Mesoscale structure development reveals when a silkworm silk is spun

Abstract

Silk fibre mechanical properties are attributed to the development of a multi-scale hierarchical structure during spinning. By careful ex vivo processing of a B. mori silkworm silk solution we arrest the spinning process, freezing-in mesoscale structures corresponding to three distinctive structure development stages; gelation, fibrilization and the consolidation phase identified in this work, a process highlighted by the emergence and extinction of ‘water pockets’. These transient water pockets are a manifestation of the interplay between protein dehydration, phase separation and nanofibril assembly, with their removal due to nanofibril coalescence during consolidation. We modeled and validated how post-draw improves mechanical properties and refines a silk’s hierarchical structure as a result of consolidation. These insights enable a better understanding of the sequence of events that occur during spinning, ultimately leading us to propose a robust definition of when a silkworm silk is actually ‘spun’.

Metadata

Authors/Creators:

Wan, Q.
Yang, M.
Hu, J.
Lei, F.
Shuai, Y.
Wang, J.
Holland, C. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0913-2221
Rodenburg, C. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9590-375X
Yang, M.

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