The crystal structure of silk fibroin

An X-ray investigation of a precipitate obtained by the action of pancreatic enzymes on an aqueous solution of silk fibroin suggests that the precipitate has essentially the same crystal structure as the silk fibre. Since the precipitate consists almost entirely of glycine, alanine and serine residues, it is concluded that only one crystalline phase, composed of these three aminoacids, is present in silk fibroin.