Abstract
In this paper, silk fibroin-chitosan membranes (SFCS) composed of silk fibroin and chitosan 70 were prepared to evaluate their properties and the effects of these membranes on the functions of macrophage. It was apparent that the solubilities of SFCS in PBS (-) were suppressed in comparison with chitosan or fibroin membranes. This was considered to be result of the high orientation of molecules though the strong hydrogen bonding between the molecules of silk fibroin and chitosan. It was clarified that human serum albumin (HSA) and human immunoglobulin G (IgG) were adsorbed onto SFCS mainly caused by an electrostatic interaction between the proteins and SFCS. Moreover the results of cytotoxicity assay showed that cellular affinities of SFCS were increased with decreasing chitosan content. In general, the surfaces of materials were covered with proteins at first in vivo, and then the cellular responses, e. g. the inflammatory responses which is mainly controlled by the macrophages, were controlled by the adsorbed proteins. Therefore, SFCS, which could control protein adsorption and the effects of macrophage-like cell by changing mixing ratio, might be make possible to control the functions of macrophage.
