title: Regenerated spider silk as a new biomaterial for MEMS.
abstract: Spider drag-line silk is introduced for the first time as a new biomaterial for Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS). The tasks accomplished in this paper were focused on mechanical characterization of regenerated spider silk under two conditions: (1) spin-coated thin film formed onto a silicon substrate; and (2) formation of a free-standing microbridge (800 x 800 x 40 microm3) obtained by a surface micromachining process. Micromechanical tests using a nano indentation machine showed the spider silk film having an elastic modulus of 7.3 GPa, a loss tangent of 0.044 and an UTS (Ultimate Tensile Strength) of 85.1 MPa.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, 6250 Applied Science Lane, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
authors.forename: Jiamei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Winnie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Rizhi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Leandro
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Michal
authors.forename: Jung Chih
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Chiao
authors.forename: Mu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chiao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods; D047011:Silk; D013112:Spiders; D013718:Tensile Strength
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D047011:Silk