How are carrots good for the eyes and what are the benefits of biodegradable polymers?

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Carrots help maintain eye health thanks to compounds called carotenoids. They react with harmful ultraviolet radiation. It so happened that the molecular structures of carotenoids, such as β-carotene, are similar to the building blocks of some polymers. So the researchers incorporated a compound derived from β-carotene into… a biodegradable polymer.

The scientists wanted to use a carotenoid-based compound to create a biodegradable material. The fact is that carotenoids break down in the presence of ultraviolet light and certain chemicals.

The researchers combined a carotenoid derived from β-carotene, a 10-carbon dialdehyde, and p-phenylenediamines, a group of compounds used in biodegradable polymers. After drying, the resulting materials ranged in color from black to bright red.

During initial experiments, the team determined that the bright red variant was the best candidate for further testing. In acidic solutions, the material completely broke down into its original components, which could potentially be recovered. However, using both acid and artificial sunlight accelerated this process. And after a long time, the sample broke down even further into smaller dialdehydes and other compounds.