Photo of a woman in a laboratory (Viktoria Langwallner, SLU) showing a sample of artificially spun spider silk.
Photo: Lisa Chröisty, SLU

Artificial spider silk – the eco-friendly clothing material of the future?

Page reviewed:  04/10/2025

Sedan ett drygt år tillbaka doktorerar Viktoria Langwallner inom projektet med artificiell spindeltråd. Tillsammans med den större forskargruppen är målsättningen hög: Att härma naturen på ett sådant sätt att artificiell spindeltråd kan bli framtidens miljövänliga klädmaterial.

Spider silk. Stretchable and durable, sustainable and versatile: what if this were the clothing material of the future?

For several years, research into the production of artificial spider silk has been conducted through a collaboration between the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and the Karolinska Institute (KI). In the fall of 2022, Viktoria Langwallner became a doctoral student in the project, which is now moving up to the next level.

We now know that the answer to the question of whether it is possible to produce artificial spider silk is yes, so now the question is HOW tough and stretchy a thread we can produce. If the results are good enough, I definitely believe that our spider silk can be used in several areas of society, she says.

A fashion industry - made of spider silk?

Today, large parts of the clothing industry are linked to heavy chemicals and polluting emissions, making them a major contributor to environmental degradation. At the same time, clothing is a commodity that everyone around the world uses. So how do we solve this problem?

Perhaps with the help of artificial spider silk.

We are currently at the stage of producing artificial spider silk that is almost as tough as that produced by spiders themselves, but the goal is to make it both stronger and more stretchable than that, which is what I am now researching and experimenting with, says Viktoria Langwallner.

The clear advantage would be that clothing made from artificial spider silk could be produced in an environmentally friendly way, without any environmentally hazardous chemicals or significant emissions – solely from bacterial growth in a nutrient solution. Replacing other clothing materials with artificial spider silk could therefore potentially reduce our global footprint.

However, at present, our spider silk is affected and changes when it comes into contact with moisture, so we still have some work to do, says Viktoria Langwallner.
Collage with three images depicting different stages in the process of developing and testing the durability of artificial spider silk in the laboratory.
An artificial spider silk thread is assembled and tested for strength and elasticity—how long does it last before it breaks?

Imitating nature and becoming “spiderwoman”

The uninformed may ask why artificial spider silk is necessary at all, why not just collect spider silk woven by actual spiders? The short answer is that it is practically impossible, not least from a space perspective. To obtain enough thread for a single garment, millions of spiders would be needed—each of which would also need to be kept separate from the others so that they would not eat each other.

So, imitating nature and producing our own spider silk is now the solution! It's also amazing how we can draw inspiration from these incredible animals and do our best to imitate their production. There's a reason why we in the lab go by the names “spiderwoman” and “spiderman.”

Unique research group – with an eye on the future

Research into artificial spider silk is being conducted in several places around the world, with a focus on various potential areas of application. Perhaps we will see it used in space suits in the future? Or as surgical sutures – whose stitches never need to be removed?

But the research group at SLU/KI is unique in its field, as one of very few groups researching manufacturing methods that do not involve the use of hazardous and environmentally damaging chemicals. This is a factor that, on the one hand, makes it more difficult to produce sufficiently strong and stretchy thread, but which, at the same time, could be part of the solution to the major climate problems of our time.

For the average person, it may be completely uninteresting which proteins we use to mimic spider spinning—but the long-term goal is a win for everyone. And then it's actually really cool that this is even possible to do.

The first piece of clothing

One year into her doctoral position, Viktoria has already created several variants of her own spun artificial spider silk. But when a whole skein complete with artificial spider silk yarn will be spun – and what the first garment will be – only time will tell.

I hope that this will be possible within my five years as a doctoral student, and even if it doesn't happen, I definitely believe that it will happen eventually, says Viktoria Langwallner.
Collage with two images: One of a woman in a laboratory (Viktoria Langwallner, SLU) showing a sample of artificially spun spider silk, the other of an actual spider.
From studying spiders to producing artificial spider silk. Could this be the clothing material of the future? That is the goal that doctoral student Viktoria Langwallner is working towards.

Facts about this project:

  • The doctoral position is funded by Formas and is expected to run from 2022 to 2027.
  • The project is mainly run by Viktoria Langwallner, a doctoral student at SLU, in collaboration with a large group of researchers with various areas of expertise. Viktoria Langwallner's main supervisor is Anna Rising who is himself a professor at SLU and group leader at KI in areas including artificial spider silk, and as assistant supervisors there are both Benjamin Schmuck and Gabriele Greco. 

The seven steps – this is how artificial spider silk is made:

  1. First, a chain of amino acids (known as a polymer) is designed, which builds up the protein. The exact order in which the amino acids are placed in the protein affects the properties of the resulting spider silk.

  2. To obtain the desired protein, the researchers place an order with an external company for a so-called “DNA sequence.”

  3. The DNA sequence that is delivered serves as an instruction template for how the protein should then be assembled by the cells, which in turn produce the desired protein chain.

  4. Next, it is time to mimic the spiders by concentrating the spider silk protein, a process that also takes place inside the spider's body.

  5. The concentrated protein is then filled into syringes which are pushed out into a water solution by a machine, where the artificial spider silk is formed. Here, processes such as pH value and salinity affect how strong and stretchy the end product will be.

  6. The threads are collected and attached one by one to adhesive tape, so that a machine can then test their strength and elasticity.

  7. And then the process returns to the first step—to use the final result to change various parameters within the process in order to obtain a different, hopefully better, product next time.

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