News- The team of scientists in the center\u2019s biotechnology research and development lab, Florida, was issued a 20-year patent for a 3D printable material made of a marine-biodegradable base polymer which is easy to build from and would break down over time
\nThe use of unmanned or autonomous underwater vehicles (UUVs) to house and deploy oceanic sensors may be made to be single-use (disposable) or to last a certain amount of time before ceasing to function. Retrieval from the ocean floor can be costly or impossible, so in some cases they may be abandoned\u2014a less than an eco-friendly solution
\nBut the new material, invented by Josh Kogot, Ryan Kincer, and April Hirsch in the center\u2019s biotechnology research and development lab, and buoyed by the patent issued, offers a unique solution
\nBy tweaking a combination of polymers including polycaprolactone (PCL), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), or polybutylene succinate (PBS), along with an agar gelling agent, the material can be 3D printed into any size or shape and made to last a specific amount of time before degrading
\nThere is currently no known way to design and produce these structures so that their rate of degradation can be controlled. There is an unmet need to produce marine biodegradable 3D printable structures for which the rate of degradation of each structure can be selected for a particular mission
\nBy incorporating biological materials, like the synthetic hagfish slime the same lab invented, the process of biodegradation of the carrier vehicle structure is accomplished by microorganisms or enzymes feed on the biodegradable polymers that comprise the structure<\/p>\n
Not only can you 3D print this material into just about anything, but to finely control the rate at which it degrades is really useful,\u201d Metzger said. \u201cThis technology has the potential to cut costs and benefit the environment, it could have many military and commercial applications for all types of underwater equipment<\/p>\n
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