fibroin
(ˈfaɪbrəʊɪn)
[f. fibro- + -in.]
A chemical substance which is the principal constituent of silk, cobwebs, and the horny skeleton of sponges.
| 1861 Hulme tr. Moquin-Tandon ii. iii. ii. 90 Sponge is composed of an animal matter which has been compared to albumen and to mucus (Fibroine, Mulder). 1878 Kingzett Anim. Chem. 367 In a study of fibroin from silk, Schutzenberger concludes that it differs from ordinary albumin. 1887 J. Paton in Encycl. Brit. (ed. 9) XXII. 61/1 Silk fibre consists essentially of a centre or core of fibroin..Fibroin..has a composition represented by the formula C15H23N5O6. |