Dresden 2006 – scientific programme
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CPP: Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik
CPP 27: POSTER Polymer Physics and Materials
CPP 27.38: Poster
Thursday, March 30, 2006, 17:00–19:00, P2
Nanofibrillar structure and molecular mobility in spider dragline silk — •Tilo Seydel1, Daniel Sapede1,2, Trevor Forsyth1, Marek Koza1, Ralf Schweins1, Fritz Vollrath3, and Christian Riekel2 — 1Institut Laue-Langevin, B.P.156, F-38042 Grenoble, France — 2European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, B.P.220, F-38043 Grenoble, France — 3Dept. of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, U.K.
Spider silk is a protein biopolymer known for its outstanding mechanical properties combining elasticity and strength. Spider dragline silk has been investigated by neutron diffraction and neutron spectroscopy techniques [1]. The results support a three-phase hierarchical model of the structure consisting of semicrystalline nanofibrils embedded in an amorphous polymer matrix. The mechanical properties of spider dragline silk fibres are strongly affected by the water content, and neutron spectroscopy provides information on the humidity-dependent polymer chain mobility as well as on a gradual melting of confined water. New instrumental delevopments in neutron spectroscopy will be presented alongside, as the feasibility of neutron experiments is often limited by the small available sample quantities.
[1] D.Sapede, T.Seydel, V.T.Forsyth, M.M.Koza, R.Schweins, F.Vollrath, and C.Riekel; Macromolecules Vol.38, p.8447 (2005).