New spaghetti 200 times thinner than a hair could save lives

The new spaghetti could be a promising alternative to the starch-based nanofibers that are used in medical bandages.

Researchers at University College London (UCL) have created ultra-thin spaghetti, with just 372 nanometers in diameter – about 200 times thinner than a human hair.

This discovery, described in a published in the journal Nanoscale Advancesis not a culinary marvel, but a promising development of nanotechnology with applications in medicine and industry.

Nanofibers, manufactured from common flour, offer an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional nanofiber production, which is based on purified starch. Flour, abundant and sustainable, reduces water and energy consumption normally associated with the extraction and processing of starch, writes .

Employing electrospinning – a process that uses electrical charges to pull strands of liquid and flour through a needle – the researchers formed a mat of nanofibers just two centimeters wide.

Adam Clancy, from UCL Chemistry, explained: “To make spaghetti, you push a mixture of water and flour through metal holes. In our study, we pulled our flour mixture through an electrical charge. It’s literally spaghetti, but much smaller”.

These starch-based nanofibers are very promising. Their highly porous structure makes them ideal for wound healing bandagesallowing moisture to pass through and blocking bacteria. Furthermore, they can serve as supports for tissue regeneration, imitating the extracellular matrix that supports cells, or as transporters for drug administration.

“It is abundant, renewable and biodegradable, which makes it a promising material. However, the next step is to investigate its properties – how it interacts with cells, its disintegration rate and scalability,” explains co-author Gareth Williams, from the UCL School of Pharmacy.

The production of nanofibers from flour has not been without obstacles. Unlike pure starch, flour impuritiessuch as proteins and cellulose, increased the viscosity of the mixture, complicating the fiber formation process. To overcome this problem, researchers used formic acid, which breaks down starch helices into nanofiber building blocks. Careful heating and cooling ensured the mixture reached the correct consistency.

The researchers highlight the importance of this method in reducing environmental impact, while exploring the unique properties of nanofibers flour based.

This innovative approach shows how simple ingredients, combined with cutting-edge technology, can pave the way for sustainable advances in healthcare and materials science.