Journal
MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING C-MATERIALS FOR BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
Volume 32, Issue 4, Pages 772-778Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2012.01.023
Keywords
Silk; Cocoon; Biomaterial; Biological composites; Biomimetic
Categories
Funding
- AFSOR, USA [F49620-03-1-0111]
- European Research Council [SP2-GA-2008-233409]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Silkworm cocoons are natural polymer fibre composites made from silk fibres and sericin binder. While silk is an interesting natural material per se, an understanding of the role of silk within one of its main functional applications in silkworm cocoons will provide inspiration and tools for the design of new artificial silk composites. Here, we describe in some detail the structure and morphology of the cocoons of 27 different species of silkworm. While cocoon morphology can be described very broadly as a nonwoven fibre composite, we demonstrate a diversity of structural features such as: the number and connectivity of layers through the cocoon wall thickness, the amount and distribution of sericin binder, the diameter and packing density of the silk fibres, the degree of orientation of the nonwoven structure, the distribution of larger holes within that structure, and the presence of calcium oxalate crystals. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available