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique on silk fibroin fabric (SFF). In particular, 1.5 and 2.5 bilayer of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes were assembled onto SFF using poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) as polycationic polymer and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)...

In the silkworm Bombyx mori, three fibroin genes, fibroin-heavy-chain (fibH), fibroin-light-chain (fibL) and fibrohexamerin (fhx), are coexpressed only in the posterior silk gland (PSG) cells, while the sericin genes encoding silk glue proteins are expressed in the middle silk gland (MSG) cells. Silk gland factor-2 (SGF-2) is a PSG-specific activator complex of fibH, composed of a LIM-homeodoma...

Several advantages of the near-infrared (NIR) technique in the characterization of the secondary structure of regenerated Bombyx mori silk fibroin are demonstrated. Silk fibroin films with thicknesses ranging from 50 to 300 microm are suitable for the NIR measurement. The bands due to hydrogen-bonded water are independent in the NIR spectra and facilitate our investigation of the amide region. ...

Silk fibroin scaffolds were investigated for their ability to support attachment, proliferation, and differentiation of human gastrointestinal epithelial and smooth muscle cell lines in order to ascertain their potential for tissue engineering. A bi-layer silk fibroin matrix composed of a porous silk fibroin foam annealed to a homogeneous silk fibroin film was evaluated in parallel with small i...

Sericin and fibroin are the two major proteins in the silk fibre produced by the domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori. Fibroin has been extensively investigated as a biomaterial. We have previously shown that fibroin can function successfully as a substratum for growing cells of the eye. Sericin has been so far neglected as a biomaterial because of suspected allergenic activity. However, this mis...

Fibroin, the protein of silk, and hydrolyzed fibroin have recently been described to enhance insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Here, we report that a series of synthetic peptides derived from the fibroin sequence have enhancing effects on glucose transport in normal and insulin-resistant 3T3-L1 cells. We observed that, among several enzymatic hydrolysates of fibro...

Abstract Silk fibroin is a unique biomaterial and has gained much attention in biomedical applications. In this study, we have demonstrated the formation of hollow using selective etching method. Initially, spherical CaCO 3 was synthesized presence polyelectrolyte, poly(4‐styrenesulfonate). particles were treated with aqueous silk solution, followed by methanol treatment. The sequential deposit...

The DNA sequences necessary for faithful and efficient initiation of transcription of Bombyx mori fibroin gene have been studied in vivo using monkey COS cells and a SV40 origin vector. Transcriptional analysis of 5' deletion genes and of exact substitution genes including a series of single base substitution mutants indicates that the TATA box and the cap region are required for faithful and e...

Purified fibroin protein can be obtained in large quantities from silk fibers and processed to form microscopic particles as delivery vehicles for therapeutic agents. In this study, we demonstrated that fibroin microspheres were taken up by 3T3 cells, localized in the nonlysosomal compartment, and secreted from the cytoplasm after medium replenishment. DNA-loaded microspheres were taken up by >...