Measuring silk deterioration by high-performance size-exclusion chromatography, viscometry, and electrophoresis

Deterioration of silk textiles in museums due to improper storage, display conditions and treatments is a concern for many conservators and collectors. To better preserve these textiles, early detection and quantitative assessment of damage is essential. This paper evaluates the sensitivity of three analytical techniques developed for measuring silk deterioration: high performance size exclusion chromatography, viscosity measurements, and sodium dodecylsulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Silk habutae were artificially light aged and treated by immersion in deionized water, ethanolic solution of sodium borohydride, aqueous solutions of sodium dodecylsulphate, and protease. The results showed that all three techniques are very sensitive to the small changes in silk molecular weight resulting from deterioration, and that they complement each other by providing different types of information.