Spiders Inspire Researchers to Spin Super-Sticky Adhesives

Researchers have developed ultra-strong adhesive that can be used to fix fractures. The inspiration for the novel adhesive came from spider webs.

Researchers at the University of Akron have created synthetic versions of super-sticky, silk "attachment discs" that the creatures use to stick the webs to surfaces. The team used electrospinning to draw fine fibers of polyurethane to make artificial attachment discs.

Ali Dhinojwala, UA's H.A. Morton professor of polymer science and lead researcher of the study, says that these discs are extra layers of the silk and act like staples or stitches. Spiders create these "staples" using few additional threads. The team could mimic the geometric design using nylon threads and electrospun fibers.

Spider silk is both elastic and strong, making it an ideal candidate for use in several industries. Other researchers have tried creating artificial skin, airbags, disposable water bottles and even ligaments using spider threads.

According to the current study team, adhesives made using spider silk can be used in biomedicine, especially to fix fractures and attach tendons to bones.

The material can also be used as industrial-strength adhesive.

"Instead of using big globs of glue, for example, we can use this unique and efficient design of threads pinning down a fiber," Dhinojwala said in a news release. "The inspiration was right in front of us, in nature."

"You can learn a lot of science from nature," added Dharamdeep Jain, a graduate student and co-author of the paper.

The research is important because the team found a way to avoid a major challenge in spider silk use. These arachnids are difficult to farm and they resort to cannibalism in absence of food, meaning that previous research had had to work with limited amount of spider thread. The development of artificial attachment discs means that scientists won't have to rely on spiders for the silk.  

The study, "Synthetic Adhesive Attachment Discs Inspired by Spider's Pyriform Silk Architecture," is published in the Journal of Polymer Physics.