Self healing coatings based on shrimp shell extract #innovation

Finding new uses for existing things is innovation, at least in my book. So creating a self-healing polymer by taking polyurethane and adding a raw ingredient from crustacean shells meets my criteria for interest and innovation.  To accomplish the self-healing, just add UV light. 

Whilst self-healing of scratches has been achieved to some extent already with heat-sensitive resins, this is new in that it could form a paint-like surface on just about anything that's exposed - or could be deliberately exposed - to sunlight. In a small way it's similar to the process of hardening or bonding of dental fillings using light or heat, where either the natural temperature of your mouth or the deliberate use of a special wavelength of light causes a change from 'malleable' to 'hard'. OK, it's different but there's a link there somewhere. I wonder if a variant of this self-healing polymer could put a friction and bacterially-resistant coating on teeth?

I'm sure that if we think about it long enough we can find other uses.