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Fibers of regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) are usually brittle and weak, and this prevents its wide application as a structural material. To improve the mechanical properties of RSF, composite fibers of RSF reinforced via functional graphene oxide (FGO) with high strength were prepared by a simple and versatile method known as wet spinning. The greatest force at which hybrid fibers were made to break was 697+/-22MPa, which is a 58.7% improvement over the breakage force of pure RSF silk fiber. In addition, the as-prepared FGO/RSF nanocomposite fibers also exhibit significant activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The FGO/RSF composite fibers with good biocompatibility, the significant antibacterial activity and enhanced mechanical properties may have potential applications in tissue engineering, biomedical and biotechnological area.
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