Mesoscale structure development reveals when a silkworm silk is spun

Quan Wan, Mei Yang, Jiaqi Hu, Fang Lei, Yajun Shuai, Jie Wang, Chris Holland (), Cornelia Rodenburg () and Mingying Yang ()
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Quan Wan: Zhejiang University
Mei Yang: Zhejiang University
Jiaqi Hu: Zhejiang University
Fang Lei: Zhejiang University
Yajun Shuai: Zhejiang University
Jie Wang: Zhejiang University
Chris Holland: University of Sheffield
Cornelia Rodenburg: University of Sheffield
Mingying Yang: Zhejiang University

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: 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’.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23960-w

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