Hagfish BioFibre: The interest in hagfish slime fibre as a potential rival to petroleum-based products such as Nylon, or Polyester, stems from earlier studies on spider silk proteins. Natural spider silk has a very high tensile strength and could be very valuable if it were produced in industrial quantities. Synthetic spider silk with tensile properties comparable to the original is exceedingly difficult to produce without the use of transgenic animals or insects because of the complex genetic structure of the silk proteins (Fudge et al., 2010; Weisman et al., 2010; Negishi et al., 2012).

The only previous experiments that examined the potential of hagfish slime threads as a source of industrial materials hypothesized that hagfish slime threads could provide a source of synthetic fibers to replace current petroleum derivatives such as Kevlar, polyester, and acrylics (Fudge et al., 2010; Negishi et al., 2012). Hagfish slime threads are an attractive alternative because the self-assembling thread filaments have the superior tensile strength of spider silk but have a simpler genetic blueprint that enables more efficient recombinant protein production (Fudge et al., 2010; Negishi et al., 2012).

Initial applications of first-generation Hagfish BioFibre will be limited to biomedical uses such as sutures because of the high cost of manufacture and lower volume yields. However, as research continues, economically viable large scale production will be developed, allowing for a wider range of products, particularly in the textiles industry.

The team developed a simple, scalable purification process for the recombinant hagfish protein. The purified protein could be spun into fibre. To study the mechanical properties of the artificial hagfish fibre, the researchers determined tenacity, elongation, and Young's modulus, the three critical mechanical parameters that represent a fibre's strength, extensibility, and stiffness. Importantly, the artificial fibre displayed tenacity, elongation, and Young's modulus comparable to those of the native fibre.

The total system enables the mass production of recombinant dragline hagfish fibre. This system allows us to pursue broader industrial and biomedical applications for the fibre.

• Fudge, D.S., S. Hillis, N. Levy, and J.M. Gosline. 2010. Hagfish slime threads as a biomimetic model for high performance protein fibres. Bioinspir Biomim. 5:035002.
• Negishi, A., C.L. Armstrong, L. Kreplak, M.C. Rheinstadter, L.T. Lim, T.E. Gillis, and D.S. Fudge. 2012. The production of fibers and films from solubilized hagfish slime thread proteins. Biomacromolecules. 13:3475-82.
• Weisman, S., V.S. Haritos, J.S. Church, M.G. Huson, S.T. Mudie, A.J. Rodgers, G.J. Dumsday, and T.D. Sutherland. 2010. Honeybee silk: recombinant protein production, assembly and fiber spinning. Biomaterials. 31:2695-700.

Because Hagfish BioFibre is stronger and tougher than steel, it could be used in a wide variety of military, industrial, and consumer applications ranging from ballistic protection to superior strength and toughness.

The global market demand for technical fibers is growing rapidly and they have become essential products for both industrial and consumer applications.

We believe that the superior mechanical characteristics of the next generation of BioFibre will open up new applications for the technology and result in a significant increase in demand. The materials which we are working to produce are stronger than steel.

We believe that the BioFibre is in some ways so superior to the materials currently available, that an expansion of demand and market opportunities will follow the BioFibre’s commercial introduction.