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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah scientists are working on technology that could someday help the U.S. military disable enemy watercraft at sea.
Researchers at Utah State University in Logan received a grant of $420,000 from the U.S. Navy Division of Unconventional Warfare aimed at designing and developing synthetic spider silk material that could be used to fight enemy targets during military combat.
The official name for such devices is nonlethal Maritime Vessel Stopping Occlusion Technologies. Funded through the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative, the USU Synthetic Spider Silk Lab will also apply silk manufacturing technology to enable the commercial-scale production of other biomaterials, explained Randy Lewis, professor of biology and lab director.
He noted Kevlar was the initial material used in previous technologies, followed by superabsorbent polymers that led to the current "polymer kelp" design.
"Part of the project is to develop a material that will replace Kevlar for being able to enwrap the propeller," he said. "There is a second component that is based on hagfish 'slime' — an incredibly viscous solution. We're trying to combine our extraordinary material with the ability to match up with the 'slime' so that it will be much more effective at slowing up the propeller and disabling the (watercraft)."
As a defense from predators, hagfish — eel-like marine creatures — secrete a gooey, microfibrous mucin that greatly expands in seawater, he noted.
Today, the U.S. Navy envisions stronger, more effective and environmentally friendly next-generation designs with spider silk and synthetic slime derived from other proteins, he said. Maritime Vessel Stopping Occlusion Technologies is currently deployed with pneumatic launchers similar to T-shirt cannons used at sporting events, he said, though future designs may use unmanned surface vessels or aerial drones.
"The idea is not to destroy the (enemy vessel), but to make it so inefficient and ineffective that the boat can't keep (advancing)," he said. The project has three major aims that will benefit the U.S. Navy and advance the lab's research, he said.
First is supplying the aforementioned synthetic spider silk made from transgenic bacteria and silkworms, two of four sources the lab uses for silk production, he explained.
The second priority of the project is sharing expertise with the U.S Navy on producing synthetic slime from hagfish proteins, while the third goal is to share USU expertise on scaling-up production of hagfish-derived proteins to manufacture commercial-level quantities of the materials, as well as commercial-scale spinning of fibers, Lewis said.
"This is a great opportunity for USU because this project will allow us to continue to develop our knowledge of synthetic silk production and applications," he said. "It also provides research opportunities for three research scientists, two graduate students and a number of undergraduate researchers."
The grant is for one year, with opportunities for follow-up funding, he noted.
"What we're hoping to have is a prototype within that one-year time frame so that we can start testing and designing it," he said. "There isn't much out there that is very effective."
Over the years, Lewis has received previous U.S. Navy grants totaling more than $1 million to develop waterproof fasteners and adhesives from synthetic spider silk.
"Certain types of spider silk have chemical and physical properties that enable them to attach to virtually any surface — even when wet," he said. "In addition, the silk is flexible, lightweight and very strong."
Along with bacteria and silkworms, the lab also uses the milk from transgenic goats and fibers from transgenic alfalfa to produce synthetic silk, Lewis noted.
"Spider silk has properties unmatched by any manmade material," he said. "Synthetic silk holds promise for nearly endless applications in industry, medicine and consumer products."
