Plastic from sugar and carbon dioxide

A team at the University of Bath has developed a plastic that can be made from a readily available DNA component, thymidine, found in all living cells. It contains a simple sugar used in the synthesis of a substance - deoxyribose. The second raw material is carbon dioxide.

The result is a material with very interesting properties. Like traditional polycarbonate, it is durable, scratch-resistant and transparent. Thus, you can use it, for example, to make bottles or containers, just like ordinary plastic.

The material has another advantage - it can be broken down by enzymes produced by bacteria living in the soil. This means very easy and environmentally friendly recycling. The authors of the new production method are also testing other types of sugar that can turn into environmentally friendly plastic.