The U/Θ effect of electricity parameters of the lotus root silk in the liquor with different pH values

Abstract

The silk of lotus root is a kind of natural biomaterial with the advantages of easy absorbing and dissolving and poisonless. It may become a new engineering material for clinic and tissue engineering. However, the relationship between its electricity parameters and the pH values of the liquor that the silk is dipped in is unknown presently. The electricity parameters of inductance, capacitance and impedance of the silk were measured in the environment with the temperature ranging from 23°C to 25°C and the humidity ranging from 45% to 55% when it was dipped in the liquor with different pH values for 24 h. The results show that the inductance and impedance vary in U shape curves with the liquor pH value, and the capacitance varies in Θ shape curve. The minimal value of the U curves and the maximal value of the Θ curve appear at the point where the pH value equals to 7. The phenomena are called the U/Θ effect. It means that the silk has perfect biocompatibility with human tissues. The study results may imply that the silk have broader potential applications in biomedicine, tissue engineering and bioelectronics.