Shelling out radiation
A substance found in crab shells could be used to help remove radioactive materials from the human body in the event of a disaster such as the detonation of a dirty bomb.
A substance found in crab shells could be used to help remove radioactive materials from the human body in the event of a disaster such as the detonation of a dirty bomb.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientist Tatiana Levitskaia is investigating a unique approach based on a readily available biomaterial that might be used to reduce an individual’s radiation dose.
Chitosan is a natural and safe material found to be an effective chelator, defined as a chemical that removes metal ions from solution, for a wide range of nuclides. Chitosan is obtained from chitin and found in the exoskeletons of many invertebrates such as crabs and prawns. It is one of the most abundant, readily available and renewable natural biopolymers, second only to cellulose.
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