The RITESSERE (Silk Sericin Materials from Textile Industry By-Products) project has started with the goal of using the waste product from the treatment of raw silk, sericin, for the production of new materials and devices in the field of life sciences.

The project, funded by the Cariplo Foundation within the Circular Economy Program - Promoting Research for a Sustainable Future and coordinated by Prof. Simone Vesentini from the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering of the Politecnico di Milano with the participation of Prof. Paolo Rosa and Prof. Sergio Terzi from the Department of Management Engineering, aims to evaluate new technologies which, starting from the sericin obtained from raw material of Italian origin with a traceability certification (the cocoon or raw silk), will be able to obtain sericin-based two-dimensional electrospun matrices and new materials based on specifically modified sericin. These products will be characterized from a chemical-physical and morphological point of view and the impact of the introduction of these materials will be analyzed both in the textile industry market and in other sectors with a high technological value. In particular, the advantages of the circular approach will be demonstrated in three demonstration actions:

• Sericin-based face masks for the cosmetic industry
• Three-dimensional sericin scaffolds for cell culture
• Film based on modified sericin for the packaging industry.

RITESSERE aims to demonstrate how sericin can be used to produce high-tech materials. Starting from Italian silk, RITESSERE aims to define and optimize a process to value this waste product, thus defining a new sustainable and circular way for the silk production cycle. The results will be conveyed and made available through continuous interactions with an Advisory Board of actors with a driving role in the silk industry, in defining new circular economy practices and in involving civil society (Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, Donne in Campo, Italian Silk Office, MADE-Competence Center Industry 4.0, Rigano Laboratories, Associazione per il Museo della Seta di Como).

Partner del progetto, coordinato dal Politecnico di Milano, sono l’Università degli studi di Milano- Bicocca e il Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria.