Elastomeric Network Models for the Frame and Viscid Silks from the Orb Web of the Spider <i>Araneus diadematus</i>

Gosline, John M.; Pollak, Cynthia Catherine Nichols; Guerette, Paul A.; Cheng, Albert M. K.; DeMont, M. E.; Denny, Mark W.

doi:10.1021/bk-1994-0544.ch027

Cited by 38 publications

(28 citation statements)

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“…For example, the 4-5·GPa ultimate strength that Stauffer et al recorded for major ampullate silk is much higher than has been found in a range of studies by other researchers. By contrast, our value of 1.2·GPa is well within the 0.8-1.5·GPa range of engineering stress for ultimate strength that is typically reported for orbicularian major ampullate silk (Table·1) (Blackledge et al, 2005c;Gosline et al, 1994;Kitagawa and Kitayama, 1997;Madsen and Vollrath, 2000;Work, 1976).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Silken toolkits: biomechanics of silk fibers spun by the orb web spiderArgiope argentata(Fabricius 1775)

Blackledge

Hayashi

2006

Journal of Experimental Biology

262

275

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SUMMARY Orb-weaving spiders spin five fibrous silks from differentiated glands that contain unique sets of proteins. Despite diverse ecological functions, the mechanical properties of most of these silks are not well characterized. Here,we quantify the mechanical performance of this toolkit of silks for the silver garden spider Argiope argentata. Four silks exhibit viscoelastic behaviour typical of polymers, but differ statistically from each other by up to 250% in performance, giving each silk a distinctive suite of material properties. Major ampullate silk is 50% stronger than other fibers, but also less extensible. Aciniform silk is almost twice as tough as other silks because of high strength and extensibility. Capture spiral silk, coated with aqueous glue, is an order of magnitude stretchier than other silks. Dynamic mechanical properties are qualitatively similar, but quantitatively vary by up to 300% among silks. Storage moduli are initially nearly constant and increase after fiber yield, whereas loss tangents reach maxima of 0.1–0.2 at the yield. The remarkable mechanical diversity of Argiope argentata silks probably results in part from the different molecular structures of fibers and can be related to the specific ecological role of each silk. Our study indicates substantial potential to customize the mechanics of bioengineered silks.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Silken toolkits: biomechanics of silk fibers spun by the orb web spiderArgiope argentata(Fabricius 1775)

Blackledge

Hayashi

2006

Journal of Experimental Biology

262

275

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“…7. Using reasonable initial data (see Termonia, 2000) the model predicted at small strains -under 0.002 -a linear curve with modulus E = 10 GPa, in agreement with experimental observations (Gosline et al, 1994;Work, 1977;Elices et al, 2005). At about 0.02 strain the hydrogen bonds between chains in the amorphous region started to break, leading to the formation of a yield point at which the stress-strain curve reaches a plateau.…”

Section: 1supporting

confidence: 83%

The hidden link between supercontraction and mechanical behavior of spider silks

Calafat

Plaza

Pérez‐Rigueiro

et al. 2011

Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials

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The remarkable properties of spider silks have stimulated an increasing interest in understanding the roles of their composition and processing, as well as in the massproduction of these fibers. Previously, the variability in the mechanical properties of natural silk fibers was a major drawback in the elucidation of their behavior, but the authors have found that supercontraction of these fibers allows one to characterize and reproduce the whole range of tensile properties in a consistent way. The purpose of this review is to summarize these findings.After a review of the pertinent mechanical properties, the role of supercontraction in recovering and tailoring the tensile properties is explained, together with an alignment parameter to characterize silk fibers. The concept of the existence of a mechanical ground state is also mentioned. These behaviors can be modeled, and two such models -at the molecular and macroscopic levels -are briefly outlined. Finally, the assessment of the existence of supercontraction in bio-inspired fibers is considered, as this property may have significant consequences in the design and production of artificial fibers.

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“…This is actually true, as supercontracted Araneus MA silk has an average initial stiffness of 10·MPa (Gosline et al, 1994;Savage and Gosline, 2008), and waterswollen Araneus FL silk has an average initial stiffness of 1·MPa (Pollak, 1991;Gosline et al, 1994). Thus, temperature effects on the chain chemistry should have a much larger effect on the swollen volume of the softer network, as predicted by the Flory-Rehner Theory for network swelling (Flory, 1953).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

The role of proline in the elastic mechanism of hydrated spider silks

Savage

Gosline

2008

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYThis study used thermoelastic measurements to investigate the role of proline in the elastic mechanism of hydrated, spider major ampullate (MA) and flagelliform (FL) silks. Experiments on hydrated MA silk from Araneus diadematus (proline content 16%) reveal that conformational entropy elasticity accounts for about 90% of the elastic force at small extensions, but entropy elasticity drops to about half by 50% extension. The decrease in the entropic component with extension is due to the presence of relatively short and conformationally restricted network chains in Araneus MA silk. Experiments on hydrated Araneus FL silk (proline content 16%) indicate that entropy elasticity dominates the elastic mechanism up to extensions of 100% and beyond, which likely reflects the fact that the glycine-rich network chains in FL silk are longer and less conformationally restricted than those in the MA silk. Thus, the rubber-like, entropic elasticity of these two proline-rich silks is consistent with networks of amorphous chains that become mobile when hydrated. By contrast, the elastic mechanism of hydrated Nephila clavipes MA silk (proline content 3.5%) shows a small contribution from entropic elasticity for extensions of 5% or less, and by 10% extension the elastic force is due entirely to bond-energy elasticity, probably associated with the deformation of stable secondary structures. These results indicate that there are major differences in the structural organization of the glycine-rich network chains and the mechanism of elasticity in proline-rich and proline-deficient fibroins.

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Elastomeric Network Models for the Frame and Viscid Silks from the Orb Web of the Spider Araneus diadematus

Cited by 38 publications

References 0 publications

Silken toolkits: biomechanics of silk fibers spun by the orb web spiderArgiope argentata(Fabricius 1775)

Silken toolkits: biomechanics of silk fibers spun by the orb web spiderArgiope argentata(Fabricius 1775)

The hidden link between supercontraction and mechanical behavior of spider silks

The role of proline in the elastic mechanism of hydrated spider silks

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