​Melik Demirel, professor of engineering science and mechanics at Penn State has worked with his team to make a self-healing bio-plastic. Others working on this project at Penn State were Abdon Pena-Francesch and Huihun Jung, students in engineering science and mechanics, and Carlos Pacheco. The polymer reforms when it comes in contact with itself in water. Squids have a specialized ring that forms their teeth, and within that ring are proteins with self-healing properties. Different species of squids have different properties within their teeth rings which can be combined to form even greater structures. Squids are living creatures and a few species are endangered so Melik Demirel and his team used biotechnology to create the proteins within bacteria. Once they have their polymer they can mold it by using heat or solvent evaporation. The co-polymer is formed by amino acids chained together by hydrogen, and then the amorphous segments create the healing effect. Penn State’s reports and videos came out on September 1, 2015, but research and testing were most likely held before then. The team hopes to make a cheap cost-efficient material that could take little to no expense to fix and repair. When a fiber optic line is used for marine research it has a chance to break, and when it does the only repair is to replace it. This technology can save time, effort, and money by fixing just that one issue, but it’s applications aren’t limited in the slightest.

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Messer, A'ndrea Elyse. “Water Heals a Bioplastic.” Penn State University, ConsumerAffairs, 1 Sept. 2015, news.psu.edu/story/367826/2015/09/01/research/water-heals-bioplastic.