2023-11-04 07:00:03
The fibers found in velvet worm slime are as strong as nylon, but are water-soluble and “recyclable,” according to a study.
Inhabiting temperate and tropical forests, the velvet worm projects its slime to trap its victims. The particularity of this slime is that it gels then solidifies on contact with air (Air is the mixture of gases constituting the Earth’s atmosphere. It is odorless and…) to immobilize the socket at as it debates (A debate is a (constructive) discussion on a subject, precise or substantive, announced in advance,…). “It’s this transition from the liquid to the solid state of the slime that is extremely interesting,” explains Professor Matthew Harrington, co-director of the Institute. It is…) advanced materials from McGill. “Furthermore, it seems to be the force (The word force can designate a mechanical power over things, and also, metaphorically, a…) experienced by the slime during the projection. techniques making it possible to represent the surface of…) which is at the source of this transformation.”
During this study carried out on the molecular structure of velvet worm slime in collaboration with teams from UQAM, as well as from Germany and Barbados, the research team (Scientific research primarily refers to the set of actions undertaken with a view to…) by Professor Harrington discovered that the chemical bond (The chemical bond is the physical phenomenon which binds the atoms together in…) carried out by the animal (An animal (from the Latin animus , spirit, or vital principle) is, according to the classical classification, a…) has not changed with evolution. In fact, the velvet worm has been using the same process for almost 400 million years. According to the research teams, these discoveries bring us closer to the goal of creating sustainable synthetic materials inspired by this natural phenomenon.
The fibers found in the slime produced by the worm are as strong as nylon, but are soluble in water (Nylon is the name of a polyamide-type plastic material used as fiber… Water is a chemical compound ubiquitous on Earth, essential for all…) and can be replenished. Thus, slime in its solid state is “recyclable”, emphasizes Professor Harrington, an extremely inspiring quality for research into sustainable materials.
This chemical bond, which helps create so-called phosphonates, is particularly rare in terrestrial animals and might be key to the material properties of velvet worm slime. “This process has always been used by different species of velvet worms; its importance for the properties of slime is therefore undeniable,” maintains Professor Harrington.
The next step in research is to understand the evolutionary significance of this unique chemical modification and its role in the velvet worm predation mechanism.
Reference
L’article “Peculiar Phosphonate Modifications of Velvet Worm Slime Revealed by Advanced Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Mass Spectrometry”, par Matthew Harrington et coll., a Ă©tĂ© publiĂ© dans le Journal of the American Chemical Society.
DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c06798
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