title: Regeneration of high-quality silk fibroin fiber by wet spinning from CaCl2-formic acid solvent.
abstract: Silks spun by silkworms and spiders feature outstanding mechanical properties despite being spun under benign conditions. The superior physical properties of silk are closely related to its complicated hierarchical structures constructed from nanoscale building blocks, such as nanocrystals and nanofibrils. Here, we report a novel silk dissolution behavior, which preserved nanofibrils in CaCl2-formic acid solution, that enables spinning of high-quality fibers with a hierarchical structure. This process is characterized by simplicity, high efficiency, low cost, environmental compatibility and large-scale industrialization potential, as well as having utility and potential for the recycling of silk waste and the production of silk-based functional materials.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Stem Cell Research, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiaoxiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: bqzuo@suda.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Baoqi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Stem Cell Research, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Mingde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Stem Cell Research, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, 4 Colby Street, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Stem Cell Research, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: xueguangzh@126.com.
authors.forename: Xueguang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D002122:Calcium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry*; D005349:Fibroins / Q000737:chemistry*; D005561:Formates / Q000737:chemistry*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D047011:Silk / Q000737:chemistry*; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D005561:Formates; D047011:Silk; D012997:Solvents; C030544:formic acid; D005349:Fibroins; D002122:Calcium Chloride
keywords: Fiber; Hierarchical structure; Mechanical property; Nanofibril; Silk protein