Solutions: how adaptive changes in cellular fluids enable marine life to cope with abiotic stressors

Peer-Reviewed Publication

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IMAGE: THE EFFECTS OF TMAO AND UREA ON THE RATE OF LABELING OF SULFHYDRYL GROUPS OF GLUTAMATE DEHYDROGENASE BY THE REAGENT 4-CHLORO-7-NITROBENZOFURAZAN (NBF-CL). CONTROL MIXTURES HAD NEITHER TMAO NOR UREA. THE STRUCTURES OF TMAO AND UREA ARE SHOWN TO THE RIGHT OF THE GRAPH. (FIGURE REDRAWN AFTER YANCEY PH, SOMERO GN (1979) COUNTERACTION OF UREA DESTABILIZATION OF PROTEIN STRUCTURE BY METHYLAMINE OSMOREGULATORY COMPOUNDS OF ELASMOBRANCH FISHES. BIOCHEM J 182:317–323) view more 

CREDIT: MLST

https://doi.org/10.1007/s42995-022-00140-3

Announcing a new publication for Marine Life Science & Technology journal. In this review article Professor George Somero, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, CA, USA considers a series of adaptive changes in cellular fluids that help to enable marine organisms to cope with abiotic stresses.

A set of abiotic stressors pose multiple challenges to marine life due to their widespread influence on all classes of biochemical systems. Variations in temperature, hydrostatic pressure, and salinity have potential to disrupt structures and functions of all molecular systems on which life depends. In this article, Professor Somero focuses largely on one class of stressor effects that challenges the performance of all types of large molecular systems: proteins, nucleic acids and lipoprotein membranes. The perturbing effects of these stressors at the biochemical level often result from their potential to disrupt the fine balance that is needed between stability and flexibility of the higher-order structures of these large molecular systems, which are stabilized largely by non-covalent (weak) chemical bonds like hydrogen bonds, ionic interactions, and hydrophobic effects. Importantly, all macromolecular systems of a cell must strike this balance between flexibility and stability if an organism's physiology is to function optimally.

This physiologically important balance between stability and flexibility of structure in large molecular systems is achieved in two principal manners. First, during evolution, the abiotic conditions that an organism faces lead to genetically based adaptations in the conformational stabilities of proteins and certain types of nucleic acids, and differences in lipid compositions. These intrinsic adaptations denote that they are encoded in the genome of the organism. Second, complementing these intrinsic, sequence-based adaptations in macromolecular structure are alterations in the chemical compositions–the “micromolecular contents”–of biological solutions that bathe macromolecules and influence their stabilities and functions. Small organic solutes—organic osmolytes—play central roles in these adaptive responses. These extrinsic adaptations due to osmolytes facilitate the retention of the evolved differences in macromolecular stability under different environmental conditions.

The article develops a parallel analysis between adaptive responses to two important physical stressors of the oceans, temperature and hydrostatic pressure. For both stressors, intrinsic and extrinsic adaptive changes are vitally important. The analysis focuses on the following two questions to discuss the adaptive changes in osmolyte systems. First, does the macromolecular stabilizing power of the intracellular osmolyte pool vary with evolutionary adaptation temperature (or pressure) and with the recent thermal (or pressure) exposure of the organisms (acclimatization effects)? Second, in modulating the stabilizing power of the osmolyte pool, do adaptive changes involve alterations in the types of osmolytes used, changes in their absolute or relative concentrations, or a combination of both of these strategies?

The range of environmental tolerance of a species may depend on how effectively the osmolyte composition of its cellular fluid can be altered in the face of stress. The study draws the following four main conclusions: First, in most marine organisms, organic osmolytes can maintain (or restore) the optimal balance of macromolecular rigidity and flexibility, which is a biological key to the optimal function of macromolecules. Second, adaptive changes in the composition and concentration of the osmolyte pool may have effects on macromolecules and biofilm systems and play an important role in establishing the optimal environmental tolerance of organisms. Third, stabilizing osmolytes vary greatly in how effectively they enhance the stability of macromolecules. Fourth, the ability of osmolyte systems to fine-tune the stabilization potential of cellular fluids in the face of body temperature (or pressure) changes that occur over different time periods may help organisms withstand effects of environmental change, notably the changes in temperature occurring due to global warming.

