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The silk fibers of the brown recluse spider feature a unique morphology: they are 50 nm, thin, flat ribbons. H. C. Schniepp and co-workers test the mechanical properties of individual ribbons in their work on page 7028 and find that they are extraordinarily stiff and feature a nanostructured surface. These filaments-fiber and thin film at the same time-are so extremely thin that they easily wrinkle, fold, and stick to themselves as they wrap around the spiky exoskeleton of an ant.

Original publication

DOI

10.1002/adma.201370304

Type

Journal article

Journal

Adv Mater

Publication Date

12/2013

Volume

25

Keywords

fiber spinning, polymer thin films, protein fibers, silk