title: Dry-Spun Silk Produces Native-Like Fibroin Solutions.
abstract: Silk's outstanding mechanical properties and energy efficient solidification mechanisms provide inspiration for biomaterial self-assembly as well as offering a diverse platform of materials suitable for many biotechnology applications. Experiments now reveal that the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori secretes its silk in a practically "unspun" state that retains much of the solvent water and exhibits a surprisingly low degree of molecular order (β-sheet crystallinity) compared to the state found in a fully formed and matured fiber. These new observations challenge the general understanding of silk spinning and in particular the role of the spinning duct for structure development. Building on this discovery we report that silk spun in low humidity appears to arrest a molecular annealing process crucial for β-sheet formation. This, in turn, has significant positive implications, enabling the production of a high fidelity reconstituted silk fibroin with properties akin to the gold standard of unspun native silk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Oxford University , Oxford, United Kingdom.|Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London , London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Maxime
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boulet-Audet
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Oxford University , Oxford, United Kingdom.|Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Sheffield , Sheffield, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Oxford University , Oxford, United Kingdom.|Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, University of Ghent , Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gheysens
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Oxford University , Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Fritz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vollrath
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D012831:Bombyx / Q000737:chemistry; D005349:Fibroins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D000072757:Protein Conformation, beta-Strand; D047011:Silk / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D012996:Solutions / Q000737:chemistry; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D047011:Silk; D012996:Solutions; D014867:Water; D005349:Fibroins