PRELIMINARY STUDIES ON UTILIZATION OF SERICIN SILKWORM COCOON FOR NANOFIBER PREPARATION BY ELECTROSPINNING

• Main Author: UMAM (NIM: 20514014), KHAIRUL
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/22809
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

The main components of silkworm cocoons are fibroin and sericin; the first one is <br /> <br /> <br /> used for silk fibers while the second one is often removed in degumming process. <br /> <br /> <br /> Previous research showed that sericin can be utilized as biomaterials with a wide <br /> <br /> <br /> range of applications such as recycled biomaterials, medical biomaterials, <br /> <br /> <br /> membranes, textile fibers with special properties and cosmetics. Unfortunately, in <br /> <br /> <br /> silk industries in Indonesia, sericin has not been utilized yet. Therefore, this study <br /> <br /> <br /> aims to open a new application of sericin in the field of textile by preparing <br /> <br /> <br /> sericin nano fiber using electrospinning technique. The first stage of this work <br /> <br /> <br /> was the extraction of silkworm cocoons using high temperature and pressure, then <br /> <br /> <br /> the preparation of sericin powder by lyophilization method and finally the <br /> <br /> <br /> formation of nano fibers by electrospinning. The extraction of silkworm cocoons <br /> <br /> <br /> was carried out in a high temperature-high pressure dyeing machine, which <br /> <br /> <br /> produced sericin solution with a concentration of 38.16 mg/mL. The sericin <br /> <br /> <br /> powder was produced by freeze-drying method with a yield of 15.08%. It was <br /> <br /> <br /> found that the sericin could not be used as a single component in producing nano <br /> <br /> <br /> fibers by electrospinning. However, nano fibers can be formed when sericin was <br /> <br /> <br /> mixed with other polymers, such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and chitosan. In <br /> <br /> <br /> PVA-sericin solution, sericin was dissolved in trifluoro acetic acid (TFA) with <br /> <br /> <br /> concentration varied from 16 to 20% w/w. Each sericin solution was mixed with <br /> <br /> <br /> 10% PVA w/w in the ratio of 50:50. The voltage of electrospinning used was 25 <br /> <br /> <br /> kV, the Taylor cone distance (TCD) was 10 cm and the flow rate was 0.1 &#956;L/h. <br /> <br /> <br /> Higher sericin concentration resulted in good PVA-sericin fiber without melt. In <br /> <br /> <br /> the preparation of chitosan-sericin solution, chitosan and sericin was dissolved in <br /> <br /> <br /> TFA with a composition of 1:1, 1:3 and 1:5 (% w/w). These solutions were <br /> <br /> <br /> electrospinned with a voltage of 30, 32.5 and 35 kV; flow rate of 0.4 and 0.6 <br /> &#956;L/h; TCD of 10 and 15 cm. The clearest form of fibers and without melt was <br /> <br /> <br /> obtained at a concentration of 10% PVA : 20% sericin (50:50) with <br /> <br /> <br /> electrospinning condition parameters are voltage 25 kV, TCD 10 cm and a flow <br /> <br /> <br /> rate of 0.1 &#956;L/hour. The optimum chitosan-sericin fiber characteristics having the <br /> <br /> <br /> smallest average diameter and variation coefficient was achieved when the <br /> <br /> <br /> composition of chitosan-sericin was 1:3 (% w/w) and the voltage of the <br /> <br /> <br /> electrospinning was 30 kV, the flow rate was 0.4 mL/h and the TCD was 15 cm. <br /> <br /> <br /> It can be concluded that sericin can be used as a material for preparing nano fibers <br /> <br /> <br /> by electrospinning.