spider silk

Spider silk is already lighter and tougher than steel, but now that scientists have infused the silk with metal they are 3 times stronger. The technique may be found to be very useful in manufacturing super-strong textiles and high tech medical equipment, including artificial bones and tendons. Researcher Seung-Mo Lee of the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle, Germany said. "It could make very strong thread for surgical operations” Lee and his fellow colleagues found that adding zinc, titanium or aluminum to a piece of spider silk made it more resistant to breaking or deforming. They used a process called atomic layer deposition, which not only coated the spider dragline silks with metal but also caused some metal ions to infiltrate the fibers and react with their protein structure. Lee said that he next wants to try adding artificial polymers such as teflon and other materials.The idea was inspired by research showing traces of metals in the strongest parts of some insect body parts. The jaws of leaf-cutter ants and locusts, both contain high levels of zinc, making them extremely stiff and hard. The strength of spider silk has long fascinated scientists but it is hard to produce it in commercial quantities because captive spiders tend to eat each other. Researchers have looked at alternative ways of producing silk without spiders, by duplicating their spinning technique. According to www.rsc.org "Mato Knez attributes the strengthening effect to the metal's displacement of hydrogen bonds within the silk's protein structure. The water vapour disrupts the hydrogen bonding network of the silk proteins, and these bonds are replaced by stronger metal-coordinated or covalent metal-protein bonds as the metal ions slowly infiltrate the silk. The spider silk itself is just a model system,"adds Knez. "Once we have learnt to control the deposition system, and really understand what is happening, we hope to apply the method to make better, lighter weight and tougher new materials which are of more interest for technology or medicine,' he adds. I feel the recent find is just another great find for science and the medicine world. If they can create new durable material to help replace tendons and bones, people would be greatly benefitted. They could possible find new applications for the material such as extra strength cable for building or possibly new stronger lighter material for manufacturing use in computers or other electronics. I am always surprised about the scientific finds that are made every day and look forward to learning of new discoveries such a this extra strength spider silk.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30377220/

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2009/April/23040903.asp