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Title: Structural Comparison of Various Silkworm Silks: An Insight into the Structure–Property Relationship

Abstract

Silkworm 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. Here, 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.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [1];  [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States)
  2. Deakin Univ., Burwood VIC (Australia)
  3. Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
National Science Foundation (NSF); US Army Research Office (ARO); U.S. Department of Defense Air Force Office; Australian Research Council Discovery
OSTI Identifier:
1430288
Grant/Contract Number:  
CHE-1011937; DMR-1264801; W911NF-11-1-0263; FA9550-17-1-0282; DP120100139
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Biomacromolecules
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 19; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 1525-7797
Publisher:
American Chemical Society
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH
Subject:
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; fibers; peptides and proteins; biomimetic materials; molecular structure; nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Citation Formats

Guo, Chengchen, Zhang, Jin, Jordan, Jacob S., Wang, Xungai, Henning, Robert W., and Yarger, Jeffery L. Structural Comparison of Various Silkworm Silks: An Insight into the Structure–Property Relationship. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1021/acs.biomac.7b01687.
Guo, Chengchen, Zhang, Jin, Jordan, Jacob S., Wang, Xungai, Henning, Robert W., & Yarger, Jeffery L. Structural Comparison of Various Silkworm Silks: An Insight into the Structure–Property Relationship. United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.7b01687
Guo, Chengchen, Zhang, Jin, Jordan, Jacob S., Wang, Xungai, Henning, Robert W., and Yarger, Jeffery L. Fri . "Structural Comparison of Various Silkworm Silks: An Insight into the Structure–Property Relationship". United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.7b01687. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1430288.
@article{osti_1430288,
title = {Structural Comparison of Various Silkworm Silks: An Insight into the Structure–Property Relationship},
author = {Guo, Chengchen and Zhang, Jin and Jordan, Jacob S. and Wang, Xungai and Henning, Robert W. and Yarger, Jeffery L.},
abstractNote = {Silkworm 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. Here, 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.},
doi = {10.1021/acs.biomac.7b01687},
journal = {Biomacromolecules},
number = 3,
volume = 19,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Feb 09 00:00:00 EST 2018},
month = {Fri Feb 09 00:00:00 EST 2018}
}

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