Non-canonical Cohesion of Sericin from <em>Saturnia japonica</em> Cocoon provides Robust Protection against its predators
발표자
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초록
내용
The pest, wild silkworm Saturnia japonica (SJ), manufactures a peculiar morphology of cocoon compared to the Bombyx mori (BM). Against nature, developing a robust protective cocoon is necessary for SJ. Indeed, the outstanding mechanical property was measured for the SJ cocoon in comparison to the BM cocoon. Furthermore, we extracted a hardening component sericin from the SJ cocoon and measured interaction forces between the sericin nanofilms using a surface forces apparatus (SFA) in various pH. The cohesion force of SJ sericin was ~200% higher than that of BM sericin with gradual increases regarding a higher pH and surface contact time. The pH-dependent cohesive force indicates a possibility of an increase in the number of binding sites due to the sericin rearrangement and/or conformation change. We introduced the superior cohesive property of sericin from SJ cocoon, and beyond our current grasp it could be used for eco-friendly biomaterials or adhesive binders.