Table 2.
Mechanical data of various regenerated silk morphologies (adapted from ref. 13).
| Material formats | Stiffness [GPa] | Strength [MPa] | Extensibility [%] | Pore size [μm] (porosity [%]) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Films (as cast) | 3.9 | 47.2 | 1.9 | - |
| Films (methanol-treated) | 3.5 | 58.8 | 2.1 | - |
| Films (water-annealed) | 1.9 | 67.7 | 5.5 | - |
| Films (ultrathin, i.e., 20–100 nm; spin coating and spin-assisted layer-by-layer assembly) | 6–8 | 100 | 0.5–3 | - |
| Hydrogels (8% w/v) | - | 0.0252 | - | - |
| Electrospun mat (concentration of 3%, electric field of 1 kV/cm and 10–15 cm spinning distance) | - | 15 | 40 | - |
| Electrospun mat (concentration of 15%, electric field of 2 kV/cm and 5 cm spinning distance) | 0.515 | 7.25 | 3.2 | - |
| Methanol-treated sponges (concentration 6 wt%) | 0.00043 | 0.02 | - | 151 ± 40 (88%) |
| HFIP-derived sponges (concentration 17 w/v%) | 0.00045–0.001 | 0.175–0.25 | - | 15–202 |
| Aqueous-derived sponges (concentration 4 w/v%) | 0.00007 | 0.011 | - | 940 ± 50 (95%) |
| 0.00008 | 0.011 | - | 760 ± 30 (95%) | |
| 0.0001 | 0.012 | - | 650 ± 30 (97%) | |
| 0.000115 | 0.013 | - | 570 ± 30 (97%) | |
| 0.00013 | 0.013 | - | 470 ± 30 (97%) | |
| Aqueous-derived sponges (concentration 8 w/v%) | 0.0013 | 0.1 | - | 920 ± 50 (92%) |
| 0.00153 | 0.125 | - | 750 ± 20 (94%) | |
| 0.00194 | 0.14 | - | 640 ± 30 (95%) | |
| Aqueous-derived sponges (concentration 10 w/v%) | 0.00333 | 0.32 | - | 920 ± 50 (85%) |