Spider Silk: The Toughest Fiber

SPIDER SILK
The toughest fiber
Submitted to- Mr. Rajesh.

By- Gaurav Kumar.
Textile design department.
Semester-6th.
Roll No-11.
INTRODUCTION
Spider silk is one of the strongest natural fibres known, and it consists of
an amino-acid based polymer. There are many different types of spider
silk proteins which are produced to serve different functions from
different glands in the spider. The strength of some spider silks, such as
the dragline silk, is comparable to that of high-grade steel. Spider silk is
also of low density, ductile, and able to maintain these remarkable
characteristics over a broad range of temperatures and tensions up to its
breaking point. Thus, spider silk has potential applications in several
areas including the development of bulletproof materials , in the
treatment of open wounds and the delivery of drugs , and in the
fabrication of textiles.
Production of Spider Silk
Production of spider silk involves two important steps that need to be
addressed in order to mass produce spider silk, these are:
-The harvesting of spider silk:
This can be done by either directly extracting it from spiders, or by using
a genetically modified organism to produce the silk. Traditionally, in
order to investigate the properties of spider silk or attempt to develop
any applications for it, researchers had to collect the silk directly from
spiders. In order to mass produce spider silk innovative methods have
been developed; these involve cloning the genes responsible for
producing the more common dragline silk threads.
-The spinning of spider silk:

Spiders are able to spin their silk at near-ambient temperatures and
pressures using water as a solvent. They are able to produce this by
judiciously controlling the folding and crystallization of the main protein
constituents, as well as adding auxiliary compounds to create a
composite material of defined structure.
ABSTRACT:
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. Some things about spider silk are difficult to understand. The
genetic code for one of the more perplexing types of silk—the strands
spiders use to weave their egg cases. Each case must be tough enough
to keep out parasites, impermeable to rain and fungus, and breathable
while insulating eggs from temperature extremes. 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.
There are over 34,000 known species of spider, and each one of them
makes its own silk, some even make more than one kind. Spiders have
been making silk for 400 million years, giving evolution plenty of time
to refine the silk and the silk-making process.
KEYWORDS: Spider silk, toughest fiber.
SYNOPSIS: So as per the research, spider silk has a number of

properties which it can be used for:
Physical properties
1. Length: Continuous
2. Fineness: It is finer than the human hair (most threads are a few
microns in diameter)
3. Strength: Spider silk is incredibly tough and is stronger by weight
than steel. Quantitatively, spider silk is five times stronger than steel of
the same diameter. It has been suggested that a Boeing 747 could be
stopped in flight by a single pencil-width strand and spider silk is almost
as strong as Kevlar, the toughest man-made polymer. The strength of a
biological material like spider silk lies in the specific geometric
configuration of structural proteins, which have small clusters of weak
hydrogen bonds that work cooperatively to resist force and dissipate
energy.
Thermal properties
Spider silk is able to keep its strength below -40°C. The toughest silk is
the dragline silk from the Golden Orb-Weaving spider (Nephilia
clavipes), so called because it uses silk of a golden hue to make orb
webs.
Elastic properties
The material is elastic and only breaks at between 2 - 4 times its length.
In the figure given: a strand of a social spider, stegodyphus sarasinorum,
is shown as normal size, stretched 5 times and 20 times its original
length. Spider silk is also especially ductile, able to stretch up to 40% of
its length without breaking. This gives it a very high toughness (or work
to fracture).
Types of spider silk and its uses:
The different types of silk produced by spider, each for a different
purpose:
 Dragline silk are used to connect the spider to the web, as safety lines
in case a spider should fall and as the non-sticky spokes of the web.
Dragline silk is the strongest kind of silk because it must support the
weight of the spider.
 Capture-spiral silk: Used for the capturing lines of the web. Sticky,
extremely stretchy and tough.
 Tubiliform silk: male spiders weave sperm webs on which they deposit
sperm and subsequently transfer it to their front palps, ready for placing
on a females genital organs. Some species make a web and coat it with
sex pheromones to attract a mate. Used for protective egg sacs. Stiffest
silk.
 Aciniform silk: Used to wrap and secure freshly captured prey. Two to
three times as tough as the other silks, including dragline.
 Minor-ampullate silk: Used for temporary scaffolding during web

construction
 Swathing silk for the wrapping and immobilisation of prey.
 Webs for catching prey using sticky silk - it is elastic to prevent the
prey from rebounding off the web. Shelters such as burrows or nests.
 Parachuting or ballooning which is used to aid the dispersal of young

and to find new areas as a food source. Silk is released and is caught by
the wind to lift the spider up into the air - flying spiders!
Many successful experiments are being carried out for the manufacture
of the fiber.
CONCLUSION
The researchers and there companions are trying their level best to
produce extremely advanced quality of synthetic spider silk. With all the
work being done the silk synthetic spider could quite be possibly to
produce in mass production in the near future for daily use. The
synthetic spider silk would be used for the strands in bulletproof vests,
parachutes and fishing nets, report the Independent; however its main
benefits could be seen in medicine, where the strands could be used as
biodegradable structure for internal wounds.

Spider Silk: The Toughest Fiber

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Spider Silk: The Toughest Fiber

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Spider Silk: The Toughest Fiber

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

SPIDER SILK

The toughest fiber

Submitted to- Mr. Rajesh.

-The spinning of spider silk:

KEYWORDS: Spider silk, toughest fiber.

SYNOPSIS: So as per the research, spider silk has a number of

 Minor-ampullate silk: Used for temporary scaffolding during web

 Swathing silk for the wrapping and immobilisation of prey.

 Parachuting or ballooning which is used to aid the dispersal of young

You might also like