This article not only offers marine biologists important new information on how marine life adapts to the abiotic stressors of the sea, but these investigations also teach physical biochemists critical things about the physics of water-solute interactions and, for the technologically minded, suggest new strategies for developing solutions that aid in the stabilization and preservation of biological materials.

Article reference: Somero, G.N. Solutions: how adaptive changes in cellular fluids enable marine life to cope with abiotic stressors. Mar Life Sci Technol (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42995-022-00140-3

 

Keywords: Adaptation, Crowding, Extremophiles, Hydrostatic pressure, Osmolytes, Temperature

CAPTION

Fig. 2 Efficacies of differently methylated forms of glycine in offsetting salt-induced inhibition (300 mol/L NaCl) of an enzyme (malate dehydrogenase from barley). Activation rises as additional methyl groups are added. (Figure redrawn after Pollard A, Wynn-Jones RG (1979) Enzyme activities in concentrated solutions of glycinebetaine and other solutes. Planta 144:291–298)

CAPTION

Fig. 3 The efficacies of different organic osmolytes in stabilizing the structures of malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and staphylococcal nuclease (SNase). Osmolyte concentrations were 0.5 mol/L except for GGG, which was 0.4 mol/L. Chemical structures of the extremolytes, MG (mannosylglycerate), GG (glucosylglycerate), DIP (di-myo-inositol 1-3’phosphate) and GGG (α(1,6)glucosyl-α(1,2) glucosylglycerate) are shown to right of the graph. (Figure modified after Lamosa PM, Rodrigues V, Gonçalves LG, Carr J, Ventura R, Maycock C, Raven ND, Santos H (2013) Organic solutes in the deepest phylogenetic branches of the Bacteria: identification of α(1–6)glycosyl-α(1–2)glucosylglycerate in Persephonella marina. Extremophiles 17:137–146)

CREDIT

MLST

Marine Life Science & Technology (MLST) provides a platform that introduces new discoveries and theories associated with marine organisms, bioresources, and biotechnology. The journal is intended for marine scientists, biological oceanographers, conservation biologists, marine technologists, policy makers and legislators. Accordingly, we publish original research papers across a broad range of marine life sciences and technologies with an emphasis on synergistic interactions of multiple disciplines. Both theoretical and practical papers are welcome, including laboratory and field experimental studies relevant to marine life science and technology. Focused reviews, viewpoints, comments, and short communications are also accepted. As the journal’s aim is to foster multidisciplinary approaches to marine sciences, authors are encouraged to emphasise the relevance of their work in relation across the journals key-disciplines.

For more information, please visit https://www.springer.com/journal/42995/

 

Editorial Board: https://www.springer.com/journal/42995/editors

 

MLST is available on SpringerLink (https://link.springer.com/journal/42995/volumes-and-issues).

 

Submissions to MLST may be made using ScholarOne ManuscriptsTM (https://mc03.manuscriptcentral.com/mlst).

 

 

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DOI

10.1007/s42995-022-00140-3 

 

Chicken bones and snail shells help archaeologists to date more precisely

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CLUSTER OF EXCELLENCE "RELIGION AND POLITICS"

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IMAGE: PROF. DR. ACHIM LICHTENBERGER view more 

CREDIT: WWU, UNIVERSITY OF MUENSTER

According to new research, the combined analysis of animal and plant remains, as well as written evidence, is leading to more precise dating of archaeological finds. “We can now often determine not only the year, but also the season. This allows us to reconstruct the events that produced the finds much more precisely”, says archaeologist Prof. Dr. Achim Lichtenberger from the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” at the University of Münster. “The destruction of the Greek town Tell Iẓṭabba in present-day Israel by a military campaign waged by the Hasmoneans, a Judean ruling dynasty in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, has so far been dated to between 111 and 107 BC”, says Lichtenberger. “More recent research dates it to 108/107 BC, based on coin finds and the siege of the city of Samaria at the same time. Now, using our multi-proxy approach that makes use of several analytical methods, we can for the first time date the events with certainty to the spring of 107 BC”.

