KITII Bio-Polymer Technology

There are various kinds of gels in the food we eat every day, including tofu, pudding, jellied fish broth, and paste made from konjac flour. The word 'gel' is derived from the word 'gelatin', and indicates relatively large molecules called polymers that have a third-dimensional reticulate shape. The structure of these polymers is determined by joint bonding of molecules, Coulomb forces, hydrogen bonding, coordination bonding, and the physical intertwining of the polymer's molecules.

70% of our body is water, and our body is an organism that retains its shape even in water, thus we can say that our body is a kind of gel. From an organism point of view, corneas, crystalline lens, muscles, blood vessels, and nerve tissues are all gels.

We have done research in controlled experiments in order to make a natural polymer gel with certain properties by bridging gels with different physical characteristics with a natural polymer gel (bio polymer gel).

From this research, we managed to develop new gels, such as a pH-dependant gels, that melt in alkaline solutions but not in acidic solutions, and temperature-dependant gels that melt at certain temperatures. These bio-polymers are completely natural and totally safe to the human body. They also provide us the potential to create unique new products.