• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.70-77
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• 2022

Wet-spun regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) fibers have been extensively studied owing to their 1) useful properties as biomaterials, including good blood compatibility and cyto-compatibility; 2) the various methods available to control the structural characteristics and morphology of the fiber, and 3) the possibility of fabricating blended fibers and new material-embedded fibers. In this study, silk nanofibrils prepared using a new method were embedded in RSF to fabricate wet-spun silk nanofibril/RSF composite fibers. Up to 2% addition of silk nanofibril, the silk nanofibril/RSF dope solution showed slight shear thinning, and the G' and G" of the dope solution were similar. However, above 3% silk nanofibril content, the viscosity of the dope solution significantly increased. In addition, shear thinning was remarkably evident, and the G' of the dope solution was much higher than the G", indicating a very elastic state. As the silk nanofibril content was increased, the wet-spun silk nanofibril/RSF composite fiber became uneven, with a rough surface, and more beaded fibers were produced. Scanning electron microscopy observations revealed that the beaded fibers were attributed to the inhomogeneous dispersion and presence of agglomerates of the silk nanofibrils. As the silk nanofibril content and RSF concentration increased, the maximum draw ratio decreased, indicating the deterioration of the wet spinnability and post-drawing performance of silk nanofibril/RSF.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.145-150
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• 2010

The regenerated silk fibroin with various molecular weights (MW) was prepared by different dissolution condition and the effect of coagulant on the wet spinnability of the various MW silk fibroin solutions dissolved in formic acid was investigated by the observation of wet spun filament in coagulant and the measurement of maximum draw ratio. The observation on the wet spun filament in coagulation bath revealed that good fibers without bead were formed in a high MW and a very high MW silk fibroin samples. In contrast, beads were observed in the silk fibroin sample with medium MW. The maximum draw ratio of wet spun silk fibroin filament decreased with MW reduction. The decrease of maximum draw ratio in isopropanol, acetone, DMF and THF was remarkably higher than that in methanol and ethanol, indicating that the coagulant type strongly influenced the wet spinnability. The two simple evaluation methods used in this study showed complementary information for wet spinnability: (a) The observation of filament in coagulant was effective to check a continuous fiber formation and a bead formation, and (b) the maximum draw ratio measurement was useful to examine the post drawing ability related to molecular orientation.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.75-80
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• 2015

The wet spinning of silk solution has attracted researchers' attention because of 1) unique properties of silk as a biomedical material and 2) easy control of the structure and properties of the regenerated silk fiber. Recently, studies have reported that different silkworm varieties produce silk with differences in the molecular weight (MW) and other mechanical properties of the regenerated silk fibroin (SF) film. In this study, we look at the effect of different Bombyx mori varieties on the wet spinning of SF. Although five regenerated SFs from different silkworm varieties have different MWs and solution viscosity, the wet spinnability and post drawing performance of regenerated SFs were not different. This result is due to low variability in the MW of the regenerated SF samples from the different silkworm varieties. In addition, unlike regenerated SF films, the mechanical properties of wet spun regenerated SF filament were not affected by silkworm variety. This result suggests that the mechanical properties of wet spun SF filament are less affected by MW than those of SF film are.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.81-88
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• 2013

Wet-spun silk fibers have attracted the attention of many researchers because of 1) the unique properties of silk as a biomaterial, including good biocompatibility and cyto-compatability and 2) the various methods available to control the structure and properties of the fiber. Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) have typically been used as a reinforcing material for natural and synthetic polymers. In this study, CNF-embedded silk fibroin (SF) nanocomposite fibers were prepared for the first time. The effects of CNF content on the rheology of the dope solution and the characteristics of wet-spun CNF/SF composite fibers were also examined. A 5% SF formic acid solution that contained no CNFs showed nearly Newtonian fluid behavior, with slight shear thinning. However, after the addition of 1% CNFs, the viscosity of the dope solution increased significantly, and apparent shear thinning was observed. The maximum draw ratio of the CNF/SF composite fibers decreased as the CNF content increased. Interestingly, the crystallinity index for the silk in the CNF/SF fibers was sequentially reduced as the CNF content was increased. This phenomenon may be due to the fact that the CNFs prevent ${\beta}$-sheet crystallization of the SF by elimination of formic acid from the dope solution during the coagulation process. The CNF/SF composite fibers displayed a relatively smooth surface with stripes, at low magnification (${\times}500$). However, a rugged nanoscale surface was observed at high magnification (${\times}10,000$), and the surface roughness increased with the CNF content.

• Proceedings of the Korean Fiber Society Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.211-212
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• 2007

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• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.61-66
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• 2008

In this paper, the regenerated silk fibroin (SF)/nylon 6 blend filaments were fabricated using wet spinning technique and the effect of coagulant on the post drawing and morphology of blend filaments was investigated. In the result of wet spinnability, methanol, acetone, DMF, and THF showed relatively good coagulation strength and fiber formation for the regenerated SF. On the contrary, they did not exhibit strong enough to produce a uniform nylon 6 filament due to the lack of coagulation strength. In the examination of post drawing performance, methanol showed the highest maximum draw ratio of the blend filament over all blend ratios. The maximum draw ratio of SF/nylon 6 blend filaments decreased with the reduction of SF content regardless of type of coagulant. SEM observation showed the consistent result with that of post-drawing performance. As SF content decreased, the uniform and regular structure was changed to irregular one. In particular, the severe macro-phase separation between SF and nylon 6 could be detected in the 50/50 SF/nylon 6 blend filaments coagulated in methanol and THF.