Found: A sweet way to make everyday things almost indestructible

Science Daily  June 27, 2019
An international team of researchers (USA – University of Virginia, University of Washington, Brookhaven National Laboratory, industry, University of Minnesota, USAID, UT Austin, Colorado State University, the Netherlands, France, UK, Tanzania, Switzerland, Italy) found that organisms that live in harsh environments have a pili on the surface. Pili, which are protein filaments, normally would be very sensitive to heat, acid and enzymes, but coating it in sugars make it almost indestructible. The sugars were arranged in such a stable fashion that even acid can’t dissolve them. According to the team coating materials with the special arrangement of sugars could make durable clothing, carpet or even building materials…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE