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Evaluation of artificial skin made from silkworm cocoons

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Abstract

The protective characteristics of silkworm cocoons are the result of thousands of years of evolution. In this study, we attempted to combine the cocoon’s protective characteristics with the function of human skin to explore the possibility of using silkworm cocoons in the field of artificial skin application. We retained the natural structure of the cocoon shells and softened it by a degumming process. This process was performed so that the mechanical and permeation properties of the cocoon material meet the criteria of artificial skin with respect to tension and suturing; the cocoon material was also found to have strong antibacterial activity and cell compatibility. These properties of the cocoon suggest that it has a high potential to be used as an artificial skin. Overall, we expect the silkworm cocoon to be a type of biological material with extensive possibilities of application as artificial skin.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by Hi-Tech Research and Development 863 Program of China Grant (No. 2013AA102507). This work was also supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (XDJK2014B004, XDJK2014A011, XDJK2013C162, SWU116030, SWU116031) and the Science and technology basic condition construction project of Guangdong Province (No. 2015A030303010).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. College of Textile and Garments, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China

      Kun Yu, Guangqian Lan, Bitao Lu, Jiawei Liu, Jinghao Chen, Fangyin Dai & Dayang Wu

    2. Chongqing Engineering Research Center of Biomaterial Fiber and Modern Textile, Chongqing, 400715, China

      Kun Yu, Guangqian Lan, Jiawei Liu, Jinghao Chen, Fangyin Dai & Dayang Wu

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    1. Kun Yu
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    Correspondence to Dayang Wu.

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    Kun Yu and Guangqian Lan have contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-first authors.

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    Yu, K., Lan, G., Lu, B. et al. Evaluation of artificial skin made from silkworm cocoons. J Mater Sci 52, 5435–5448 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-0788-0

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