Preparation of Soluble Silk Peptides by Food-grade Proteinases

Enzymatic hydrolysis of silk fibers were investigated for the preparation of soluble silk peptides by ten food-grade proteases from Bacillus, Aspergilius, and plant sources. Silk fibers were dissolved for 1 hr in a 2:1 cosolvent (50% : ethanol) by heating at . The silk solution was filtered to remove Impurity particles and desalted for 50 hours by a dialysis process to remove the used cosolvent. When the silk hydrolysis was performed at for 2 hours, most proteases from Bacillus and Aspergillus generated large amounts of insoluble aggregates. On the contrary, proteases from plant sources produced much less aggregates during prolonged incubations and also exhibited high hydrolysis activities. In regards of the solubility and broad molecular sizes of produced silk peptides, Bromelain was finally selected and applied for the enzymatic hydrolysis of silk fibers.