New Technique to Produce Large Amount of Flat Silk by Biospinning

Abstract

Beyond the production of silk thread, there are several studies showing that the silk is a great biomaterial for surgical sutures and grafts. This paper shows a new technique to produce silk thread changing the natural cycle of silk production, which is the production of cocoons. This new method has the purpose of producing a silk fabric free of impurities, through flat surfaces. Six different surfaces were tested: Glass, Formica Surface, Steel and Zinc Sheets, Cotton tissue and Burlap Bag. The first five surfaces had not presented enough larvae alive for statistical analysis, because there were several damages in silkworms larvae that resulted in mortality and low silk production. On the other hand, the burlap bag surface presented good results for web construction by biospinning and its use was indicated for silk industry focused on biomaterials. The present study suggested the potential of naturally biospun web, using Bombyx mori, to develop a new technique to produce silk thread matrices that will have several applications at the industry and production of biomedical materials.