In the United States, an innovative advance in biomedical engineering could bring the Marvel superhero Spiderman from fiction to reality. University researchers have developed a spider web shooter capable of moving objects, reminiscent of the abilities of Spider-Man. This device uses adhesive silk fibers projected to lift objects, like the cult scenes in the films.
“We took inspiration from superheroes,” says Marco Lo Presti, a biomedical engineering researcher at Tufts University near Boston. Publishing their work in the journal “Advanced Functional Materials,” the scientists described a special liquid that, once ejected by a needle, quickly hardens and becomes sticky, making it easier to move objects.
The team explained that this technique is based on a transformation of silk. The process begins by boiling silk extracted from moth cocoons to obtain silk proteins. “I was working on a project to make strong adhesives based on silk fibroin. While cleaning my glassware with acetone, I noticed a web-like material forming at the bottom of the glass,” says Marco Lo Presti.
The discovery continues with the addition of dopamine, accelerating the solidification of the material. Chitosan, derived from crustacean shells, has also been incorporated to reinforce the strength of the adhesive fiber. A demonstrative video published on phys.org reveals that this material can move a weight almost 80 times its own over a distance of 12 centimeters.
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