SPIDER SILK AND SYNTHETIC POLYMER FIBER BLENDS

摘要

Spider silks and other natural silks are proteinaceous fibers composed largely of non-essential amino acids. Orb-web spinning spiders have as many as seven sets of highly specialized glands that produce up to seven different types of silk. Each silk protein has a different amino acid composition, mechanical property, and function. The physical properties of a silk fiber are influenced by the amino acid sequence, spinning mechanism, and environmental conditions in which they are produced. The present invention provides composition and methods for producing fibers comprising spider silk and synthetic polymers from electrospinning processes. Synthetic fiber blends and methods for preparing such fibers with spider silk proteins and synthetic and polymers are disclosed.