Dr Chris Holland
BA, MSc, D.Phil
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Senior Lecturer in Natural Materials
Chair of IOM3 Natural Materials Association
+44 114 222 5477
Full contact details
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
- Profile
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Chris joined the department at the start of 2013 as head of the Natural Materials Group, holding an EPSRC Early Career Fellowship. After this he then went onto co-ordinating FLIPT, a large European consortia as part of a H2020 FET Open project and has been promoted to a Senior Lecturer.
Outside of the lab he is an associate editor for ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering and also the Chair of the Natural Materials Association.
Previously he was at Oxford where he undertook his BA in Biological Sciences, MSc in Integrative Biosciences, D. Phil and later a Fellowship By Examination (a.k.a JRF) whilst working in the Oxford Silk Group.
- Qualifications
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2000-2003 BA(Hons) Biological Sciences, University of Oxford
2003-2004 MSc Integrative Biosciences, University of Oxford
2004-2008 D.Phil Silk Rheology, University of Oxford
- Research interests
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Chris’ research uses tools developed for the physical sciences to better understand nature’s materials, from latex to collagen but with a focus on silk. By investigating unspun silk’s flow properties he has been able to gain unique insights into their biodiversity, structure and evolution. Additionally, this work has made important links between natural and industrial fibre processing which has lead to a fundamentally new way of designing, testing and fabricating bio-inspired materials.
Today he combines multiple instruments with rheology, from microscopes (confocal) and spectrometers (IR) to synchrotrons (SANS at ISIS and SAXS/WAXS at ESRF) in order to understand exactly how silk proteins arrange themselves into one of Nature’s most impressive materials.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Molecular organization of fibroin heavy chain and mechanism of fibre formation in Bombyx mori. Communications Biology, 7(1). View this article in WRRO
- Analysis, classification and identification of gastropod locomotive mucus by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 90(1). View this article in WRRO
- Carbon nanotubes facilitate silk hierarchical assembly by dry drawing. Small Structures. View this article in WRRO
- Insights into surface chemistry down to nanoscale: an accessible colour hyperspectral imaging approach for scanning electron microscopy. Materials Today Advances, 19. View this article in WRRO
- Flow-Induced Protein Chain Deformation, Segmental Orientation, and Phase Separation in Native Silk Feedstock.. Biomacromolecules.
- 1000 spider silkomes: linking sequences to silk physical properties. Science Advances, 8(41).
- Broadband multidimensional spectroscopy Identifies the amide II vibrations in silkworm films. Molecules, 27(19).
- Spidroin N-terminal domain forms amyloid-like fibril based hydrogels and provides a protein immobilization platform. Nature Communications, 13(1).
- Macroporous surgical mesh from a natural cocoon composite. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 10(18), 5728-5738.
- Iron Oxide and Water Paste Rheology and Its Effect on Low Adhesion in the Wheel/Rail Interface. Tribology Letters, 70(1).
- Seeking solvation: exploring the role of protein hydration in silk gelation. Molecules, 27(2).
- Mesoscale structure development reveals when a silkworm silk is spun. Nature Communications, 12(1).
- Spinning conditions affect structure and properties of Nephila spider silk. MRS Bulletin, 46(10), 915-924.
- Unexpected lack of specialisation in the flow properties of spitting cobra venom. Journal of Experimental Biology, 224(7). View this article in WRRO
- Comparing modern and classical perspectives on spider silks and webs. Perspectives on Science, 29(2), 133-156.
- Stretching of Bombyx mori silk protein in flow. Molecules, 26(6). View this article in WRRO
- Native-like flow properties of an artificial spider silk dope. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 7(2), 462-471.
- Spinning Beta Silks Requires Both pH Activation and Extensional Stress. Advanced Functional Materials.
- The influence of metal ions on native silk rheology. Acta Biomaterialia.
