Next generation engineered living materials- from genetic engineering to functional materials
Abstract
The next generation AFOSR research program in the Natural Materials and Systems program aims to elucidate and use biological design principles and biological material for building novel functional materials to support AF s future missions. Underpinning this aim are fundamental studies of organisms, materials, and their interactions. For our proposed renewal, our program of research builds on the understanding gained in our current funded program concerning the effect of simple foods and environmental cues on our ability to control the growth of fungal mycelia in two and three dimensions thereby generating engineered living materials . Insights into the mechanisms that govern how environmental and chemical cues affect the biochemistry, morphology, and behaviour of the organism allow us to deconvolute and correlate the intricate relationships existing between food , form and function . Further we have shown the potential of mycelia and some of their constituents, particularly chitin-chitosan for use in generating nanoparticle functionalised living materials. At the recent international annual conference of the British Mycological Society on fungal interactions (September 11-14th 2023), one of my students (Juwon Afolayan) won the second place talk award at the main conference for his work developing gold nanoparticle mycelium composites for potential application in water purification. Juwon has since been asked to assist in the design of the scientific program and interestingly, our area of applied microbiology will feature significantly in the next International Mycology Meeting to be held in the Netherlands in August 2024. The other student (Dooshima Nevkaa) presented on how small temperature changes and food affect mycelial morphology and biochemical properties. Our research differed from that of several groups from USA, UK, The Netherlands, Germany, Slovenia, and France, who reported their proceedings in the conference; we employed a multidisciplinary and holistic approach that integrated biochemistry, material chemistry, synthetic chemistry, microbiology, and molecular biology, where we utilized advanced facilities that enabled us to examine our phenomena in great depth from the microscale to macroscale.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 06, 2025
- Source ID
- FA95502410274
Entities
People
- Carole Perry
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Nottingham Trent University
- United States Air Force