Page 254 - Advances in Textile Biotechnology

10

Developments in recombinant silk and
other elastic protein fi bers for textile and
other applications

J. C. RODRÍGUEZ-CABELLO, C. GARCÍA-ARÉVALO,
L. MARTÍN, M. SANTOS and V. REBOTO,
University of Valladolid, Spain

Abstract: The ability to manipulate genes and their products by
recombinant DNA has signaled a number of new possibilities for the
production of modified or new fibrous biopolymers or protein-based

polymers with a combination of strength and elasticity similar or even
superior to that of synthetic high-tech fi bers. Biotechnological
approaches offer the opportunity to replace existing chemical or
mechanical processes for a cleaner production technology than
conventional procedures, which cause severe pollution problems from
textile effl uents.

Key words: recombinant DNA, fibers, silks, collagens, elastin-like
polymers, resilin.

10.1 Introduction
Nature is replete with structural materials in the form of fibers and biocom-

posites that have attained remarkable levels of effi ciency and performance
through eons of evolutionary selection (O’Brien et al., 1998). Although
these natural polymers remain, in some cases, commercially important
because of their cost, functionality and consumer preferences, those short-
comings associated with quality variations along with their hydrophilic
nature and low thermal stability have led to them being replaced by syn-
thetic polymers with more desirable properties (Kalia et al., 2009). With the
advent of organic and petroleum-based chemistry in the early 20th century,
natural polymers have been increasingly substituted by synthetic polymers
and fiber development that, years ago, resulted in a family of new products,

such as nylon, polyester, acrylic, aramid, spandex, olefin resins and fi bers,
with superior tensile strength and stress–strain behavior (O’Brien et al.,
1998). A new class of ‘engineered’ peptide-based biopolymers that has
attracted much attention, consists of materials deriving from two scientifi c
developments: the increasing understanding of protein structure–function,
which provides peptide motifs that are useful for the design of repetitive,

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