Structural evolution of regenerated silk fibroin under shear: Combined wide- and small-angle x-ray scattering experiments using synchrotron radiation
✍ Scribed by Manfred Rössle; Pierre Panine; Volker S. Urban; Christian Riekel
- Publisher
- Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
- Year
- 2004
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 731 KB
- Volume
- 74
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0006-3525
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✦ Synopsis
Abstract
The structural evolution of regenerated Bombyx mori silk fibroin during shearing with a Couette cell has been studied in situ by synchrotron radiation small‐ and wide‐angle x‐ray scattering techniques. An elongation of fibroin molecules was observed with increasing shear rate, followed by an aggregation phase. The aggregates were found to be amorphous with β‐conformation according to infrared spectroscopy. Scanning x‐ray microdiffraction with a 5 μm beam on aggregated material, which had solidified in air, showed silk II reflections and a material with equatorial reflections close to the silk I structure reflections, but with strong differences in reflection intensities. This silk I type material shows up to two low‐angle peaks suggesting the presence of water molecules that might be intercalated between hydrogen‐bonded sheets. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers, 2004