Question

Give a description of polymer silk

1) Why is considered as an advanced material?

2) Why does behave like an advanced material?

3) What are the applications where we can use it?

Answer 1

1) Why is polymer silk considered as an advanced material?

polymer silk considered as an advanced material because it has some outstanding properties as compared to other fibres. It is used in the traditional application, a range of household yard goods, wall coverings, rugs and carpets due to its soothing property in hot conditions and warmth property during winters. Apart from the traditional application, it has much-advanced application in automotive and building composites, interior decoration, biomaterial, synthesis of artificial membranes and films, pharmaceuticals, biomedical, and art crafts. polymer silk production does not require harsh processing conditions. It also uses the in healing the of wound and post-surgical trauma, anti-oxidative and bio-adhesives. its importance is now increasing especially in bio-engineering through bio-mimetics.   polymer silk is also helping in rapid growing cell-engineering technique by applying the appropriate bio-materials as a scaffold. The silk is a mechanically robust bio-material with environmental stability, bio-compatibility and bio-degradability, which also offers a wide range of perfunctory and practical properties for bio-medical applications.

2) Why does behave like an advanced material?

Polymer silk behaves like an advanced material due to its exceptional physical and chemical properties. Silk does not shrink like other fibres and is the strongest natural fibre composed of main polypeptide chains and side chains of amino acids. silk has qualities of unique luster, strength, excellent softness and great comfort to handle and wear. Silk has a soft texture that is not slippery, unlike many synthetic fibers.

Silk loses up to 19 to 20% of its strength when wet. It has moderate to poor elasticity. Its strength decreases if exposed to too much sunlight. Silk is a poor conductor of electricity and it has a high emissivity for infrared light, making it feel cool to the touch.

3) Application

Medicine

Silk is used for making everything from disposable cups to drug delivery systems and holograms. it is suitable for non-absorbable surgical sutures after removal of the outer sericin coating of the silk. the polymer silk has been used for skin conditions including eczema. It has potential to use as the biomedical application as surgical sutures as it doesn’t cause inflammatory reactions and biodegradable microtubes for repair of blood vessels. Apart from this, it is used in cosmetic, pharmaceutical and dietary applications.

Furniture

Silk is suitable for many furnishing applications due to its attractive lustre and drape. It is used for window treatments, bedding, upholstery, wall coverings, and wall hangings.

Industry

Silk has many industrial and commercial uses. it is used in making parachutes, artillery gunpowder bags and bicycle tires

Clothing

Property of silk to absorb water easily makes it comfortable to wear in warm weather and its low conductivity keeps warm air close to the skin during cold weather. hence widely used for clothing. it is often used for clothing such as formal dresses, high fashion clothes, shirts, ties, sun dresses and Eastern folk costumes. silk clothing also protects from many biting insects like mosquitoes and horseflies.

Biomaterial

Due to its excellent mechanical properties, comparative biocompatibility, it has been widely used as a biomaterial. biomaterial are materials used for medical applications in organisms.