Watch clothing rips heal themselves right before your eyes

Could there one day be clothing that naturally heals itself, eliminating the need for sewing needles or disposal? Scientists from Penn State University certainly think so.

The new solution, which has just been reported in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces  involves a fabric coating made of squid proteins that allows rips in cotton, linen and wool to essentially “heal” themselves.

Damage to a variety of surfaces, which are not limited to clothing, but could also include biomedical implants limit a product’s usefulness. For years scientists have been working on self-repairing films that could be placed onto products to boost their lifetimes. One approach has been to coat surfaces with multiple layers of polyelectrolytes of opposite charges. When thee layers are scratched, the molecules diffuse through the film toward the defect and repair it, with some help from water or a dilute saline solution. While these kinds of existing coatings can work quickly, they are limited. For example, some types are prone to cracks in warm, dry conditions.

Walter J. Dressick, Melik C. Demirel and their team members from the Penn State wanted to find a better solution.

The researchers incorporated proteins from squid ring teeth in their coating. These proteins are tough and elastic under both wet and dry conditions. When pressed together in water, cut pieces of cloth that had been dipped in the new coating reattached.

Potential applications for this self-healing material include clothing, and even a “second skin” barrier that would protect soldiers from chemical and biological warfare agents.

These chemically protective suits made of fabric coated in the self-healing, thin films could also prevent farmers from exposure to organophosphate pesticides and factory workers from accidental releases of toxic materials, according to the team.

“Fashion designers use natural fibers made of proteins like wool or silk that are expensive and they are not self-healing,” said Melik C. Demirel, professor of engineering science and mechanics. “We were looking for a way to make fabrics self-healing using conventional textiles. So we came up with this coating technology.”

Watch the healing in action in the scientists’ video below.

Story via Penn State and American Chemical Society.