If you use 'living ink', you may realize a building that regenerates itself even if it breaks.
A bio-ink called 'microbial ink' produced from genetically engineered E. coli has been developed. This microbial ink is still in the laboratory stage, but when pressure is applied, it is squeezed out like toothpaste and can be printed in 3D on various shapes, and it is expected that it will be used as a self-regenerating building material in the future. It has been.
Programmable microbial ink for 3D printing of living materials produced from genetically engineered protein nanofibers | Nature Communications
Genetically modified bacteria produce next-gen 3D print ink • The Register
https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/23/genetically_modified_e_coli_bacteria/
Bio-inks that use microorganisms have been developed so far, and gels made by mixing microorganisms and polymer substances have been announced. All of them were characterized by containing hyaluronic acid, seaweed, silicon, etc. in order to increase the viscosity of the material.
The microbial ink released by a collaborative research team at Northeastern University, Harvard University, and Virginia Institute of Technology, led by Associate Professor Neil Joshi of the Department of Engineering, Northeastern University, is based on nanofibers completely produced from genetically engineered E. coli. Unlike conventional bio-inks, it does not contain polymer substances. The nanofiber fibers formed by E. coli are extremely stable, and are resistant to protein decomposition, deformation by surfactants, and denaturation by heat.
Below is an image of microbial ink taken with an electron microscope. There are two types of nanofibers used in microbial inks, CsgA-α (left) and CsgA-γ (center), and there are also microbial inks containing CsgA-αγ (right), which is a mixture of the two types. increase.
And the one actually printed using microbial ink and 3D printer is as follows. The leftmost is a grid with one layer, the two in the center are squares and circles with 10 layers, and the rightmost is a cone with 21 layers. The white line at the bottom left of the image shows the length of 1 mm.
In addition, microbial ink does not contain polymer substances and also contains Escherichia coli itself, so it can be expected to be self-regenerating. The researchers say that microbial inks are customizable for medical applications and can be applied to a variety of biotechnology. It also suggests the possibility of applying it as a building material in places where materials are not easily available, such as the moon and the hinterland on the earth.
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