White flour may be directly electrospun, providing a starch nanofiber alternative which avoids unnecessary industrial extraction and purification. By dissolving 17 wt% flour in warm formic acid and cooling, a dope can be created which can be electrospun into porous mats of 372 nm fibers of pasta.

Scientists have broken the record for the world’s thinnest pasta with a new “nanopasta” that measures just 372 nanometers, which is 200 times thinner than a strand of human hair. Britton, Beatrice et al.

“By dissolving 17 wheat flour in warm formic acid and cooling, a dope can be created which can be electrospun into porous mats of 372 nm fibers of pasta,” said researchers led by Beatrice Britton of University College London. “The pasta was made by applying an electric charge to a starch solution which is ejected towards a grounded substrate while drying during flight.”