About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Bio-Nano Interfaces and Engineering Applications
|
| Presentation Title |
Spider Silk Nanofibrils: From Building Blocks of Natural High-Performance Fibers to Applications in Synthetic Materials |
| Author(s) |
Hannes C. Schniepp, Jacob Silliman |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Hannes C. Schniepp |
| Abstract Scope |
Spider silk is a multifunctional material featuring outstanding mechanical properties, biocompatibility and sustainability. Consisting 100% of protein, it is a versatile 21th-century material. We have shown that many important silks are entirely made from uniform nanofibrils, about 10-20 nm in diameter. This suggests that the traits of spider silks are already present in individual nanofibrils, making them important to study. We have studied their mechanical and adhesive properties, and their protein secondary structure. We have carried out mechanical tensile tests of individual spider silk nanofibrils for the first time, showing that they are extremely stretchable, by 1,000%. We have also decomposed silk fibers entirely into their nanofibrils, which we have re-assembled into materials with different geometries. Characterization of these materials does not only present new application opportunities, but also offers deeper insights into the properties of spider silk nanofibrils themselves. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Characterization, Sustainability, Mechanical Properties |