Jones Justin A, Harris Thomas I, Bell Brianne E, Oliveira Paula F
Department of Biology, Utah State University;
Department of Biology, Utah State University.
J Vis Exp. 2019 May 6(147). doi: 10.3791/59318.
Many spiders produce seven types of silks. Six of the silks are fiber in form when produced by the spiders. These fibers are not water soluble. In order to reproduce the remarkable mechanical properties of spider silks, they must be produced in heterologous hosts as spiders are both territorial and cannibalistic. The synthetic analogs of spider silk also tend to be insoluble in aqueous solutions. Thus, a large percentage of research in recombinant spider silks rely upon organic solvents that are detrimental to large scale production of materials. Our group's method forces the solvation of these recombinant spider silks into water. Remarkably, when these proteins are prepared using this method of heat and pressure, a wide range of material forms can be prepared from the same solution of recombinant spider silk proteins (rSSp) including: films, fibers, sponge, hydrogel, lyogel, and adhesives. This article demonstrates the production of the solvated rSSp and material forms in a manner that is more easily understood than from written materials and methods alone.
许多蜘蛛能产生七种类型的蛛丝。蜘蛛产生的六种蛛丝呈纤维状。这些纤维不溶于水。为了重现蛛丝卓越的机械性能，由于蜘蛛具有领地意识且会自相残杀，所以必须在异源宿主中生产蛛丝。蛛丝的合成类似物也往往不溶于水溶液。因此，重组蛛丝的大部分研究依赖于对大规模材料生产有害的有机溶剂。我们团队的方法能使这些重组蛛丝溶解于水。值得注意的是，当使用这种加热和加压的方法制备这些蛋白质时，从重组蛛丝蛋白（rSSp）的同一溶液中可以制备出多种材料形式，包括：薄膜、纤维、海绵、水凝胶、冻干凝胶和粘合剂。本文展示了溶剂化rSSp的生产以及材料形式，其展示方式比仅通过书面材料和方法更易于理解。
