A Novel Method for the Quantitative Detection of Sericin Content in Silk Fiber Based on the Ratio of Aspartate to Alanine

The development of a method for the quantitative determination of the sericin content ratio(SCR)is urgently needed for silk refining and the purification of silk fibroin for biomedical applications.In this work,a series of sericin/fibroin mixed samples with known SCRs were prepared by mixing initial samples of extracted sericin and fibroin from Bombyx mori silk.Significant differences were found in the contents of characteristic hydrophilic amino acids abundant in sericin and hydrophobic amino acids abundant in fibroin,and several linear relation-ships of SCR associated with the content ratios of Ser/Ala,Asp/Ala,Lys/Ala,Asp/Gly and Ser/Gly were estab-lished by amino acid analysis.Subsequently,the linear equation expressing SCR(%)as a function of the Asp to Ala content ratio X(%)was established as SCR=2.5634X−12.5587(R 2=0.9972).The results indicated that the SCR of degummed silks calculated by the equation is more objective and effective than the results obtained by the traditional weight loss method.Our study provides a novel approach for the sensitive and quantitative detection of the sericin content within the detection limit in unknown silks,which can contribute to quality control in the silk production process.

Influence of colloidal nanosilica on hydration kinetics and properties of CaO/CaSO_(4)-activated slag binder

To solve the energy consumption and CO_(2) emission during cement production,the new binders must be developed as an alternative to cement.CaO/CaSO_(4)-activated slag binder is an eco-friendly and safe cementitious material;however,its low strength during initial stages limits its applications.In this study,colloidal nanosilica(CNS)was employed as an additive to improve the strength of CaO/CaSO_(4)-activated slag binder,and the effects of CNS on the workability,hydration kinetics,hydration products(type,quantity,and polymerization degree),and binder microstructure were thoroughly investigated.A moderate CNS content,through its nucleation effect,significantly increased the hydration rate of the nucleation and crystal growth(NG),phase boundary interaction(I)and diffusion(D)processes,which generated large quantities of calcium aluminosilicate hydrate(C-A-S-H)gel in the initial hydration stage.Meanwhile,the addition of CNS improved the polymerization degree of C-A-S-H gel.This amorphous reactant well-filled the pore space between slag particles and yielded a compact microstructure,consequently enhancing the binder strength.Considering the reduction in fluidity and the increase in production cost,the CNS mass fraction was controlled as3%,and the binder reached the satisfactory strengths of 3.87,24.47,31.43,and 41.78 MPa at 1,3,7,and 28 d,respectively.