Molecular Fundaments of Mechanical Properties of Spider Silk
摘要
Dragline,framework and cocoon silk fibers of Araneus Ventricosus were used for this study.To investigate the microstructure mechanisms of stress-strain behavior of spider silk,firstly,amino acid compositions were analyzed and molecular conformations and crystallinity were measured with Raman spectra and X-ray diffraction respectively.The results showed that there were more amino acids with large side groups and polar ones in spider silk than those of Bombyx silk,and the amino acid distribution varied with different spider silk.The molecular structures were mainly α-helix and β-sheet,and random coil and β-turn existed as well.The proportions and arrangement of these conformations of dragline silk were different from framework and cocoon silk fibers.Microstructure was one of important factors of excellent mechanical properties of spider silk.Crystallinity of spider silk was very low,which implied that the roles of crystal on spider silk were not as great as other protein fibers.