(631g) Invited talk: Biodegradable Microcapsule Designer Using Silk Fibroin Technology

Open use of polymeric microcapsules for agricultural applications and household applications makes it inevitable to release microplastic waste into the environment. Conventional microplastics are known to last for a long time; they travel in various ecosystems and accumulate in living organisms along food chains. However, stringent performance criteria and the large availability of new materials that can retrofit existing manufacturing processes hinder the replacement of commonly used cargo with biodegradable alternatives. Here, we demonstrate that microencapsulation in commonly available silk biopolymers can be achieved by modulating the protein protonation and chain relaxation at the point of material assembly.