In contrast to conventional silk fibroin, spider silk's potential as a scaffold material for tissue engineering is examined in this work. The remarkable qualities of spider silk are being researched for use in making films for tissue regeneration. In comparison to silk fibroin films, the study's analysis of orb-web spider Trichonephila clavata films highlights their improved cell adhesion and nanofibrous network structure. Tests for solubility substantiate the durability of spider silk films, while in vitro investigations demonstrate low cytotoxicity and enhance cellular viability. The conclusion highlights the exceptional properties of spider silk, which make it a viable option for tissue engineering applications and a step forward for in vitro cell culture and regenerative bioengineering.

Spider silk, which combines strength and lightness, emerges as an ideal candidate for non-woven fabric production. Unlike synthetic polymeric materials, silk are nontoxic and biocompatible and cause no allergic reaction. In particular, the dragline silk produced by the golden orb-web spider, Trichoephila clavata, is renowned for its superior strength and exceptional mechanical properties compared to other spider silks. Non-woven fabrics have found extensive applications in diverse industrial sectors, owing to their advantageous qualities such as breathability, durability, and lightweight characteristics. Natural dragline silk was extracted from the orb-weaving spider and subsequently randomly arranged. Compressing into a sheet-plane form, in addition to inducing the formation of water-resistant, stable β-sheet structures through ethanol vapor treatment or direct treatment, preserved the morphology of the silk fibers. The resulting non-woven sheets were analyzed with an field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) to observe their fine structures and mesh size were measured through image analysis.

Silk fibroin (SF) from silkworms has special qualities, and these qualities have drawn a lot of interest lately in SF-based hydrogels for a range of biological applications. However, because there is a dearth of naïve silk materials to collect and prepare, research on the SF-based hydrogels isolated from spider silks has been rather limited. Thus, this study compared the microstructural properties of silk fibroin (SF) hydrogel scaffold, which was taken from the cocoon of the insect silkworm Bombyx mori, with those of hydrogel scaffolds derived from two types of woven silk glands in the orb-web spider Trichonephila clavata: the major ampullate gland (MAG) and the tubuliform gland (TG). The SF hydrogel, which is stabilized by connected SF fibers, has a loose top structure, high porosity, and translucency, according to our FESEM investigation. While the TG hydrogel showed greater porosity, ridge-like or wall-like structures, and stable biocapacity generated by physical cross-linking, the MAG hydrogel showed even higher porosity, elongated fibrous structures, and superior mechanical properties. It is anticipated that the unique microstructural properties of MAG and TG hydrogels will be advantageous when choosing customized substrates to support particular cell types for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications.

Before the unification of China during the Qin Dynasty, there had already been exchanges and contacts between China and Japan through the ancient Maritime Silk Road, leading to increasingly close and frequent connections between the two nations. Maritime exchanges between China and Japan began as early as the Qin Dynasty, with the establishment of the Silk Road during the Han Dynasty. During this period, Sino-Japanese interactions were characterized by their occasional nature. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, these interactions entered a developmental stage marked by noticeable diversity. By the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Sino-Japanese relations gradually reached their zenith, with a heightened political significance. However, these interactions began to decline during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with a stronger emphasis on bilateral exchanges. The historical and contemporary relevance of Sino-Japanese interactions within the framework of the ancient Maritime Silk Road has played a crucial role in promoting trade, cultural integration, and national development between China and Japan, providing a solid historical foundation for contemporary efforts to enhance exchanges and cooperation in the Northeast Asia region.

컴퓨터 시스템의 성능 및 다양한 전산모사 프로그램의 발전으로 더 복잡한 원소로 이루어진 화학시스템의 해석이 가능해지고, 그에 따라 분자동역학 전사모사를 활용한 연구가 활발히 이루어지고 있다. 특히, 기존에는 실험위주로 진행되던 고분자 막에 대한 기체 투과 특성을 계산하는 연구가 관심을 받고 있고, 식품포장, 의약품등에 사용되고 있는 기체차단성 막 에 대한 분자동역학 연구가 많이 이루어지고 있다. 최근 실크 피브로인을 이용해 코팅막을 만들었을 때 기체 차단 효과가 나 타난다는 보고가 있었고, 본 연구에서는 이러한 실크 피브로인을 활용해 복합막을 만들었을 때 산소 차단 효과가 나타나는지 확인하고자 분자동역학 전산모사를 이용해 연구를 진행하였다. 단일 모델을 제작하고 기체 투과 특성을 계산하고 실험값과 비교를 통해 모델이 실제 실험 결과를 반영하는 것을 확인하였고, 실제 복합막 모델을 만들어 고분자 내에서 기체 이동경로 분석을 진행한 결과 산소 분자가 피브로인 영역을 통과하지 못하고 막히는 것을 보여주었다. 따라서, 실크 피브로인이 도입된 복합막이 산소 차단 성능이 우수하여, 식품포장 등에 유용할 것으로 기대된다.

