With great structure comes great functionality: Understanding and emulating spider silk

Abstract

The overarching aim of biomimetic approaches to materials synthesis is to mimic simultaneously the structure and function of a natural material, in such a way that these functional properties can be systematically tailored and optimized. In the case of synthetic spider silk fibers, to date functionalities have largely focused on mechanical properties. A rapidly expanding body of literature documents this work, building on the emerging knowledge of structure-function relationships in native spider silks, and the spinning processes used to create them. Here, we describe some of the benchmark achievements reported until now, with a focus on the last five years. Progress in protein synthesis, notably the expression on full-size spidroins, has driven substantial improvements in synthetic spider silk performance. Spinning technology, however, lags behind and is a major limiting factor in biomimetic production. We also discuss applications for synthetic silk that primarily capitalize on its nonmechanical attributes, and that exploit the remarkable range of structures that can be formed from a synthetic silk feedstock.

In Vitro Evaluation of Spider Silk Meshes as a Potential Biomaterial for Bladder Reconstruction

“…[ 28 ]. Additionally, great efforts are made to overcome these issues with the intensive research on recombinant spider silk [ 34 , 60 ]. By tuning the structure to suite the physical and environmental demands of an application, mechanical properties could be adapted to the specific requirements.…”

Major ampullate silk gland transcriptomes and fibre proteomes of the golden orb-weavers, Nephila plumipes and Nephila pilipes (Araneae: Nephilidae)

“…Spider silk is an outstanding proteinaceous fibre that outperforms other natural and synthetic fibres in tensile strength analyses. In addition to fibre strength, spider silks can also be tough, lightweight, highly extensible/flexible, biodegradable and stable across a broad temperature range [ 1 ]. Studies have also demonstrated the biocompatibility of spider silk: spider silk can be implanted into living tissue without eliciting an immune response [ 2 , 3 ].…”

Advances in Bio-inspired Tribology for Engineering Applications

“…It has been reported that a combined investigation of processing, design, structure, and function will substantially advance the field. Focusing on the extrusion of the silk protein solution will be a key for the next generation of engineered fibers, as it could be that the properties of the end product are more sensitive to the processing and extrusion of the dope solution compared to the protein sequence [66].…”