New technology turns inedible seaweed into medical material

A Japanese research team recently reported that they used algae with little edible value to produce polylactic acid, a plastic material that can be used as medical materials Polylactic acid will degrade naturally in human body and soil, and be used to produce suture for operation After operation, the suture does not need to be removed, and it will not cause rejection reaction if it is left in the body Before, PLA had been synthesized from corn and other grains, and the price of raw materials was not stable If this new technology developed by Hokkaido Li Industrial Technology Center and Tokyo University of technology can be applied, it will solve this problem The team added enzymes and lactic acid bacteria to useless seaweeds such as Ulva and kunbu to make lactic acid, which was then catalysed into polylactic acid It can be used as medical material to refine and synthesize PLA, remove catalyst and improve purity At present, Hokkaido Li Industrial Technology Center is testing new technologies to improve purity If successful, the cost of producing PLA will be lower than that of using grain as raw material The abnormal outbreak of Ulva can lead to environmental problems, while the small kunbu and other harmful to kelp culture, must be removed regularly These useless seaweeds contain salt, which should be removed before treatment, so the treatment cost is very high, and new technology is expected to turn waste into treasure.