Logos to Go: Hydrogel coatings provide removable color
A biodegradable coating could add a temporary splash of color to sports fields, buildings, or even people’s bodies. This is the first example of a removable color coating made from environmentally benign ingredients, its inventors say.
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Cornell University’s D. Tyler McQuade usually works on chemical-reaction systems that mimic those of cells. Last year, he and his colleagues began examining calcium alginate as a component of such a system. Alginate is a polysaccharide extracted from kelp that, with the addition of calcium, forms a hydrogel used to thicken food and encapsulate drugs.