Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
granules, which increase the extensibility of the
hard coating to 70%, making it more compliant
than many synthetic polymer coatings
[43]
.
Although toughening of polymers (mostly epox-
ies) by incorporating rubber particles is not new,
this example still may provide us with some
new mechanisms to explore. The mussel cuticle
may thus inspire new thin composite coatings
that are hard yet extensible. Such a system can
have benefits as a bioinspired material—for
example, as a protective sheath on elastomeric
fibers.
The worldwide effort to devise a method for
production of spider silk mimetic fibers from syn-
thetic proteins will eventually come to fruition.
There have been some marked successes in this
regard, and I suggest the reader follow the work
of Florence Teulé in Randy Lewis' group and
Thomas Scheibel at Bayreuth University to see
the remaining issues likely to be resolved under
such intense effort. Nonetheless, the fiber is still
a protein and so will have the associated limita-
tions on function; but then, all materials have
limitations.
In summary, I hope I have piqued the curios-
ity of the reader to explore beyond my tantaliz-
ingly brief review. My aim was to give the reader
a better appreciation of the truly remarkable
world of textile materials, together with a
glimpse into the audacity present at the interface
between this venerable human endeavor and
the ancient wisdom of biology. Just as textile
materials underpinned the Industrial Revolu-
tion, exploring this interface with purpose and
an engineering mindset will produce a materials
evolution that we currently can barely
appreciate.
10
.4 CONCLUDING REMAR
KS
The extent of discovery of structure and func-
tion in biology apropos fibers and fibrous
materials is merely beginning. The more that
materials scientists and engineers engage with
biological scientists and (genetic) engineers, the
richer the possibilities become in both domains.
Biologists can discover new motivations to
drive their explorations, and the materials com-
munity will be taught new ways of making new
materials.
As just one example, consider hagfish slime,
discussed in Section
10.3.3.4
. It is, after all is said
and done, essentially a fiber-reinforced compos-
ite, albeit one whose function is not structural in
the sense we normally associate with compos-
ites. Slime, as the name implies, is soft and mal-
leable, not firm. It may be possible to effect a
slight modification of the matrix (the slime),
which is largely composed of mucins, which are
in the class of glycoproteins. Such a modification
might be simply encouraging the formation of
the disulfide bridges from the cysteine amino
acids present in the protein
[44]
and have the
goal of making the slime lightly less compliant.
If the slime were more rubbery (elastic), it could
serve a function, such as biodegradable packag-
ing, and with the intrinsic fiber reinforcement,
the packing would be fairly robust.
References
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The Cambridge history of western textiles
,
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Pair of lice lost or parasites regained: the evolution-
ary history of Anthropoid primate lice,
BMC Biol
5
(2007), 7.
[3] R. Kittler, M. Kayser, and M. Stoneking, Molecular evo-
lution of pediculus humanus and the origin of clothing,
Curr Biol
13
(2003), 1414-1417.
[4] C.M. Baldia and K.A. Jakes, Photographic methods to
detect colourants in archaeological textiles,
J Archaeol
Sci
34
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[5] M.L. Joseph, P.B. Hudson, A.C. Clapp, and D. Kness,
Joseph's introductory textile science
, Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Fort Worth, TX, USA (1992).
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