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University of Wyoming

UW Technologies Available for Licensing

Various Technologies: Spider Silk Proteins


Spider silk is one of nature’s most extraordinary substances. It is exceptionally flexible, elastic, and lightweight, yet tough—three times as strong as Kevlar and five times as strong as steel! And because it is natural, it is biodegradable and can be produced pollution-free. Furthermore, one of the most important qualities of spider silk is its endless versatility. Spider silk, synthetically made, could be used in countless applications with significant commercial impact and improvement to human life.

Internationally-recognized spider silk expert Professor Randy Lewis and his team in the University of Wyoming Molecular Biology Department have discovered the genetic sequences for the spider proteins that are used to make spider silk. These researchers were “the first to clone the DNA for proteins that comprise the major ampullate, minor ampullate, and capture spiral silks.” They now have also discovered and published the first papers on prey wrapping silk and eggcase silk. They have even made synthetic genes that may allow them to alter the proteins and produce silks that are even stronger and more elastic than naturally made silks and allow for “custom-made” silks with specific properties for use in different applications.

Research continues with a focus on expanding the usefulness of this important and promising technology. Such research includes artificial ways to “spin” the proteins into silk in the lab and in commercial situations and ways to produce large quantities of the proteins by introducing the engineered genes into other organisms such as bacteria, plants, and even larger animals like goats.

The possible uses for synthetic spider silk are endless. They include applications in the industrial, medical, and military fields as well as in everyday uses. Spider silks could be used to create strong and flexible artificial ligaments and tendons, bandages, and surgical thread. Spider silk could also be used to construct protective clothing or body armor. It would make an exceptional material for this use because it is one of the toughest materials on Earth that can be woven into a fiber and is estimated to be three times as strong as Kevlar (the material currently use to make bullet-proof vests). Also, spider silk is more environmentally sound because it does not use any of the toxic, acidic processes used to produce Kevlar and it is biodegradable. Spider silk could be used to make paper for important documents, because it would be flexible and could not be torn. Other possible uses for this important technology could include:

• textiles • nets
• parachutes • seat belts and airbags
• ropes • sporting goods

The University of Wyoming has aggressively protected its genetic spider silk protein intellectual property by filing and prosecuting U.S. and international patent applications on the following technologies:

02-001-Spider Silk Proteins Encoding Nucleic Acids, Polypeptides, Antibodies and Methods of Use Thereof (US patent application publication 20050010035 and international filings)

89-001-Isolated CDNA Coding for Spider Silk Protein, A Replicable Vector and a Transformed Cell Containing the Isolated CDNA, and Products Thereof (US patent 5,989,894 and 5,728,810 and international patents)

94-001-CDNAS Encoding Minor Ampullate Spider Silk Proteins (US patents 5,733,771 and 5,756,677 and international patents and filings)

98-001-Extremely Elastic Spider Silk Protein and DNA Coding Thereof (US patent 5,994,099)

02-004-Expression of Spider Silk Proteins in Higher Plants (US patent application publication 20040210956)

If you would like to learn more about these technologies and how your company may apply them in commercial situations, please contact the director of the University of Wyoming Research Products Center, Davona Douglass. We would be pleased to share further details.