Cocoon microstructures through the lens of topological persistence

Biological materials display a wide array of functionality, often dictated by complicated microstructures. New geometric and topological strategies allow one to describe the microstructures in a precise and systematic way. This article describes the application of topological persistence and other geometric methods to the microstructural analysis of three-dimensional X-ray micro-computed tomography scans of the Bombyx mori silkworm cocoons. These methods allow conclusions to be drawn about pore space gradients, silk fibre thickness gradients and fibre alignment within the cocoon. The study demonstrates the applicability of these topological and geometric methods to quantify and characterize fibrous materials.