Understanding the effects of root structure on the mechanical behaviour of engineered plant root materials

Plant root growth can be altered by introducing obstacles in the path of growth. This principle is used in design to produce planar grid structures composed of interweaving roots. The Engineered Plant Root Materials (EPRMs) grown with this method have the potential to serve as environmentally sensitive alternatives for conventional materials,...

Swelling-Dependent Shape-Based Transformation of a Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells-Laden 4D Bioprinted Construct for Cartilage Tissue Engineering

3D bioprinting is usually implemented on flat surfaces, posing serious limitations in the fabrication of multilayered curved constructs. 4D bioprinting, combining 3D bioprinting with time-dependent stimuli-induced transformation, enables the fabrication of shape-changing constructs. Here, a 4D biofabrication method is reported for cartilage...

Characterizing Interwoven: Testing and Modeling Root-Textiles

Interwoven refers to material structures made by growing plant roots into man-made patterns. Originally developed as an art piece to demonstrate root intelligence and bring attention to human-nature relations, Interwoven shows the potential to disrupt various commercial industries, especially as textile-based natural fiber reinforcements for...

Bioprinting of a Zonal-Specific Cell Density Scaffold: A Biomimetic Approach for Cartilage Tissue Engineering

The treatment of articular cartilage defects remains a significant clinical challenge. This is partially due to current tissue engineering strategies failing to recapitulate native organization. Articular cartilage is a graded tissue with three layers exhibiting different cell densities: the superficial zone having the highest density and the...

Scalable bacterial production of moldable and recyclable biomineralized cellulose with tunable mechanical properties

Sustainable structural materials with excellent impact-resistance properties are urgently needed but challenging to produce, especially in a scalable fashion and with control over 3D shape. Here, we show that bacterial cellulose (BC) and bacterially precipitated calcium carbonate self-assemble into a layered structure reminiscent of tough...

Bioprinting of Regenerative Photosynthetic Living Materials

Living materials, which are fabricated by encapsulating living biological cells within a non-living matrix, have gained increasing attention in recent years. Their fabrication in spatially defined patterns that are mechanically robust is essential for their optimal functional performance but is difficult to achieve. Here, a bioprinting...

Digital biofabrication to realize the potentials of plant roots for product design

Technological and economic opportunities, alongside the apparent ecological benefits, point to biodesign as a new industrial paradigm for the fabrication of products in the twenty-first century. The presented work studies plant roots as a biodesign material in the fabrication of self-supported 3D structures, where the biologically and...

Large bone-implants for osteochondral regeneration, fabrication and ex-vivo testing

The high frequency of osteoarthritis in those aged above 60 years combined with the observing trend of overpopulation leads to increased healthcare costs. To date, clinical treatments seem to be insufficient to restore cartilage and underlying bone degeneration. Bioprinting fabrication techniques constitute a promising approach to mimic and...

Bacterial Composites

This project started with analyzing the different roles and potentials that bacteria have for the growth of new materials with ecological benefits. Here questions arise about the role that a designer can fulfill in the development of such novel materials. What new skillset does he/she need to obtain? How will a collaboration with biologists take...

Interwoven: Designing Biodigital Objects with Plant Roots: Exploring Material Structure and Experience

Interwoven is a textile grown from plant roots, showing the intelligence of plants. It is originally from the attempt of training plant roots to form a manmade pattern since 2015 by visual artist Diana Scherer based in Amsterdam. Due to fragility, it still remains an artistic work. However, Interwoven has a great potential for sustainable...

Bioengineered skin intended for skin disease modeling

Clinical use of bioengineered skin in reconstructive surgery has been established for more than 30 years. The limitations and ethical considerations regarding the use of animal models have expanded the application of bioengineered skin in the areas of disease modeling and drug screening. These skin models should represent the anatomical and...