Researchers at the University of Connecticut have used salmon DNA to develop next-gen LED bulbs. The researchers have added fluorescent dye to salmon DNA and spun the DNA strands into nanofibers to create a brand new material that gives off a bright white light.
Another good news is that scientists believe that tweaking the ratio of dyes can also change the quality and the color emitted from the bulb. While other researchers have experimented with materials like silica nanoparticles and block copolymers to alter the color of light given off by a LED bulb, this new research has proven most successful.
“When UV light is shined on the material, one dye absorbs the energy and produces blue light. If the other dye molecule is at the right distance, it will absorb part of that blue-light energy and emit orange light.” Using DNA has the benefit of orienting the dyes “in an optimum way for efficient [fluorescence energy transfer] to occur,” according to David Walt, a chemistry professor at Tufts University.
Until now, the researchers don’t know if their LED bulbs will be more energy-efficient and cheaper than current LED bulbs, which are already more efficient than incandescents and CFLs.