- Tensegrity modelling and the high toughness of spider dragline silk. Nanomaterials, 10(8). View this article in WRRO
- Structural diversity of native Major Ampullate, Minor Ampullate, Cylindriform, and Flagelliform silk proteins in solution. Biomacromolecules. View this article in WRRO
- Silk protein solution : a natural example of sticky reptation. Macromolecules, 53(7), 2669-2676. View this article in WRRO
- Cyclical strain improves artificial equine tendon constructs in vitro. Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine. View this article in WRRO
- Dynamic photo-cross-linking of native silk enables macroscale patterning at a microscale resolution. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 6(1), 705-714. View this article in WRRO
- Hybrid hydrogels based on polysaccharide gum karaya, poly(vinyl alcohol) and silk fibroin. Materials Research Express, 6(3). View this article in WRRO
- Revealing spider silk’s 3D nanostructure through low temperature plasma etching and advanced low-voltage SEM. Frontiers in Materials, 5. View this article in WRRO
- Differential Scanning Calorimetry of Native Silk Feedstock. Macromolecular Bioscience. View this article in WRRO
- Extensional flow behaviour and spinnability of native silk.. Soft Matter. View this article in WRRO
- The Biomedical Use of Silk: Past, Present, Future. Advanced Healthcare Materials. View this article in WRRO
- The Energy Requirements for Flow-Induced Solidification of Silk. Macromolecular Bioscience. View this article in WRRO
- Changes in Silk Feedstock Rheology during Cocoon Construction: The Role of Calcium and Potassium Ions.. Macromolecular Bioscience. View this article in WRRO
- New perspectives on nano-engineering by secondary electron spectroscopy in the helium ion and scanning electron microscope. MRS Communications. View this article in WRRO
- Biophotonics of native silk fibrils. Macromolecular Bioscience, 18(4). View this article in WRRO
- The rheological properties of native sericin. Acta Biomaterialia, 69, 234-242. View this article in WRRO
- Mapping Nanostructural Variations in Silk by Secondary Electron Hyperspectral Imaging. Advanced Materials, 29(47). View this article in WRRO
- Analysis of the pressure requirements for silk spinning reveals a pultrusion dominated process. Nature Communications, 8(1). View this article in WRRO
- Sericin Promotes Fibroin Silk I Stabilization Across a Phase-Separation. Biomacromolecules, 18(8), 2343-2349. View this article in WRRO
- Silk micrococoons for protein stabilisation and molecular encapsulation.. Nature Communications, 8. View this article in WRRO
- Progress and Trends in Artificial Silk Spinning: A Systematic Review. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 3(3), 226-237. View this article in WRRO
- The Rheology behind Stress-Induced Solidification in Native Silk Feedstocks. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 17(12), 1812-1812. View this article in WRRO
- Thermo-rheological behaviour of native silk feedstocks. European Polymer Journal. View this article in WRRO
- Dry-Spun Silk Produces Native-Like Fibroin Solutions. Biomacromolecules, 17(10), 3198-3204. View this article in WRRO
- Environmental effects on the construction and physical properties of Bombyx mori cocoons. Journal of Materials Science, 1-10. View this article in WRRO
- Native Silk Feedstock as a Model Biopolymer: A Rheological Perspective.. Biomacromolecules. View this article in WRRO
- Glass transitions in native silk fibres studied by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis.. Soft Matter, 12(27), 5926-5936. View this article in WRRO
- Combined numerical and experimental biomechanical characterization of soft collagen hydrogel substrate. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine, 27(4). View this article in WRRO
- ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Editorial—First Anniversary. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 2(2), 141-141.
- Unpicking the signal thread of the sector web spider Zygiella x-notata. Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 12(113), 20150633-20150633. View this article in WRRO
- Identification and classification of silks using infrared spectroscopy. Journal of Experimental Biology, 218(19), 3138-3149. View this article in WRRO
- More than one way to spin a crystallite: multiple trajectories through liquid crystallinity to solid silk. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282(1809), 20150259-20150259. View this article in WRRO
- Rheological behaviour of native silk feedstocks. Polymer, 67, 28-39. View this article in WRRO
- Linking naturally and unnaturally spun silks through the forced reeling of Bombyx mori. Acta Biomaterialia, 11, 247-255. View this article in WRRO
- Welcome to ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 1(1), 1-1.
- The speed of sound in silk: linking material performance to biological function.. Adv Mater, 26(30), 5179-5183. View this article in WRRO
- Investigating the rheological properties of native plant latex. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 11(90). View this article in WRRO
- Differential Scanning Fluorimetry provides high throughput data on silk protein transitions.. Sci Rep, 4, 5625. View this article in WRRO
- Hierarchical bionanomaterials under the hammer: High-rate response of silks. Conference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series, 4, 75-77.
- Horses and cows might teach us about human knees. Naturwissenschaften, 1-4.
- 'Corrigendum to "Silk protein aggregation kinetics revealed by Rheo-IR" [Acta Biomater. 10 (2014) 776-784]' (DOI:10.1016/j.actbio.2013.10.032). Acta Biomaterialia.
- Forced reeling of bombyx mori silk: Separating behavior and processing conditions. Biomacromolecules, 14(10), 3653-3659.
- Silk protein aggregation kinetics revealed by Rheo-IR. Acta Biomaterialia.
- The science of silks. MRS Bulletin, 38(1), 73-80.
- In situ tensile tests of single silk fibres in an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). Journal of Materials Science, 48(14), 5055-5062.
- SHOOTING SILK: STRESS STRAIN PROPERTIES OF SINGLE FIBRES AT HIGH RATE. Journal of Biomechanics, 45, s86.
- Dynamic behaviour of silks: Nature's precision nanocomposites. EPJ Web of Conferences, 26.
- Direct visualization of shear dependent silk fibrillogenesis. Soft Matter, 8(9), 2590-2594.
- Distinct structural and optical regimes in natural silk spinning. Biopolymers, 97(6), 368-373.
- Comparing the rheology of mulberry and "wild" silkworm spinning dopes. Biopolymers, 97(6), 362-367.
- Tensile and shear mechanical properties of rotator cuff repair patches. Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, 21(9), 1168-1176.
