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Effect of polyamines on mechanical and structural properties of Bombyx mori silk
Author(s) -
Yerra Aparna,
Mysarla Danti Kumari,
Siripurapu Prasanthi,
Jha Anjali,
Valluri Satyavathi V.,
Mamillapalli Anitha
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
biopolymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.22980
Subject(s) - bombyx mori , fibroin , silk , sericin , chemistry , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , biocompatibility , biomaterial , spermine , putrescine , polymer chemistry , antheraea pernyi , nuclear chemistry , chemical engineering , materials science , biochemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , enzyme , gene , engineering
Silkworm, Bombyx mori (B. mori) belongs to the Lepidoptera family. The silk produced from this insect, mulberry silk, gained lot of importance as a fabric. Silk is being exploited as a biomaterial due to its surprising strength and biocompatibility. Polyamines (PA) are important cell growth regulators. In the present work the effect of treatment of polyamines, putrescine (Put), spermidine (Spd), and spermine (Spm) on the quantity and quality of silk produced was assessed. Results showed that exogenous feeding of Spd at a concentration of 50 µM increased fiber length significantly. Analysis by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) on the properties of silk obtained from Spd treated silkworms revealed an increase in percentage of absorption with no difference in peak positions of amide I and amide III groups. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed an increase in diameter of silk. Further, analysis at molecular level showed an increase in fibroin expression in Spd treated silk glands. However, the Spd treatment showed no significant difference with respect to fibroin to sericin ratio per unit weight of cocoon, silk tenacity, and percent elongation. Thus, the present results show that polyamine treatment would influence silk quality at structural, mechanical, and molecular level in the Bombyx mori , which can be exploited in silk biomaterial production.