Assessing the influence of silkworm cocoon’s age on the physicochemical properties of silk fibroin-based materials

The novelty of this study was to investigate for the first time in literature the influence of Bombyx mori silkworm cocoon’s age on the properties of silk fibroin-based materials, during all stages of cocoon processing to obtain the fibroin film. The study started with the premise that the cocoon ag...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of materials research 2019-06, Vol.34 (11), p.1944-1949
Main Authors: Valles Ramirez, Silvia Marisol, de Moraes, Mariana Agostini, Beppu, Marisa Masumi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Aging
Applied and Technical Physics
Biocompatibility
Biomaterials
Biomedical materials
Free radicals
Humidity
Hydrogels
Influence
Inorganic Chemistry
Light
Materials Engineering
Materials research
Materials Science
Nanotechnology
Particle size
Properties (attributes)
Proteins
Silk
Silk fibroin
Silkworms
Solvents
Spectrum analysis
Studies
Thermal resistance
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Summary:The novelty of this study was to investigate for the first time in literature the influence of Bombyx mori silkworm cocoon’s age on the properties of silk fibroin-based materials, during all stages of cocoon processing to obtain the fibroin film. The study started with the premise that the cocoon age could cause modifications on fibroin properties during processing and, consequently, a possible interference on the characteristics of the final product. Characterizations were performed using batches of cocoons produced in different years, named C0 (fresh cocoons) and C6 (six-year-old cocoons). The influence of cocoon’s aging was observed on dialyzed dispersion regarding the molecular weight, particle size, and conformation. C6 films showed a more crystalline structure and higher thermal resistance than C0 films. The findings reported in this work are relevant for the reproducibility of fibroin-based materials, and the cocoon age is a key factor that should be considered in the preparation of fibroin-based materials.
ISSN:0884-2914
2044-5326
DOI:10.1557/jmr.2019.108