01955nas a2200217   4500008004100000022001400041245007700055210006900132260000800201300001400209490000700223520124600230100001701476700001701493700002101510700002601531700003501557700002101592700001701613856010701630       2016                        eng d  a1525-779700aSilk fibroin-sophorolipid gelation: deciphering the underlying mechanism0 aSilk fibroinsophorolipid gelation deciphering the underlying mec  cOCT  a3318-33270 v173 a<p>Silk fibroin (SF) protein, produced by silkworm Bombyx mori, is a promising biomaterial, while sophorolipid (SL) is an amphiphilic functional biosurfactant synthesized by nonpathogenic yeast Candida bombicola. SL is a mixture of two forms, acidic (ASL) and lactonic (LSL), which when added to SF results in accelerated gelation of silk fibroin. LSL is known to have multiple biological functionalities and hence hydrogels of these green molecules have promising applications in the biomedical sector. In this work, SANS, NMR, and rheology are employed to examine the assembling properties of individual and mixed SLs and their interactions with SF to understand the mechanism that leads to rapid gelation. SANS and NMR studies show that ASL assembles to form charged micelles, while LSL forms micellar assemblies and aggregates of a mass fractal nature. ASL and LSL together form larger mixed micelles, all of which interact differently with SF. It is shown that preferential binding of LSL to SF causes rapid unfolding of the SF chain leading to the formation of intermolecular beta sheets, which trigger fast gelation. Based on the observations, a mechanism for gelation of SF in the presence of different sophorolipids is proposed.</p>1 aDubey, Parul1 aKumar, Sugam1 aAswal, Vinod, K.1 aRavindranathan, Sapna1 aRajamohanan, Pattuparambil, R.1 aPrabhune, Asmita1 aNisal, Anuya  uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/silk-fibroin-sophorolipid-gelation-deciphering-underlying-mechanism