STRUCTURAL STUDIES OF SPIDER-SILK FIBERS

$19,588P41FY2009RRNIH

Illinois Institute Of Technology, Chicago IL

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Paper 38227645 Paper 30992378 Paper 28924213 Paper 28705830 Paper 27908425 Paper 27116239 Paper 25965274 Paper 25695229 Paper 25636406 Paper 25488402 Paper 25349413 Paper 25002512 Paper 24926425 Paper 24752541 Paper 24607691 Paper 24591629 Paper 24509847 Paper 24483492 Paper 24318897 Paper 24240239 Paper 24191053 Paper 24121320 Paper 24091898 Paper 24071720 Paper 24047255 Paper 23868289 Paper 23843386 Paper 23821671 Paper 23618763 Paper 23569461 Paper 23537292 Paper 23365058 Paper 23285033 Paper 23246787 Paper 23022347 Paper 23000384 Paper 22995500 Paper 22951477 Paper 22796588 Paper 22661716 Paper 22550172 Paper 22427827 Paper 22398450 Paper 22306460 Paper 22223454 Paper 22206041 Paper 22206040 Paper 22091967 Paper 22028970 Paper 21961592 Paper 21894323 Paper 21885653 Paper 21876609 Paper 21873985 Paper 21736300 Paper 21687667 Paper 21594569 Paper 21593450 Paper 21463587 Paper 21460195 Paper 21442608 Paper 21402032 Paper 21368178 Paper 21291268 Paper 21218241 Paper 21182410 Paper 21148419 Paper 21117898 Paper 21070941 Paper 21064165 Paper 20958032 Paper 20735986 Paper 20597502 Paper 20593779 Paper 20567085 Paper 20521820 Paper 20481638 Paper 20147285 Paper 20144618 Paper 20138892 Paper 20123786 Paper 20080629 Paper 20056598 Paper 20053351 Paper 20049539 Paper 19898478 Paper 19879180 Paper 19712681 Paper 19640539 Paper 19637082 Paper 19635572 Paper 19630440 Paper 19552402 Paper 19530227 Paper 19450484 Paper 19358576 Paper 19341312 Paper 19326428 Paper 19232355 Paper 19199578

Abstract

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Spiders have been using protein-based nanomaterials that have the ability to self-assemble into fibers and sheets for over 450 million years. However, it is only in the past 15 years that we have started to understand the basis for these amazing materials. Biological polymers and assemblies, such as spider silk, are typically long, helical, fibrous structures. The components of these fibrous-assemblies are difficult to crystallize, since their natural tendency is to form fibers. Spider dragline silks have extremely unsurpassed mechanical strength, a combination of very high elasticity and tensile strength. A knowledge of the micro-structure of the silk fibers is crucial in understanding the factors deciding on these unique mechanical properties. This knowledge about its structure would help understanding the structure-property relationship and inturn enable it to be used as new smart bio-materials, for numerous applications ranging from airbags to sensors to micro-sutures to artificial ligaments and tendons to drug delivery coatings. Fiber diffraction is the only practical method of structure determination at the molecular level for these assemblies. The difference between fibers and crystals is that, in fibers, the molecules are parallel to each other (as they are in crystals), but they are randomly rotated about the long axis of the fiber. As a result, the data obtained from an x-ray fiber diffraction experiment are cylindrically averaged relative to the data that would be obtained from a hypothetical crystal of the same aggregate.

View original record on NIH RePORTER →