Effects of drawing speed and water on microstructure and mechanical properties of artificially spun spider dragline silk

The effects of drawing speed and water on the microstructures and mechanical properties of Araneus Ventricosus spider dragline silk were investigated with polarized Raman spectroscopy and mechanical property tester. The major ampullate silk (MAS), spider dragline silk was made by drawing from major ampullate glands of Araneus Ventricosus spider at the rates of 1, 10, 20, 40, and 110 mm/s, respectively. It was found that MAS silk drawn at 20 mm/s contained the most of β-sheet polypeptides with the high orientation and the least of α-helix. The results also revealed that dragline silk spun at aqueous condition (WDS) had lower content and orientation of β-sheets than those at ambient condition (DDS); the existence of water led to smaller tensile strength at break and initial modulus, but larger tensile strain at break of dragline silk.