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Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Air Filter Devices Including Nonwoven Meshes of Electrospun Recombinant Spider Silk Proteins
Published on: May 8, 2013
Electrostatic charges instigate 'concertina-like' mechanisms of molecular toughening in MaSp1 (spider silk) proteins
Mahdi Pahlevan1, Martti Toivakka1, Parvez Alam1
1Laboratory of Paper Coating and Converting, Centre for Functional Materials, Abo Akademi University, Porthaninkatu 3, 20500 Turku, Finland.
Abstract:
According to a recent article authored by Ortega-Jimenez and Dudley [1], the capture success of spiders is in part due to electrostatic charges on the surfaces of insects that macroscopically deform the spider web and increase the chances of insect-web contact. In this brief communication, we further show that electrostatic charges instigate a molecular 'concertina-like' mechanism of deformation in MaSp1 protein, which effectively begins the toughening-up of dragline silk threads prior to insect-web contact.
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