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Liquid crystalline spinning of spider silk

Author

Listed:
  • Fritz Vollrath

    (University of Oxford
    Universitetsparken B135)

  • David P. Knight

    (University of Oxford)

Abstract

Spider silk has outstanding mechanical properties despite being spun at close to ambient temperatures and pressures using water as the solvent. The spider achieves this feat of benign fibre processing by judiciously controlling the folding and crystallization of the main protein constituents, and by adding auxiliary compounds, to create a composite material of defined hierarchical structure. Because the ‘spinning dope’ (the material from which silk is spun) is liquid crystalline, spiders can draw it during extrusion into a hardened fibre using minimal forces. This process involves an unusual internal drawdown within the spider's spinneret that is not seen in industrial fibre processing, followed by a conventional external drawdown after the dope has left the spinneret. Successful copying of the spider's internal processing and precise control over protein folding, combined with knowledge of the gene sequences of its spinning dopes, could permit industrial production of silk-based fibres with unique properties under benign conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Fritz Vollrath & David P. Knight, 2001. "Liquid crystalline spinning of spider silk," Nature, Nature, vol. 410(6828), pages 541-548, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:410:y:2001:i:6828:d:10.1038_35069000
    DOI: 10.1038/35069000
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    Cited by:

    1. D. Eliaz & S. Paul & D. Benyamin & A. Cernescu & S. R. Cohen & I. Rosenhek-Goldian & O. Brookstein & M. E. Miali & A. Solomonov & M. Greenblatt & Y. Levy & U. Raviv & A. Barth & U. Shimanovich, 2022. "Micro and nano-scale compartments guide the structural transition of silk protein monomers into silk fibers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. He, Ji-Huan & Liu, Yong & Xu, Lan & Yu, Jian-Yong & Sun, Gang, 2008. "BioMimic fabrication of electrospun nanofibers with high-throughput," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 643-651.
    3. He, Ji-Huan & Wan, Yu-Qin & Xu, Lan, 2007. "Nano-effects, quantum-like properties in electrospun nanofibers," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 26-37.
    4. Amy Fitzgerald & Will Proud & Ali Kandemir & Richard J. Murphy & David A. Jesson & Richard S. Trask & Ian Hamerton & Marco L. Longana, 2021. "A Life Cycle Engineering Perspective on Biocomposites as a Solution for a Sustainable Recovery," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-25, January.
    5. Qijue Wang & Patrick McArdle & Stephanie L. Wang & Ryan L. Wilmington & Zhen Xing & Alexander Greenwood & Myriam L. Cotten & M. Mumtaz Qazilbash & Hannes C. Schniepp, 2022. "Protein secondary structure in spider silk nanofibrils," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    6. Jianming Chen & Arata Tsuchida & Ali D. Malay & Kousuke Tsuchiya & Hiroyasu Masunaga & Yui Tsuji & Mako Kuzumoto & Kenji Urayama & Hirofumi Shintaku & Keiji Numata, 2024. "Replicating shear-mediated self-assembly of spider silk through microfluidics," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    7. Wenbo Hu & Anqiang Jia & Sanyuan Ma & Guoqing Zhang & Zhaoyuan Wei & Fang Lu & Yongjiang Luo & Zhisheng Zhang & Jiahe Sun & Tianfang Yang & TingTing Xia & Qinhui Li & Ting Yao & Jiangyu Zheng & Zijie , 2023. "A molecular atlas reveals the tri-sectional spinning mechanism of spider dragline silk," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.
    8. Yongchun Liu & Ke Li & Juanhua Tian & Aiting Gao & Lihua Tian & Hao Su & Shuting Miao & Fei Tao & Hao Ren & Qingmin Yang & Jing Cao & Peng Yang, 2023. "Synthesis of robust underwater glues from common proteins via unfolding-aggregating strategy," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, December.
    9. Ori Brookstein & Eyal Shimoni & Dror Eliaz & Ifat Kaplan-Ashiri & Itay Carmel & Ulyana Shimanovich, 2024. "Metal ions guide the production of silkworm silk fibers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.

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