Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Bottom Line For Silk
University of Oxford (UK), 24 October: Remarkable similarities between the flow behavior of silkworm and spider silks are revealed in a study to be published in November issue of Nature Materials. This is surprising because these silks evolved to have different functions and their protein compositions and mechanical properties are quite distinct.
Fritz Vollrath and colleagues’ characterization study is the first to compare directly the native silk feedstock of 2 different animal species. The authors note that both feed stocks have the typical flow behavior of a standard polymer melt, which is important because it means that the melt-flow theory developed for polymers also applies to silk.
Spider silk, in particular, has mechanical properties that outperform most industrial fibers but it defies all attempts at reproduction. Now this improved understanding of the flow characteristics of native silk feedstock may take us a step closer to translating natural spinning to artificial silk production.
Fritz Vollrath and colleagues’ characterization study is the first to compare directly the native silk feedstock of 2 different animal species. The authors note that both feed stocks have the typical flow behavior of a standard polymer melt, which is important because it means that the melt-flow theory developed for polymers also applies to silk.
Spider silk, in particular, has mechanical properties that outperform most industrial fibers but it defies all attempts at reproduction. Now this improved understanding of the flow characteristics of native silk feedstock may take us a step closer to translating natural spinning to artificial silk production.
# posted by mediabhartiwebsolutions @ 7:06 AM 
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