Gelation behavior of Antheraea pernyi silk fibroin

The sol-gel transition behavior of Antherae pernyi silk fibroin (Ap-SF) has not been systematically investigated. In this work, the influence of environmental temperature, pH, the concentration of Ap-SF, K+ and Ca2+ on the gelation time, and the structural changes of Ap-SF in sol-gel transformation were studied. The results indicated that the gelation time of the Ap-SF aqueous solution decreased with the increase of the Ap-SF concentration and environmental temperature. The sol-gel transformation of Ap-SF was much more rapid than that of Bombyx mori silk fibroin under the same conditions. The Ap-SF was sensitive to changes in the concentration of Ca2+ and K+. Upon gelation, the random coil structure of the Ap-SF was significantly transformed into the beta-sheet structure.