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Brown Recluse Spider's Nanometer Scale Ribbons of Stiff Extensible Silk
Author(s) -
Schniepp Hannes C.,
Koebley Sean R.,
Vollrath Fritz
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.201302740
Subject(s) - silk , materials science , spider silk , ribbon , nanometre , polymer science , spider , composite material , characterization (materials science) , polymer , nanotechnology , zoology , biology
The silk of the recluse spider features a ribbon‐like morphology unlike any other spider silk or synthetically spun polymer fiber. These protein ribbons represent free‐standing polymer films with a thickness of about 50 nm. Stress–strain characterization of individual fibers via atomic force microscopy reveals that these ribbons, only a few molecular layers of protein thin, rival the mechanical performance of the best silks.