Understanding the properties of spider silk is central to understanding other elastic biomaterials, say UK zoologists.

Fritz Vollrath and David Porter at the University of Oxford investigated spider silk's sensitivity to water, and developed a model that relates the mechanical properties of silk to bonding interactions in its peptide chains. According to the researchers, understanding this interaction is 'of paramount importance for deeper insights into the mechanical properties of any biomaterial.'

Unlike other elastic biomaterials, such as collagen and elastin, spider silk has developed to work outside the body, making it easier to study experimentally.

Vollrath and Porter say their research shows 'how silk can be used to provide insights into other important structural proteins at both a practical and a theoretical level.'

'A full understanding of natural silks should lead to better design of silk analogues of a wide range of other protein biopolymers,' they claim.

Synthetic silk could be used in medical applications such as tendon or ligament replacements or as templates for bone growth. Vollrath and Porter said, 'since silks are produced by spinning rather than by growth, they have a realistic potential for commercial production.'

Caroline A Moore