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Recent Patents on Nanotechnology

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1872-2105
ISSN (Online): 2212-4020

Research Article

Electrospun Mussel-derived Silk Fibers

Author(s): Dan Tian, Dan-Ni Yu, Yi-Ming Xu, Xu-Yin Ding, Zhou-Yu Zhang, Chun-Lan Wan and Ji-Huan He*

Volume 14, Issue 1, 2020

Page: [14 - 20] Pages: 7

DOI: 10.2174/1872210513666190426145024

Price: $65

Abstract

Background: Though there are many patents on silk, patents on sea silk are rare. Sea silk is one of the most coveted materials in the world, and the technology to make sea silk is at an extremely high risk of extinction. Unlike spider dragline silk and silkworm silk, this natural silk has been forgotten in the academic commune for millennia, though it has many fascinating properties: high strength, remarkable adhesion, extreme lightweight, and others.

Methods: Here we report that mussel-derived silk fibers can be fabricated by electrospinning. Instead of extracting proteins from byssus, we directly use the protein solution from alive blue mussels, which are intensely commercially used. The protein solution and the polyvinyl alcohol solution are mixed together to produce mussel-based silk fibers.

Results: The mussel-based silk fibers have many special properties like high mechanical strength, remarkable super-contraction and good wetting properties.

Conclusion: The electrospinning mussel-based silk fibers have the potential for use as a replacement for the rarest sea silk and as a new bio-inspired material with multi-functions.

Keywords: Electrospinning, nanofiber, natural silk, mussel-based silk fiber, mechanical property, Sea silk, Mytilus edulis, supercontraction.

Graphical Abstract
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