World
This is not a metaphor, this is the world’s first nano-spaghetti
Researchers at University College London (UCL) published a study in the journal Nanoscale Advances, revealing the creation of the world’s thinnest spaghetti—a nanofiber measuring just 372 nanometers across. The remarkable achievement was led by Beatrice Britton, a chemistry student at UCL, who, alongside her team, engineered a material approximately 200 times thinner than a human hair.
The UCL team employed a technique called electrospinning to produce these ultrafine fibers. In this process, an electric field of several kilovolts pulls a mixture through the tip of a metallic needle, resulting in a thin jet that deposits on a collector. The mixture used was a combination of flour and formic acid. Formic acid breaks apart the spiral structures of starch in flour, making it easier to spin into nanofibers, according to Popular Science. This method contrasts with traditional pasta-making, which uses water to mix with flour.
Dr. Adam Clancy, a co-author of the study, explained the process: “To make spaghetti, you push a mixture of water and flour through metal holes. In our study, we did the same except we pulled our flour mixture through with an electrical charge. It’s literally spaghetti but much smaller,” as reported by IFLScience. The electric charge played a fundamental role in stretching the mixture into ultra-thin strands and depositing them on a metal plate.
The resulting nanofibers are so fine that individual strands cannot be clearly captured by any visible light camera or microscope. They are narrower than some wavelengths of light, including blue light, and can only be observed through an electron microscope. The nanopasta formed a mat about two centimeters wide, making it visible to the naked eye, but composed of a myriad of invisible fibers.
The creation of these starch-based nanofibers holds promise for medical and technological applications. Nanofibers mimic the extracellular matrix—a natural network that supports cells in the human body—making them ideal for tissue regeneration and wound healing. Professor Gareth Williams from UCL School of Pharmacy highlighted their potential: “Nanofibers, such as those made of starch, show potential for use in wound dressings as they are very porous,” as stated in The Telegraph.
These nanofiber mats allow water and moisture in while keeping bacteria out, making them promising for applications such as wound dressings and scaffolding for bone regeneration. The researchers are investigating their use for medical purposes, including drug delivery systems that target specific parts of the body with precision. The nanofibers could serve as tiny delivery systems to carry medicines.
The team’s approach is also noteworthy for its environmental friendliness. By using flour, an abundant and renewable resource, they simplified the method and made it more accessible. Business Insider reported that researchers led by University College London say it is more environmentally friendly to create the fibers directly from a starch-rich component like flour. This contrasts with traditional methods of producing nanofibers from purified starch, which require extensive energy and water.
Despite the material’s resemblance to pasta, the researchers acknowledge that it is not intended for culinary use. “I don’t think it’s useful as pasta, sadly, as it would overcook in less than a second, before you could take it out of the pan,” remarked Gareth Williams. He was quoted in Physics World. Adam Clancy noted that while the nanopasta isn’t intended as food, it should be safe to eat, according to New Scientist.
The nanospaghetti has far surpassed the previous thinnest pasta in the world, su filindeu, which is about 0.4 millimeters in diameter. The UCL-developed spaghetti is about 1,000 times thinner than su filindeu. Su filindeu is a traditional pasta handmade by a single family in Sardinia, Italy, and only three people know how to make it.
The researchers plan to continue exploring the properties of these starch nanofibers, including their potential for large-scale production. “We want to know, for instance, how quickly it disintegrates, how it interacts with cells, and if you could produce it at scale,” Williams said.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq
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