Electron irradiation effects on biopolymers

Abstract

Silk Fibroin (SF) films from Bombyx mori silk of different varieties were prepared by water based process and characterized for structural, optical, thermal and surface properties before and after exposing them to 8 MeV electrons using Microtron facility. The radiation induced changes in the SF films were systematically investigated using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The results of these studies are embodied in the thesis, which comprises of five chapters, as briefly mentioned below. newlineThe Chapter I of the thesis constitutes a general introduction to polymers, biopolymers and associated research studies. The history and development of silk (a well-known biopolymer) over the years, their classification, difference between silk fibre and silk fibroin are also explained in this chapter along with a detailed literature survey and aim and scope of the work. newlineChapter II deals with the brief working principle and the basic mechanisms of Microtron accelerator and the characterization techniques used for the analysis of silk fibroin film samples to study the radiation induced modifications in them. newlineChapter III has the description on the sample preparation procedure of the silk fibroin films (using standard protocol) from different races of silk cocoons such as CSR4, CB Gold, CSR2, CSR, PMS and FC2 along with the experimental details and the newlineexperimental facilities used for the study. The chapter also gives a brief account of the antibacterial assessment protocol used to investigate the antibacterial activity. newline