Shaping Living Matter
Direct Ink Writing of Cellulose Producing Bacteria
K. Krüger (TU Delft - Aerospace Engineering)
K. Masania – Mentor (TU Delft - Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies)
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Abstract
Bacterial cellulose combines the high specific mechanical properties of cellulose, with the use of microbes as micron-sized factories, which are leveraged to metabolise a highly pure and crystalline intertwined network form of cellulose. In spite of its advantageous properties, the lack of shaping freedom in current BC manufacturing techniques has hindered its implementation. To remedy this, research has focused on embedding cellulose-producing bacteria into hydrogel inks from which 3-dimensional living structures can subsequently be printed using direct ink writing. However, current iterations of this process lack the ability to manufacture geometries with complexities in excess of single layer patterns. This research, improved on previous iterations by integrating silicon platelets into a living ink formulation to produce inorganic scaffold for bacterial cellulose overgrowth, demonstrating both higher printability and structural integrity than previously reported process variations.