| Clipped from: Scientists make super-strong metallic spider silk | Reuters |
Scientists make super-strong metallic spider silk
LONDON (Reuters) - Spider silk is already tougher and lighter than steel, and now scientists have made it three times stronger by adding small amounts of metal.
The technique may be useful for manufacturing super-tough textiles and high-tech medical materials, including artificial bones and tendons.
"It could make very strong thread for surgical operations," researcher Seung-Mo Lee of the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle, Germany, said in a telephone interview.
| Clipped from: German Scientists Spin Stretchier and Stronger Spider Silk |
Many insects and other creatures incorporate small amounts of metals such as zinc, manganese, calcium or copper into body parts like jaws, claws and stingers to make them stiffer and harder. The scientists drew on a technique called 'atomic layer deposition' (ALD) to get zinc, titanium and aluminium ions into the spider silk.
Normally ALD just leaves a layer of metal oxides on the surface of the treated fibre; treating spider silk in this way therefore had little impact on its strength. However, by adapting the technique slightly, the researchers were able to get the metal ions to infiltrate the spider silk and become part of the thread.
| Clipped from: Max Planck Society - Press Release |
Power thrust for spider silk
A team of scientists from Halle has succeeded in making spider silk significantly more break-resistant and ductile through the addition of metals
Fig.: Endurance test for spider silk: in many ways, spider silk - here the picture of a garden cross spider in its web- is stronger than a metal wire of the same thickness. After researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Microstructure Physics infiltrated spider silk with metal ions, a double-strand of silk can support the weight of a cube of 27.5 grams, three times more than an untreated strand.
Despite its dramatically improved properties, metal-infiltrated spider silk is unlikely to be used to reinforce either fenders or aircraft wings in the future. "It would probably be more or less impossible to obtain large volumes of natural spider silk," says Knez. The insects are very difficult to keep and are not particularly productive when it comes to spinning their silk. Nonetheless, Knez is convinced of the practical use of this power thrust for materials: "We are pretty certain that we will also be able to improve the properties of synthetic materials that imitate natural ones using our process."
| Clipped from: Greatly Increased Toughness of Infiltrated Spider Silk -- Lee et al. 324 (5926): 488 -- Science |
Reports
Greatly Increased Toughness of Infiltrated Spider Silk
Sources:
- Scientists make super-strong metallic spider silk | Reuters
- German Scientists Spin Stretchier and Stronger Spider Silk
- Max Planck Society - Press Release
- Greatly Increased Toughness of Infiltrated Spider Silk -- Lee et al. 324 (5926): 488 -- Science
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