No spiders are harmed in the making of b-silk protein! In fact, there are no spiders at all in the process. We originally studied real spider silk to understand the relationship between the spider DNA and the characteristics of the fibers they make. Today’s technology allows us to make those proteins without using spiders, which is a big relief to the arachnophobes among our team.

B-silk^TM protein is the output of our fermentation process and the starting raw ingredient for our high-tech fiber. We study silk proteins and bioengineer yeast to produce silk protein using fermentation. We can use silk protein to make Microsilk fiber or we can collect the protein powder to be used in other applications, such as beauty.

Silk is an amazing material that has been used in textiles for 5,000 years and utilized in sutures and wound healing for centuries. It is well known for its tunability and allows for the fabrication of a diverse range of structures, such as powders, films, hydrogels, scaffolds, fibers, and solids to name a few. Scientists can infuse silk with new material features, resulting in tunable, biodegradable, robust biomaterials for a range of applications in biomedicine, textiles, beauty, and more.

Proteins are some of the most structurally complex and functionally sophisticated molecules known. In the case of silk, one of its attributes that makes it so special is that it has a very high molecular weight. When silk protein is extracted from silkworm cocoons, it is frequently broken down using a process called molecular hydrolysis. This process degrades the high molecular weight protein into smaller pieces. This can compromise its valuable properties, like tunability and strength. We have developed a scalable process to make unhydrolyzed silk proteins that retain all of their valuable properties and can deliver them to various applications.

Silk proteins are inherently biodegradable and can be produced in a sustainable, closed-loop process. We are hoping that by helping companies move away from petroleum-based materials and chemicals, we can start to write a better future for our planet.

No. Our Microsilk fibers do not contain any genetically modified organisms. The process we use to make our fibers does utilize genetically modified yeast. After fermentation is complete, the silk protein is purified from the yeast, and the remaining yeast cells are destroyed by heat via the same methods used to pasteurize milk. There are no GMO yeast present in the final material. The sugar we use as feedstock is made from corn, and 88% of all corn produced in the US is genetically modified. The technology we’re using is not new; in fact, genetically engineered organisms have been fermented to make recombinant products, insulin, and vaccines for decades, safely.