Colored Cocoon Silk

ABSTRACT

Environmentally benign dyes are used in the textile industry to reduce pollution. An attempt was been made to produce dyed silk cocoons. This was achieved by feeding modified mulberry leaf food containing dye spray solution to the silkworm larvae, Bombyx mori. This method greatly reduced the need to deal with dyes used in conventional dyeing. Seven different commonly used azo dyes had been reviewed for dyeing to make colored cocoon silk. The dyes used had similar chemical structures, but the distribution coefficients were changing systematically. The physical properties of those related azo dyes indicate that a balance between hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity is needed to enable the dye to diffuse from the digestive tract of silkworm larvae to the lymph, and then to the silk glands. Preferred association of the dye with the sericin or silk protein in the silkworm glands and finally in the cocoons are determined by distribution coefficient of the dye. These findings are extremely important for the development of new dye molecules that can successfully feed silkworm larvae.

摘要

环保染料用于纺织工业以减少污染. 曾试图生产染色蚕茧. 这是通过将含有染料喷雾溶液的改良桑叶食品喂给家蚕幼虫来实现的. 这种方法大大减少了处理常规染色中使用的染料的需要。综述了七种常用的偶氮染料用于彩色茧丝的染色. 所用染料具有相似的化学结构，但分配系数正在系统地变化. 这些相关偶氮染料的物理性质表明，需要在疏水性和亲水性之间保持平衡，才能使染料从家蚕幼虫的消化道扩散到淋巴，然后扩散到蚕丝腺. 染料与蚕腺体中丝胶或蚕丝蛋白的优选结合以及最终在蚕茧中的优选结合由染料的分布系数确定. 这些发现对于开发能够成功喂养家蚕幼虫的新染料分子极为重要.

KEYWORDS:

• Silk cocoons
• azo dyes
• sericin
• distribution coefficients
• Bombyx mori
• silk glands

关键词:

• 蚕茧
• 偶氮染料
• 丝胶
• 分布系数
• 家蚕
• 丝腺

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).