CHARACTERIZATION OF SPIDER SILK USING SAXS/WAXS

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中的一个 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目和 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金， 因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为 研究中心，而研究中心不一定是研究者所在的机构。 蜘蛛丝的机械性能对纺丝条件和环境参数（如空气的相对湿度和温度）的变化非常敏感。本研究的目的是进一步了解蜘蛛丝特殊机械性能的微观基础，以及如何将吸水和温度引起的这些宏观性能的变化理解为微观结构重排的结果。在这个项目中，我们建议使用广角和小角X射线散射（WAXS和SAXS）方法来表征从（a）自然纺或B网，（B）强迫吐丝和（c）绳降中获得的Nephila clavipes（金色或B编织者）和Argiope aurantia的蜘蛛丝。由于蜘蛛丝的一些材料和机械性能已被证明是进化相关的，这项工作将提供新的和有用的除了文献，并揭示这种特殊的生物材料的性能影响。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The mechanical properties of spider silk are very sensitive to changes in spinning conditions and environmental parameters such as relative humidity of the air and temperature. The goal of this study is to further the understanding of the microscopic basis of the exceptional mechanical properties of spider silk and how changes of these macroscopic properties induced by e.g. water absorption and temperature can be understood as a result of microscopic structural rearrangements. For this project, we propose to characterize the spider silk of Nephila clavipes (the golden orb weaver) and Argiope aurantia obtained from (a) naturally spun orb webs, (b) forced silking and (c) abseiling, using Wide Angle and Small Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS and SAXS) methods. Because some material and mechanical properties of spider silk have been shown to be evolutionarily correlated, this work will provide novel and useful addition to the literature and reveal performance implications for this exceptional biomaterial.