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Lin Z, Deng Q, Liu XY, Yang D.
Adv Mater. 2013 Feb 25;25(8):1216-20.
Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543.
Abstract
A simple strategy is developed to produce large silk proteins in commercially available E. coli. The strategy is demonstrated for the production of a modified eggcase silk protein with a molecular weight of ∼378 kDa. Using a non-toxic water coagulation bath developed here, the recombinant protein is spun into artificial fibers that reach higher tenacity than its native counterpart. The strategy is generally applicable to synthesizing other types of large silk proteins with tandem repetitive domains.
