Fabrication of Silk Fibroin Film with Strong Anticoagulant Property from the Synergy of Deep Eutectic Solvents and UV-Light Irradiation

Abstract

As a biological macromolecule, silk fibroin (SF) has great application potential in anticoagulant. However, its complex molecular structure leads to its poor solubility, which limits the application of SF. In this study, a novel SF film with strong anticoagulant properties was fabricated through the synergistic effect of LiBr deep eutectic solvents (DESs) and UV-light irradiation. Under the optimum conditions, the plasma recalcification time of SF film was 182 s, the hemolysis rate was 3.93%, and the dynamic coagulation time remained at a high level up to 60 min. The synergistic effect of UV-light and DES can promote the enhancement of hydrophilicity and the decrease of surface roughness of SF films, and thus the anticoagulant properties of the films were enhanced. The structure change, wettability, and roughness of SF films were characterized by XRD, FTIR, contact angle, and AFM. In the meantime, the wavelength of the UV-light and the irradiation time have an effect on the anticoagulant properties of the SF films. Furthermore, the improvement of the anticoagulant properties of SF films exhibits good universality for different LiBr DESs. The study provides a new direction for the preparation of strong anticoagulation SF films, as well as its application in life sciences.