- Ballistic impact to access the high-rate behaviour of individual silk fibres. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 60(10), 1710-1721.
- Silk and synthetic polymers: Reconciling 100 degrees of separation. Advanced Materials, 24(1), 105-109.
- A poisonous surprise under the coat of the African crested rat. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279(1729), 675-680.
- The African crested rat's poisonous hairs studied by attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy. Spectroscopy Europe, 23(6), 10-12.
- Comparing normal and torn rotator cuff tendons using dynamic shear analysis. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery - Series B, 93 B(7), 942-948.
- There are many more lessons still to be learned from spider silks. SOFT MATTER, 7(20), 9595-9600.
- Rheo-attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy: A new tool to study biopolymers. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 13(9), 3979-3984.
- Torn human rotator cuff tendons have reduced collagen thermal properties on differential scanning calorimetry. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 29(12), 1938-1943.
- Characterisation of differences in shear mechanical properties between torn and normal rotator cuff tendons. Injury Extra, 41(12), 162-162.
- Shear mechanical properties of repair grafts—how well do they match normal and torn human rotator cuff tendons?. Injury Extra, 41(12), 161-162.
- Eight legs good!. TCE(815), 24-26.
- Concentration state dependence of the rheological and structural properties of reconstituted silk. Biomacromolecules, 10(10), 2724-2728.
- Natural and unnatural silks. Polymer, 48(12), 3388-3392.
- Comparing the rheology of native spider and silkworm spinning dope. Nature Materials, 5(11), 870-874.
- Metal Cross-Linked Supramolecular Gel Noodles: Structural Insights and Antibacterial Assessment. Biomacromolecules.
- Probing the compositional and rheological properties of gastropod locomotive mucus. Frontiers in Soft Matter, 3, 1201511.
- In Situ Identification of Secondary Structures in Unpurified Bombyx mori Silk Fibrils Using Polarized Two-Dimensional Infrared Spectroscopy. Biomacromolecules.
- Ground-state transition in few-electron quantum dots observed by magnetophotoluminescence. Physical Review B, 68(7).
Chapters
- Historical silk biomaterials, Silk-Based Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering, Regenerative and Precision Medicine (pp. 3-8). Elsevier
- Bio-Inspired Design – Enhancing Natural Materials, Designing with Natural Materials (pp. 321-334). CRC Press
- The use of spider silk as a biomaterial, Advances in Silk Science and Technology (pp. 233-260).
- Biomechanical testing and the development of silk-based textiles for regenerative medicine and surgery, Biomedical Textiles for Orthopaedic and Surgical Applications: Fundamentals, Applications and Tissue Engineering (pp. 1-22).
- Biomechanical testing and the development of silk-based textiles for regenerative medicine and surgery, Biomedical Textiles for Orthopaedic and Surgical Applications (pp. 1-22). Elsevier
- The use of spider silk as a biomaterial, Advances in Silk Science and Technology (pp. 233-260). Elsevier
- Contributor contact details, Biologically Inspired Textiles (pp. xi-xii). Elsevier
- Biomimetic principles of spider silk for high performance fibres In Ellison MS & Abbott AG (Ed.), Biologically Inspired Textiles Cambridge, UK: Woodhead Publishing.
Conference proceedings papers
- A mesoscale tensegrity model of spider dragline silk fiber. COMPDYN Proceedings, Vol. 2021-June
- Iron oxide and water paste rheology and its effect on low adhesion in the wheel/rail interface. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Contact Mechanics and Wear of Rail/wheel Systems, CM 2018 (pp 1084-1089)
- Low-Voltage SEM of Natural Plant Fibers: Microstructure Properties (Surface and Cross-Section) and their Link to the Tensile Properties. Procedia Engineering, Vol. 200 (pp 295-302) View this article in WRRO
- Turning a Silk Purse into a Sow's Ear: The Importance of Processing When using Silk in Regenerative Medicine. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 21 (pp S65-S65)
- Light-based Bioprinting of Native Silk. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, Vol. 21 (pp S339-S339)
- Multipurpose spider silks: the implications of web impact on vibration signalling. INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY, Vol. 54 (pp E147-E147)
Patents
- A method for Microfluidic processing of native silk into microgels for long-term storage of aggregation sensitive molecules. Appl. 02 Apr 2014.
- Non-woven silk materials and methods for manufacture thereof. WO 2012172085 Appl. 30 Mar 2012.
- Cartilage repair material and a method for the preparation thereof. GB0807868.5 (UK). Appl. 30 Apr 2008.
Datasets
- Dataset for: Extensional flow behaviour and spinnability of native silk.
- The flow induced solidification of silk.
- Silk gelation data from "The Rheology behind Stress-Induced Solidification in Native Silk Feedstocks".
- Changes in silk feedstock during cocoon construction.
- Dataset for: Analysis of the pressure requirements for silk spinning reveals a pultrusion dominated process.
Preprints
- Research group
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Please refer to the Natural Materials Group website.
- Professional activities and memberships
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Associate Editor ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering
Chairperson Natural Materials Association