A Study of the Preparation of Silk Sericin/Chitosan Composite Film for Future Wound Dressing Applications

Silk sericin/chitosan composite films were successfully prepared for possible future wound dressing applications. To prepare the chitosan, shrimp shells were first washed and finely ground to obtain a fine powder before extracting the chitosan using a chemical reaction method. The sericin was extracted from Thai raw cocoons of Bombyx mori silk worm via boiling and drying. To prepare the silk sericin/chitosan composite films, the silk sericin and chitosan solutions with varying volume ratios were mixed in a magnetic stirrer for 30 minutes. They were then dropped on to a plastic mold. The sample was dried at a temperature of 50 °C. The prepared composite films were characterized using UV-VIS spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results from our studies could provide a method for future composite film development.