用于功能性纺织品的古老生物材料——蜘蛛丝

Spider silk: Ancient biomaterial for functional textiles

同等条件下,蜘蛛丝是世界上最坚韧的纤维,甚至可与钢相媲美。蜘蛛丝又称为游丝。1只蜘蛛可以提供7种不同种类的蜘蛛丝,有些丝非常坚硬、强度高,像梁一样可以撑起整个蜘蛛网;有些丝弹性或黏性好,可以缠绕猎物。强度和弹性的结合使得蜘蛛丝非常不可思议,单单这些特质就能使蜘蛛丝织出令人印象深刻的织物。卵袋可以阻挡紫外线,与某些蜘蛛丝相比,还可以抗收缩。了解蛋白质的结构与蜘蛛的吐丝过程可以帮助科学家合成人造丝。目前,可以通过各种各样的转基因生物体生产合成蛋白,企业和学院都致力于纺丝过程的研究。

Pound of pound, spider silk is the toughest fiber in the world - rivaling even steel. Spider silk is also known as gossamer. A single spider can produce up to seven different varieties of silk. Some are stiff and strong, acting like girders to hold up a web. Others are extremely elastic or sticky to entangle prey. Strength in combination with elasticity makes spider silk amazing. These qualities alone would make an impressive fabric. The egg cases may even block ultraviolet light and, unlike certain kinds of spider silk, resist shrinkage. Knowing the protein structure and how a spider＇s spinneret works helps the scientists to create synthetic artificial silk. Synthetic proteins are currently being produced in a variety of genetically altered organisms, and companies and universities alike are investigating spinning processes.