Spider silk is one of the materials with excellent strength and elasticity.Unfortunately, feeding spiders to obtain spider silk is very impractical.Although some researchers are studying the synthesis of spider silk, but MIT and Taft University of Pittsburgh scientists took another approach - they devised a method of using silk to make almost the same strength as spider silk fibers.
The process involved chemically dissolving cocoons, but only at a certain point, their molecular structure remaining unchanged, causing the filaments to break down into microfilaments, called microfibrils, by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Professor Markus Buehler as a Remove a brick house, but leave behind each brick.
The solution was then extruded through small openings to reassemble the microfibers into individual fibers, which the researchers described as regenerated silk fibers (RSF) and the resulting material was reported to be twice as strong as normal silk.
In addition to using traditional fiber forms for weaving textiles, RSF can also be formed into webs, tubes, rolls and sheets, etc. Due to the natural biocompatibility of silk, possible applications for the material may include medical sutures or Scaffolding for new tissue growth.
In addition, the RSF can be made of a conductive material by coating a layer of carbon nanotubes, in which case it is conceivable to apply it to smart fabrics such as anti-decubitus sheets that can be placed in a position that is too long Warn medical staff.
Researchers published a research paper this week in Nature Communications.
