Starch nosefibers break the record for the most thin pasta in the world

The world record for the thinner pasta has been destroyed, though young, narrow pies are more suitable for wound clothing than for the dinner table.

From white flour, researchers make nanfibers rich in starch that are on average about 370 thick nanometers – or about two hundred the thickness of a human hair. Nano-Pets can be used in biodegradable compresses, reported chemist Adam Clan and his colleagues on October 30. Nano scale advances.

To make the “dough” of the foil, scientists mix flour with formic acid, a liquid that helps break down the long starch molecules in the flour. “Normally, if you want to cook starch, then use water and heat to break the narrow packaging of starch,” says Clancy, from University College London. “We do this chemically with formic acid. So we effectively pickle it instead of cooking it. ”

The researchers carefully warmed the dough to give the right consistency. Then, through a technique called electrotion, they used an electric load to pull the mixture through a needle and on a plate a few inches away (Sn: 4/4/06). The starch molecules are confused with each other as they leave the needle, forming a continuous plane. As the plane flies through the air, the formic acid evaporates, leaving behind a thin thread. After about 30 seconds, the fiber forms a thin layer on the plate.

Measures made of starch nanfibers usually have pores that are large enough to allow water molecules to pass, but very small for the bacteria to enter, making them attractive options for wound bandages and clothing. Previous research has done spinning mattresses with electronics from pure starch, but the process of extracting this starch from the plant requires energy and water. The new study shows that extraction is not strictly necessary.

“If you use it for compresses, it doesn’t matter that there is cellulose and protein,” Clancy says.

Since the fibers are made of dried flour, they can be classified as pasta. This makes those the most thin pasta registered – approximately one thousand of the width of Su Filindu, a kind of pasta about half the width of angels’ hair foil that is made exclusively by only one family in the city of Nuoro, Italy .

But is Clancy’s nanopasta edible? “I certainly hope so,” he says.