Figure 2.

Experiment and computational methods to study the hierarchical structure and function of silk biopolymers at different length scales. (A) Schematic of the hierarchical spider silk structure that ranges from molecular to macroscopic scales. The hydrogen bonded β-strands at the angstrom level create hetero-nanocomposite of β-sheet nanocrystals embedded in soft semi-amorphous matrix at the nano-meter length scale, which self-assemble into silk fiber at the micron scale to create spider orb web structure. (B) Theoretical and simulation methods for self- and assisted- assembly mechanisms per the length scale they address. (C) Analytical characterization tools for resolving the physical properties of silk proteins at different length scale. (D) Processing methods for the formation of the hierarchical structure on different length scales. These methods control the resulting material structure and properties, and lead to (E) various biomedical and technology applications of silk proteins from nano to macroscopic scale. Adapted with permission from ref. 33-37. Copyright 2010 Nature Publishing Group, 2014 WILEY-VCH, 2015 American Chemical Society, and 2016 MDPI AG.