Preparation and Properties of Glutaraldehyde Cross-Linked Silk Sericin Films

Glutaraldehyde cross-linked silk sericin films were successfully prepared. FTIR was applied to characterize the chemical structure of films. Compared to pure silk sericin, cross-linked silk sericin film with 3% glutaraldehyde was found a new peak at 1620 cm-1 and the peak intensity of cross-linked film decreased markedly, which indicating cross-linking reaction has been occurred. Thermal and swelling behavior of cross-linked films was investigated. The cross-linking reaction increased the thermal decomposition temperature. The swelling ratio of glutaraldehyde cross-linked silk sericin films went up with increasing glutaralehyde loading to 3wt%.