1 research outputs found
Additive Manufacturing of Catalytically Active Living Materials
Living
materials, which are composites of living cells residing in a polymeric
matrix, are designed to utilize the innate functionalities of the
cells to address a broad range of applications such as fermentation
and biosensing. Herein, we demonstrate the additive manufacturing
of catalytically active living materials (AMCALM) for continuous fermentation.
A multi-stimuli-responsive yeast-laden hydrogel ink, based on F127-dimethacrylate,
was developed and printed using a direct-write 3D printer. The reversible
stimuli-responsive behaviors of the polymer hydrogel inks to temperature
and pressure are critical, as they enabled the facile incorporation
of yeast cells and subsequent fabrication of 3D lattice constructs.
Subsequent photo-cross-linking of the printed polymer hydrogel afforded
a robust elastic material. These yeast-laden living materials were
metabolically active in the fermentation of glucose into ethanol for
2 weeks in a continuous batch process without significant reduction
in efficiency (∼90% yield of ethanol). This cell immobilization
platform may potentially be applicable toward other genetically modified
yeast strains to produce other high-value chemicals in a continuous
biofermentation process