Genetically-modified marine bacteria able to produce synthetic spider silk

[Judi Lynn]

The biocompatible silk is not attacked by immune systems, making it useful for drug delivery systems, implant devices, and scaffolds for tissue engineering.

By Amy Barrett

12th July, 2020 at 08:00

A marine bacterium has been genetically engineered to produce spider’s silk, a material with many applications, including in the medical, aerospace and clothing industries.

The silk that spiders use to form the spokes of their web is called dragline silk, and it’s tough, lightweight and biodegradable. It’s also biocompatible, which means it is compatible with living tissue and is not attacked by an animal’s immune system.

“This makes it safe for use in biomedical applications such as drug delivery systems, implant devices, and scaffolds for tissue engineering,” said Choon Pin Foong, who was involved in the study to mass-produce the silk.

These properties make it widely used and sought after, so teams around the world have tried to find a way to generate large quantities in the lab. One spider can only produce trace amounts, and because the arachnids are too territorial and often cannibalistic, it’s not possible to breed large groups for this purpose.

More:
https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/genetically-modified-marine-bacteria-able-to-produce-synthetic-spider-silk/

[CatLady78]

1. Three other cool articles inside those links as well!

https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/spider-silk-used-to-create-lenses-for-imaging-human-tissue/
The lenses, made of spider dragline silk, could be used to create high resolution images of human tissue.

https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/spider-silk-could-be-used-to-make-robotic-muscles/

Spider silk could be used to make robotic muscles

https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/artificial-muscles-created-from-onions/

Artificial muscles created from onions