Effect of degumming methods on structural characteristics and properties of regenerated silk.

In the present study, the effects of different degumming methods on the structural characteristics and properties of regenerated silk fibroin (SF) were examined. The crystallinity index of the degummed silk increased with the degumming ratio. The crystallinity index at any given degumming ratio differed depending on the degumming method.

The role of glycerol and water in flexible silk sericin film.

Silk sericin (SS) can be obtained as a byproduct during the silk fiber process, but its application has been limited due to the brittleness of the SS film. To enhance the flexibility of the SS film, glycerol (Glc) has been added as a plasticizer. The addition of Glc enhanced the elongation property of the SS film when the Glc content was 50-70 wt% of SS.

Effects of different Bombyx mori silkworm varieties on the structural characteristics and properties of silk.

Silk has attracted the attention of biomedical researchers because of its good biocompatibility. Although various characteristics of silk are needed for its successful application in biomedical fields, the performance of silk material is limited. Although there are many varieties of Bombyx mori silkworm, the effect of different silkworm varieties on regenerated silk has not been considered in detail.

Effect of shear viscosity on the preparation of sphere-like silk fibroin microparticles by electrospraying.

Silk fibroin (SF) is known to be a biocompatible material, and different forms of SF are used for various applications. However, the application of SF in particle form is rarely reported, compared to other forms. In this study, SF microparticles with a diameter of approximately 250 μm were prepared by the electrospray method, using 1 M LiCl/DMSO as a solvent.

Extraction conditions of Antheraea mylitta sericin with high yields and minimum molecular weight degradation.

Although the technique for extracting the Bombyx mori sericin has been extensively known, the extraction of sericin from wild-silkworm cocoons is not yet standardized. The aim of this study was to find the optimal conditions for the extraction of sericin from Antheraea mylitta cocoons, with high yields and minimum degradation. We attempted to apply various protocols for the extraction of the A.

Refining hot-water extracted silk sericin by ethanol-induced precipitation.

In order to improve some inherent disadvantages in the mechanical properties of silk sericin (SS), we prepared ethanol-precipitated sericin (EpSS) by adding ethanol into hot-water extracted sericin (HS) solution. EpSS had higher viscosity compared to HS and it was due to the differences in their molecular weight distribution (MWD). The different MWD of EpSS was due to the different solubility of sericin molecules at various concentrations of ethanol, and the amino acid composition of EpSS showed that the more hydrophobic sericin is precipitated more readily in the presence of ethanol.