Researchers have developed an extremely strong and light material, using DNA nanotechnology, and then coated it in a thin layer of glass.
The new material is the result of research by scientists at the University of Connecticut (UConn) USA and partners.
According to Science Daily, this new material has the potential to help improve many things like cars and armor. What is surprising is that it is made of two unexpected things: DNA (acid nucleic) and glass.
According to Mr. Seok-Woo Lee, a materials scientist at UConn, the recently developed material stands as the most resilient among all known materials.
The findings of Mr. Lee and his colleagues from UConn, Columbia University, and Brookhaven National Laboratory were published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science.
They used DNA nanotechnology. This technology involves making microscopic structures from DNA (acid nucleic). This technology was previously founded and developed by American scientist Nadrian Seeman.
According to Greek Repoter, the team used self-assembled DNA to create the structure. It’s similar to how the children’s Magna-Tiles jigsaw puzzle works, in which specific DNA fragments of specific lengths and chemical properties come together naturally.
Once the DNA “skeleton” was in place, the researchers coated it with silica. Silica, also known as silicon dioxide, is a chemical compound with high hardness and does not exist in a single form, but linked together into very large molecules. Pure silica is a type of glass.
The thickness of the silica coating is merely a few hundred atoms. It covered only the surface of the DNA strands, while the inside was empty similar to the empty rooms in a house. However, it is these internal voids that make the new material quite light.
The team’s choice to use glass as the new material was surprising because glass is known to be fragile. However, the reason that tempered glass is fragile is often due to flaws in its structure, such as cracks, scratches or lack of atoms.
When glass is spotless, it becomes extremely sturdy. In fact, a perfect cubic centimeter of glass can withstand extreme pressure, up to tens of tons.
