According to the developers, the production of fungal skin takes less time compared to how much
Cotton, textiles and leather are in short supply:their production is also harmful to the environment. In addition, a lot of food is wasted. Akram Zamani, Ph.D., wanted to solve these seemingly unrelated problems: she created new environmentally friendly bio-based materials.
We hope that they can replace cotton, synthetic fibers and animal leather.When designing our process, we tried not to use toxic chemicals or anything that could harm the environment.
Akram Zamani, PhD
To do this, the team collected unsold bread from the supermarket, then dried it and ground it into breadcrumbs.They were mixed with water and added Rhizopus delemar spores, which are commonly found in decaying food.
When the mushroom began to eat bread, it producedmicroscopic natural fibers from chitin and chitosan that accumulated in its cell walls. Two days later, the scientists harvested the cells, removed lipids, proteins, and other by-products that could be used in food or feed. The remaining jelly-like residue, consisting of fibrous cell walls, was spun into yarn. It can be used for sutures or wound healing, and possibly in clothing as well.
A suspension of fungal cells was spread out and dried to produce a material similar to paper or leather.The first prototypes of fungal skin created by the team were thin and not flexible enough.Now the group is trying to make it thicker by folding the material into several layers.
Next, the composites are treated with tannins obtained from wood: they impartthe structure is soft, and the alkali treatment makes them stronger.
Our tests show that fungal skin has mechanical properties that are quite comparable to natural skin.
Akram Zamani, PhD
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