Scientists Produce Artificial Spider Silk #Biomimicry
Scientists create recombinant spider silk. via the-scientist
Researchers have produced the first recombinant spider silk that mimics the toughness of the natural material, according to a study published last month (February 16) in Advanced Materials. The key to their success was including domains of the silk protein that help silk strands form properly.
Scientists from the University of Bayreuth in Germany expressed variants of one of three spider silk proteins from the European garden spider (Araneus diadematus) in E. coli. Previous studies only used versions of the protein containing the two central domains, which create a tough crystal-like structure nestled inside a stretchy gel-like material, but the Bayreuth team included two domains that naturally occur at the ends of the protein. “They do not contribute to the final structure and performance, but we found they are actually important in getting the molecules aligned,” study coauthor Thomas Scheibel told New Scientist.
After the bacteria produced the protein, the researchers allowed the silk to self-assemble in a bath of water and alcohol before stretching the fibers to six times their original length. This process of “wet spinning” mimics a spider drawing the silk out of its body with its hind legs, which improves the alignment of the proteins as well as the fiber’s toughness. The researchers found the recombinant fibers were more elastic but weaker than real silk. However, because toughness is a combination of elasticity and strength, the artificial fibers were deemed as tough as the natural product. If the process could be scaled up, it might be useful for creating airbags with higher elasticity, Scheibel told New Scientist.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
