With special technology production of high-quality Russian silk

Scientists of the North Caucasus Federal University have created a way to obtain moisture- and sunlight-resistant silk using special technology.

The university’s media office indicates, according to the innovators, that adding various nanoparticles to fibers improves the quality of textile products, as well as improving the raw materials used in the textile industry.

As is known, silk is extracted from silkworm cocoons, but according to the explanation of university experts, the fibers of these cocoons are essentially a mixture of two proteins - sericin and fibroin, which in turn form a framework for other molecules and determine the elasticity of the resulting threads. Silk threads and their products are not without defects: for example, they are highly susceptible to ultraviolet rays, so when exposed to direct sunlight for 200 hours, their durability is reduced by half.

To remove this natural defect in silk and give it new properties, university scientists have devised a way to improve the properties of the threads by using nanoparticles of metals and their oxides, such as nanoparticles of silver and oxides of copper, iron, cobalt, titanium and silicon as additives to fibroin.

Andrei Blinov, who supervises the project, says: “We develop nanoparticles with specific properties: antibacterial, water repellent, or with the ability to absorb ultraviolet rays. Then we add the selected nanoparticles to the silk thread and obtain a multifunctional silk material with specific properties.”

According to him, titanium dioxide gives silk water-repellent and UV-resistant properties, allowing textiles to maintain their durability and appearance, because the nanoparticles will absorb the UV spectrum of sunlight and also prevent moisture absorption.

To prevent the nanoparticles from sticking and to preserve their properties and dimensions, the researchers used different polymers, which form a protective layer and allow the use of this or that nanomaterial.”

University experts believe that it is possible in the same way to improve the properties of surgical threads that are produced on the basis of protein and are used in surgery, organ transplantation and tissue engineering.

Experts suggest two ways to improve the fibers with nanoparticles: feeding them to the silkworms, or adding them at the time of processing the yarn or into the final product.

The second method involves using a suspended solution of nanoparticles in which the threads or the final product can be placed, on which the nanoparticles will settle. In addition, it allows easy standardization and use in production processes and obtaining high-quality products.