Japan successfully synthesizes polylactic acid with seaweed

According to Kyodo News, Hokkaido Industrial Technology Center and Tokyo Institute of Technology have recently developed a new technology to successfully synthesize polylactic acid that can be used for the production of medical materials from non-edible kelp.

The Technical Center stated that polylactic acid is usually extracted from corn and other foods, so raw material prices have been unstable. If the new technology can be used in actual production, it will overcome the problem of price instability, or will arouse widespread concern.

The Technology Center turned its attention to the effective use of non-edible seaweeds, combining green tides, stone gangues that cause water quality issues, and thickleaf weeds that impede kelp cultivation, adding yeast and lactic acid bacteria to produce lactic acid, and using catalysts to succeed. Polylactic acid was synthesized.

The synthesized polylactic acid is further refined and used as a medical material after removal of the catalyst components. At present, the Hokkaido Industrial Technology Center is conducting new purification technology experiments. If it succeeds, it can reduce the price of polylactic acid. Researchers are also experimenting with other seaweeds such as kelp that have been discarded during cultivation and processing as synthetic raw materials.

Polylactic acid can be naturally degraded in the human body or soil, and is often used for medical materials such as surgical sutures.