SUPERVISOR: Helga LICHTENEGGER

PROJECT ASSIGNED TO: Karolina PETER 

Spider silk has been shown to be a very suitable material to enhance peripheral nerve regeneration as they are attractive to Schwann cells. However, there is a great variety of different spider species and their silks. For some there is still no data available about their mechanical, chemical or structural properties. In order to get deeper insight in the reasons why some types of silks are attractive to Schwann cells and others less so, a systematic comparison is needed. Aspects of this study will be mechanical testing, especially in moist environment, structural characteristics and also chemical features. X-ray scattering is a very suitable method for structure investigation. With small angle x-ray scattering and wide angle x-ray scattering a length scale from a few nanometers to micrometer scale can be covered. We will compare the structural, mechanical and chemical insights we get for the different types of silks and evaluate if these properties with regard to their performance in cell culture (done by our collaboration partners at MedUniWien). We expect to make valuable contribution to the possible medical application of spider silk or similar materials for treatment of nerve peripheral injuries.