Physicochemical Properties of Silk Fibroin Electrospun Membranes Functionalized with Gold Nanoparticles and Choline Based Bio-Ionic Liquids

Abstract

Tissue engineering has focused on the development of biomaterials, modulating the morphological and electrochemical characteristics based on their final application. In this setting, the purpose of the present study was to determine the physicochemical response of electrospun membranes of silk fibroin extracted from sericulture wastes and their functionalization with choline based bio-ionic liquids. A comparative study of their response was carried out with membranes obtained from the same protein but functionalized with gold nanoparticles. The biomaterials developed were characterized by UV-Visible spectrophotometry, FTIR spectroscopy, electron microscopy (SEM and FESEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and Linear sweep voltammetry. The results obtained showed a fibrillar morphology and the conduction of electrical stimuli by the membranes functionalized with the gold nanoparticles or the bio-ionic liquids, where for the latter the response is modulated by the concentration used in the development of the biocomposite.