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A new biodegradable material to replace certain microplastics
MIT researchers developed biodegradable materials that could replace the plastic microbeads now used in beauty products. The materials could also be used to encapsulate nutrients for food fortification.
But it’s equally important to look ahead and focus on creating materials that won’t generate microplastics in the first place,” says Ana Jaklenec, a principal investigator at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. After creating five different candidate materials, the MIT team tested them and identified one that appeared to have the optimal composition for microplastic applications, including the ability to dissolve when exposed to acidic environments such as the stomach. With a grant from Estée Lauder, the researchers are now working on further testing the microbeads as a cleanser and potentially other applications, and they plan to run a small human trial later this year.
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