|by Marcia Goodrich, Michigan Tech magazine editor Pressure-
treated wood is great stuff, but the chemicals used to preserve
it from decay can leach out, where they can be toxic to bugs,
fungi and other hapless creatures that have the bad luck to be
in the neighborhood. Now, a team of scientists has used
nanotechnology to keep the chemicals inside the wood where they
belong. “It’s a new method that uses nanoparticles to deliver
preservatives into the lumber,” said chemistry professor
Patricia Heiden. “In our experiments, it reduced the leaching of
biocides by 90 percent.” The nanoparticles are tiny spheres of
gelatin or chitosan (a material found in the shells of shrimp
and other shellfish) chemically modified to surround the
fungicide tebuconazole. The little spheres require no special
handling. “You just pressure-treat the wood in the usual way,”
Heiden said. The initial tests show that the nanoparticle-
treated wood is just as resistant to rot and insects as
conventionally treated lumber. The researchers are