Identification and quantification of fatty acids in hunting web of adult Steatoda grossa (Theridiidae) female spiders

Abstract

This is the first study on composition of fatty acids in hunting web of Steatoda grossa (Theridiidae) spiders and one of only four similar studies ever made. Its main contribution is a discovery that fatty acids not only cover an outside of the web fibers, but they are even more abundantly represented in the fibers’ inner structure. Although little attention has been so far attributed to the contents of fatty acids in spider silks, one has to remember that their biocompatibility combined with an extraordinary tensile strength make them a worth investigating template for material bioengineering studies.