Premium
CD and small‐angle x‐ray scattering of silk fibroin in solution
Author(s) -
Canetti Maurizio,
Seves Alberto,
Secundo Francesco,
Vecchio Giuseppe
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
biopolymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.360280910
Subject(s) - fibroin , small angle x ray scattering , lamellar structure , chemistry , aqueous solution , dissolution , solvent , methanol , crystallography , polymer chemistry , silk , chemical engineering , scattering , organic chemistry , materials science , composite material , physics , engineering , optics
We investigated the structure of silk fibroin dissolved in water and in water–organic solvent mixtures by CD and small‐angle x‐ray scattering (SAXS). CD spectra indicated a disordered secondary structure in water and a β‐sheet conformation in aqueous organic solvents, such as methanol, dioxane, and trifluoroethanol (in trifluoroethanol a transient form evolving toward β‐sheet conformation was seen just after dissolution). The SAXS technique indicated the presence of fibroin particles of lamellar shape. The molecular weight was 188,000 daltons in water and 302,000 daltons in aqueous methanol.