“We came across chicken leg bones in the dwellings destroyed by the Hasmoneans. Analyzing them revealed residues containing marrow that served to produce eggshells during the laying season in spring. This indicates that the chickens were slaughtered in spring”, explain Achim Lichtenberger and his colleague Prof. Oren Tal from the University of Tel Aviv. “We also discovered the shells of field snails, which were often eaten at this time of year”. Botanical examinations of the remnants of flowers on the floors of the dwellings reveal that these plants flowered in spring. Analysis of the objects is always accompanied by analysis of written evidence: “The contemporary Hebrew scroll of Megillat Ta’anit about the Hasmonean conquest, also known as the Scripture of the Fast, reports the expulsion of the inhabitants in the Hebrew month of Sivan, which corresponds to our May/June”.

“Only the multiplicity of analytical methods makes precise statements possible”

“From an archaeological point of view, this makes spring the season of destruction”, says Lichtenberger, which underlines previous findings on Hellenistic warfare, as military offensives usually took place in spring and early summer. “The individual data taken on their own would not justify determining such a clear chronology”, emphasizes Lichtenberger, who, together with his colleague Oren Tal and an interdisciplinary team comprising natural scientists, is leading a research project on the archaeology of the Hellenistic settlement Tell Iẓṭabba, in ancient Nysa-Scythopolis, an ancient conurbation in the ancient Near East. “Only by taking an overall view of the results from all analytical methods can we provide more precise information about the time of the destruction of Tell Iẓṭabba, and thus about the course of the Hasmonean campaign”. The finds must therefore be interpreted in the light of the seasons. (apo/sca)

CAPTION

Excavation Tell Iztabba

CREDIT

German-Israeli Tell Iztabba Excavation Project

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JOURNAL

Antiquity

DOI

10.15184/aqy.2022.92 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

For everything there is a season: more than a year of destruction at Seleucid Tell Iẓṭabba (Israel)

New photocatalyst boosts water splitting efficiency for clean hydrogen production

Peer-Reviewed Publication

TOKYO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

 

IMAGE: THE OXYGEN EVOLUTION CATALYST EFFICIENTLY REDUCES THE CONCENTRATION OF THE I3- IONS AND CHANGES TO THE HYDROGEN EVOLUTION CATALYST PREVENT ELECTRON BACK TRANSFERS (DOTTED RED LINES) AND PRIORITIZE ELECTRON TRANSFER TO PRODUCE HYDROGEN (SOLID BLACK LINES) view more 

CREDIT: KAZUHIKO MAEDA FROM TOKYO TECH

In a first, a dye-sensitized photocatalyst that facilitates the most efficient solar water splitting activity recorded to date (for similar catalysts) has been optimized by researchers from Tokyo Tech. Their surface-modified, dye-sensitized nanosheet catalyst shows immense potential, as it can suppress undesirable back electron transfer and improve water splitting activity up to a hundred times!

One of the simplest ways by which water molecules can be split into hydrogen is by using photocatalysts. These materials, which are semiconductors that can absorb light and carry out water-splitting reactions simultaneously, provide a simple setup for the mass production of hydrogen. Semiconductors can generate an electron-hole pair for the water splitting reaction; however, since the charge carriers tend to recombine, a “Z-scheme” photocatalytic system involving two semiconductor materials and an electron mediator has been developed to suppress this.

In this setup, the electron mediator, which is typically a reversible electron acceptor/donor pairs (such as I3-/I-), accepts electrons from one of the photocatalysts and donates them to the other. This separates the charge carriers between the semiconductors. Despite eliminating the charge recombination within the semiconductor, the electron-accepting species (I3-) competes with the hydrogen photocatalyst for electrons, resulting in poor solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion efficiencies.

To improve hydrogen production, a team of international researchers, including Specially Appointed Assistant Professor Shunta Nishioka and Professor Kazuhiko Maeda from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) has been working on ways to prevent the unintended electron transfer. On experimenting with ruthenium (Ru) dye-sensitized niobate photocatalysts (Ru/Pt/HCa2Nb3O10), the researchers noticed that hydrogen production increases significantly at low I3- concentrations. These findings led them to develop an efficient water splitting system that consists of an oxygen evolution photocatalyst and a modified Ru dye-sensitized niobate nanosheet that functions as a better hydrogen evolution photocatalyst. “We have successfully improved the efficiency of a Z-scheme overall water splitting system by using a surface-modified dye-sensitized nanosheet photocatalyst,” says Prof. Maeda. The results of their study have been published in the journal Science Advances.

