Synthesis of selenium nanoparticles in the presence of silk fibroin

This paper describes a solution-phase approach to the synthesis of selenium nanoparticles by reducing selenious acid solution with ascorbic acid in the presence of silk fibroin. The monodispersed spherical selenium colloid particles obtained were very stable in silk fibroin solution and characterized by Atomic force microscopy and X-ray techniques. The influences of temperature and ultrasonication on the morphology of selenium nanoparticles were also discussed. The experiments showed that the selenium nanoparticles with various morphologies could be obtained under different temperatures and the appropriate ultrasonication time was 60 min. This result indicated that the silk fibroin molecules intimately associated with the surface of the selenium particles and controlled the growth particles.