Physico-chemical studies of liquid materials in the gland just before solidification of spider silks

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Recently, many researchers have focused on an application of spider silks to stocking, bullet proof jacket and threads from the viewpoint of genetic technology. However, many interesting properties on spider silks have been not made clear even though the genetic technology was developed. Especially, it is necessary to make clear the physico-chemical properties of spider silks in the liquid state. The author tried to dissect spider's bodies and to examine the liquid materials contained in the silk glands. The molecular weight of liquid materials was determined to be about 270,000 even though it was very difficult to determine the molecular weight because of degradation.The elastic modulus was determined for spider silks prepared at different stages of spider's growth. The effects of ultraviolet rays upon silks were also studied. And the mechanical properties of bagworm silks were also studied.