This discovery could lead to the development of new and safe organic whitening materials for the production of house paints, food, cosmetics, and more, replacing inorganic substances that are harmful to health.
Cleaner Shrimp.
On May 30, Ben Gurion University (Israel) announced that an international research team has discovered a new substance in the cleaner shrimp that has the ability to produce one of the brightest whites found in nature today.
The research published in the journal Nature Photonics details how researchers from Israel, China, the UK, and India conducted experiments on the white bands of the cleaner shrimp.
These bands are part of the epidermis and appendages that the shrimp use to attract other fish, which they then clean by consuming parasites residing on the fish’s body.
The study indicates that these ultra-thin white bands are composed of densely packed molecular particles known as isoxanthopterin. Although the thickness is less than 0.005 mm, scientists consider this to be one of the brightest, thinnest, and most effective whitening materials.
This discovery could pave the way for the development of new and safe organic whitening materials for the production of house paints, food, cosmetics, and more, replacing inorganic whitening agents that are typically harmful to health, such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide.
