Bombyx mori silk and porous regenerated fibroin scaffold with different treatments were degraded in vitro by a protease. The quantitative, morphologic and structural changes of the materials were evaluated, showing that the conformational content was a very important factor to alter the rate of degradation in the process. Furthermore, for the regenerated fibroin materials, adjusting the content of β-sheet was an efficient method to control the rate of degradation.

Key words: porous regenerated fibroin, Bombyx mori silk, biodegradation, β-sheet, protease