World's Thinnest Spaghetti Created by Scientists

LONDON, UK - In a breakthrough that is as fascinating as it is fragile, scientists at University College London have successfully created the world's thinnest spaghetti by spinning white flour into fibres less than a thousandth of a millimetre thick.

The researchers, led by Professor Gareth Williams and Dr. Adam Clancy, used an innovative technique called electrospinning to produce the "nanopasta" from starch in white flour. The resulting fibres are so thin that they are equivalent to the width of a measles virus.

While the nanopasta may not be suitable for dining, its applications in medicine could revolutionise various fields. According to Williams and Clancy, the nano-fibers have great potential as bandages, bone scaffolds, and drug delivery patches due to their porous nature and ability to mimic the body's extra-cellular matrix.

"Nanofibers, such as those made of starch, show promise for use in wound dressings because they are very porous," explained Williams. "In addition, nanofibers are being explored for use as a scaffold to regrow tissue, as they mimic the extra-cellular matrix – a network of proteins and other molecules that cells build to support themselves."

The researchers chose white flour as the base material due to its abundance, renewability, and biodegradability. "Starch is a promising material to use as it is abundant and renewable," said Clancy. "But purifying starch requires lots of processing. We've shown that a simpler way to make nanofibers using flour is possible."

The electrospinning process involved spreading a mixture of water and flour through metal holes, then pulling the mixture with an electrical charge to create the nanopasta. The acid evaporates as the mixture passes through tiny pores, leaving pure starch.

The resulting nano-pasta measures only 372 nanometres in thickness, making it over 2,000 times thinner than traditional angel hair pasta. To further validate its properties, researchers plan to investigate how quickly it disintegrates and interacts with cells at a cellular level.

As scientists continue to explore the multifaceted potential of nanopasta, researchers are taking a closer look into this innovative material's potential applications in medicine and beyond.