Like all spiders, tarantulas (family Theraphosidae) synthesize silk in specialized glands and extrude it from spinnerets on their abdomen. In one species of large tarantula, Aphonopelma seemanni, it has been suggested that silk can also be secreted from the tarsi but this claim was later refuted. We provide evidence of silk secretion directly from spigots (nozzles) on the tarsi of three distant...

Repair success for injuries to the flexor tendon in the hand is often limited by the in vivo behaviour of the suture used for repair. Common problems associated with the choice of suture material include increased risk of infection, foreign body reactions, and inappropriate mechanical responses, particularly decreases in mechanical properties over time. Improved suture materials are therefore n...

Biological self-assembly is a process in which building blocks autonomously organize to form stable supermolecules of higher order and complexity through domination of weak, noncovalent interactions. For silk protein, the effect of high incubating temperature on the induction of secondary structure and self-assembly was well investigated. However, the effect of freezing and thawing on silk solu...

The silk of silkworm consists of fibroin fiber coated by sericins. In addition, some nonprotein components were also identified in the sericin fraction. The presence of nonprotein components in the silk has not been well explained. In the present study, methods based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were used to identify the metabolites in the cocoon silk from a wild silkworm and two dom...

Silk is an exceptionally strong, extensible, and tough material made from simple protein building blocks. The molecular structure of dragline spider silk repeat units consists of semiamorphous and nanocrystalline β-sheet protein domains. Here we show by a series of computational experiments how the nanoscale properties of silk repeat units are scaled up to create macroscopic silk fibers with ou...

PURPOSE To design patterned, transparent silk films with fast degradation rates for the purpose of tissue engineering corneal stroma. METHODS β-sheet (crystalline) content of silk films was decreased significantly by using a short water annealing time. Additionally, a protocol combining short water annealing time with enzymatic pretreatment of silk films with protease XIV was developed. RES...

The components of musculoskeletal system that consists of bone, ligament tendons and muscles are most vulnerable to injury from sports and related activities. Replacing the injured tissues more specifically the bone is a challenge to tissue engineers. Aiming at regeneration of bone tissues, silk fibroin from Bombyx mori, a novel biocompatible natural polymer has been explored either alone or as...

The abrupt halt of a bumble bee's flight when it impacts the almost invisible threads of an orb web provides an elegant example of the amazing strength and toughness of spider silk. Spiders depend upon these properties for survival, yet the impressive performance of silk is not limited solely to tensile mechanics. Here, we show that silk also exhibits powerful cyclic contractions, allowing it t...

The mango leaf webber, Orthaga exvinacea makes silken webs and galleries during its larval stage. Silk is produced from the silk gland of this insect. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of proteins from the silk glands of last three larval stages and pre-pupae were conducted. Significant differences were observed among different stages. SDS-PAGE of proteins from anterior, middle and posterio...

Emerging line research showed that silk nanoparticles (NPs) have toxicity on the fibroblastand Huvec cells without any toxicity recognized mechanisms. Recently, it suggested peripheralarterial disease confounds almost eight million Americans. Also, due to the main effect offibroblast in a production of extracellular matrix (ECM), adhesive molecules, glycoproteinsand various cytokines, it decide...