Researchers from Singapore managed to crack the structure of the squid's teeth, which are very strong but also impressively flexible. According to the researchers, an imitation of this material could be used in various applications, from the medical world to environmentally friendly packaging.
By: Dafna Haim-Langford
The squid is a fascinating marine predator, with various marvelous systems. In addition to having three hearts, a highly developed nervous system and an impressive visual system, the squid hunts by tearing the flesh of its prey with its highly developed hunting arms.
Ali Miserez and a team of researchers from Singapore managed to crack the structure of squid teeth, which are very strong but also impressively flexible. According to the researchers, an imitation of this material could be used in various applications, from the medical world to environmentally friendly packaging.
The squid's hunting arms are equipped with hundreds of suction cups along their length. Each suction cup functions as a ring of knife-sharp teeth, which help this powerful predator to grab its prey and subdue it. In a study published in the scientific journal ACS Nano, the researchers report that the protein that makes up these teeth can be used as the basis for a strong but malleable material that could one day be used in reconstructive surgery, environmentally friendly packaging and many other applications.
Ali Miserez and his colleagues explain how they discovered in their previous research that the sharp and tough teeth of the squid are composed of only protein. This discovery distinguishes squid teeth from many natural polymers and hard tissues such as bones, which consist of proteins combined with various minerals and other substances to create the necessary degree of difficulty. So far, the team has managed to decipher the genetic code of one of the proteins, and found that this particular protein has the ability to fold into different shapes.
In their new study, another 37 proteins were found from two species of squid. The team determined the properties of the proteins, including the way the structure was created. It turns out that the spider's webs, known for their level of strength, have a similar structure.
Similar to the spider's webs, there are also applications for imitating the proteins of the squid's teeth in many and varied fields, and it may even be simpler to create them using laboratory methods, than the spider's webs. The researchers believe that the material based on the squid teeth can be used for medical applications as artificial tendons, as an auxiliary structure for bone growth, as well as for environmentally friendly products in various fields, such as packaging that will serve as a substitute for similar products, which are currently produced on the basis of fossil fuels.
