The elaborate structure of spider silk : Structure and function of a natural high performance fiber

Title data

Römer, Lin ; Scheibel, Thomas:
The elaborate structure of spider silk : Structure and function of a natural high performance fiber.
In: Prion. Vol. 2 (2008) Issue 4 . - pp. 154-161.
ISSN 1933-690X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4161/pri.2.4.7490

Official URL:

Abstract in another language

Biomaterials, having evolved over millions of years, often exceed man-made materials in their properties. Spider silk is one outstanding fibrous biomaterial which consists almost entirely of large proteins. Silk fibers have tensile strengths comparable to steel and some silks are nearly as elastic as rubber on a weight to weight basis. In combining these two properties, silks reveal a toughness that is two to three times that of synthetic fibers like Nylon or Kevlar. Spider silk is also antimicrobial, hypoallergenic and completely biodegradable.
This article focuses on the structure-function relationship of the characterized highly repetitive spider silk spidroins and their conformational conversion from solution into fibers. Such knowedge is of crucial importance to understanding the intrinsic properties of spider silk and to get insight into the sophisticated assembly processes of silk proteins. This review further outlines recent progress in recombinant production of spider silk proteins and their assembly into distinct polymer materials as a basis for novel products.

Further data

Item Type:	Article in a journal
Refereed:	Yes
Keywords:	biomimetics; biotechnology; protein folding; protein assembly; spinning
Institutions of the University:	Faculties Faculties > Faculty of Engineering Science Faculties > Faculty of Engineering Science > Chair Biomaterials Faculties > Faculty of Engineering Science > Chair Biomaterials > Chair Biomaterials - Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheibel Profile Fields > Advanced Fields > Advanced Materials Profile Fields > Advanced Fields > Molecular Biosciences Profile Fields > Advanced Fields > Polymer and Colloid Science Profile Fields > Emerging Fields > Food and Health Sciences Profile Fields Profile Fields > Advanced Fields Profile Fields > Emerging Fields
Result of work at the UBT:	Yes
DDC Subjects:	600 Technology, medicine, applied sciences 600 Technology, medicine, applied sciences > 620 Engineering
Date Deposited:	13 Oct 2015 08:13
Last Modified:	02 Sep 2022 09:08
URI:	https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/20196