INSPIRATION FROM FUNGI - GENERATING TUNEABLE MYCELIAL NETWORKS FOR DIRECTED ASSEMBLY
Abstract
Although there is a recognition that fungi could provide an effective way to generate new materials there is scant research into the chemical, biological and concomitant structural changes that occur when the conditions in the local environment are modified. Here, we propose to use fungi to develop engineered living materials (ELM) where our understanding of the effect of growth environment will lead to physical structures that can be controlled, where growth can be directed and thereafter developed into novel materials. We will study fungi, and in particular their mycelia to (1) understand how living networks form and the role that the local environment has on their biochemistry, structure at both the microscopic and macroscopic scale and physico-chemical/mechanical properties of the resulting biological material and (2) use the materials developed in (1) to fabricate novel bio-inorganic mesoscale composites. To do this we will design novel growing platforms that can be also be used for in situ visualization and chemical mapping of the developing hyphal structures. We will apply existing isolation and coupling technologies to generate additional functionality on the biomolecular components of the hyphal structures to direct the formation of novel mesoscale composites.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 12, 2021
- Source ID
- FA95502010206
Entities
People
- Carole Perry
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Nottingham Trent University
- United States Air Force