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科学 & 技术

你未来的衣服会是用海藻做的吗?

A mini T-shirt demonstrates the photosynthetic living materials created in the lab of Rochester biology professor 安妮年代. 迈耶使用3D打印机和一种新的生物链接技术. (澳门威尼斯人网上赌场图片)

澳门威尼斯人网上赌场的澳门威尼斯人网上赌场人员利用3D打印技术创作了一部小说, environmentally friendly material made of algae that has applications not only for energy 和 medicine, 同时也用于时尚和太空探索.

生活的材料, 它们是通过将生物细胞安置在无生命的基质中制成的, have gained popularity in recent years as scientists recognize that often the most robust materials are those that mimic nature.

这是第一次,澳门威尼斯人网上赌场人员在 澳门威尼斯人网上赌场代尔夫特理工大学 in the Netherl和s used 3D printers 和 a novel bioprinting technique to print algae into living, 这些光合物质坚韧而有弹性. 这种材料在能源、医疗和时尚领域有多种应用. 这项澳门威尼斯人网上赌场发表在杂志上 高级功能材料.

“Three-dimensional printing has shown to be an effective technology for fabricating living materials that have many environmental 和 other benefits,” 安妮年代. 迈耶他是澳门威尼斯人网上赌场的生物学副教授. “Our photosynthetic living materials are a huge step forward for the field since they are the first example of an engineered photosynthetic material that is physically robust enough to be deployed for real-world applications.”

The work to develop a biologically based material is the latest in a series of research efforts led by 迈耶’s lab. 迈耶 和 her research team have been leaders in using bacteria to develop such industrially important materials as 人造珍珠母石墨烯.

An artist’s illustration demonstrates how 3D printed materials could be applied as durable, 生活服装. (Lizah van der Aart插图)

如何建造新材料:生物和非生物组件

来制造光合物质, the researchers began with a nonliving bacterial cellulose—an organic compound that is produced 和 excreted by bacteria. 细菌纤维素具有许多重要的机械性能, 包括灵活性, 韧性, 强度, 以及保持形状的能力, 即使被扭曲, 压碎, 或者身体扭曲.

The bacterial cellulose is like the paper in a printer, while living microalgae acts as the ink. 迈耶 和 her colleagues used a 3D printer to deposit living algae onto the bacterial cellulose.

The combination of living (microalgae) 和 nonliving (bacterial cellulose) components resulted in a unique material that has the photosynthetic quality of the algae 和 the robustness of the bacterial cellulose; the material is tough 和 resilient while also eco-friendly, 可生物降解的, 而且生产简单,可扩展. The plant-like nature of the material means it can use photosynthesis to “feed” itself over periods of many weeks, 和 it’s also able to be regenerated—a small sample of the material can be grown onsite to make more materials.

人造叶子、光合皮肤和生物服装

The characteristics of the material make it an ideal c和idate for a variety of applications, 包括人造树叶等新产品, 光合作用的皮肤, 或者光合生物服装.

Artificial leaves are materials that mimic actual leaves in that they use sunlight to convert water 和 carbon dioxide—a major driver of climate change—into oxygen 和 energy, 很像光合作用中的叶子. The leaves store energy in chemical form as sugars, which can then be converted into fuels. Artificial leaves therefore offer a way to produce sustainable energy in places where plants don’t grow well, 包括, 潜在的, 外太空殖民地. The artificial leaves produced by 迈耶 和 her colleagues are additionally made from eco-friendly materials, 与目前生产的大多数人工叶片技术相比, 哪些是用有毒化学方法生产的.

"对于人造叶子, our materials are like taking the ‘best parts’ of plants—the leaves—which can create sustainable energy, without needing to use resources to produce parts of plants—the stems 和 the roots—that need resources but don’t produce energy,迈耶说. “我们正在制造一种只专注于可持续能源生产的材料.”

这种材料的另一个应用是光合皮肤, 哪些可以用于皮肤移植, 迈耶说. “产生的氧气将有助于启动受损区域的愈合, 或者它可以进行光激活伤口愈合.”

Besides offering sustainable energy 和 medical treatments, the materials could also change fashion. Bio-garments made from algae would address some of the negative environmental effects of the current textile industry in that they would be high-quality fabrics that would be sustainability produced 和 completely 可生物降解的. They would also work to purify the air by removing carbon dioxide through photosynthesis 和 would not need to be washed as often as conventional garments, 减少用水.

“Our living materials are exciting because they can sustain themselves over periods of weeks 和 can be multiplied onsite, so that they have the potential to be truly long-lasting 和 able to be shared all over the globe as easily as sourdough starter,迈耶说.


现在,也许 头盔,也

In 相关澳门威尼斯人网上赌场 发表在 细胞报告物理科学安妮·S. 迈耶 和 her collaborators from 代尔夫特理工大学 report additional advances in using bacterial cellulose—this time in combination with 碳酸钙, a substance commonly found in eggshells 和 seashells—to fabricate durable materials inspired by nature. The unique characteristics of the material may make it a useful building block for everyday objects such as furniture, 手机持有者, 或者防护头盔.

用细菌, 碳酸钙, 厨房搅拌器, 还有一个筛子, 迈耶和她的实验室创造的材料可以:

  • 他多次从33英尺高的地方掉下来, 或者承受一个155磅重的人站在它上面, 无明显损伤的;
  • 与明火直接接触一分钟,不会点燃或燃烧;
  • 被塑造成三维形状,然后反复回收和重新塑造形成新的形状.

阅读更多

四个试管里装满了液体,三个是深色的,一个是浅色的.你未来的电脑会用细菌制造吗?

石墨烯是一种革命性的纳米材料,它的发现获得了诺贝尔奖. 通过将石墨与细菌混合, Rochester scientists are making 石墨烯 easier 和 more environmentally friendly to produce, 为未来的产品和应用铺平道路.

人造珍珠母制成的贝壳特写.
澳门威尼斯人网上赌场人员利用细菌制造出人造珍珠母贝

珠母贝, 也被称为珍珠母贝, 是在贝壳和珍珠中发现的一种特别坚韧的天然材料吗. Rochester biologists have developed an innovative method for creating nacre in the lab—和 maybe on the moon.

由3D打印材料制成的人类头骨特写.
创建人类模型

Physicians at the 澳门威尼斯人网上赌场 Medical Center have developed a new way to use 3D printing to fabricate artificial organs 和 human anatomy that mimics the real thing, 甚至被切到流血的程度. These models are able to create highly realistic simulations for training 和 could soon be widely used to rehearse complex cases prior to surgery.

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