Photosynthesis-assisted remodeling of three-dimensional printed structures
Abstract
Living creatures are continuous sources of inspiration for designing engineering materials and structures. However, synthetic engineering materials are typically different from living creatures, because the latter consist of living cells to support their metabolisms, such as remodeling, growth, and reproduction. How to harness living cells to metabolize synthetic engineering materials remains largely elusive. Here, we report an attempt to exploit living chloroplasts to metabolize three-dimensional-printed polymers. With living chloroplasts and synthetic polymers, the system leads to a class of hybrid synthetic-living materials whose microstructures and properties can be remodeled on-demand by the photosynthesis of chloroplasts.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 11, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1073/pnas.2016524118
Entities
People
- An Xin
- Chiara Daraio
- Haixu Du
- Ketian Li
- Kunhao Yu
- Kyung Hoon Lee
- Nicholas X. Fang
- Qiming Wang
- Yipin Su
- Zhangzhengrong Feng
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- California Institute of Technology
- Division of Civil, Mechanical & Manufacturing Innovation
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- University of Southern California