Researchers Develop Web-Slinging Technology Inspired by Spider-Man

— by Lofty Green

 

Researchers at Tufts University have developed innovative web-slinging technology inspired by Spider-Man, enabling a fluid material to shoot from a needle, solidify into a string, and lift objects. This advancement, detailed in *Advanced Functional Materials*, utilizes silk fibroin derived from silk moth cocoons. By incorporating dopamine, the researchers accelerated the solidification process, creating strong, sticky fibers capable of lifting over 80 times their weight. While the resulting fibers are not as strong as natural spider silk, this technology offers exciting possibilities for various applications, blending inspiration from both nature and superhero lore.

 


 

Every child who has read a Spider-Man comic or watched the movies has fantasized about web-slinging through the city. Taking that imagination to the next level, researchers at Tufts University have created the first web-slinging technology, enabling a fluid material to shoot from a needle, solidify into a string, and lift objects. This study appears in the journal *Advanced Functional Materials*.

These innovative fibers, developed at the Tufts University Silklab, originate from silk moth cocoons, which are boiled and broken down into fibroin proteins. This silk fibroin solution can be extruded through narrow needles to form a stream that solidifies into fibers when exposed to air, aided by specific additives.

Nature has long served as a source of inspiration for using silk in various applications, as many creatures, including spiders, ants, and moths, produce silk during their lifecycles. The Silklab has also pioneered silk fibroin for applications such as underwater adhesives, printable sensors, edible coatings, light-collecting materials for solar cells, and more sustainable microchip manufacturing methods.

Despite these advances, the researchers struggled to replicate the control spiders have over the properties of their silk threads. A breakthrough occurred accidentally when Marco Lo Presti, a research assistant professor, observed a web-like material forming while cleaning glassware with acetone. This discovery addressed several engineering challenges related to replicating spider silk.

By mixing dopamine with the silk fibroin solution, the researchers accelerated the solidification process, allowing the silk solution to quickly form strong, sticky fibers. This mixture, shot through a coaxial needle surrounded by acetone, solidifies as it exits, creating a fiber that adheres to objects. They enhanced the solution with chitosan, significantly boosting the fibers’ tensile strength, and borate buffer, which increased their adhesiveness.

The resulting device can shoot fibers capable of lifting objects over 80 times their weight, as demonstrated by picking up various items like a cocoon, steel bolt, and a wood block from a distance of about 12 centimeters.

Lo Presti noted that unlike spiders, which spin silk directly from their glands to construct webs, this technology allows for shooting fibers to adhere to and lift objects. He describes the innovation as a material inspired not just by nature but also by superhero imagination.

While the natural spider silk remains about 1,000 times stronger than the fibers produced in this study, ongoing innovation will likely lead to further advancements and applications. Fiorenzo Omenetto, a professor of engineering at Tufts and director of the Silklab, emphasizes the blend of imagination and practical science in their work, drawing inspiration from both nature and comic books to reverse-engineer silk materials to behave as envisioned in stories.