Recent advances in bioengineering and functional applications of microbial biocomposites: integrating bacterial cellulose, fungal mycelium and synthetic biology.
Camassola M, Brandalise RN
Fungal Mycelium
The biodegradable pots and packaging you compost in your garden could soon be grown from fungal threads and bacterial cellulose rather than pressed peat or fossil-fuel plastics — breaking down cleanly in soil instead of fragmenting into microplastics.
Certain bacteria naturally spin a very pure, strong form of cellulose — similar to what plants make — and fungi grow dense mats of thread-like roots that are surprisingly tough. Researchers are now combining and tweaking these two materials to build things like scaffolds that help broken bones heal, packaging that truly composts away, and filters that pull pollutants from water. The exciting part is that these materials are grown rather than manufactured, so they could replace a lot of plastic and synthetic products down the line.
Key Findings
Bacterial cellulose from Komagataeibacter combined with Ganoderma fungal mycelium can be mineralized with hydroxyapatite (the same mineral in bone) to create scaffolds that actively support bone regrowth.
Incorporating plant fibers and nanomaterials like graphene oxide into these biocomposites significantly expands their mechanical and functional properties for packaging and remediation uses.
Self-healing 'living materials' engineered through synthetic biology are emerging as a viable class of biocomposites, though industrial scaling and batch-to-batch consistency remain key unsolved challenges.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists are combining bacteria-made cellulose and mushroom-like fungal threads into next-generation materials that can be tailored for bone repair, biodegradable packaging, and pollution cleanup — all without petroleum-based plastics.
Abstract Preview
The development of microbial biocomposites represents a promising frontier in the design of sustainable, multifunctional, and environmentally friendly materials. This minireview synthesises recent ...
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