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Synthetic Spider Silk: The Future Material of Choice
Spider silk has fascinated humanity for centuries due to its incredible strength and flexibility. However, farming spiders on an industrial scale is nearly impossible due to their solitary nature. Scientists have now developed methods to produce synthetic spider silk that could revolutionize many industries.
In recent years, several research groups have reported success in producing synthetic spider silks that demonstrate strength and elasticity close to or exceeding natural dragline silk. For example, fibers spun from proteins synthesized and purified from genetically modified goat's milk achieved a tensile strength of around 1.1 GPa. Researchers were also able to artificially replicate the complexity of natural dragline silk proteins exhibiting a mix of crystalline and amorphous regions through tandem repeats of glycine-rich and alanine-rich amino acid motifs. Fibers made from these “biomimetic” proteins demonstrated comparable mechanical properties to natural spider silk. Other noteworthy achievements include synthetic spider silk fibers spun from silkworm silk proteins modifed with spider silk protein domains.
Potential Applications
Given the amazing material properties of Synthetic Spider Silk, there are wide ranging potential applications:
- Body armor: Synthetic spider silk fibers could surpass current para-aramid synthetic fibers like Kevlar and Twaron used in bulletproof vests in terms of strength, weight and flexibility.
- Sports gear: Fishing lines, tennis racket strings, athletic shoes and protective gear made from spider silk would be much lighter yet strong.
- Healthcare: Bioresorbable spider silk sutures and scaffolds for tissue regeneration that don't require removal could reduce complications.
- Transportation: Strong yet lightweight spider silk composites could replace steel and carbon fiber in aircraft, cars and infrastructure like bridges.
- Consumer goods: High-performance apparel, tires, cords, cables, airbags made from synthetic spider silk would offer multiple advantages.
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