Living fungal materials open new frontiers with sustainable design

A team of EMPA researchers have created an incredible new biomaterial that is not only completely biodegradable, but also surprisingly versatile with tear resistance. secret? It’s alive.

This innovative mycelium-based material combines powerful mechanical properties with dynamic living functions, potentially transforming ways of approaching sustainable materials, from food packaging to electronics.

In research published in Advanced materialsEmpa’s cellulose and wood materials laboratory scientists have demonstrated how mycelium from common split mushrooms can be treated into functional films and emulsions without chemical treatments that generally impair the sustainability of biomaterials.

These researchers chose to utilize a complete living system, unlike traditional approaches to fungal materials that remove living ingredients. Split Gil mushrooms naturally produce extracellular matrices filled with useful biomolecules as they grow.

“Fungi use this extracellular matrix to give them structural and other functional properties. Why shouldn’t they do the same?” explains Empa researcher Ashutosh Sinha, the lead author of the study.

“Nature is already developing an optimized system,” says Gustav Nyström, head of Cellulose and Wood Materials Lab, highlighting the elegance of the approach.

However, researchers did not rely entirely on coincidence. They carefully selected specific strains of Splitgill, which produce two valuable compounds at high levels.

• Schizophyllan – less than nanometers in thickness, but more than a thousand times more nanofibers
• Hydrophobin – Soap-like proteins that gather at the interface between different liquids

Together, these natural biomolecules confer exceptional properties on fungal substances without the need for chemical modifications that reduce biodegradability.

Self-Improvement Emulsion and Strong Film

What can this living material actually do? This study demonstrated two impressive applications that demonstrate its versatility.

First, researchers created stable emulsions with living mycelium. Emulsions – Mixtures of liquids that do not normally bind, such as oils and water, are common in food, cosmetics and industrial products, but synthetic stabilizers are usually required to prevent separation.

Living mycelium provides a continuous supply of natural emulsifiers. “This is probably the only type of emulsion that becomes more stable over time,” Sinha points out. This study showed that these biological emulsions exhibited 3.6 times slower phase separation compared to traditional alternatives.

What’s even more impressive was the thin film made from mycelium. These clear plastic-like sheets achieved tensile strength 2.5 times higher after growth.

It will handle the environment

How can these materials be used in everyday life? Are biomaterials practical in consumer products?

Researchers imagine many possibilities. Fungal materials are non-toxic and edible, and can act as natural emulsifiers for food and cosmetics. Films could replace traditional plastics in packaging applications where biodegradability is assessed.

Most interestingly, this material can accommodate environmental conditions such as humidity and open up the possibilities for smart applications. Fungal films can reversibly react to moisture and act as biodegradable humidity sensors. The researchers demonstrated that humidity can cause superhydrophobic patterning, mechanical actuation, and even target degradation of lignocellulosic materials.

“Biodegradable materials always respond to the environment,” says Nyström. “We want to find applications where this interaction is not a barrier, and perhaps even an advantage.”

The future of fungal engineering

Sinha envisions compostable bags that actively decompose organic waste. “In place of compostable plastic bags, they can be used to make bags that composte organic waste.”

The team is also developing biodegradable batteries that combine biological materials with previous research into fungal and paper batteries. “We want to produce a compact, biodegradable battery made up of “fungal paper” where the electrodes are living,” explains Sinha.

As sustainable materials become increasingly important in addressing environmental challenges, this living mycelium platform offers an attractive alternative to traditional approaches. Rather than oppose them, these researchers have created a promising framework for high-performance, environmentally responsible future materials by collaborating with existing solutions in nature.

This study represents the elegant intersection of traditional fiber processing methods and the emerging field of biological materials. As Nyström notes, they are “combining the emerging biomaterial field with proven methods for processing fiber-based materials.”

With its unique combination of biodegradability, strength and reactivity to environmental stimuli, this living fungal material could grow into applications that we had not yet imagined.