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Comparative study of spider silk extrusion systems

Reference	S12778
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Fritz Vollrath
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Dr David Shotton
Institution	University of Oxford
Department	Zoology
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	155,656
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	18/09/2000
End date	18/09/2003
Duration	36 months

Abstract

Silks are extruded biopolymer fibres and spider silks are amongst the toughest and strongest fibres known. Recent work suggests that the extreme toughness of some dragline silks does not depend solely on the folding of the major component protein but also on the hierarchical structure of the multiprotein thread. For folding and hierarchy the spider's complex spinning process plays a major role. We will use two different approaches to discover the underlying principles and design characteristics responsible for toughness in silks by studying five spiders with silks selected for a wide range of mechanical properties. Firstly, in a comparative study we will describe the ultrastructure of the material and its spinning processes. Secondly, in an analytical study we will develop constitutive models to confirm the relative contribution of different design characteristics to each silks' toughness. Our study is highly relevant to the understanding of spider silk spinning and thus, ultimately, also to biomimetic spinning of synthetic silk analogues.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Animal Sciences (AS)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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