To keep the I3- concentration in the reaction system low, a PtOx/H-Cs-WO3 photocatalyst is used as the oxygen evolution catalyst. At the same time, Al2O3 and poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS) is added to suppress the back electron transfer from the semiconductor to the oxidized Ru complex and the I3- ion, respectively. This design enables more electrons to participate in the hydrogen evolution reaction, resulting in the most efficient Z-scheme water splitting system to date (Figure 1). “The surface modification of the dye-sensitized nanosheet photocatalyst improved the solar water splitting activity by nearly 100 times, making it comparable to conventional semiconductor-based photocatalyst systems,” says Prof. Maeda.

With the back electron transfer suppressed, the developed photocatalyst could also maintain hydrogen production at low light levels, giving it an edge over other photocatalysts that require high light intensities. Moreover, by minimizing the impact of the back electron transfer reactions, the researchers have not only set a new benchmark for dye-sensitized photocatalysts for Z-scheme water splitting, but also laid the framework to improve other dye-sensitized systems that are used for other important reactions such as CO2 reduction.

CAPTION

Surface modification with an insulator and an anionic polymer improved water splitting activity up to a hundred times. This illustration was selected as a featured image in Science Advances.

CREDIT

Science Advances

About Tokyo Institute of Technology

Tokyo Tech stands at the forefront of research and higher education as the leading university for science and technology in Japan. Tokyo Tech researchers excel in fields ranging from materials science to biology, computer science, and physics. Founded in 1881, Tokyo Tech hosts over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students per year, who develop into scientific leaders and some of the most sought-after engineers in industry. Embodying the Japanese philosophy of “monotsukuri,” meaning “technical ingenuity and innovation,” the Tokyo Tech community strives to contribute to society through high-impact research.

https://www.titech.ac.jp/english/

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JOURNAL

Science Advances

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Surface-Modified, Dye-Sensitized Niobate Nanosheets Enabling an Efficient Solar-Driven Z-Scheme for Overall Water Splitting

New evidence shows water separates into two different liquids at low temperatures

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM

Fresh evidence that water can change from one form of liquid into another, denser liquid, has been uncovered by researchers at the University of Birmingham and Sapienza Università di Roma.

This ‘phase transition’ in water was first proposed 30 years ago in a study by researchers from Boston University. Because the transition has been predicted to occur at supercooled conditions, however, confirming its existence has been a challenge. That’s because at these low temperatures, water really does not want to be a liquid, instead it wants to rapidly become ice. Because of its hidden status, much is still unknown about this liquid-liquid phase transition, unlike about everyday examples of phase transitions in water between a solid or vapour phase and a liquid phase.

This new evidence, published in Nature Physics, represents a significant step forward in confirming the idea of a liquid-liquid phase transition first proposed in 1992. Francesco Sciortino, now a professor at Sapienza Università di Roma, was a member of the original research team at Boston University and is also a co-author of this paper.

The team has used computer simulations to help explain what features distinguish the two liquids at the microscopic level. They found that the water molecules in the high-density liquid form arrangements that are considered to be “topologically complex”, such as a trefoil knot (think of the molecules arranged in such a way that they resemble a pretzel) or a Hopf link (think of two links in a steel chain). The molecules in the high-density liquid are thus said to be entangled. 

In contrast, the molecules in the low-density liquid mostly form simple rings, and hence the molecules in the low-density liquid are unentangled.

Andreas Neophytou, a PhD student at the University of Birmingham with Dr Dwaipayan Chakrabarti, is lead author on the paper. He says: “This insight has provided us with a completely fresh take on what is now a 30-year old research problem, and will hopefully be just the beginning.”

The researchers used a colloidal model of water in their simulation, and then two widely used molecular models of water. Colloids are particles that can be a thousand times larger than a single water molecule. By virtue of their relatively bigger size, and hence slower movements, colloids are used to observe and understand physical phenomena that also occur at the much smaller atomic and molecular length scales.

Dr Chakrabarti, a co-author, says: “This colloidal model of water provides a magnifying glass into molecular water, and enables us to unravel the secrets of water concerning the tale of two liquids.”

