Research Article
Joykrisna Saha, Md. Ibrahim H.
Abstract
In the present investigation environment-friendly effective technique was used for silk sericin extraction from waste silk cocoon. Silk sericin powder was extracted from an only boiled water solution of silk cocoons without using any chemicals. Extracted sericin powder was characterized by UV spectrophotometer, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Thermogrametric Analysis (TGA). The crystalline index and crystallite diameter of silk sericin were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The crystalline index and crystallite diameters were found 39.66% and 2.179 nm respectively for silk sericin. The functional properties in terms of antimicrobial activity and antioxidant property were also evaluated. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals. The results showed that silk sericin had a strong scavenging capacity for DPPH radicals.