Publications by authors named "Chao-Yi Gan"
ACS Biomater Sci Eng
May 2024
Article Synopsis
- Spider dragline silk is a strong and elastic natural fiber, and its fiber assembly is influenced by how spidroin molecules preassemble before becoming fibers.
- Researchers designed three silk protein variants with different numbers of alanine residues in their repeated structures to study their preassembly in solutions.
- The variant with 8 alanine residues (N15C-8A) formed stable fibrils, leading to the creation of durable synthetic fibers with impressive strength and toughness.
ACS Biomater Sci Eng
August 2022
Article Synopsis
- Spider dragline silk is an exceptionally strong protein fiber better than most materials, and creating a sustainable source isn't practical, so scientists are exploring synthetic versions with similar properties and new functions.
- Researchers have developed a method to enhance these recombinant silk fibers by incorporating nanoparticles into them, resulting in fibers with better strength and unique properties, such as a significant photothermal effect.
- The new fibers not only outperformed natural spider silk in toughness but also offered improved ultraviolet protection, indicating their potential for various high-performance applications.
