Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK.
Biomacromolecules. 2011 Jun 13;12(6):2257-66. doi: 10.1021/bm2003362. Epub 2011 May 25.
Wild Silkmoth cocoons are difficult or impossible to reel under conditions that work well for cocoons of the Mulberry silkmoth, Bombyx mori . Here we report evidence that this is caused by mineral reinforcement of Wild Silkmoth cocoons and that washing these minerals out allows for the reeling of commercial lengths of good quality fibers with implications for the development of the "Wild Silk" industry. We show that in the Lasiocampid silkmoth Gonometa postica , the mineral is whewellite (calcium oxalate monohydrate). Evidence is presented that its selective removal by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) leaves the gum substantially intact, preventing collapse and entanglement of the network of fibroin brins, enabling wet reeling. Therefore, this method clearly differs from the standard "degumming" and should be referred to as "demineralizing". Mechanical testing shows that such preparation results in reeled silks with markedly improved breaking load and extension to break by avoiding the damage produced by the rather harsh degumming, carding, or dry reeling methods currently in use, what may be important for the development of the silk industries not only in Asia but also in Africa and South America.
野蚕茧在适合桑蚕茧（Bombyx mori）的条件下很难或不可能缫丝。在这里，我们报告了一个证据，即这是由于野蚕茧的矿物质强化造成的，并且通过将这些矿物质洗掉，可以缫出具有商业长度和高质量纤维，这对“野蚕丝”产业的发展具有重要意义。我们表明，在长尾夜蛾（Gonometa postica）中，矿物质是草酸钙一水合物（whewellite）。有证据表明，通过乙二胺四乙酸（EDTA）选择性地去除它，会使胶基本完整，防止丝素纤维网的坍塌和缠结，从而能够湿缫丝。因此，这种方法显然与标准的“脱胶”不同，应该被称为“脱矿质”。机械测试表明，通过避免目前使用的相当苛刻的脱胶、梳理或干缫方法所产生的损坏，这种制备方法可以使缫丝的断裂负荷和断裂伸长率显著提高，这对于不仅在亚洲而且在非洲和南美洲的丝绸产业的发展可能很重要。