Professor Sciortino says: “In this work, we propose, for the first time, a view of the liquid-liquid phase transition based on network entanglement ideas. I am sure this work will inspire novel theoretical modelling based on topological concepts.”

The team expect that the model they have devised will pave the way for new experiments that will validate the theory and extend the concept of ‘entangled’ liquids to other liquids such as silicon.

Pablo Debenedetti, a professor of chemical and biological engineering at Princeton University in the US and a world-leading expert in this area of research, remarks: “This beautiful computational work uncovers the topological basis underlying the existence of different liquid phases in the same network-forming substance.” He adds: “In so doing, it substantially enriches and deepens our understanding of a phenomenon that abundant experimental and computational evidence increasingly suggests is central to the physics of that most important of liquids: water.”

Christian Micheletti, a professor at International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy, whose current research interest lies in understanding the impact of entanglement, especially knots and links, on the static, kinetics and functionality of biopolymers, remarks: “With this single paper, Neophytou et al. made several breakthroughs that will be consequential across diverse scientific areas. First, their elegant and experimentally amenable colloidal model for water opens entirely new perspectives for large-scale studies of liquids. Beyond this, they give very strong evidence that phase transitions that may be elusive to traditional analysis of the local structure of liquids are instead readily picked up by tracking the knots and links in the bond network of the liquid. The idea of searching for such intricacies in the somewhat abstract space of pathways running along transient molecular bonds is a very powerful one, and I expect it will be widely adopted to study complex molecular systems.”

Sciortino adds: “Water, one after the other, reveals its secrets! Dream how beautiful it would be if we could look inside the liquid and observe the dancing of the water molecules, the way they flicker, and the way they exchange partners, restructuring the hydrogen bond network.  The realisation of the colloidal model for water we propose can make this dream come true.”

The research was supported by the Royal Society via International Exchanges Award, which enabled the international collaboration between the researchers in the UK and Italy, the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Topological Design and the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Birmingham, and the Italian Ministero Istruzione Università Ricerca – Progetti di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale.

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JOURNAL

Nature Physics

DOI

10.1038/s41567-022-01698-6 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

NTU scientists invent invisible coating to make wood “fireproof”

Business Announcement

NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: (FROM RIGHT) NTU ASSOC PROF ARAVIND DASARI, NTU PHD GRADUATE DR SHEIK ANEES AND PHD STUDENT DEAN SEAH. ASSOC PROF ARAVIND IS HOLDING A COATED PIECE OF LAMINATED TIMBER WHILE DR ANEES AND MR SEAH ARE HOLDING NON-COATED TIMBER. view more 

CREDIT: NTU SINGAPORE

An invisible coating that can “fireproof” wood has been invented by scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore).

With the popularity of mass engineered timber growing in the construction industry, one of the biggest challenges for wood is its flammability. When untreated, wood or timber can burn and combust easily.

For instance, in the Great Fire of London of 1666, a large part of central London was burnt down as timber constituted a major part in construction of buildings. Today, most buildings are built using a combination of steel, concrete and glass, all of which are relatively less susceptible to fire.

Over the last decade, mass engineered timber is gaining popularity due to lower costs and faster construction, which sees productivity gains of up to 35 per cent. If the wood is harvested from sustainably managed forests, it also has a lower carbon footprint when compared to steel or concrete buildings.

Current practices to protect the interior of wooden buildings from fires require the use of fire-retardant panels (typically, gypsum and magnesia boards) or the timber has to be coated with paint-like fire-retardant coatings, both of which conceals the natural wood grain of timber.

In comparison, the new invisible coating developed by NTU allows for natural beauty of timber to shine and yet can still provide a flame barrier when "activated” by fire.

Invented by a team led by Associate Professor Aravind Dasari from the NTU School of Materials Science and Engineering, this fireproof coating is just 0.075 millimetres thick and is highly transparent, making it invisible to the naked eye.

When heated up by a hot flame, a series of complex chemical reactions happens, causing the coating to become a char that expands to more than 30 times its original thickness. This char prevents the fire from combusting the wood underneath, as shown in an accredited lab test.[1]

“Most timber or wooden panels only have a transparent coat that protects them from moisture, weather corrosion, termites or pests, and are not designed to withstand high heat. Thus, timber can still burn very quickly, especially if it is unprotected,” explained Assoc Prof Dasari, an expert in fire-retardant materials.

