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Updated: Apr 4, 2026

Synthetic Spider Silk Production on a Laboratory Scale
Published on: July 18, 2012
To spin or not to spin: spider silk fibers and more
Elena Doblhofer1, Aniela Heidebrecht1, Thomas Scheibel2,3,4,5,6
1Lehrstuhl Biomaterialien, Fakultät für Ingenieurswissenschaften, Universität Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany.
Abstract:
Spider silk fibers have a sophisticated hierarchical structure composed of proteins with highly repetitive sequences. Their extraordinary mechanical properties, defined by a unique combination of strength and extensibility, are superior to most man-made fibers. Therefore, spider silk has fascinated mankind for thousands of years. However, due to their aggressive territorial behavior, farming of spiders is not feasible on a large scale. For this reason, biotechnological approaches were recently developed for the production of recombinant spider silk proteins. These recombinant proteins can be assembled into a variety of morphologies with a great range of properties for technical and medical applications. Here, the different approaches of biotechnological production and the advances in material processing toward various applications will be reviewed.
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