Sterilization is a fundamental step to eliminate microorganisms prior to the application of products, especially in the food and medical industries. γ-irradiation is one of the most recommended and effective methods used for sterilization, but its effect on the properties and performance of bio-based polymers is negligible. This work is aimed at evaluating the influence of γ-radiation at doses of 5, 10, 15, 25, 30, and 40 kGy on the morphology, properties, and performance of bioplastic produced from onion bulb (Allium cepa L.), using two hydrothermal synthesis procedures. These procedures differ in whether the product is washed or not after bioplastic synthesis, and are referred to as the unwashed hydrothermally treated pulp (HTP) and washed hydrothermally treated pulp (W-HTP). The morphological analysis indicated that the film surfaces became progressively rougher and more irregular for doses above 25 kGy, which increases their hydrophobicity, especially for the W-HTP samples. In addition, the FTIR and XRD results indicated that irradiation changed the structural and chemical groups of the samples. There was an increase in the crystallinity index and a predominance of the interaction of radiation with the hydroxyl groups—more susceptible to the oxidative effect—besides the cleavage of chemical bonds depending on the γ-radiation dose. The presence of soluble carbohydrates influenced the mechanical behavior of the samples, in which HTP is more ductile than W-HTP, but γ-radiation did not cause a change in mechanical properties proportionally to the dose. For W-HTP, films there was no mutagenicity or cytotoxicity—even after γ-irradiation at higher doses. In conclusion, the properties of onion-based films varied significantly with the γ-radiation dose. The films were also affected differently by radiation, depending on their chemical composition and the change induced by washing, which influences their use in food packaging or biomedical devices.

The development of bioinspired nanofibrous scaffolds with adjustable functions is essential for a range of applications, from tissue engineering to sustainable materials that exploit the hierarchical architectures of Bombyx mori silks. In this work, we report the production of organic−inorganic nanofibers by incorporating the organosilane (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) into silk fibroin using the solution blow spinning (SB-spinning) technique. The incorporation of APTES aims to modulate solution rheological properties, promote conformational transition to β-sheet-rich structures, and increase the thermal stability of the resulting nanofiber, making them more suitable for biomedical applications. Silk fibroin was isolated from B. mori cocoons, dissolved in a ternary CaCl₂/EtOH/H₂O solution, and hybridized with APTES before fiber production. The resulting nanofibers displayed smooth, uniform morphologies and nanoscale diameters, confirming the effectiveness of SB-spinning for creating hybrid systems. Rheological analyses showed that adding APTES reduced viscosity and enhanced the processability of fibroin solutions. Spectroscopic and X-ray diffraction data revealed an increased β-sheet content and crystallinity in the hybrid fibers, while thermogravimetric analysis indicated improved thermal stability. Overall, these results demonstrate that incorporating APTES effectively alters the physicochemical and structural properties of silk fibroin, enabling the production of promising nanofibrous scaffolds for biomedical applications. This study thus introduces an approach to engineering organic−inorganic hybrid biomaterials via a scalable, low-cost spinning process.