Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

1. Microbeads are found in cosmetics and personal care products such as toothpaste, sunscreen, hair gel and shower gel.
2. Microscope picture of cellulose microbeads

On World Ocean Day, researchers announced they developed biodegradable cellulose microbeads from a sustainable source that could potentially replace harmful plastic ones that contribute to ocean pollution. Microbeads are little spheres of plastic less than 0.5 mm in size that are added to personal care and cleaning products including cosmetics, sunscreens and fillers to give them a smooth texture. However they are too small to be removed by sewage filtration systems and so end up in rivers and oceans and ingested by birds, fish and marine life.

It is estimated that a single shower can result in 100,000 plastic particles enterin...

Polymeric pigments produced by guided oxidation of peptide assemblies. Photography by Matej Vakula, NYC.

Scientists have long known that melanin has numerous useful qualities, including providing protection from cancer-causing UV radiation and free radicals, but also electronic conductance, adhesiveness and the capacity to store energy. To take advantage of these qualities, scientists across the City University of New York (CUNY) have developed a new approach for producing materials that not only mimic the properties of melanin, but also provide unprecedented control over expressing specific properties of the biopolymer, according to a paper published in the journal Science. The discovery could enable the development of cosmetic and biomedical products.

Unlike other biopolymers, eg DNA and...

Sangchul Roh, Dishit P. Parekh, Bhuvnesh Bharti, Simeon D. Stoyanov, Orlin D. Velev. 3D Printing by Multiphase Silicone/Water Capillary Inks. Advanced Materials, 2017; 1701554 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201701554

Using the principles behind the formation of sandcastles from wet sand, North Carolina State University researchers have achieved 3D printing of flexible and porous silicone rubber structures through a new technique that combines water with solid and liquid forms of silicone into a pasty ink that can be fed through a 3D printer. The finding could have biomedical applications and uses in soft robotics. Orlin Velev and coll

eagues show that, in a water medium, liquid silicone rubber can be used to form bridges between tiny silicone rubber beads to link them together – much as a small amo...