This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Nanoparticles could someday provide a new way to help soldiers fight back against deadly nerve agents on the front lines. In a new study, Northwestern University scientists developed a nanoparticle-based compound that, when mixed into clothing dyes, could limit the impact of chemicals commonly found in pesticides, insecticides and nerve agents.
Manufacturers could potentially add the nanoparticles to clothing used by those most at risk, such as farmers' masks and gloves or soldiers' uniforms and tactical gear. Or, if someone is exposed to a potentially deadly chemical, they could spray their clothing with water mixed with the compound to deactivate the chemical before its damaging effects take hold. The study is published in the journal ACS Nano.
"Our bioinspired melanins are nontoxic and can be used as an additive in clothing or face masks and beyond. We previously have shown the ability to use them in dyeing synthetic fabrics," said Northwestern's Nathan Gianneschi, a corresponding author on the study. "You could imagine using this approach to make protective clothing or breathing equipment for workers who make or use these materials to provide everyday protection." Gianneschi is a co-corresponding author with Omar Farha.
Farha is the Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry in Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and chair of the Department of Chemistry. Gianneschi is the Jacob & Rosaline Cohn Professor of Chemistry at Weinberg and a professor of materials science and engineering and biomedical engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering.
In the new study, Gianneschi, Farha and their teams sought to mimic how nature can counteract substances like organophosphorus compounds, the toxic chemicals found in nerve agents and pesticides. Specifically, they explored allomelanin, a renewable, biodegradable pigment that deepens the color of plants and fungi. To develop the new nanoparticles, the researchers started with synthetic allomelanin.
Naturally porous, allomelanin contains a network of tiny pores that can grab and capture harmful chemicals. Then they added a zirconium cluster, a metal cluster that can catalyze chemical reactions. Working together, the allomelanin absorbed the toxic chemicals, and the zirconium destroyed them.
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