Researchers use 3D printers and a novel bioprinting technique to print algae into living, photosynthetic materials for use in fashion, medicine, and more.
Bioprinted algae could make artificial leaves Written by: Andrew Wade | Published: 04 May 2021 (Credit: University of Rochester)
Advanced Functional Materials, the research combined bacterial cellulose with living microalgae, the former acting as the structural support for the latter during the bioprinting process. The technique resulted in a unique, eco-friendly material with the photosynthetic quality of the algae and the robustness of the bacterial cellulose. According to researchers behind the study, the material is tough and resilient but also biodegradable and scalable to produce. Three-dimensional printing is a powerful technology for fabrication of living functional materials that have a huge potential in a wide range of environmental and human-based applications,â said first author Srikkanth Balasubramanian, a postdoctoral research associate at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Clothes In The Future Could Be Made Of Algae
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I did not think that I would be writing about Algae and clothes at the same time but apparently, a research team in the Netherlands has developed a bioprinting technique that prints algae into living, photosynthetic materials that are both tough and resilient. This material can be woven into clothes. The group published their research in the journal Advanced Functional Materials. It surely is a new way to make clothes and may reduce the use of synthetic fibers.
The research has been done by a team of scientists at the University of Rochester and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. The team employed 3D prints and algae to create a new living material. The material could also be used in applications concerning energy and medicine.
(Photo : Joe Raedle / Staff)
For the first time, researchers from the University of Rochester and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands used 3D printers and a novel bioprinting method to transform algae into tough and versatile living photosynthetic materials.
(Photo : Unsplash)
The material has a wide range of uses in the oil, medical, and fashion industries. The study is published in the journal Advance Functional Materials.
(Photo : Cambridge University)
Snows in some parts of Antarctica are turning green from blooms of algae thriving in the snow. Green snow algae grow mostly on Antarctic coastlines, in areas where it is warmer.
For the first time, researchers at the University of Rochester and Delft University of Technology have used 3D printers and a novel bioprinting technique to print algae into living, photosynthetic materials that are tough and resilient.