Among the silk manuscripts unearthed from Mawangdui No.3 Han dynasty Tomb, there are two pieces of silks record the literature which relate to Yi. One of them records Zhouyi and Ersanziwen, and the other one records Xici, Zhong, Yao, Miuhe and Zhaoli. Many scholars believed that the two silk manuscripts were written by the same writer. After comparing plenty of characters, we found that the fonts of these two silk manuscripts have obvious differences in components, strokes and structures. Therefore, we believed that these two manuscripts are probably not be written by one person. Moreover, there still remains controversy about the age of the master copies of these literatures which relate to Yi. After analyzing some special characters and words in these literatures, we speculated that the master copy of Xici which was written earlier than the Qin Dynasty, is influenced by the Chu characters of the Warring States and written by seal-clericle script. The languages of some part of Yao and Miuhe are obviously influenced by Qin dynasty’s language using habits.

Probiotic strain is known to regulate the immune system by colonizing in the intestine and interact with intestinal cell receptors of lymphoid tissue. In this study, safety of Streptococcus thermophilus KCTC14471BP and silk fibroin coating effects was evaluated with respect to mucin binding abilities and immune system modulation. S. thermophilus KCTC14471BP was coated with silk fibroin by adding 1% water-soluble calcium and 0.1% silk fibroin. S. thermophilus KCTC14471BP showed the high activities of leucine arylamidase and β-galactosidase. Regarding the antibiotic resistance tests, S. thermophilus KCTC14471BP was susceptible to ampicillin, vancomycin, gentamicin, kanamycin, streptomycin, erythromycin, clindamycin, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol. S. thermophilus KCTC14471BP coated with silk fibroin showed the improved mucin binding ability from 16.1% to 71.3% and was confirmed to have no cytotoxicity against RAW 264.7 macrophage. S. thermophilus KCTC14471BP coated with silk fibroin showed dose-dependently significant increases in pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. These results suggested that S. thermophilus KCTC14471BP can be expected as a promising probiotic bacteria for applications to food industries such as fermentation or functional foods.

화석연료의 사용에 따른 지구 온난화 및 기상 이변으로 인하여 온실가스 저감 문제가 대두되고 있으며, 그에 따 라 에너지 소모 없이 셀프 쿨링이 가능한 소재에 대한 연구가 활발히 진행되고 있다. 그 중에서도 실크는 천연 쿨링 소재로 알려져 있으나, 기존의 혼합 공정에서는 실크를 화학적으로 분말화 시키기 때문에 복사 냉각 효과가 사라지는 문제점이 있어, 복사냉각을 위한 필름 또는 코팅제 형태로 제조하는데 어려움을 겪고 있다. 본 연구에서는 실크 피브로인의 고유구조를 훼손 하지 않는 물리적 분쇄 공정을 거친 실크 분말을 사용하여 다양한 형태의 막을 제조하고, 코팅제로서의 적용가능성을 살펴보 고자 연구를 수행하였다. 이를 위해 실크 피브로인 분말이 도입된 전기방사 복합막 및 평막 형태의 복합막을 제조하였으며, 용액의 점도가 막 제조 및 제조된 막의 물성에 큰 영향을 미치는 것을 관찰하였다.

최근 들어 여러 산업 분야에 활발히 사용되고 있는 고분자 분리막은 화학구조의 제어나 제막공정에서의 물리적 특성 제어뿐만 아니라 다양한 소재와 혼합된 복합막 제조를 통해서 고유의 특성을 부여할 수 있는 장점을 가지고 있다. 본 연구에서는 분리막 제조 시에 누에(Bombyx mori)가 생산한 친환경 천연소재로 활용 가능성이 넓은 실크 고분자의 복합막 제조 시 다른 소재와의 혼화성 지표로 사용할 수 있는 용해도 파라미터를 분자동역학을 이용하여 계산하였다. 역시 친환경성 및 생체적합성을 갖고 있는 polyvinylalcohol (PVA)의 용해도 파라미터를 분자동역학을 이용하여 계산 후 서로 비교하였을 때 두 고분자 소재가 비슷한 용해도 파라미터 값을 갖는 것을 확인하였다. 결론적으로, 두 고분자가 서로 잘 혼합될 수 있음을 이론적으로 증명하였고, 실제 실험을 통해서도 이를 확인할 수 있었다.