Tidy dataset of the experimental design of the optimization of the alkali degumming process of Bombyx mori silk

Alessio Bucciarelli; Gabriele Greco; Ilaria Corridori; Antonella Motta; Nicola M Pugno

doi:10.1016/j.dib.2021.107294

Tidy dataset of the experimental design of the optimization of the alkali degumming process of Bombyx mori silk

Data Brief. 2021 Aug 18:38:107294. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2021.107294. eCollection 2021 Oct.

Authors

Alessio Bucciarelli¹, Gabriele Greco², Ilaria Corridori², Antonella Motta³, Nicola M Pugno^{2

4}

Affiliations

¹ CNR Nanotec-Istitute of Nanotecnology, National Council of Research, via Monteroni, Lecce 73100, Italy.
² Laboratory of Bioinspired, Bionic, Nano, Meta Materials and Mechanics, Department of Civil, Envi-ronmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Via Mesiano 77, 38123 Trento, Italy.
³ BIOTech Research Center and European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Trento, Via delle Regole 101, Trento, 38123 Italy.
⁴ School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, E14NS London, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Silk fibroin is the structural fiber of the silk filament and it is usually separated from the external protein, named sericine, by a chemical process called degumming. This process consists of an alkali bath in which the silk cocoons are boiled for a determined time. It is also known that the degumming process impacts the property of the outcoming silk fibroin fibers. In this work, we described the dataset obtained from a Design of Experiment (DoE) screening made on the alkali degumming. Four process factors were considered: the number of degumming baths, the process time, the process temperature, and the salt concentration. The data on the properties of the silk fibroin fibers were collected. In particular, the molecular weight was obtained by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), the mechanical data by tensile test and the secondary structure by Fourier Infrared Transform Spectroscopy (FTIR).

Keywords: Alkali Degumming; Design of Experiment; Fibers; Silk Fibroin.