Silk was grafted using 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate(HEMA)by atom transfer radical polymerization(ATRP)method.The amino groups and hydroxyl groups on the side chains of the silk fibroin was reacted with 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide(BriB-Br)to obtain efficient macroinitiator for ATRP.And the macroinitiator was grafted with HEMA in water aqueous using CuBr/N,N,N',N",N"-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine(PMDETA)as catalyst system.The effects of monomer concentration,the proportion of CuBr and PMDETA,grafting temperature and time on the silk grafting were discussed,and the optimal grafting technology was obtained.FT-IR characterization of the grafted silk showed a peak corresponding to HEMA,which indicated that HEMA was grafted onto the surface of silk.ATRP method could be applied on the silk modification and this technique provided a new way for silk grafting.
