Fabrication, Structural Characteristics and Properties of Silk Non-Woven Fabrics from Different Silkworm Varieties

Since silk has good blood compatibility, excellent cyto-compatibility and minimal inflammatory reaction in a body, silk has been studied to apply it to biomedical and cosmetic applications including bone substitute, wound dressing, and mask pack. Recently, silk non-woven fabric has attracted researcher’s attention because the mass production is possible using conventional facilities and good mechanical properties can be obtained. It was reported that various properties of silk can be obtained by using various silkworm varieties. Although a few silk non-woven fabric was prepared using the silkworm varieties previously, the related study has not been extensively. Therefore, in this study, the effects of different silkworm variety on structure and properties of silk non-woven fabrics were examined. Kumokjam resuled in white silk nonwoven fabric, whereas other silkworm varieties leaded to yellow colored nonwoven fabric. The weight distribution of the silk cocoons was different depending on the silkworm variety affecting reeling distance of cocoon. Daehwangjam showed the highest cocoon weight (0.88 g) and N74 exhibited the lowest (0.35 g). Interestingly, the reel-ability of the silk cocoons was strongly affected by the silkworm variety indicating the productivity of silk nonwoven fabric was determined by the silkworm variety.