An article in Journal of Materials Chemistry A has been featured on Wired.com and in Chemistry World. The article describes a novel approach to creating flame-retardant materials by a team of scientists from Italy, who have used DNA to protect textiles against fire. Using herring sperm as their DNA source, the researchers have created samples of cotton that can withstand direct application of a flame and an irradiative heat flux without ignition of the material. DNA has all of the desirable characteristics of a flame-retardant chemical, without the environmentally unfriendly drawbacks of many of the materials currently in use. Using DNA as a bulk chemical is becoming more viable option as new industrial processes are discovered.
DNA: a novel, green, natural flame retardant and suppressant for cotton
Jenny Alongi, Riccardo Andrea Carletto, Alessandro Di Blasio, Federico Carosio, Francesca Bosco and Giulio Malucelli
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, Advance Article. DOI: 10.1039/C3TA00107E.
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J Mater. Chem. A articles featured on Wired.com
