Engineering the Future of Silk Materials through Advanced Manufacturing

Silk is a natural fiber renowned for its outstanding mechanical properties that have enabled the manufacturing of ultralight and ultrastrong textiles. Recent advances in silk processing and manufacturing have underpinned a re‐interpretation of silk from textiles to technological materials. Here, it is argued that silk materials—optimized by selective pressure to work in the environment at the biotic–abiotic interface—can be harnessed by human micro‐ and nanomanufacturing technology to impart new functionalities and opportunities. A critical overview of recent progress in silk technology is presented with emphasis on high‐tech applications enabled by recent innovations in multilevel modifications, multiscale manufacturing, and multimodal characterization of silk materials. These advances have enabled successful demonstrations of silk materials across several disciplines, including tissue engineering, drug delivery, implantable medical devices, and biodissolvable/degradable devices.     

蚕丝新材料的研发

蚕丝不仅是重要的纺织原材料,还是食品、化工、生物医学与轻工业等领域的新材料.综述了蚕丝新材料的研发现状,着重探讨了丝素、丝胶的新用途,展望了蚕丝新材料的发展前景.     

Fabrication and characterization of fibroin solution and nanoparticle from silk fibers of Bombyx mori

The present investigation aims to study the effect of degumming time on the structural property of silk fiber obtained by silk cocoons of Bombyx mori, followed by preparation of the regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) solution which can be subsequently molded into silk nanoparticles. Silk fibers degummed with different media at different time intervals were investigated for the degumming loss and were characterized using Ffourier transform infrared (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Maximum degumming was observed when the fibers were treated with sodium carbonate for 60 min. SEM and atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of RSF solution showed aggregation of silk globules resulting in formation of solvated macrochains and giving it an appearance of island-like morphology. Blank silk nanoparticles prepared from the RSF solution showed a smooth and spherical surface devoid of any adhesion using SEM, AFM, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The prepared silk nanoparticles may further be explored for loading drug entities and targeting.     

大腹圆蛛丝的形态结构

利用扫描电子显微镜分析了成熟雌性大腹圆蛛牵引丝、内外层包卵丝和蛛网框丝以及未成熟大腹圆蛛、幼蛛、Nephlia幼蛛牵引丝的形态结构特征。研究了离子刻蚀后不同成熟度蜘蛛牵引丝的形态特征 ,表明蜘蛛的成熟程度与其结构间存在着密切的关系。运用计算机图象处理技术对各试样的几何形态尺寸和外层包卵丝纳米级孔隙分布进行了定量测定     

蚕丝在生物医用材料领域的应用研究

蚕丝既是优质的天然蛋白纤维,也是优质的高分子蛋白质材料,具有良好的力学性能、生物相容性和可控的生物降解性等。随着生物医用材料领域的不断发展和各学科的交叉融合,蚕丝作为生物医用材料已展示出很强的竞争力,其在该领域的应用潜力已逐渐展现。介绍了蚕丝的构成和特点,总结了蚕丝丝素及丝胶提取的方法,综述了近年来蚕丝及蚕丝蛋白在组织工程、载药、敷料等方面的应用,并客观分析了蚕丝及蚕丝蛋白在这些具体应用过程中所发挥的重要作用及各种蚕丝材料的优缺点,最后就蚕丝在生物医用材料领域的应用前景进行了展望。     

再生丝素/丝胶共混蛋白水溶液的静电纺丝

采用静电纺丝方法制备了再生丝素/丝胶共混纤维,分析了共混配比对再生丝素/丝胶水溶液流变性能和静电纺可纺性的影响,通过扫描电镜、拉曼光谱和DSC等手段研究了所得纤维的形态和微细结构及其力学性能。研究结果表明:随着溶液中丝胶含量的增加,体系的表观粘度增大,静电纺纤维的直径减小且直径分布变窄;并且丝胶的存在有利于丝素蛋白从无规卷曲或α-螺旋结构向β-折叠结构转变,由此可提高静电纺纤维的力学性能。     

再生丝素/丝胶蛋白水溶液的同轴干法纺丝

模仿蚕丝的成分、结构和成丝方法,通过同轴干法纺丝初步制备了以添加有金属钙离子（Ca2＋）并调节了pH值的再生丝素蛋白（RSF）为芯层、丝胶蛋白（SS）为皮层的RSF/SS纤维。采用荧光显微镜、扫描电镜、拉曼光谱和材料试验机研究了所得纤维的微观形貌、二级结构和力学性能,并与纯RSF纤维和蚕丝进行了对比。研究结果表明同轴干法纺RSF/SS纤维具有清晰的皮-芯层结构,直径较粗且表面略有皱痕;与纯RSF纤维相比,该初生纤维具有更多的β-折叠构象,力学性能也相对较好,但与天然蚕丝相比尚有较大差距。     

丝胶组分和高湿后处理对静电纺丝素纤维结构与性能的影响

利用静电纺丝法制备了再生丝素和再生丝素/丝胶蛋白纤维,并对所得纤维进行了高湿后处理。采用扫描电镜分析了丝胶蛋白和高湿后处理对静电纺再生丝素蛋白纤维形貌的影响,采用拉曼光谱、X射线衍射和热失重分析研究了所得纤维微细结构及热性能。研究结果表明,添加丝胶蛋白有利于降低静电纺再生丝素蛋白纤维的直径及其分布,而高湿后处理对纤维的形貌没有明显影响;添加丝胶蛋白和/或高湿后处理有利于促进丝素发生向β-折叠构象的转变,并使纤维的结晶结构得到改善,从而进一步提高纤维的热稳定性。     

