The influence of anaesthesia on the tensile properties of spider silk.
In this study of the effect of anaesthesia on both the forced silking process and on the properties of the retrieved silk fibres, a monitored forced silking process enables the silking force to be measured during the whole process. Silk samples were tensile-tested and their diameters measured. Force-displacement curves and stress-strain curves were drawn. The evolution of the silking process of anaesthetized spiders is found to be complex, but it sheds light on the details of the spinning mechanism of spider silk.
Pérez-Rigueiro
J
J
Departamento de Ciencia de Materiales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, ETS de Ingenieros de Caminos, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Elices
M
M
Plaza
G R
GR
Real
J I
JI
Guinea
G V
GV
D000777:Anesthetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D012634:Bodily Secretions / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008422:Materials Testing; D047011:Silk / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects*; D013112:Spiders / Q000502:physiology*
D000777:Anesthetics; D047011:Silk; D002245:Carbon Dioxide