Effects of different Bombyx mori silkworm varieties on the structural characteristics and properties of silk

Abstract

Silk has attracted the attention of biomedical researchers because of its good biocompatibility. Although various characteristics of silk are needed for its successful application in biomedical fields, the performance of silk material is limited. Although there are many varieties of Bombyx mori silkworm, the effect of different silkworm varieties on regenerated silk has not been considered in detail. That is, the use of a diverse variety of silkworms has not been considered in non-textile applications resulting in limited performance of silk materials. In this study, the effects of different silkworm varieties on the structural characteristics and properties of silk cocoon and regenerated silk fibroin (SF) were examined. Structural characteristics of silk cocoon including color, fiber diameter, and porosity, differed depending on the silkworm variety. Furthermore, molecular weight, solution viscosity, and mechanical properties of regenerated SF were influenced by the variety of silkworm, while the amino acid composition, β-sheet crystallization by formic acid, and cyto-compatibility of regenerated SF did not differ between the samples from different varieties of silkworm. These results imply that diverse performance of silk can be obtained by controlling the silkworm variety, and that the use of different varieties of silkworm might be a good way to strengthen the performance of silk in biomedical fields.