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Structural comparison of various silkworm silks: an insight into the structure-property relationship
journal contribution
posted on 2018-03-12, 00:00 authored by Chengchen Guo, Jin Zhang, Jacob S Jordan, Xungai Wang, Robert W Henning, Jeffery L YargerSilkworm silk has attracted considerable attention in recent years due to its excellent mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and promising applications in biomedical sector. However, a clear understanding of the molecular structure and the relationship between the excellent mechanical properties and the silk protein sequences are still lacking. This study carries out a thorough comparative structural analysis of silk fibers of four silkworm species ( Bombyx mori, Antheraea pernyi, Samia cynthia ricini, and Antheraea assamensis). A combination of characterization techniques including scanning electron microscopy, mechanical test, synchrotron X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and NMR spectroscopy was applied to investigate the morphologies, mechanical properties, amino acid compositions, nanoscale organizations, and molecular structures of various silkworm silks. Furthermore, the structure-property relationship is discussed by correlating the molecular structural features of silks with their mechanical properties. The results show that a high content of β-sheet structures and a high crystallinity would result in a high Young's modulus for silkworm silk fibers. Additionally, a low content of β-sheet structures would result in a high extensibility.
History
Journal
BiomacromoleculesVolume
19Issue
3Pagination
906 - 917Publisher
American Chemical SocietyLocation
Washington, D.C.Publisher DOI
eISSN
1526-4602Language
engPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2018, American Chemical SocietyUsage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
silkwormssilkworm silkmechanical propertiesmolecular structuresilk proteinBombyx moriAntheraea pernyiSamia cynthia riciniAntheraea assamensisScience & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicinePhysical SciencesBiochemistry & Molecular BiologyChemistry, OrganicPolymer ScienceChemistrySPIDER DRAGLINE SILKSOLID-STATE C-13BOMBYX-MORIMECHANICAL-PROPERTIESSECONDARY STRUCTUREANTHERAEA-PERNYIPHYSICAL-PROPERTIESCHEMICAL-SHIFTSFIBROINFIBERS