The Molecular Secret to Spider Silk’s Strength
AlphaFold3 and DNP-enhanced NMR reveal key residue-level interactions in dragline silk
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Spider dragline silk exhibits high tensile strength and toughness due to specific amino acid interactions during fiber formation.
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Cation-π interactions between arginine and tyrosine residues facilitate liquid–liquid phase separation in spider silk proteins.
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Phosphate ions trigger phase separation in native silk proteins without causing widespread β-sheet formation.
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Experimental and computational methods confirmed that Arg-Tyr interactions are retained in spun spider silk fibers.
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The findings have potential applications in lightweight protective clothing, biodegradable implants, and soft robotics.
