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Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Microfluidic Dry-spinning and Characterization of Regenerated Silk Fibroin Fibers
Published on: September 4, 2017
Oxidizing and Nano-dispersing the Natural Silk Fibers
Ke Zheng1,2, Yanlei Hu1, Wenwen Zhang1,2
1Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Jiangsu Key Lab of Biomass-based Green Fuel & Chemicals, Key Laboratory of Forestry Genetics & Biotechnology (Nanjing Forestry University) of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China.
Abstract:
Natural Bombyx mori silk (BS) and Antheraea pernyi silk (AS) were oxidized in sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) solutions. Thereafter, individual silk nanofibers (SNs) were achieved after sonicating the oxidized silk slurries, where the diameters of the resultant SNs were ~ 100 nm and several micrometers in length. Thin membranes were formed by casting the SNs, which had optically transparent (above 75% transmission), mechanically robust (~4.5 GPa of Young's modulus), and enhanced wetting properties. An interesting aggregating-dispersing (re-dispersing) process by using these SNs was strongly regulated by adjusting the pH values. Consequently, the negatively charged SNs could be concentrated up to ~ 20 wt% (100 times that of the initial dispersion) and offered extraordinary benefits for storage, transportation, and engineering applications.
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