Ben Reihanian S2B7 - Fluorescent Red Silk Worms

 Fluorescent Silk Worm

    According to Alex Wilkins from New Scientist, in a recent study, silkworms were fed microscopic crystals called quantum dots, that then engendered in the insects' bodies, silk, eggs, and cocoons a scarlet glow under UV light. When emerging from cocoons, moths were seen to have a faint pink shimmer.

    Silkworms that produce fluorescent material have already been created using various dyes or gene editing. These treatments, however, were expensive and could even cause detrimental changes in the worms. This study, which was published in Advanced Materials last month, could open the way for dazzling new textiles and biomedical research tools.

    “Fluorescent silkworms are an excellent model for bioimaging research,” says Huan-Ming Xiong from the Fudan University in China to New Scientist. “Now, the laser confocal microscope and animal imaging system are not needed, because we can see the fluorescence from the body directly by the naked eye.”

    Quantum dots are nanoscale particles that are so tiny that they are prone to bizarre quantum physics phenomena. According to the National Nanotechnology Initiative, each dot is typically between two and ten nanometers in size. Carbon and silicon, as well as many other elements, can be used to create these so-called artificial atoms.

    Quantum confinement allows these small semi-conductors to emit distinct colored light depending on their size and the element they're formed from. Small dots create blue light with short wavelengths, while huge dots produce red light with long wavelengths. Quantum dots have previously been utilized in solar cells and electronics, as well as television displays.

    In the experiment, the silkworms were provided a variety of quantum dots to assess both safety and fluorescence. The study's criteria were met by carbon-based dots that emit a red glow. According to New Scientist, researchers were able to synthesize quantum dots from mulberry leaves, which happen to be most silkworm's favorite food, this helped facilitate a safer alternative to genomic manipulation.

    Silkworm cocoons glowed pink in daylight and emitted a vivid red color under ultraviolet light.  Full-grown shining moths could mate and lay fluorescent eggs regularly, but when those eggs hatched, second-generation moths lost their glow.

    Fluorescent silk-derived materials could one day be used in biomedicine to detect how medications flow through the body, according to researchers. 

    Do you have any ideas on how fluorescent silk materials could be used in the future?