“In our coating, we used technology to lock certain compounds and interact with the resin. They will actively participate in the chemical reactions in a systematic manner when exposed to high heat, thus leading to the formation of char. This char was engineered to be extremely heat-resistant, insulating the wood underneath from the high heat.”

The innovation has a technology disclosure filed through NTUitive, NTU’s innovation and enterprise company, and the commercialisation project was funded S$250,000 through the NTUitive Gap Fund.

NTU Vice President (Innovation and Entrepreneurship) Professor Louis Phee, described this innovation as a revolutionary step forward for the timber construction industry.

“Leveraging on NTU’s strengths in materials sciences and engineering, this is an example of how fundamental research can be translated into commercial applications with high impact, given that the invisible coating enhances both safety and aesthetics in timber construction with few to no drawbacks,” Prof Phee said.

“Innovations like this are what NTU can offer to industry players who are keen to work with us to license, commercialise and adapt technologies that can be used to create unique products that will ensure competitiveness for Singapore in the global market.”

The NTU team is now in licensing talks with different companies. Venturer Timberwork is actively exploring the usage of this innovative coating to protect their mass engineered timber elements in one of their current projects.

Bolstering engineered timber’s resistance to fire is critical to expanding the uptake of this technology across more of the built environment, says Mr Kevin Hill, Venturer’s Managing Director.

“At Venturer, like other stakeholders in the Mass timber construction sector, we believe more new projects will look at using this new coating technology if fire resistance can be improved. It has the potential to reduce cost and reliance on other more expensive solutions, such as using thicker timber to increase charring layers, or by encapsulating the timber with fireboards, which negates the beauty of this sustainable and productive building technology.”

This new coating is expected to be in high demand by the construction industry, as timber buildings need to meet specific fire codes for buildings set by regulators.

There are only a few products that can provide both transparency and fire retardance that are available in the market. Products which claim to have both properties currently are either extremely prohibitive in cost or are unable to pass international standards required for industrial use.

In industry-standard tests, such as the Single Burning Item[2] tests conducted at a third-party accreditation laboratory, the made-in-NTU coating achieved the highest class possible. When exposed to a high-temperature flame, the coating generated very little smoke and is able to prevent the flames from spreading.

When the char is scraped off, the wood underneath is still intact, proving the efficiency of the coating to protect the wood.

This is important as in a case of a fire, construction materials need to be fire retardant and relatively smoke-free to allow for the safe evacuation of occupants in a building.

The global fire-resistant coating industry is also expected to grow to US$1.06 billion market by 2029[3], in a recent report by Exactitude Consultancy.

Moving forward, Assoc Prof Aravind will look to work with industry partners to test the effectiveness and longevity of the coating.

***END***

CAPTION

Uncoated timber burns and cracks when exposed to fire while coated timber (right) has a layer of char that is activated by fire, and protects the timber underneath, preventing the wood underneath from burning.

CREDIT

NTU Singapore

CAPTION

PhD student Dean Seah, NTU Assoc Prof Aravind Dasari, and NTU PhD graduate Dr Sheik Anees, with mass engineered timber (coated on the right and uncoated on the left) in front of them.

CREDIT

NTU Singapore

CAPTION

NTU Assoc Prof Aravind (left) with PhD student Dean Seah, doing fire tests on timber in the lab.

CREDIT

NTU Singapore

VIDEO

Wood you believe it? "Fire-proofing" wood and yet retaining the natural aesthetics of wood grain is now possible, thanks to an invisible coating invented by #NTUsg scientists.

CREDIT

NTU Singapore

[1] Code of Practice for Fire Precautions in Buildings 2018 (Singapore Civil Defence Force), fire classification procedure for all construction products: (EN 13501-1 / EN 13823)

[2] Industry standard test, as performed in line with EN 13501-1 / EN 13823, which are required by authorities such as the Singapore Civil Defence Force

[3] Fire-resistant coatings market by type (intumescent coatings, cementitious coatings), technology (solvent-borne, water-borne), substrates (metal, wood), application technique (Spray, Brush & Roller) and region, global trends and forecast from 2022 to 2029. Exactitude Consultancy. (2022, May 25). https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/2777/fire-resistant-coatings-market/