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What can’t mushrooms make? Researchers at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, have created a tear-resistant living bioplastic based on fungal mycelium. The bioplastic could be used in “proximity sensors or humidity-based actuators,” their study says, as well as batteries, foams, soft robotics or even plastic bags that compost the organic material inside of them.
In nature, the split-gill mushroom the researchers used to create the mycelium film decomposes wood and other plant material.
“Our mycelium is a living fiber composite, so to speak,” says Empa researcher Ashutosh Sinha.
The work on the bioplastic combines with other research projects from the organization’s Cellulose and Wood Materials laboratory: the fungal biobattery and the paper battery.
“We want to produce a compact, biodegradable battery whose electrodes consist of a living ‘fungal paper,’” Sinha says.
The work also looked at mycelium as a part of an emulsion.
The researchers showed that the fungal material’s properties can be controlled by changing the conditions under which it grows. They also postulate that using other fungal strains or species could produce different functional materials. “Through genetic engineering, [living mycelium] materials could further have an important role in managing plastic waste,” the paper notes. The team’s work was published in Advanced Materials Feb. 25.
Humidity response of the film, sped up. Image: Empa