Accelerated wound-healing capabilities of a dressing fabricated from silkworm cocoon

Silk fibroin materials have shown some success in wound dressing applications; however, their use for this purpose remains limited by a complex production process and wasted sericin. In the present study, Bombyx mori cocoon materials are used because the protective function of the silkworm cocoon resembles the manner in which the skin protects the human body. A series of silkworm cocoon sol-gel film (SCSF) wound dressings are prepared by immersion in a CaCl₂-ethanol-H₂O solution for different treatment times. The accelerated wound-healing capabilities of SCSFs are systematically evaluated. Among them, the SCSF sample immersed for 90min exhibits stronger biocompatibility and antibacterial performance compared to other SCSFs. SCSF-90 also exhibits excellent transparency, a high swelling ratio, and good extensibility. Furthermore, in vivo experiments indicate that SCSF-90 can significantly accelerate the healing rate of wounds in New Zealand white rabbits, compared to the standard Mepitel^® dressing, and histological examinations reveal that SCSF-90 aided in the successful reconstruction of intact and thickened epidermis. These results demonstrate that the proposed approach may be utilized in the design of antibacterial materials with promising applications in wound dressing.