‘Super-bionic’ spider silk achieved in China
China-based Zhejiang Jiaxin Silk (known as Jiaxin Silk)’s research into “super silk” technology has achieved an innovation in the form of a new, “super-bionic” spider silk, the company announced recently.
By combining the genes of Chinese silkworms and black widow spiders, the new material is around 3.9 times stronger than ordinary silk, Jiaxin Silk said.
The “super-bionic”, animal protein silk is obtained through introducing the black widow spider’s dragline silk gene into the silkworm young. Out of the more than 44,000 spider species known, black widow spider silk is known for its strength and toughness, the company explained.
Jiaxin Silk said that the material could be harnessed to make high-strength protective clothing, in addition to its potential usage in the biomedicine field to make artificial joints, tendons, ligaments, heart valves and prosthetic limbs, among other uses.
