Iranian Researchers Working on Mineral Polymers for Food Industry

A group of researchers at Tehran-based Tarbiat Modares University (TMU) are looking for the economic and commercial production of mineral polymers as these agents have broad uses in the fields of biotechnology and food industry nowadays and the use of which is expected to grow even more in the future.

Hossein Qasempour, a postdoctoral researcher at Dr. Morsali's laboratory at Tarbiat Modares University (TMU) told Iranian media that he started scientific activity in the field of mineral polymers and metal-organic frameworks (MAF) in 2013.

“These agents were introduced to the world. Since the early 2000s, some of the leading companies in the field of smart advanced materials have invested heavily in these materials to introduce them to the industry,” the TMU researcher said.

He said that these agents are used to absorb hydrogen and methane and can replace fossil fuels with clean energy.

“These compounds have a hybrid characteristic, i.e. a mixture of organic and inorganic materials. They have a high surface area. According to scientific researchers, it can be said that these materials with a surface area of 7,000 square meters per gram have a record volume of solid porous materials,” he further explained.

Saying that so far many products have been produced out of these materials, Qasempour added, “These materials have been commercialized for packaging exported food products and capsules that contain gases.”

This post-doctoral researcher went on to explain more that mineral polymers have not been developed in the country so far, while noting that these materials are on the verge of being commercialized in the world and their applications will grow by several times until 2050.

Referring to the broad applications which these agents have in the fields of biotechnology, electrochemistry, absorbents, filters and drug carriers, he said, "We synthesized a series of commercialized materials in the world using safer and faster methods in Dr. Morsali's laboratory."

Emphasizing that the synthesis methods for the mineral polymers have reduced their production costs, Qasmpour added, “These materials are not available in the Iranian market as they are still new, and with the development of this technology, we are looking to introduce them in the country.”

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