@article{Williamson_Bergman_Vanderpan_Facciotti_2021, place={Houston, U.S.}, title={Ariadne 1.0: A Novel Method and Prototype for Artificially Spinning Spider Silk}, volume={10}, url={https://www.jsr.org/index.php/path/article/view/1420}, DOI={10.47611/jsr.v10i4.1420}, abstractNote={<p>Musculoskeletal conditions affect more than half of the U.S. population over 18 years old, accounting for more than 50% of all disabling health conditions in adults [1]. The push for innovative surgical technologies has sparked a search for new biomaterials analogous to, or better than, native human musculoskeletal tissue. Spider silk is five times the tensile strength of steel by weight, as elastic as rubber on a weight-to-weight basis, antibacterial, conductive, and hypoallergenic [2]. Applications of this unique biomaterial include artificial tissues such as tendons, ligaments, skin grafts, muscles, and neurons. The 3D Organic Polymer Silk team (3D-OPS) has designed a cost-effective, novel system, Ariadne 1.0, to manufacture 3D printed spider silk as an alternative to biomaterials currently used in medical applications. The pre-printing process of Ariadne 1.0 utilizes native spider silk or purified spidroin proteins in the production of a stable solution for use in the 3D printing of biological structures. Modeled after the chemical-physical environment of the <em>Nephila clavipes’ </em>major ampullate gland, Ariadne 1.0’s printing system can easily modify the biophysical properties of its silk product by altering parameters such as the printing solution’s protein-type, ion concentration, or weight to volume ratio and the printing system’s needle size and print speed. This versatility supports a broad spectrum of surgical procedures and enables the potential for improvements in the medical field, particularly surrounding musculoskeletal injuries. The 3D-OPS team designed Ariadne 1.0 to investigate the viability of printing artificial tendons, ligaments, and muscle fibers with spider silk.</p>}, number={4}, journal={Journal of Student Research}, author={Williamson, Avery and Bergman, Haley and Vanderpan, Preston and Facciotti, Marc}, year={2021}, month={Nov.} }