| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2020 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Bio-Nano Interfaces and Engineering Applications
|
| Presentation Title |
The Internal Nano-interfaces of Spider Silk: Finding the Molecular-scale Origins of its Strength |
| Author(s) |
Qijue Wang, Hannes C. Schniepp |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Hannes C. Schniepp |
| Abstract Scope |
Spider silk is a prototype of a protein-based material with outstanding mechanical properties. Understanding the mechanisms giving rise to its high strength will be a pivotal for the development of synthetic protein materials for structural applications. We have recently identified spider silks consisting entirely of loosely bonded, long, parallel nanofibrils, which has led us to develop the most detailed, imaging-based structural model of spider silk to date. Knowing the structure so well, we were able to reveal the mechanical interactions of its nanoscale constituents via force spectroscopy for the first time. The nanostructure of oriented nanofibrils makes the material’s mechanical properties highly anisotropic, which we measured using a newly developed experimental setup, complemented by finite element analysis. The measured breaking force between individual nanofibrils provides insight into the molecular-scale binding mechanisms of spider silk. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: Publication Outside of TMS |