Diffusion Dynamics of Rhodamine B Through Layered Silk Fibroin Hydrogels Reinforced with Polyethylene Terephthalate Nonwoven Textile

¹ Department of Civil, GRIET, Bachupally, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
² Department of Civil Engineering, KG Reddy College of Engineering and Technology, Chilkur(Vil), Moinabad(M), Ranga Reddy(Dist), Hyderabad, 500075, Telangana, India.
³ Uttaranchal University, Dehradun - 248007, India
⁴ Centre of Research Impact and Outcome, Chitkara University, Rajpura - 140417, Punjab, India
⁵ Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, India,
⁶ Chitkara Centre for Research and Development, Chitkara University, Himachal Pradesh - 174103 India
⁷ Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Research & Incubation Centre, Rayat Bahra University, Chandigarh-Ropar NH 205, Greater Mohali, Punjab, 140103, India

^* Corresponding author: lavanya.cc@gmail.com

Abstract

This study investigates the kinetics of rhodamine B diffusion over a multilayer membrane composed of silk fibroin hydrogel and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nonwoven fabric. To evaluate the impact of varying membrane structure thicknesses on dye diffusion rate, we used 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 layers. The research indicated that the 32-layer membrane significantly slowed dye penetration. An initial linear release was seen until 2500 minutes, after which the rate of diffusion decelerated. Validation of the controlled diffusion behavior across the hydrogel layers was achieved by UV-Vis spectroscopic analysis, specifically targeting the absorbance peak at 554 nm of rhodamine B. The results of this study provide crucial insights for the advancement of hydrogel- based materials in sensor technologies, drug delivery approaches, and regulated dye release.