RHEOLOGICAL STUDY OF NON- MULBERRY SILK (TASAR) AND GELATIN BLEND SOLUTION

Abstract

I studied the impacts of blending Antheraea mylitta silk fibroin solution (10% w/v) with gelatin solution (20% w/v) using formic acid as a solvent in this study. The viscoelastic properties of blends of different ratios such as S0G10, S2G8, S3G7, S5G5, and S10G0 were investigated. To confirm miscibility of pure polymeric components in blend solutions, optical microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry were used to analyze surface morphology and thermal properties of the blend solution. Blend solutions with varying shear rates in the range of 0.01-500 s-1 were studied for steady shear behaviour. The dynamic rheological experiment including amplitude and frequency sweeps were performed. Blending gelatin with silk fibroin reduced overall viscosity when compared to pure silk fibroin solution, demonstrating shear thinning behaviour in the applied shear range, according to studies. All of the solutions deviated from the Cox-Merz rule, with the exception of pure gelatin, which obeyed it. A frequency sweep research was carried out with a specific proportion of strain applied. The steady and oscillatory experiments revealed a shift in the solution's behaviour from viscous fluid (as in gelatin) and solid (as in silk fibroin) to viscoelastic. The samples were studied to time-dependent tests such as structural recovery, creep recovery, and stress relaxation. It was discovered that the amount of gelatin in a blend effects its structural recovery. The samples were studied to time-dependent tests such as structural recovery, creep recovery, and stress relaxation. It was discovered that the amount of gelatin in a blend effects its structural recovery. The properties of blend solutions can be tailored by changing parameters such as time, shear rate, angular frequency, and blend ratios to achieve desired features for specific end use applications such as packaging, tissue engineering, medical textile, and filtration, according to such rheological analysis.