Team discovers new method for producing large amounts of colour-changing, nature-inspired pigment in the lab
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Known for their ability to camouflage, octopuses, squids and other animals in the cephalopod family can change their skin colour to expertly blend in with their environment. These fascinating acts of mimicry are only made possible thanks to biological processes involving a natural pigment known as xanthommatin.
Because of its colour-shifting capabilities, xanthommatin has long intrigued scientists and even the military, but has proven difficult to produce and research in the lab – until now.
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In a new study, a team led by UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography has developed a new way to produce large quantities of xanthommatin pigment.
Using a bacterium, the scientists were able to produce the pigmented material at scale, opening opportunities for its use in a wide range of materials and cosmetics – from photoelectronic devices and thermal coatings to dyes and UV protectants.
The study authors said their discovery is significant, not just for understanding this unique pigment – which sheds light into the biology and chemistry of the animal kingdom – but also because the technique they used could be applied to many other chemicals, potentially helping industries move away from fossil fuel-based materials toward nature-based alternatives.
Entangled in science
It’s not just octopuses’ colour-changing compounds that are of interest to scientists. Recently, their tentacles became the model for a new type of adhesive developed by researchers. In particular, the adhesive is poised to work in wet and underwater environments, some of the most difficult for adhesives to work in.
As well as this, the eight-legged creature has had a glove – dubbed the ‘Octa-Glove’ – modelled on its body shape. The Octa-Glove is able to grip objects underwater, with small suckers attached to the end of each finger. With proximity sensors that detect how close an object is to the glove, the suckers work by mimicking the way in which real octopus muscles would work.
