AMSilk announces new insect-derived biosilk project
20/01/2017
To protect their offspring from predators near the ground, green lacewings deposit their eggs on the underside of leaves on the ends of silk threads. These so-called egg stalks are only around 15 micrometres thick but can easily hold the weight of the eggs. In order to produce the fibres, the insect places a protein secretion on the leaf. The egg is then laid in the droplet and perpendicularly pulled out from the leaf. The resulting silk thread then hardens in the air.
AMSilk’s aim is to use the material it develops as a high-grade rigid fibre in lightweight plastics, for example.
At the time of the announcement, Fraunhofer biotechnologist, Martin Schmidt, commented: “Unlike most other types of silk, the green lacewing’s egg stalk has a special structure with fascinating mechanical properties: it is extremely rigid and stable. We would like to transfer these special properties to fibres made from this silk. However, until now it has not been possible to produce this type of silk protein in sufficient quantities and purities.”
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