For years silk fabric has been an integral textile to the industry and recently scientists in Singapore have discovered a way to make it even more valuable, by infusing the dye in the cocoon stage itself resulting in vibrantly coloured luminescent silks. “The new, more environmentally friendly method allows us to integrate colours into the very foundation of silk and does away with the need for manual dyeing,” says Dr Natalia Tansil, lead Researcher at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) in Singapore. Achieved by feeding silkworms, a mulberry mixture containing fluorescent dye, gives brightly coloured silk that is structurally unaffected, but which also has luminescent, or glowing, properties. The addition of the dye into the silkworm diet is for the last four days of the larva stage. The resulting coloured cocoon can then be harvested and processed using normal processes. The dye molecules are ingrained within the silk filaments to create permanent colour. This new innovation reduces cost on water and dyes and the researchers are working with potential industry partners to scale up the process.
