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Rising A, Harrington MJ. Biological Materials Processing: Time-Tested Tricks for Sustainable Fiber Fabrication. Chem Rev 2023; 123:2155-2199. [PMID: 36508546 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
There is an urgent need to improve the sustainability of the materials we produce and use. Here, we explore what humans can learn from nature about how to sustainably fabricate polymeric fibers with excellent material properties by reviewing the physical and chemical aspects of materials processing distilled from diverse model systems, including spider silk, mussel byssus, velvet worm slime, hagfish slime, and mistletoe viscin. We identify common and divergent strategies, highlighting the potential for bioinspired design and technology transfer. Despite the diversity of the biopolymeric fibers surveyed, we identify several common strategies across multiple systems, including: (1) use of stimuli-responsive biomolecular building blocks, (2) use of concentrated fluid precursor phases (e.g., coacervates and liquid crystals) stored under controlled chemical conditions, and (3) use of chemical (pH, salt concentration, redox chemistry) and physical (mechanical shear, extensional flow) stimuli to trigger the transition from fluid precursor to solid material. Importantly, because these materials largely form and function outside of the body of the organisms, these principles can more easily be transferred for bioinspired design in synthetic systems. We end the review by discussing ongoing efforts and challenges to mimic biological model systems, with a particular focus on artificial spider silks and mussel-inspired materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Rising
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge 141 52, Sweden.,Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala 750 07, Sweden
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Li J, Zhu Y, Yu H, Dai B, Jun YS, Zhang F. Microbially Synthesized Polymeric Amyloid Fiber Promotes β-Nanocrystal Formation and Displays Gigapascal Tensile Strength. ACS NANO 2021; 15:11843-11853. [PMID: 34251182 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c02944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The ability of amyloid proteins to form stable β-sheet nanofibrils has made them potential candidates for material innovation in nanotechnology. However, such a nanoscale feature has rarely translated into attractive macroscopic properties for mechanically demanding applications. Here, we present a strategy by fusing amyloid peptides with flexible linkers from spidroin; the resulting polymeric amyloid proteins can be biosynthesized using engineered microbes and wet-spun into macroscopic fibers. Using this strategy, fibers from three different amyloid groups were fabricated. Structural analyses unveil the presence of β-nanocrystals that resemble the cross-β structure of amyloid nanofibrils. These polymeric amyloid fibers have displayed strong and molecular-weight-dependent mechanical properties. Fibers made of a protein polymer containing 128 repeats of the FGAILSS sequence displayed an average ultimate tensile strength of 0.98 ± 0.08 GPa and an average toughness of 161 ± 26 MJ/m3, surpassing most recombinant protein fibers and even some natural spider silk fibers. The design strategy and the biosynthetic approach can be expanded to create numerous functional materials, and the macroscopic amyloid fibers will enable a wide range of mechanically demanding applications.
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Magalhaes ILF, Ramírez MJ. The Crevice Weaver Spider Genus Kukulcania (Araneae: Filistatidae). BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 2019. [DOI: 10.1206/00030090-426.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ivan L. F. Magalhaes
- División Aracnología Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” – CONICET Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Martín J. Ramírez
- División Aracnología Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” – CONICET Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Tsuchiya K, Numata K. Chemical Synthesis of Multiblock Copolypeptides Inspired by Spider Dragline Silk Proteins. ACS Macro Lett 2017; 6:103-106. [PMID: 35632900 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.7b00006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Novel multiblock polypeptides with a structure similar to the unique sequence observed in spider silk proteins (spidroins) were synthesized via a two-step chemical synthesis method, that is, chemoenzymatic polymerization, using papain followed by postpolycondensation. Two types of polypeptide fragments were prepared by chemoenzymatic polymerization: polyalanine as a hard block, which forms β-sheets in the spider silk fibers, and poly(glycine-random-leucine) as a soft block. These two fragments were ligated by postpolycondensation using polyphosphoric acid as a condensing agent. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and IR measurements revealed that the resulting multiblock polypeptides formed an antiparallel β-sheet structure with a degree of crystallinity similar to that of spider silk, which resulted in a fibrous morphology. This work provides the first example of a synthetic multiblock polypeptide mimicking the secondary structures of spider silk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kousuke Tsuchiya
- Enzyme Research Team, RIKEN
Center for
Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Keiji Numata
- Enzyme Research Team, RIKEN
Center for
Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
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Tsuchiya K, Masunaga H, Numata K. Tensile Reinforcement of Silk Films by the Addition of Telechelic-Type Polyalanine. Biomacromolecules 2017; 18:1002-1009. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.6b01891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kousuke Tsuchiya
- Enzyme
Research Team, Biomass Engineering Research Division, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Hiroyasu Masunaga
- Japan Synchrotron
Radiation Research Institute, 1-1-1,
Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Keiji Numata
- Enzyme
Research Team, Biomass Engineering Research Division, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
