SOOCHOW ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE SOOCHOW UNIVERSITY

for ecological processing, a team led by Rencheng Tang has developed - based flame retardants, with and without Through genetic , the SMOOTHING THE WAY TO . Using this agent, silkworm can synthesize and secrete such as can be made flame resistant and protein material weighing 25% of its non-toxic. Tang’s team has also designed body mass, to produce colourful silk. NEW SOLUTIONS natural bioactive compounds for textile finishing, leading to products with improved Soochow University’s textile and engineering programme has hygiene and health applications. expanded its curriculum and research scope to reinvent textile , For a team led by Yan Zhao, useful features trends, and clothing standards. can be achieved via surface modification of textiles. Using interface control , they have developed a superhydrophobic and photocatalytic fabric with long-lasting stability and durability. The material is protected against moist contaminants and dirt created with penetration. Their hydrophilic, oil-repellent structurally coloured fibre fabric allows for absorption and perspiration produced by microfluidic capabilities. Their water-based fluorine-free

technology. finishing agent offers environmental and © Prof. Shiqing XU bio-friendly option for textile finishing. Other green technologies developed at Soochow University include natural , and real-world benefits of these high-tech team aims to develop self-powered wearable supercritical carbon dioxide , a water- . devices that can monitor body movement, free process that saves energy resources, and Development of silk protein-based collecting health information. reduces waste. biomedical materials is a focus of the team led All these research achievements are by Mingzhong Li. They have revealed potential fruits of a solid base supported with multiple Extending textile possibilities of these materials in making artificial bones interdisciplinary platforms. These include the Researchers at the college are keen to explore and blood vessels, offering wound protection National Engineering Laboratory for Modern the diverse possibilities of fabric for other and tissue repair. Li’s colleague, Shenzhou Silk, ’s only one in the field of textile innovations. Renowned textile expert, Ke-Qin Lu, has studied structures and properties of engineering, and provincial centres devoted to Zhang , for instance, is dedicated to materials fibroin, an insoluble protein in silk, leading to textile and fashion , silk engineering, or science research on functional fibres. hydrogel, porous foam, and materials of other green dyeing and fabric production. His team has studied nanofibers from forms that can be used in drug delivery as well Soochow University’s research strength graphene to carbon nanotubes. Inspired as tissue engineering. in textile science and engineering has won by the natural phenomenon of structural Focusing on sericin, another glue-like a global reputation, enhanced through colouration, namely, the production of colour protein produced by silkworms, Guoqiang continued international exchange. The by the interaction of light with physical Chen’s group has developed integrated programme has enjoyed a 30-year structure of materials, Zhang’s team has made technologies and instruments for high- with Shinshu University in . It has structurally coloured fibres using efficiency sericin recovery, leading to many established a joint laboratory for biomedical

© Suming Zhang and Prof. Ke-Qin Zhang Prof. and Zhang Suming © nanospheres. Without the use of , the products promising for industrial use. materials with Tufts University in the United fibres display specific hues upon interaction Based on textile and fibre structures, a States, and has been the organizer of the with light, and do not fade. They have also team led by Jian Fang has developed flexible China International Silk Conference nine he city of Suzhou has a 1,000-year researchers at Soochow University are leading protein metabolism to better understand developed the technology for 3D of electronic materials, including those that times. Ongoing research have production, and is the field with their new bioengineering the material. Based on genomic studies biomaterials based on silk proteins. Academic- can be used for biosensing, energy collection been established with more than 10 other T renowned as the epicentre of the technologies for silk production, digital of the domesticated silkworm, they have partnerships are in place to exploit and storage. Using these materials, Fang’s globally. n highly prized fabric. This heritage provides a technology for textile and clothing adopted transgenic technology for genetic strong background for Soochow University’s engineering, new chemicals for dyeing, manipulation, making silkworms produce fibre unique programme of textile science and functional fibre materials, and silk protein- with better properties, including enhanced engineering. based materials for biomedical uses. “We aim strength, toughness, and ductility. Their From its beginnings in 1903 as a to harness modern technologies to enhance genetic molecular design has modified and school for girls, the programme has developed the traditional silk and ,” said created new biomass fibre, yielding naturally Strong infrastructure and human Translating research to industrial into a complete system of teaching and Zhijuan Pan, dean of the College of Textile and coloured silk and self-cleaning silk for medical research that encompasses all aspects of Clothing Engineering of Soochow University. use. Several of these technologies for new resources support: growth in the past five years: the silk and textile industry, from mulberry varieties, including the naturally coloured silk, planting, silkworm breeding, and reeling, to Producing top-grade textiles have been commercialized. • A national key discipline programme, one of the nation’s only • Published 1,000-plus high-level academic , dyeing, and fabric Suzhou silk is renowned for its fine beauty. To ensure silk quality, the college was part three in the field of textile engineering • Undertaken 60-plus national, 250-plus provincial and ministerial, • More than 10 research platforms in silk and textile science and and 140-plus enterprise-entrusted projects performance. As China’s only comprehensive A team led by Soochow University professor, of an international panel to formulate the ISO engineering, including four national-level research or teaching • Attained 36 awards of provincial-level or above, including three programme covering the entire textile Shiqing Xu, has applied bioengineering standard for electronic testing of raw silk to platforms national second prizes and six provincial first prizes production cycle, it has a significant impact on technologies to engineer new varieties of the identify defects and evaluate uniformity. • A total investment of RMB 123 million, with a 90-million worth • Awarded 170-plus invention patents, and had 75 technology transfers industry. highest quality. Green production of silk and other textiles of new instruments installed in the past four years • Incubated 10 tech companies, and established 100-plus academia- Textile engineering is a multidisciplinary The team has investigated the molecular is also integral to engineering research at • More than 85% of professors on national committees of the industry collaboration bases field. With a focus on the silk industry, structure of silk proteins, the silk gland, and Soochow University. In exploring technologies industry, or editorial boards or peer review panels of leading journals • Established one international standard and 10 national standards

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