In a groundbreaking study published in Nature Communications, researchers from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) have developed a biodegradable material that gains strength when exposed to water, challenging the traditional notion that water weakens biodegradable materials.
The new material, a chitin-derived biopolymer called chitosan, was found to increase in strength by almost 50% when immersed in water, with a reported wet tensile strength of 53.01 ± 1.68 MPa compared to 36.12 ± 2.21 MPa when dry. This innovative material has the potential to replace traditional plastics in various applications, from packaging to biomedical devices.
A Wet Weakness, Turned into a Design Feature
Engineers have long struggled to develop biodegradable materials that can withstand water, as many natural materials soften or weaken when exposed to moisture. However, the researchers behind this study have turned this weakness into a design feature, creating a material that not only resists water but also becomes stronger when exposed to it.
A Clue from a Worm’s Fangs
The study’s origin story begins with a natural oddity. The researchers cite a prior observation involving the sandworm Nereis virens: when zinc is removed from its fangs, the fangs become susceptible to hydration and soften in water. This detail helped steer the team toward a broader question, whether metals could do more than just “reinforce” biological structures.
Stronger in Water, Not Despite It
The proposed mechanism is not a rigid, locked network. It is the opposite. Water becomes an active structural ingredient, with nickel ions and water molecules enabling a shifting web of weak, reversible interactions. Bonds break and reform as molecules move. That microscopic reshuffling, the authors argue, helps the material distribute stress instead of cracking under it.
The First Soak is Part of the Manufacturing
One practical twist is that freshly made films do not stay chemically identical after their first immersion. During that first soak, a large share of nickel leaches out. The authors report that 87.18 ± 2.72% of the nickel is released during the first immersion, leaving roughly one nickel ion per 7.91 pyranose rings as the amount that actually contributes to bonding and the water-strengthening behavior.
The researchers built objects, including cups and containers, using a looped process that recycled the nickel-containing water from the “first soak” step into the next production cycle. They report that the cups retained water like common plastics, demonstrating impermeability in their tests.
Cups, Containers, and a Closed-Loop Metal Budget
The team makes a big scalability claim rooted in biology itself. Akshayakumar Kompa, a postdoctoral researcher in Fernández’s group and the study’s first author, said, “Each year, the world produces an estimated one hundred billion tonnes of chitin, equivalent to three centuries’ worth of plastic production.” The paper also links this abundance to regional manufacturing possibilities, including sourcing chitosan from shrimp shells or via bioconversion of organic waste.
For more information on this groundbreaking study, please refer to the original article published in Nature Communications. Stay up-to-date with the latest news and breakthroughs in the field of biodegradable materials by following onlytrustedinfo.com.
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