Invention of the most durable material ever

Researchers developed an extremely strong and lightweight material using DNA nanotechnology, then coated it in a thin layer of glass.

The new material is the result of research by scientists at the University of Connecticut (UConn) USA and partners.

According to news site Science Daily , this new material has the potential to help improve many different things such as cars and armor. What is surprising is that it is made with two unexpected things: DNA (nucleic acid) and glass .

"Skeleton" model of the new material made of DNA and glass - (Photo: SCIENCE DAILY).

Mr. Seok-Woo Lee, a materials scientist at UConn, claims this new material is the strongest of all known materials.

Mr. Lee and colleagues from UConn, Columbia University and Brookhaven National Laboratory published their discovery in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science.

They used DNA nanotechnology. This technology involves making microscopic structures from DNA (nucleic acid). This technology was previously founded and developed by American scientist Nadrian Seeman.

According to the Greek Repoter news site , the team used self-assembling DNA to create the structure. It's similar to the way children's Magna-Tiles magnetic puzzles work, in which specific DNA segments with specific lengths and chemical properties naturally combine together.

Once they had the DNA "skeleton", the researchers coated it with Silica. Silica, also known as silicon dioxide , is a chemical compound with high hardness and does not exist in single form, but is bonded together into very large molecules. Pure silica is a type of glass.

The Silica coating is only a few hundred atoms thick. It only covers the surface of the DNA strands, but the inside is empty similar to empty rooms in a house. However, it is these internal voids that make the new material quite light.

The team's choice to use glass as the new material was surprising because glass is known to be fragile. However, the reason why tempered glass is fragile is often due to flaws in its structure, such as cracks, scratches, or missing atoms.

When glass is flawless, it becomes extremely strong. In fact, a cubic centimeter of perfect glass can withstand extremely high pressure, up to tens of tons.