Mechanical behavior comparison of spider and silkworm silks using molecular dynamics at atomic scale

Lee, Myeongsang; Kwon, Junpyo; Na, Sung Soo

doi:10.1039/c5cp06809f

Cited by 29 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…There are likely several factors that lead to spider silk being tougher than silkworm silk, and several models of how the toughness is mediated have been put forward, e.g., [57,68,90,91,92]. One hypothesis states that the presence of poly-GA repeats in the repetitive part of fibroins, as compared to poly-A blocks present in spidroins, will create a lower binding strength of the beta sheets [68], which likely also affects the tensile properties.…”

Section: Tensile Properties Of Silk Fibers—why Is Spider Silk Tougmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silk Spinning in Silkworms and Spiders

Andersson

Johansson

Rising

2016

IJMS

130

141

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Spiders and silkworms spin silks that outcompete the toughness of all natural and manmade fibers. Herein, we compare and contrast the spinning of silk in silkworms and spiders, with the aim of identifying features that are important for fiber formation. Although spiders and silkworms are very distantly related, some features of spinning silk seem to be universal. Both spiders and silkworms produce large silk proteins that are highly repetitive and extremely soluble at high pH, likely due to the globular terminal domains that flank an intermediate repetitive region. The silk proteins are produced and stored at a very high concentration in glands, and then transported along a narrowing tube in which they change conformation in response primarily to a pH gradient generated by carbonic anhydrase and proton pumps, as well as to ions and shear forces. The silk proteins thereby convert from random coil and alpha helical soluble conformations to beta sheet fibers. We suggest that factors that need to be optimized for successful production of artificial silk proteins capable of forming tough fibers include protein solubility, pH sensitivity, and preservation of natively folded proteins throughout the purification and initial spinning processes.

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Section: Tensile Properties Of Silk Fibers—why Is Spider Silk Tougmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silk Spinning in Silkworms and Spiders

Andersson

Johansson

Rising

2016

IJMS

130

141

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“…[78,[98][99][100][101] Here, we performed SMD simulations to analyze the mechanical properties and dynamic behaviors against tensile force. [78,[98][99][100][101] Here, we performed SMD simulations to analyze the mechanical properties and dynamic behaviors against tensile force.…”

Section: Mechanical Properties Of Homogeneous-and Heterogeneous-amylomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous computational studies showedt hat amyloid fibrils have high mechanical properties and different mechanical characteristics accordingt ot heir compositions. [78,[98][99][100][101] Here, we performed SMD simulations to analyze the mechanical properties and dynamic behaviors against tensile force. Absolute inherent number of hydrogen bonds for homogeneousand heterogeneous-amyloid fibrils showedd ifferentr esultsa ccording to their compositions (Figure 4a,b).…”

Section: Mechanical Properties Of Homogeneous-and Heterogeneous-amylomentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing Structural Stability of Amyloid Motif Fibrils Mediated by Water Molecules

et al. 2017

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In biological systems, structural confinements of amyloid fibrils can be mediated by the role of water molecules. However, the underlying effect of the dynamic behavior of water molecules on structural stabilities of amyloid fibrils is still unclear. By performing molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the dynamic features and the effect of interior water molecules on conformations and mechanical characteristics of various amyloid fibrils. We find that a specific mechanism induced by the dynamic properties of interior water molecules can affect diffusion of water molecules inside amyloid fibrils, inducing their different structural stabilities. The conformation of amyloid fibrils induced by interior water molecules show the fibrils' different mechanical features. We elucidate the role of confined and movable interior water molecules in structural stabilities of various amyloid fibrils. Our results offer insights not only in further understanding of mechanical features of amyloids as mediated by water molecules, but also in the fine-tuning of the functional abilities of amyloid fibrils for applications.

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“…In contrast, the BM‐Gel, BM‐Chi, and AP‐BM‐Chi composite scaffolds show a decreased swelling degree over the whole time (Figure A,B). The remarkable swelling capacity of BM‐SSP can be attributed to the hydrogen bonds of the β‐sheets observed in silk protein of silkworm and spider silk . Due to the high concentration of SF as starting material, the amount of hydrogen bonds after ethanol treatment is correspondingly higher.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silk scaffolds connected with different naturally occurring biomaterials for prostate cancer cell cultivation in 3D

et al. 2016

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In the present work, different biopolymer blend scaffolds based on the silk protein fibroin from Bombyx mori (BM) were prepared via freeze-drying method. The chemical, structural, and mechanical properties of the three dimensional (3D) porous silk fibroin (SF) composite scaffolds of gelatin, collagen, and chitosan as well as SF from Antheraea pernyi (AP) and the recombinant spider silk protein spidroin (SSP1) have been systematically investigated, followed by cell culture experiments with epithelial prostate cancer cells (LNCaP) up to 14 days. Compared to the pure SF scaffold of BM, the blend scaffolds differ in porous morphology, elasticity, swelling behavior, and biochemical composition. The new composite scaffold with SSP1 showed an increased swelling degree and soft tissue like elastic properties. Whereas, in vitro cultivation of LNCaP cells demonstrated an increased growth behavior and spheroid formation within chitosan blended scaffolds based on its remarkable porosity, which supports nutrient supply matrix. Results of this study suggest that silk fibroin matrices are sufficient and certain SF composite scaffolds even improve 3D cell cultivation for prostate cancer research compared to matrices based on pure biomaterials or synthetic polymers.

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Mechanical behavior comparison of spider and silkworm silks using molecular dynamics at atomic scale

Cited by 29 publications

References 40 publications

Silk Spinning in Silkworms and Spiders

Silk Spinning in Silkworms and Spiders

Characterizing Structural Stability of Amyloid Motif Fibrils Mediated by Water Molecules

Silk scaffolds connected with different naturally occurring biomaterials for prostate cancer cell cultivation in 3D

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