Natural Protein Fibers

Keywords

Silk • Cocoon • Colored cocoon • Dyeing

Although silks are characterized by their bright color and luster, there are only limited colors in which cocoons are produced. Recently, attempts have been made to develop a new class of colored silks by feeding mulberry leaves mixed with fluorescent dyes to Bombyx mori insects. The dyes were predominantly taken up by the fibroin proteins, and the color was persistent even after degumming. These unique colored silks were found to have similar crystalline structure and tensile properties and also supported the attachment and growth of human colon fibroblasts [11Tan]. The presence of the fluorescent dye provided luminescent fibers (Fig. 37.1) that could enable the detection of cell attachment and spreading more easily. Such colored silk fibers would eliminate the need for dyeing and lead to substantial savings in energy, water, and other resources and also provide unique fibers for medical and other applications.

Control Rhodamine 101 Rhodamine 110 Rhodamine 8

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Fig. 37.1 Digital images showing fluorescent B. mori cocoons and fibers obtained after feeding the insects with various fluorescent dyes [11Tan]

Reference

[11Tan] Tansil, N. C., Li, Y., Teng, C. P., Zhang, S., Win, K. Y., Chen, X., Liu, X. Y., Han, M.: Adv. Mater. 23, 1463 (2011)