By Sid Perkins
A macromolecule that was accidentally discovered when scientists left stuff sitting on a lab bench seems to soak up atmospheric carbon dioxide, a study now suggests.
The original find was made by a research team led by chemists at the University of Southampton in England. They were trying to design and create molecules that could capture negatively charged ions, such as chlorides and phosphates, on the surfaces of bioengineered cells. In one experiment, the researchers set aside an alkaline solution of various organic substances to evaporate, says geochemist John A. Tossell, author of the new study. When analyzing the crystals that formed, the team found that the organic macromolecule that made up the crystal unexpectedly contained carbonates, which form in solutions containing carbon dioxide.
The carbon dioxide in those carbonates probably came from the air in the lab and was converted to carbonate in the solution, says Tossell, of George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He describes, in the Aug. 3 Inorganic Chemistry, the macromolecule’s ability to absorb carbonate.