Next-generation structural materials are expected to be lightweight, high-strength and tough
composites with embedded functionalities to sense, adapt, self-repair, morph and restore …

Spider silks are among the toughest known materials and thus provide models for
renewable, biodegradable, and sustainable biopolymers. However, the entirety of their …

Nature has engineered complex designs to achieve advanced properties and functionalities
through millions of years of evolution. Many organisms have adapted to their living …

Silk fibres attract great interest in materials science for their biological and mechanical
properties. Hitherto, the mechanical properties of the silk fibres have been explored mainly …

Electronics and soft robotics demand the development of a new generation of hybrid
materials featuring novel properties. Among these, remarkable mechanical properties are …

Water and humidity severely affect the material properties of spider major ampullate silk,
causing the fiber to become plasticized, contract, swell and undergo torsion. Several amino …

Despite impressive progress in the field, there are still several major bottlenecks in
producing fibers from recombinantly produced spider‐silk‐like proteins to replicate the …

Spider silk fibers are protein materials that exhibit high strength and toughness thanks to a
unique microstructure. In this work, a microscopically motivated model that sheds light on the …

Spider silk is renowned for its exceptional mechanical properties, surpassing those of other
natural and many synthetic fibers. Yet, replicating its remarkable properties through synthetic …

Silk fibre mechanical properties are attributed to the development of a multi-scale
hierarchical structure during spinning. By careful ex vivo processing of a B. mori silkworm …