The search for synthetic production of spider silk has come one step closer with researchers at the Munich Technical University (M.T.U.) in Germany constructing an artificial spinning duct which mimics how the spider turns fluid into thread.
Researchers have claimed a breakthrough in the artificial production of spider\'s webs. Photo: Spider web in Milton Keynes, Jan 2006. Credit:scoobygirl/flickr
The reporters were able to make an artificial spinneret, by taking using bacteria to make the two proteins (ADF3 and ADF4,) from the dragline silk, which spiders use to hang from ceilings, and trees.
"The major breakthrough is that this is the first time one has produced fully synthetic silk threads and understood why," says Professor Bausch, leader of the study, to reporters yesterday.
"The goal of the study was to understand the spinning process. The fibres we created were very similar to the one produced in nature but the next step is to investigate them further," Professor Bausch said.
The team suggest that three stages are needed for the fibre to form; firstly the proteins condense into ball-shaped particles, then the acidity rises and finally the particles push past each other in the spinning chamber.
The potential benefits of a successful artificial large-scale manufacturing of the thread are enormous with the silk's tensile strength, elasticity and biodegradability lending itself to a number of different areas.
Engineers have suggested the uses for the strands in bulletproof vests, parachutes and fishing nets, reports the Independent, however its main benefits could be seen in medicine, where the strands could be used as biodegradable sutures for internal wounds.
The researchers say they are close to producing quality spider silk though need to study further how the fibre is dried and drawn by the spider before they achieve similar properties.
Prof. Bausch said he believed large-scale production of synthetic spider thread was possible, "in the near future".
The team's findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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