Spider silks we supply

Science and Research Priorities

Spider dragline (or major ampullate) silk is the world’s toughest material. It combines high strength and extensibility in unique ways to outperform all other natural and synthetic materials per unit mass, including Nylon, Kevlar® and silkworm silks. Furthermore it has unique properties as a highly optically and electrically conductive and piezoelectric material, holds natural pigments and dyes, and can be manipulated into casts, films, gels, sols, powders and foams for a wide range of applications.

Harnessing its properties would open up a range of new applications in medicine, defence, textiles, and optics to name a few applications.

While laboratories around the world, including the Spider Silk Research Lab, are working frantically towards synthetically spinning fibres with mechanical and other properties that mimic those of spider dragline silk, research using a gold standard (i.e. naturally spun dragline silk) is first needed to fully realize the depth and breadth of potential applications.

Since Biomedical, engineering, and materials focused labs lack the tools, time, expertise, and spiders to generate samples of this gold standard, the Spider Silk Research Lab does and is offering to open a supply chain for labs to initiate their experiments at a reasonable cost.

Spider silks we can supply:

Dragline silk available

Species:

(1) Trichonephila plumipes (golden orb weaving spiders)

Proteins: Predominantly MaSp1 (high alanine, glycine, low proline composition proteins)

Colour:

White to golden-yellow

Ideal for: Construction of high strength/stiffness regenerated or native polymeric materials, including fibres, films, gel casts, etc. for biomedical research, nanophotonics, high performance graphene and other composites and nanoparticles, weaving, and engineering. High yields per silking effort render them ideal for bulk (100 mg+) orders.

(2) Eriophora transmarina (garden spider)

Proteins: Predominantly MaSp2 (high alanine, glycine, proline)

Colour:

White only

Science and Research Priorities

Ideal for: Construction of high toughness regenerated polymeric materials, including fibres, films, gel casts, etc. for biomedical research and applications, drug delivery, nanophotonics, conductive polymers, high performance composites, textiles and weaving, polymer engineering. High yields per silking effort render them ideal for bulk orders.

Science and Research Priorities

Price guide = ~$40 per mg, however cost will vary with amount ordered, time of year and specific methods of collection.

Science and Research Priorities

(3) Argiope keyserlingi (St Andrew’s cross spider)

Proteins: Predominantly MaSp2 (high alanine, glycine, proline)

Colour: while to dull yellow.

Ideal for: Fibre performance experimentation, small scale construction of high extensibility regenerated polymeric materials, including fibres, films, gel casts, etc. for biomedical research and applications, nanophotonics, conductive polymers, high performance composites. Low yields per silking effort render them ideal for small-scale (<10mg) orders.

Price guide = ~$50 per mg, however cost will vary with amount ordered, time of year and specific methods of collection.

Science and Research Priorities

How to order:

1. Send an E-mail to: sean.blamires@unsw.edu.au with the following details:

a. The spider species from which you require dragline silks

b. The amount of silk needed (in mg).

c. Instructions on how to collect, e.g. as a bundle in Eppendorf tubes, as a single fibre across cardboard or metal cards (with/without windows carved), wrapped onto glass slides, etc., and

d. How many individual samples of each kind you require.

2. We will calculate a quote for you based on the information provided and send you an order form.

3. Place your order by completing the order form, including payment details.

4. We will process the order and send out your sample.