Polypeptide porous body and method for producing same
A polypeptide porous body of the present invention is a porous body of a polypeptide derived from spider silk proteins. The polypeptide includes a water-insoluble polypeptide. The polypeptide porous body has an apparent density of 0.1 g/cm 3 or less. A method for producing the polypeptide porous body includes: a solution production step in which the polypeptide is dissolved in at least one solvent selected from DMSO, DMF, and these with an inorganic salt, so as to obtain a solution of the polypeptide; a step in which the solution produced in the solution production step is substituted with a water-soluble solvent so as to obtain a polypeptide gel; and a step in which the polypeptide gel is dried. Thereby, the present invention provides a polypeptide porous body having excellent water absorbability and a polypeptide porous body suitable for application to a living body, and a method for producing the same.
1. A polypeptide porous body that is a porous body of a polypeptide derived from spider silk proteins,
wherein the polypeptide includes a water-insoluble polypeptide derived from spider silk proteins,
the polypeptide porous body has an apparent density of 0.1 g/cm 3 or less, and
at least one selected from the group consisting of dimethyl sulfoxide and N, N-dimethylformamide is present inside the polypeptide porous body.
2. The polypeptide porous body according to claim 1 , wherein the polypeptide porous body has an apparent density of 0.01 to 0.08 g/cm 3 .
3. The polypeptide porous body according to claim 1 , wherein the polypeptide porous body has a water absorption ratio of 2 to 20 times in terms of weight of the polypeptide porous body.
4. A method for producing a polypeptide porous body, comprising:
a solution production step in which a polypeptide derived from spider silk proteins is dissolved in at least one dissolving solvent selected from the group consisting of: (A) dimethyl sulfoxide; (B) dimethyl sulfoxide with an inorganic salt; and (C) N, N-dimethylformamide with an inorganic salt, so as to obtain a solution of the polypeptide;
a step in which the solution of the polypeptide produced in the solution production step is substituted with a water-soluble solvent so as to obtain a polypeptide gel; and
a step in which the polypeptide gel is dried.
5. The method for producing a polypeptide porous body according to claim 4 , wherein the polypeptide porous body is produced using an aqueous solution that is obtained by substituting the solution of the polypeptide with water.
6. The method for producing a polypeptide porous body according to claim 4 ,
wherein the substitution step using the water-soluble solvent is a step in which the solution of the polypeptide obtained by dissolving the polypeptide in the dissolving solvent is placed in a dialysis membrane,
the dialysis membrane is immersed in a water-soluble solvent, and
the water-soluble solvent is renewed at least one time.
7. The method for producing a polypeptide porous body according to claim 4 , wherein the drying is vacuum freeze-drying.