蜘蛛丝产业化在望
牢固得有些邪门的蜘蛛丝来了！
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日本一家初创公司声称，它已经破解了实现蜘蛛丝商业化生产这个棘手的问题。蜘蛛丝是大自然的超物质之一。以克为单位进行强度比较，尼龙，甚至许多金属都比不上蜘蛛丝。它比凯夫拉尔纤维（Kevlar）更加结实，弹性更是远超后者。十多年来，科学家们一直试图在实验室中批量重造蜘蛛丝，但屡屡以失败告终。 Spiber公司称，通过使用合成生物技术和一种全新的纺纱技术，他们现在能够在一天内生产数百克合成蜘蛛丝蛋白质，而过去的日产量最多也就是几克而已。这种特殊的蛋白质每克可生产大约9千米（29,527英尺）蜘蛛丝。 这项突破的发明者、Spiber公司总裁关山和秀表示，不同于以往合成蜘蛛丝的尝试，日本研究人员这一次并没有尝试着复制人们知之甚少的蜘蛛吐丝动作。蜘蛛使用导管状的喷丝头，重新安排一种简单的蛋白质，然后将其变为蜘蛛丝。“我们通过一个完全人工化的方式制造纤维，”他告诉《财富》杂志（Fortune）。 在仿生学世界，借助于尖端的分析技术，一些源自大自然的奇思妙想正在被应用于各个产业之中，而蜘蛛丝堪称这一领域的圣杯。 迄今为止，工程师们已经非常擅长合成一系列非常有用的材料。但他们可以做得更好。比如，凯夫拉尔是一种相当牢固的纤维，可用于制造航空器材和防弹背心。把石油产品加热至华氏 1,400度，然后施以巨大压力，就可提炼出这种用以制造最终织物的纤维。 从一只蜘蛛的角度看来，这个过程似乎有点小题大做。不需要任何一种类似于那种热度的东西，蜘蛛就能生产出一种强度高出凯夫拉尔纤维许多倍的材料，更何况这种材料还具有生物降解性。显然，类似于蜘蛛丝的合成物将带来巨大的利益。仿生学和合成生物学可以帮助科学家创造蜘蛛丝，但不是通过精确复制，而是引入一些大自然的设计。它也显示出这种合成生物学的潜力——把大自然分解为备用配件，然后将其随意重建。 |
A Japanese startup claims it has cracked the knotty problem of commercializing the production of spider thread, which, gram for gram, is stronger than nylon and even many metals. As one of nature's super-substances -- tougher than Kevlar yet significantly more elastic -- scientists have been trying to recreate it in significant quantities in labs but failed for over a decade. By using synthetic biology techniques and a new spinning technology, Spiber Inc. says it is now able to produce many hundreds of grams of synthetic spider silk protein where past efforts have produced less than a few grams over a day. One gram of the special protein produces about 9,000 meters (29,527 feet) of silk. The breakthrough, says the inventor and Spiber's president, Kazuhide Sekiyama, is that unlike other attempts to synthesize spider thread the Japanese researchers did not try to copy the spider's little-understood spinning action. Using duct-like spinnerets, spiders rearrange a simple protein to turn it into silk. "We make fibers using a totally artificial process," he told Fortune. In the world of biomimicry, or biomimetics, where cutting edge analytical techniques are helping put some of nature's better ideas to work in industry, spider silk is something of a holy grail. Engineers have been adept up to now at synthesizing a range of extremely useful materials. But they could do better. Kevlar, for example, is a remarkably strong fiber used in aeronautics and bullet-proof vests. Made by heating petroleum products to 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit, then applying substantial pressure, the fiber is teased out to make the final fabric. To a spider, the process would seem a tad hyperactive. Without using anything like that kind of heat, spiders produce a material that's many times stronger than Kevlar, not to mention biodegradable. Clearly, a synthetic equivalent of spider thread would be of enormous benefit. Biomimetics and synthetic biology helps scientists create spider thread not by copying it exactly but by incorporating some of nature's design aspects. It also shows the potential of such synthetic biology -- breaking down nature into spare parts and then rebuilding them back up as desired. |
