Scientists have created a new material combining silk and wood pulp with similar properties to plastic. But it is biodegradable and environ...
Scientists have created a new material combining silk and wood pulp with similar properties to plastic. But it is biodegradable and environmentally friendly.
By combining silk protein from cobwebs with wood cellulose, scientists have created a material with the same strength and elasticity as plastic.
The scientists combined silk protein with wood cellulose to create a new composite material. (Photo: EEVA SUORLAHTI).
Mohammadi worked with scientists at Aalto University to produce this bio-based composite material. Although silk is produced by silkworms and spiders, scientists at Aalto University took silk sources from bacteria enhanced by synthetic DNA.
Markus Linder, a professor at Aalto University, said: "Because we know the structure of DNA, we can copy it and use it to produce silk protein molecules similar to those found in chemistry. in the webs ".
This process results in a material with high strength and stiffness, as well as increased toughness. Most importantly, this strength is not compromised when the material is stretched.
Science Advances describes the new material as follows: “The quality of the material is similar to that of plastic. But because it is biodegradable, the new material is more environmentally friendly. ”
"Our job is to develop new and flexible capabilities of protein engineering. In the future, we may produce similar composites for construction," says Pezhman Mohammadi. We are currently working on new composite materials in the form of impact resistant objects and other products. "
Mr. Nerd
