title: The effect of residual silk sericin on the structure and mechanical property of regenerated silk filament.
abstract: In this study, we elucidated the effect of residual silk sericin (SS) on structure and mechanical properties of regenerated silk filament as well as on fiber formation. The dope viscosity markedly increased with increasing residual SS content in dope solution which was prepared by dissolving the silk protein in formic acid. As a result of FTIR, (13)C NMR, and XRD, a small amount of SS (9.6%) contained in the filament showed highest content of beta-sheet conformation and maximum crystallinity. It seems that the SS affects the structural change of SF up to a certain level by inducing the beta-transition easily. The tenacity of the filaments, containing 9.6-18.9% SS, was in the range of 2.1-2.4 gf/d, which was about 50% higher than the filament without SS (pure SF). Consequently, with the enhancement of spinnability in wet spinning process, the SS can play an important role for developing the crystalline structure of SF as well as for improving mechanical properties of the regenerated silk fiber.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems and Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Chang Seok
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ki
authors.forename: Jong Wook
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Han Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Ki Hoon
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Young Hwan
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D012831:Bombyx; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D047030:Sericins / Q000737:chemistry*; D047011:Silk / Q000737:chemistry*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D047030:Sericins; D047011:Silk