http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/03/fireproof-dna/
Scientists in Italy found in 2013 that DNA acts as a natural flame retardant and suppressant. Scientist Giulio Malucelli tested this by dissolving DNA (which, interestingly, comes from herring sperm) in water and coating cotton shirts with the DNA. When the shirts dried, he tried setting them on fire but the shirts refused. “The coating behaved similarly to ammonium polyphosphate,” a commonly used flame retardant.
When DNA is heated, the phosphate-backbone produces phosphoric acid which “chemically removes water from cotton fibers while leaving behind a flame-resistant, carbon-rich residue.” The nitrogenous bases release ammonia which inhibits combustion reactions and can turn the carbon-rich residue into “a slow-burning protective layer.” It is these ingredients that prevent the cotton from catching fire.
There are quite a few advantages to using DNA as a flame retardant. This could be used not only on materials like cotton but also on synthetic fabrics or thin or thick plastic films. Because DNA is naturally occurring and quite abundant, it could be a green alternative to traditional flame retardants. There are just a few problems that need to be fixed before the possibility of utilizing DNA for this reason becomes plausible. First, it is three to five times more expensive than current flame retardants. Second, although unlikely, anyone in contact with the DNA coating could potentially “pick up foreign fragments as the DNA breaks down.” Finally, the coating is not water resistant and would rinse off the first time it’s washed. If these three problems are addressed, it is possible that using DNA as a flame retardant could be in our future.
Submitted by: Sammy Seibel
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This is a really interesting idea that you can use what makes you up to save your life. I think that this is a really cool idea that could be applied to other stuff. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLinnea
This caught my eye because I had never even considered something like this before. It blows my mind to think that something that is so ubiquitous, something that is a part of all life on earth could be used for something like this. It would be really interesting to see what future researchers discover about this topic. There could be some really fascinating implications.
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