Forward-looking: A team of researchers from Northwestern University set out to put melanin’s many talents to work against nerve agents, a class of dangerous organic chemicals. The newly conceived compound takes its cues from nature and could offer an effective “antidote” to one of the most troublesome legacies of World War II.
The researchers developed a melanin-inspired nanotechnology designed to protect people who work around nerve agents and other hazardous chemicals of the same type. This “allomelanin” compound offers many of the same benefits as natural melanin and should be easy to embed in a variety of fibers as a dye.
The nanotech is described in a study recently published in the journal ACS Nano. The study details a “catalytic porous metallized melanin for the remediation of organophosphorus agents.”
Organophosphorus chemicals form the base of nerve agents and other dangerous compounds. As the CDC explains, nerve agents – or nerve gases – are chemicals designed to disrupt the signals traveling through the nervous system. They act as poisons and can damage a person’s nervous system to the point that they can no longer control the heart’s muscles or their breathing.
Originally developed as powerful pesticides, nerve agents were stockpiled during the Second World War and have been used in conflicts ever since. Known nerve agents include sarin, cyclosarin, tabun, and the Russian VX variant (VR), among others.
In the new study, the Northwestern researchers sought to mimic nature’s mechanisms for disrupting, and ultimately breaking down, the organophosphorus chemicals used in nerve agents. Melanin emerged as a natural candidate because it is porous enough to absorb the poisonous compounds.
The team added a zirconium-based cluster to the naturally porous material. The allomelanin absorbs the toxic chemicals, while the zirconium destroys them. The allomelanin is renewable, biodegradable, and can be embedded as a pigment in tactical apparel or in gloves used by farmers.
The scientists explained that allomelanin nanoparticles can thwart nerve agents by reducing both the amount and the potency of the toxic compounds. The engineered pigment cut the toxic byproduct by 50% within 10 minutes.
Just like natural melanin, allomelanin becomes even more efficient at breaking down the compounds when sunlight comes into play.
According to Nathan Gianneschi, a corresponding author of the study, his group has worked on melanin and its natural capabilities for more than 12 years. As the new nanotechnology shows, the bio-pigment still has lessons to offer for next-generation nanotech applications.
