Protein Paper from Exfoliated Eri Silk Nanofibers.

The exfoliation of silk fiber is an attractive method to produce silk micro- and nanofibers that retain the secondary structure of native silk. However, most fibrillation methods used to date require the use of toxic and/or expensive solvents and the use of high energy. This study describes a low cost, scalable method to produce microfibrillated silk nanofibers without the use of toxic chemicals by controlling the application of shear using commercially scalable milling and homogenization equipment.

Effect of nanoparticles size and polyelectrolyte on nanoparticles aggregation in a cellulose fibrous matrix.

Controlling nanoparticles (NPs) aggregation in cellulose/NPs composites allows to optimise NPs driven properties and their applications. Polyelectrolytes are used to control NPs aggregation and their retention within the fibrous matrix. Here, we aim at evaluating how a polyelectrolyte (Cationic Polyacrylamide; CPAM, molecular weight: 13MDa, charge: 50%, Radius of gyration: 30-36nm) adsorbs and re-conforms onto the surface of silica(SiO) NPs differing in diameter (8, 22 and 74nm) and to investigate the respective NPs aggregation in cellulose matrices.

Visualization and Quantification of IgG Antibody Adsorbed at the Cellulose-Liquid Interface.

Quantification of adsorbed biomolecules (enzymes, proteins) at the cellulose interface is a major challenge in developing eco-friendly biodiagnostics. Here, a novel methodology is developed to visualize and quantify the adsorption of antibody from solution to the cellulose-liquid interface. The concept is to deuterate cellulose by replacing all nonexchangeable hydrogens from the glucose rings with deuterium in order to enhance the scattering contrast between the cellulose film surface and adsorbed antibody molecules.