同轴静电纺再生丝素/丝胶蛋白纤维的制备及其形态结构表征

模仿蚕丝的组成和结构,利用同轴静电纺丝法制备了以再生丝素蛋白（RSF）为＂芯＂、丝胶蛋白（SS）为＂皮＂的双组分静电纺纤维。通过扫描电镜和透射电镜研究了内层纺丝液流速（Qc）、电压（U）、接收距离（D）以及场强（E）等参数对同轴静电纺RSF/SS纤维形态结构的影响。研究结果表明纤维的平均直径在1400～2100nm左右,皮-芯层结构清晰;Qc对纤维皮-芯层结构的影响较大,过大的内层纺丝液流速会因外层丝胶对内层丝素的包裹不均匀而导致偏芯现象;随E的增加（U增加或D减小）,纤维的直径及其分布显著减小,皮-芯层结构清晰;相同E下,高电压、长距离利于纤维的细化,使直径变细且分布均匀,皮-芯层结构明显。     

丝素蛋白柔性电子器件材料的研究进展

丝素蛋白材料凭借良好的生物相容性、可控生物降解性、再生形貌多样性等已被制成柔性电子器件在电子领域进行了应用研究.本文首先综述不同溶解方法对蚕丝再生材料制备的影响,同时对丝素蛋白材料的(微球、膜、纤维、凝胶、支架等)制备方法、材料性能进行分析,最后总结了近年来丝素蛋白基柔性电子材料的应用研究进展.尽管已有研究表明可获得各...     

丝素蛋白/乙二醇二缩水甘油醚对老化丝纤维的加固

在制备人工老化样的基础上,利用丝素蛋白/乙二醇二缩水甘油醚对老化丝纤维进行加固,并对加固前后的丝纤维进行了性能和结构表征。研究结果表明,丝素蛋白与乙二醇二缩水甘油醚发生了化学反应;反应位点为Tyr羟苯基上的羟基、Lys上的氨基、His咪唑基上的亚氨基等;加固样的断裂强力从1.54 N提高到15.8 N,伸长率从2%提高...     

再生桑蚕丝素/柞蚕丝素蛋白静电纺无纺网结构的研究

通过SEM、X射线衍射、FT-IR等方法分析研究了80%桑蚕丝素/20%柞蚕丝素共混静电纺纤维无纺网的形态和聚集态结构。结果表明,本实验条件下,无纺网为微米级纤维直径,桑蚕丝素和柞蚕丝素蛋白在结晶区内也相容。     

Preparation of regenerated silk sericin/silk fibroin blend microparticles by emulsification–diffusion method for controlled release drug delivery

This study reports drug-loaded silk sericin (SS)/silk fibroin (SF) blend microparticles being fabricated by the water-in-oil emulsion solvent diffusion of a SS/SF aqueous blend solution. Blue dextran was used as the water-soluble drug model. The influence of the SS/SF blend ratio on the characteristics and drug release behavior of the blend microparticles was investigated. The blend microparticles were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and UV-vis spectroscopy. The blend microparticles were nearly spherical in shape as determined from SEM micrographs. The FTIR and TG results demonstrated that interactions between SS and SF molecules had occurred. The blend microparticles showed very high drug loading efficiency (94–98%) for all blend ratios. The in vitro drug release significantly decreased with decreasing SS blend ratio. The results demonstrated that the SS/SF blend microparticles could be used as biocompatible and biodegradable microparticles for controlled release drug delivery applications.     

The role of capture spiral silk properties in the diversification of orb webs

Among a myriad of spider web geometries, the orb web presents a fascinating, exquisite example in architecture and evolution. Orb webs can be divided into two categories according to the capture silk used in construction: cribellate orb webs (composed of pseudoflagelliform silk) coated with dry cribellate threads and ecribellate orb webs (composed of flagelliform silk fibres) coated by adhesive glue droplets. Cribellate capture silk is generally stronger but less-extensible than viscid capture silk, and a body of phylogenic evidence suggests that cribellate capture silk is more closely related to the ancestral form of capture spiral silk. Here, we use a coarse-grained web model to investigate how the mechanical properties of spiral capture silk affect the behaviour of the whole web, illustrating that more elastic capture spiral silk yields a decrease in web system energy absorption, suggesting that the function of the capture spiral shifted from prey capture to other structural roles. Additionally, we observe that in webs with more extensible capture silk, the effect of thread strength on web performance is reduced, indicating that thread elasticity is a dominant driving factor in web diversification.     

静电纺丝素蛋白纤维毡在乙醇水溶液中的拉伸后处理

利用静电纺丝技术制备了再生丝素蛋白纤维毡,并采用乙醇水溶液对其进行拉伸后处理以提高其力学性能。研究了乙醇的体积分数对纤维毡形貌、结构和性能的影响。结果表明,随乙醇体积分数的增加,纤维毡中β-折叠结构的含量增加。纤维毡在体积分数为90%的乙醇溶液中,先拉伸1.11倍,然后浸泡120min后,其断裂强度及断裂伸长率分别达2.64MPa和12.1%。