Engineered Microcapsules Fabricated from Reconstituted Spider Silk

Recombinant spider-silk proteins are used to produce responsive microcapsules with good mechanical and chemical stability (see figure). Emulsion interfaces are harnessed to induce the controlled self-assembly of these proteins into predominantly β-sheet configurations, resulting in a mechanically stable thin polymer shell. Capsules transferred into a continuous phase can readily encapsulate large molecules, while allowing small molecules to permeate freely.