by Brooke Hall
When Molly Brandes heard about the opportunity to study biopolymers made from ground cicada shells, she was all in!
“I really like bugs and chemistry,” she says with a laugh. The sophomore IU Columbus Biology student immediately raised her hand when given the opportunity to work on a research project with her professor and head of the IU Columbus Division of Science, J.D. Mendez. She applied for and received an Office of Student Research (OSR) grant that helped fund materials and parts used in the project.
Brandes is looking forward to presenting her research at the OSR Exhibition on April 16 and hopes to continue studying naturally occurring plastics.
She uses chitin (pronounced “kite in”) made from cicada shells ground into a powder, adds different combinations of chemicals, and puts the paste-like substance through a 3D printer, while testing it for durability and strength. “It’s a matter of coming up with the right formula,” she explained. “Sometimes the recipe comes out too thick or too thin or there are bubbles.”
Mendez adds that the 3D printer they’re using wasn’t designed for this material, making even trickier. “There’s a lot of work going on behind-the-scenes,” Mendez said. “Molly can easily spend three hours working on a batch, only to discover it might not work at all in the 3D printer.”
Chitin is unique not only because it’s a renewable, natural polymer but because it has no toxicity for humans. In fact, Mendez explains, chitin has antimicrobial properties that could even promote wound healing, leading to fascinating possibilities in the medical world.
A year ago, over spring semester 2023, Mendez studied chitin’s potential 3D printing applications in Slovakia as part of his second Fulbright U.S. Scholar award. He is leading a study abroad trip to Estonia in June at the Tallin University of Technology—the site of his first Fulbright trip—where his students will conduct hands-on research with biopolymers.
Mendez has been working with chitin since joining IU Columbus 10 years ago. He first got the idea for this research at a crawfish bowl in Louisiana, seeing all the discarded shells and thinking about how they could be repurposed into something useful.