Drawing-induced changes in morphology and mechanical properties of hornet silk gel films

Biomacromolecules. 2010 Apr 12;11(4):1009-18. doi: 10.1021/bm901472a.

Abstract

Complete amino acid sequences of the four major proteins (Vssilk 1-4) of silk (hornet silk) obtained from yellow hornet ( Vespa simillima , Vespinae, Vespidae) cocoons have been determined. The native structure of the hornet silk (HS), in which Vssilk 1-4 have an alpha-helix domain with coiled-coil alpha-helices and a beta-sheet domain, is restored when hornet silk gel films (HSGFs) are formed by pressing and drying HS hydrogel. Necking occurs when dry HSGFs are drawn; however, wet HSGFs can be uniaxially drawn with a draw ratio (DR) of 2. Drawing helps obtain high-performance films with a maximum tensile strength and tensile modulus of 170 MPa and 5.5 GPa, respectively. Drawing-induced changes in the orientation and conformation of the coiled-coil structure are investigated.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Biofilms*
  • Gels
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Silk / chemistry*
  • Silk / ultrastructure*
  • Tensile Strength / physiology*
  • Wasps / physiology*
  • X-Ray Diffraction

Substances

  • Gels
  • Silk