Nucleate Publishes Student-Led Review on Spider Silk Bioproduction Offers Comprehensive Insights and Market Analysis
A first-of-its-kind student-led research initiative on the potential and feasibility of spider silk bioproduction has been published in ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. The review, titled “Disentangling the Web: An Interdisciplinary Review on the Potential and Feasibility of Spider Silk Bioproduction,” showcases the collaborative efforts of students from UC San Diego, Cornell University, Johns Hopkins, and Boston University.
The corresponding author is Dr. Ghita Guessous (2024 Biophysics PhD graduate from UC San Diego). Co-authors include VP of Research and Innovation Initiative at Nucleate, Dr. Anthony Bui (2024 Microbiology PhD graduate, Cornell University), Dr. Lauren Blake (BME postdoctoral researcher at Tufts University), Yelim Woo (2024 MBA graduate, Boston University), and Gabriel Manzanarez, (quantitative Biology PhD Candidate, UC San Diego).
This publication is unique as it was entirely conceptualized, designed and led by graduate students. This review article represents the first publication of Nucleate’s Innovation program, an effort with the Research Initiative to report on trends, challenges, and whitespaces in life science innovation and commercialization. Nucleate’s Executive VP of Research, Gabriel Manzanarez, (Quantitative Biology PhD Candidate, UC San Diego), spearheaded the Innovation program, defining its vision and scope, and recruiting the writing team. Samantha Sison, cofounder of the Research Initiative and former co-President of Nucleate, guided the review’s structure and vision. Soufiane Aboulhouda, Nucleate’s co-founder, made this report possible with his founding vision for the Research Initiative.
“Materials which combine high toughness and tensile strength tend to be extremely dense: think of steel for example. Spider silk is unique in that it possesses these characteristics in spite of having very low density. This combination of material properties makes it so desirable for many applications,” said Dr. Guessous, the corresponding author and a recent Biophysics PhD graduate from UC San Diego. “Our research highlights the significant progress made in bioproduction techniques of spidersilk and the exciting possibilities for its use as an environmentally friendly material in industries ranging from textiles to biomedical applications.”
Key findings of the publication include:
- The low density to tensile strength ratio of spider silk makes it a uniquely high-performing material.
- Over the last few decades, advances in sequencing, genetic engineering, and molecular cloning have enabled more efficient spider silk production and improvements in mechanical properties. These advances have led to a spike in startup creation, fundraising, and published patents over the last two decades.
- A range of host organisms have been employed for the heterologous production of spider silk. Bacteria, goats and even alfalfa plants are only a few examples of production hosts, each offering unique benefits and drawbacks.
- While many companies have gone after the textiles markets, spider silk has great potential in niche, high-value markets such as biomedicine and cosmetics.
- To biomanufacture spider silk that is commercially viable, greater collaboration between academia, government, and industry is necessary
The academic review, unique in its methodology and style, also involved interviews with several Key Opinion Leaders in the spider silk field, including Dr. David Kaplan, Biomedical Engineering Professor at Tufts University, Dr. Lindsay Wray, former Director of Beauty and Personal Care at Bolt Threads, Dr. Keiji Numata, Bioengineering Professor at Kyoto University, Dr. Sydney Gladman, former CSO at the Material Innovation Initiative, Massno Keiya, Hiroyuki Nakamura and Shinya Murata, Executive officer, research scientist, and business development executive, respectively, at Spiber Inc, Roberto Velozzi, CEO of SpideyTek, Mattheos Koffas, Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Ethan Mirsky, co-founder of Bolt Threads.
This review stands out by not only providing a detailed academic analysis but also offering commercial insights, with a comprehensive review of the patent landscape as well as market opportunities. This approach, bridging technical and market analyses provides valuable insights for scientists and industry professionals to evaluate and set research objectives from a business perspective.
The full review, which is open-access to accede to Nucleate’s values, is available online at this link.
About Nucleate
Nucleate is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering the next generation of biotech leaders. With chapters spanning 41 geographic regions and participation from over 280 academic institutions, Nucleate sparks new intellectual communities and embeds emerging talent within a global biotech community. Through open-access educational programming, Nucleate helps democratize biotech innovation — removing barriers and helping founders concentrate on building transformational technologies.
Nucleate’s programs are made possible thanks to our generous HQ sponsors:
- Platinum: Eli Lilly and Company, Genentech, Pillar VC, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, BlueYard Capital, MilliporeSigma.
- Gold: Excedr
- Silver: Biocom California, Breakout Ventures, Schrödinger, Cromatic, Sanofi, PHCbi, Molecule.
- Philanthropic: Schmidt Futures, Lyda Hill Philanthropies.
Visit www.nucleate.org for more information, and email contact@nucleate.org if you want to get involved with our programming.
