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Engineered Large Spider Eggcase Silk Protein for Strong Artificial Fibers
Author(s) -
Lin Zhi,
Deng Qinqiu,
Liu XiangYang,
Yang Daiwen
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201204357
Subject(s) - silk , spider silk , materials science , tenacity (mineralogy) , tandem , nanotechnology , polymer science , composite material
A simple strategy is developed to produce large silk proteins in commercially available E. coli . The strategy is demonstrated for the production of a modified eggcase silk protein with a molecular weight of ∼378 kDa. Using a non‐toxic water coagulation bath developed here, the recombinant protein is spun into artificial fibers that reach higher tenacity than its native counterpart. The strategy is generally applicable to synthesizing other types of large silk proteins with tandem repetitive domains.