초록
Sericin beads were prepared from ethanol-precipitated sericin. The addition of ethanol into hot-water extracted sericin solution induced precipitation of sericin and thereby some sericin could be fractionated. The ethanol-precipitated sericin (EpSS) had narrower molecular weight distribution than original sericin. The EpSS had mainly random coil structure with small portion of ${\beta}-sheet$ structure. With the EpSS, spherical beads could be prepared at lower concentration than with original sericin due to higher viscosity. The EpSS beads had better compressive strength than the original sericin beads and had rubber-like property. Our results suggest that EpSS is more compatible in the polymeric field, since it has better mechanical strength than original sericin.