ABSTRACT
Sericin protein is a useful biomaterial because of its unique properties. Sericin is an antibacterial and uv-resistant protein. Sericin absorbs and releases moisture easily. In this work, application of natural silk sericin to obtain antibacterial polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofiber was studied. A concentrated sericin solution was dialyzed and blended with PVA solution in various Sericin/PVA blend ratios. Effects of Sericin content in the blend and electric field on the nanofibers uniformity, morphology and diameter were studied using scanning electronic microscope (SEM). Antibacterial property of electrospun mats containing sericin were also examined and reported. Results showed that the nanofibers were successfully formed up to 10% Sericin in the blends and drop formation was observed at higher sericin content. Inhibition of growing of bacteria around the PVA/sericin blend nanofiber mat was observed.
