At last, a self-cleaning pan!

Wicus Prinsloo, the executive chef at Melrose Arch Hotel, will be at the Joburg Wine Show to create the most expensive pies in the country in aid of charity. Supplied to Verve, The Star, for story on Joburg Wine Show. wearing crocs, pots, pans, whisk, long hair,

Wicus Prinsloo, the executive chef at Melrose Arch Hotel, will be at the Joburg Wine Show to create the most expensive pies in the country in aid of charity. Supplied to Verve, The Star, for story on Joburg Wine Show. wearing crocs, pots, pans, whisk, long hair,

Published Jun 30, 2016

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Scientists have invented a metal that is self-cleaning and anti-bacterial. Scrubbing away at dirty pans in the sink could soon be a thing of the past.

It stops food or bacteria from sticking thanks to an intricate criss-cross pattern of ridges produced on the metal’s surface by lasers.

These ridges create tiny pockets of air that cause liquid to bounce off.

The Italian team were inspired to create their product, called TresClean, by the leaves of the lotus flower, which have a very bumpy surface.

Water droplets landing on the leaves simply roll off them – and pick up any dirt, washing that away in the process.

Luca Romoli, a professor of industrial engineering at the University of Parma, who led the project, said: ‘We were looking in detail at biometrics. It is a way to study nature and try to understand how you can improve things by trying to mimic what is already available.

‘The lotus leaf is one of the most well-known in nature, but there are others that work more or less in the same way.’

The design of the metal surface also takes inspiration from insect wings. Professor Romoli told The Times: ‘The wings of some beetles in the Sahara desert are shaped by evolution to be antibacterial.

‘They have nano-tubules and nano-edges that break the exterior cell membrane of the bacteria.’

He also explained that the wings of butterflies have tiny, incredibly intricate patterns that help with the ‘exchange of heat’. This has recently been used in designing computer microprocessors to help stop them overheating.

Manufacturing the TresClean metal is still in the early stages. Professor Romoli estimates the team could have products ready within two years.

The metal is likely to be used in industrial kitchens at first but the team hope it could be used to make pans for household kitchens in future, as well as medical tools that need to be sterile.

The material differs from non-stick pans, which have a special coating to make the surface as smooth as possible. This is to stop food from seeping into tiny scratches or pores in the metal where it can stick, meaning such pans become less effective if they are scratched.

Daily Mail

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