Abstract

In this study we report the extraction and characterization of sericin using water alone, from two non-mulberry silks - Antheraea assamensis (A. assamensis) and Philosamia ricini (P. ricini) compared with Bombyx mori (B. mori) silk. Degumming at 130 °C offered the highest sericin removal for A. assamensis; P. ricini had the lowest sericin removal among the varieties, because of its lower overall sericin content. Along with sericin degumming, fiber tensile properties were also reported. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of sericin revealed minimal sericin degradation even for degumming temperatures above 100 °C. The spectra from Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed random coil motifs for B. mori sericin but a higher proportion of β-sheets in A. assamensis and P. ricini sericin which is likely to contribute to their lower water solubility. Thus, high temperature, water-based processing can be a potential approach for chemical- free degumming of silk fibers and to obtain high molecular weight sericin for different biomaterial applications.

摘要

在这项研究中，我们报告了单独使用水从两种非桑蚕丝 - Antheraea assamensis (A. assamensis)和Philosamia ricini (P. ricini)与家蚕 (B. mori)丝绸中提取和表征丝胶。130 °C 脱胶为A. assamensis提供了最高的丝胶去除率；P. ricini由于丝胶总含量较低，因此在品种中丝胶去除率最低。除了丝胶脱胶外，还报道了纤维的拉伸性能。丝胶的十二烷基硫酸钠聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳 (SDS-PAGE) 显示即使脱胶温度高于 100 °C，丝胶降解也很少。傅里叶变换红外光谱 (FTIR) 的光谱证实了家蚕丝胶的无规卷曲基序，但在A. assamensis和P. ricini中的 β-折叠比例更高丝胶，这可能导致其较低的水溶性。因此，高温、水基加工可能是丝纤维无化学脱胶和获得用于不同生物材料应用的高分子量丝胶的潜在方法。