The Influence of Silkworm Species on Cellular Interactions with Novel PVA/Silk Sericin Hydrogels

Sericin peptides and PVA are chemically modified with methacrylate groups to produce a covalent PVA/sericin hydrogel. Preservation of the sericin bioactivity following methacrylation is confirmed, and PVA/sericin hydrogels are fabricated for both B. mori and A. mylitta sericin. Cell adhesion studies confirm the preservation of sericin bioactivity post incorporation in PVA gels. PVA/A. mylitta gels are observed to facilitate cell adhesion to a significantly greater degree than PVA/B. mori gels. Overall, the incorporation of sericin does not alter the physical properties of the PVA hydrogels but does result in significantly improved cellular interaction, particularly from A. mylitta gels. Novel biosynthetic hydrogels composed of poly(vinyl alcohol) and silk sericin peptides are fabricated and characterized. The resulting co‐hydrogels are bioactive matrices that have the ability to support cell growth and proliferation, and can be potentially used in soft‐tissue engineering applications.