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Blamires SJ, Blackledge TA, Tso IM. Physicochemical Property Variation in Spider Silk: Ecology, Evolution, and Synthetic Production. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2017; 62:443-460. [PMID: 27959639 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-031616-035615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The unique combination of great stiffness, strength, and extensibility makes spider major ampullate (MA) silk desirable for various biomimetic and synthetic applications. Intensive research on the genetics, biochemistry, and biomechanics of this material has facilitated a thorough understanding of its properties at various levels. Nevertheless, methods such as cloning, recombination, and electrospinning have not successfully produced materials with properties as impressive as those of spider silk. It is nevertheless becoming clear that silk properties are a consequence of whole-organism interactions with the environment in addition to genetic expression, gland biochemistry, and spinning processes. Here we assimilate the research done and assess the techniques used to determine distinct forms of spider silk chemical and physical property variability. We suggest that more research should focus on testing hypotheses that explain spider silk property variations in ecological and evolutionary contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean J Blamires
- Department of Life Science, Tunghai University, Taichung 40704, Taiwan;
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia;
| | - Todd A Blackledge
- Department of Biology, Integrated Bioscience Program, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325;
| | - I-Min Tso
- Department of Life Science, Tunghai University, Taichung 40704, Taiwan;
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Dionne J, Lefèvre T, Auger M. Major Ampullate Spider Silk with Indistinguishable Spidroin Dope Conformations Leads to Different Fiber Molecular Structures. Int J Mol Sci 2016; 17:E1353. [PMID: 27548146 PMCID: PMC5000749 DOI: 10.3390/ijms17081353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2016] [Revised: 08/11/2016] [Accepted: 08/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
To plentifully benefit from its properties (mechanical, optical, biological) and its potential to manufacture green materials, the structure of spider silk has to be known accurately. To this aim, the major ampullate (MA) silk of Araneus diadematus (AD) and Nephila clavipes (NC) has been compared quantitatively in the liquid and fiber states using Raman spectromicroscopy. The data show that the spidroin conformations of the two dopes are indistinguishable despite their specific amino acid composition. This result suggests that GlyGlyX and GlyProGlyXX amino acid motifs (X = Leu, Glu, Tyr, Ser, etc.) are conformationally equivalent due to the chain flexibility in the aqueous environment. Species-related sequence specificity is expressed more extensively in the fiber: the β-sheet content is lower and width of the orientation distribution of the carbonyl groups is broader for AD (29% and 58°, respectively) as compared to NC (37% and 51°, respectively). β-Sheet content values are close to the proportion of polyalanine segments, suggesting that β-sheet formation is mainly dictated by the spidroin sequence. The extent of molecular alignment seems to be related to the presence of proline (Pro) that may decrease conformational flexibility and inhibit chain extension and alignment upon drawing. It appears that besides the presence of Pro, secondary structure and molecular orientation contribute to the different mechanical properties of MA threads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justine Dionne
- Regroupement québécois de Recherche sur la Fonction, l'Ingénierie et les Applications des Protéines (PROTEO), Centre de Recherche sur les Matériaux Avancés (CERMA), Centre Québécois sur les Matériaux Fonctionnels (CQMF), Département de Chimie, Université Laval, Pavillon Alexandre-Vachon, Ville de Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada.
| | - Thierry Lefèvre
- Regroupement québécois de Recherche sur la Fonction, l'Ingénierie et les Applications des Protéines (PROTEO), Centre de Recherche sur les Matériaux Avancés (CERMA), Centre Québécois sur les Matériaux Fonctionnels (CQMF), Département de Chimie, Université Laval, Pavillon Alexandre-Vachon, Ville de Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada.
| | - Michèle Auger
- Regroupement québécois de Recherche sur la Fonction, l'Ingénierie et les Applications des Protéines (PROTEO), Centre de Recherche sur les Matériaux Avancés (CERMA), Centre Québécois sur les Matériaux Fonctionnels (CQMF), Département de Chimie, Université Laval, Pavillon Alexandre-Vachon, Ville de Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada.
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Sensenig AT, Lorentz KA, Kelly SP, Blackledge TA. Spider orb webs rely on radial threads to absorb prey kinetic energy. J R Soc Interface 2012; 9:1880-91. [PMID: 22431738 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2011.0851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The kinetic energy of flying insect prey is a formidable challenge for orb-weaving spiders. These spiders construct two-dimensional, round webs from a combination of stiff, strong radial silk and highly elastic, glue-coated capture spirals. Orb webs must first stop the flight of insect prey and then retain those insects long enough to be subdued by the spiders. Consequently, spider silks rank among the toughest known biomaterials. The large number of silk threads composing a web suggests that aerodynamic dissipation may also play an important role in stopping prey. Here, we quantify energy dissipation in orb webs spun by diverse species of spiders using data derived from high-speed videos of web deformation under prey impact. By integrating video data with material testing of silks, we compare the relative contributions of radial silk, the capture spiral and aerodynamic dissipation. Radial silk dominated energy absorption in all webs, with the potential to account for approximately 100 per cent of the work of stopping prey in larger webs. The most generous estimates for the roles of capture spirals and aerodynamic dissipation show that they rarely contribute more than 30 per cent and 10 per cent of the total work of stopping prey, respectively, and then only for smaller orb webs. The reliance of spider orb webs upon internal energy absorption by radial threads for prey capture suggests that the material properties of the capture spirals are largely unconstrained by the selective pressures of stopping prey and can instead evolve freely in response to alternative functional constraints such as adhering to prey.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew T Sensenig
- Department of Biology, Tabor College, Hillsboro, KS 67063-1799, USA.
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