BioSteel
BioSteel is a trademark name for a high-strength based fiber material made of the recombinant spider silk-like protein extracted from the milk of transgenic goats, made by Nexia Biotechnologies.[1]
The company has created lines of goats that produce recombinant versions of either the MaSpI or MaSpII dragline silk proteins in their milk.[2][3] When the female goats lactate, the milk, containing the recombinant silk, is harvested and subjected to chromatographic techniques to purify the recombinant silk proteins.
The purified silk proteins are then dried, dissolved using solvents (DOPE formation) and transformed into microfibers using wet-spinning fiber production methodologies. The spun fibers so far have tenacities in the range of 2 - 3 grams/denier and elongation range of 25-45%. The "Biosteel biopolymer" has been transformed into nanofibers and nano-meshes using the electrospinning technique.[4]
Biosteel and other biopolymers are being researched to provide lightweight, strong, and versatile materials for a variety of medical and industrial applications.[5]
Nexia Biotechnologies plans to use the spider silk from the milk of transgenic goats for bulletproof vests and anti-ballistic missile systems.
No one has been able to produce the silk in commercial quantities. Nexia is the only company which has successfully produced fibres from recombinant spider silk and is currently in the process of developing commercial quantities of BioSteel using its transgenic goat technology.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Service, R. F. (2002). "MATERIALS SCIENCE: Mammalian Cells Spin a Spidery New Yarn". Science 295 (5554): 419b–4421. doi:10.1126/science.295.5554.419b. PMID 11799209.
- ^ Lazaris, A.; Arcidiacono, S.; Huang, Y.; Zhou, J.; Duguay, F.; Chretien, N.; Welsh, E.; Soares, J. et al (2002). "Spider Silk Fibers Spun from Soluble Recombinant Silk Produced in Mammalian Cells". Science 295 (5554): 472–476. doi:10.1126/science.1065780. PMID 11799236.
- ^ Biopolymer, Volume 8 Polyamides and Complex Proteinaceous Materials II, edited by S.R. Fahnestock & A. Steinbuchel, 2003 Wiley-VCH Verlag, pages 97-117 ISBN 9783527302239
- ^ Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Drexel University by Milind Ramesh Gandhi, December 2006, CHAPTER 7
- ^ BBC News. "GM goat spins web based future". 2000. [1]
- ^ "Genetic Modification in Livestock". infigen. http://www.usda.gov/documents/forsbergpres12-05-03.pdf. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
