Tangled seaweed inspires one-size-fits-all cleaners for ocean microplastics
Inspired by naturally occurring mats and balls of seaweed, researchers have created highly porous, superadhesive meshes capable of capturing both large and small microplastic particles—a longstanding challenge in the field. The mesh can clean microplastics from both saltwater and freshwater and is made from sustainable, widely available biopolymers.
Researchers have developed an innovative solution to address the issue of microplastics in oceans by creating a one-size-fits-all cleaning method. Drawing inspiration from the way seaweed mats and balls collect microplastics, the team at North Carolina State University designed a superadhesive mesh composed of biodegradable materials.
This mesh, made from alginate and chitosan—both derived from seaweed and crustacean shells—features a unique surface layer of fine chitosan fibers. These fibers are covered in soft dendritic colloids, which are highly adhesive structures composed of fine filaments ending in a crown of nanofibers. This design allows the mesh to capture both large and small microplastic particles, ranging from millimeters to tens of nanometers, in both freshwater and saltwater environments.
The researchers tested their invention using both synthetic model nanoparticles and real-world microplastics, demonstrating its effectiveness across a wide range of particle sizes. The captured microplastics can be removed and repurposed, potentially through microbial digestion to create more of the biodegradable material. While the concept shows promise, scaling up the production to a global level will depend on the availability of resources and the investment in the technology.
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