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

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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.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported by Arthritis Research UK (C.P.B), the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia (C.P.B. and J.M.), and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (F.R.). C.P.B. is grateful to Arthritis Research UK for salary support. F.R. is grateful to the Canada Research Chairs program for partial salary support, thanks the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for a F.W. Bessel Award, and acknowledges NSERC for an EWR Steacie Memorial Fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Botnar Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Cameron P. Brown

  2. Genecology Research Centre, School of Science and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Australia

    Alessandra D. Whaite & Joanne Macdonald

  3. INRS - Centre Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunications, Boulevard Lionel-Boulet, Varennes, Québec, J3X 1S2, Canada

    Jennifer M. MacLeod & Federico Rosei

  4. Division of Experimental Therapeutics, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, USA

    Joanne Macdonald

  5. Center for Self-Assembled Chemical Structures, McGill University, H3A 2K6, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Federico Rosei

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  1. Cameron P. Brown
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  2. Alessandra D. Whaite
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  3. Jennifer M. MacLeod
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  4. Joanne Macdonald
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  5. Federico Rosei
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Correspondence to Cameron P. Brown or Federico Rosei.

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Brown, C.P., Whaite, A.D., MacLeod, J.M. et al. With great structure comes great functionality: Understanding and emulating spider silk. Journal of Materials Research 30, 108–120 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2014.365

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